And now he’s dead.
Once again Daniel Radosh is all over the “what the papers won’t tell you” beat, this time as concerns obituaries for Earl Butz. Radosh gives you the actual text of the comment that finally forced Earl out, but there’s also this earlier remark. The Times characterizes it thus:
But his off-color comments brought accusations of bigotry and his eventual departure from Washington. Trouble first arrived in November 1974 during an informal meeting with reporters in Washington when Mr. Butz, using a mock Italian dialect, criticized on Pope Paul VI’s opposition to using artificial birth control as a solution to world food problems. A spokesman for the Archdiocese of New York called on Mr. Butz to resign or apologize. He did offer an apology following a rebuke from President Ford.
The comment? “He no play-a the game, he no make-a the rules.” Which is kind of hysterical. (Or, you know, was in 1974.) Rest in peace, you daft racist.
