A central Ohio contractor has apologized after he followed an African-American man home and shouted the n-word at him for more than three minutes in reaction to a disagreement over who had the right of way while driving.
Charless Lovett told the local Fox 28 news station in Columbus, Ohio that a man driving a Uriahs Heating Cooling and Refrigeration truck appeared to be upset with him after the man nearly sideswiped him at a local intersection and Lovett responded with a honk. The man, Jeffrey Whitman, reportedly followed Lovett to his house, called him the n-word, told him he was entitled and questioned whether he had a job or paid for his own car.
Lovett recorded the three-minute encounter on his phone and posted it on Facebook, telling Whitman that he would be reporting his behavior to the state.
So this is happened to me this morning. A man followed me from the interstate exit to my house, and then proceeded to berate me with the most disrespectful word to any African American. I wasn’t going to post it, because I felt that I should’ve known and did better in handling the situation, by just walking away and going into my house. But I’m human. Nobody, African American Mexican Puerto Rican deserves what’s been happening to us across the United States here lately. This incident is just one of many sadly. ? #IamBetterThanThis #UriahsHeatingAndCooling (if you’re in Columbus, OH; you can watch it and my interview tonight on NBC4 & ABC6 & FOX28 tonight)
Posted by Charles Lovett on Tuesday, July 24, 2018
In a statement, Whitman apologized for hurting the “Black community at large.”
“My actions reflect an unhealthy mindset I have developed and I need to work to change,” he said.
Whitman told Fox 28 that he is not a racist and regrets the encounter. He said he has received death threats since the video was posted on Facebook.
“My actions reflect an unhealthy mindset I have developed and I need to work to change,” he said.
It’s refreshing to see someone engage in self-reflection and take responsibility. I hope this man will learn and grow from his horrible behavior. That would be a positive outcome.
Sigh
Still got some work to do there.
Maybe the death threats will get him to STFU.
It would be interesting to ask this guy what exactly he thinks would make someone a racist.
I hope you are right but in light of the threats and publicity I think it might be more like: