Funkhouser's clandestine smear campaign against the woman his wife called Mammy

I met Hearne Christopher Jr. once. He was exactly what I expected: Intelligent, articulate, tall and I could instantly tell he had a lot more class than TKC.

Furthermore, I respect the guy's move to work the Mayor's angle on the Mammy-gate story but that doesn't make Mayor Funky's explanation any better.

Recently, Christopher filed a story covering Mammy-gate that basically repeated the lame explanation offered by Funkhouser with some new details.

Here's a relevant excerpt:

Funk and Gloria considered the accuser a 15-year family friend, and their children were schoolmates. And while I can attest to Gloria’s penchant for pet names — her name for me harkens back to my grade school years — that really wasn’t at play here. The context of the utterance came in the form of a “Yes, ma’am” followed by “Yes, ma’am-ee.” What disappoints the Funks is the piling on despite only one side of the story being out. Details will follow down the road. Can we stay tuned?

No matter how many times it's repeated the "ma'm-ee" excuse doesn't cut it. Sorry, claiming ignorance on one of the most derogatory archetypes in American popular culture over the past 100 years doesn't explain everything away. If Squitiro had access to a television at some point during her upbringing then she not only knows what she said but the fact that her slur was repeatedly directed toward a Black, female employee was simply unacceptable. Let's get this straight once and for all: There is no nice way, no appropriate way to call a Black female Mammy. It's a racial slur, plain and simple.

Additionally, the Mammy comment isn't the only insensitive remark that was reportedly uttered by Squitiro. The Mammy utterance was easy for the media to pick up but there is also word that Squitiro called another Black female employee "Bernie Mac" which, admittedly, isn't as controversial but then again doesn't seem appropriate in the workplace given that it's unlikely that many women would want to be compared to an older, bawdy, male comedian when simply trying to do their job. Conversely, think about calling a white, professional woman "Buddy Hackett" and the remark would doubtfully be considered complimentary.

Christopher's passage describing a long friendship and the fact that the Squitiro and Bates kids went to school together is interesting but it also raises additional questions. IF they were such good friends then why didn't Squitiro's name calling become an issue before? Obviously, there are friends and then there are "friends" . . . The appeal to friendship by the Funkhouser contingent seems more like an effort to work an angle where the party who uttered the slur feels betrayed that their "friend" would dare take offense . . . Put simply, Squitiro is fighting to play the victim in this situation.

Still, what I've seen in the media regarding the story in terms of commentary has been rather disappointing and follows the typical racially divisive strategy that Funkhouser has employed time and again:

The Star needlessly mentioned a bankruptcy in their background info on Ruth Bates an important detail folks used against Bates that turned out to be untrue . . . What they didn't mention the fact that she's one of the most well educated people in the Funkhouser Administration.

Darla Jaye attempted to exploit the fact that Bates has been out of the workplace for a few years. TKC quickly noted that Squitiro also lacks ANY workplace experience on the level of her current gig as the Mayor's Chief political adviser. It's also important to note that Bates has a sterling record of volunteering around Kansas City for various social and political causes whereas neither Funkhouser nor Squitiro have any record of public activism in Kansas City before their disappointing attempt at KC's highest office.

Furthermore, there have been questions as to why Bates didn't just report the incident to Chief of Staff Ed Wolf. Well, the most obvious reason why that strategy wouldn't have worked is because Wolf has absolutely no authority over Squitiro. In fact, she outranks him in terms of influence over the Mayor. The fact is that Squitiro is an unsanctioned and disruptive presence in the Mayor's office and the Holiday break has not remedied that situation or caused it to slip out of Kansas City's consciousness.

The effort at damage control is admirable but it just doesn't hold up to scrutiny. Even worse, Funkhouser's effort to fight this case with leaked quotes in the media signals the use of a classic strategy employed by every run of the mill politico. His refusal to directly address concerns - After his initial response seemed laughable to even his loyalists - That's yet another sign that he has once again failed in his promise to work for greater "transparency" in his administration.

Also, I think it just adds insult to injury. It's undeniable that the Mayor's wife insulted this woman and now Funkhouser is coordinating a media campaign to attack her credibility . . . That isn't the action of someone who is truly sorry and regretful for obviously hurting the feelings of a longtime, so-called "friend" . . . In fact, the assault on the character of a woman who was the victim of a racial slur by Mayor Funk's wife is yet another low in Mayor Funkhouser's failed tenure.