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Originally Posted by shakran
Again, the man who said niggardly is not a politician. He is an aide to a politician. He's an employee of the city. Claiming he is a politician or should act like one would be the same as claiming the janitor in the white house should act presidential.
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Well, that's just not true. An aide to a politician is very much in the political game. They may have been hired or appointed rather than elected, but it's still a political position. And an aide is very likely to run for something themselves in the future. We're definitely talking about a politician here. (Again, though, with the slippery-slope reducto-ad-absurdam to the white house janitor!)
I don't necessarily disagree with the points you're making (not going to bother quoting: I'm referring to your last post in which you responded to MY last post) in the context of plain old interpersonal communication. Politics is a different animal. Politicians have to be way more careful, and have to speak to a way lower denominator than you and I do. When the definition of "niggardly" became known, the complaint changed from racism to political unconsciousness. Again, I'm not convinced he deserved to lose his job over it, but you can't deny he spoke without thinking. There are consequences for that, especially in politics.