Omar Thornton Victim of Racism and Union Management Corruption

Omar Thornton Victim of Racism and Union/Management Corruption

(With Permission from Broadway Stagehands Democracy)

The editorial staff held a meeting yesterday regarding the murders in Connecticut. We concluded that when Omar complained to union and management about racism that the Teamsters and Management built a phony case of stealing against him to cover their Racism and Lack of Union Democracy. We have seen the same story repeated over and over again in Local One IATSE. Complain and they set you up. Omar was not correct in his shooting spree but he too was a victim.

Kristi Hannah, girlfriend of Omar Thornton, recalls gunman's goodbye, racism concerns

BY Matthew Lysiak In Enfield, Conn., and Corky Siemaszko
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

Originally Published:Wednesday, August 4th 2010, 11:37 AM
Updated: Wednesday, August 4th 2010, 12:06 PM

CT shooting suspect Omar Thornton with his girlfriend at left Kristi Hannah.

Hill/AP

Authorities converge on Hartford Distributorsin Manchester, Conn., Tuesday.

The girlfriend of the Connecticut truck driver who killed eight of his co-workers said Wednesday that on the morning of the massacre "he was in a daze."

Speaking exclusively to the Daily News for the first time since Omar Thornton ended his deadly rampage by shooting himself, Kristi Hannah said she did not he was planning to unleash hell - but she knew something was not right when he left her apartment.

"That morning he seemed like he was in a daze," she said, speaking at her mom's house. "His eyes weren't right. They were empty. I kept asking him what was wrong but he wouldn't tell me."

Thornton, she said, "was quiet."

"He gave me a weird hug," said Hannah. "It was really long. And a kiss and said goodbye. He looked at me hard and told me he loved me."

Then he was gone.

A short time later, Hannah said, the cops showed up.

"Two detectives showed up asking for Omar," she said. "I texted Omar and asked, 'Why are two detectives at my door? You've never done anything wrong in your life.' He didn't answer. I texted him again, 'Are you okay?'"

Still, there was no answer from Thornton.

Then, Hannah said, she saw the reports flashing across the screen of her TV and a horrible realization set in.

"I saw the news and I collapsed on the ground," she said. "I couldn't even move. I felt so sick."

Hannah said that all their plans for the future crumbled in an instant.

"We were engaged, we were talking about having a family," she said. "I fell in love with him because he was the most gentle man I had ever met. His eyes were so kind. He would never hurt another creature."

Hannah said she can't reconcile her memories of Thornton with the cold-blooded killer who turned the beer and wine wholesaling business where he worked into a slaughterhouse.

"Omar was very kind," she said. "His sister had a drug problem and Omar spent a lot of time caring for his nephew."

Hannah also backed up claims by Thornton's kin that the 34-year-old gunman finally snapped after years of being subjected to racist taunts by co-workers.

"Everyone of \[the victims\] was a person I heard Omar mention," she said. "He didn't go around randomly shooting people. He knew these were the people who harassed him."

Thornton, a black man, "was very sensitive about his race," said Hannah.

"If you called him a n----r he would go off," she said. "But he kept it inside. He kept it all bottled up."

Thornton was reportedly about to be fired for stealing cases of suds, but his girlfriend denied he was a thief and claimed he was a good worker who was recently promoted to driver.

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Tuesday, September 15, 2009

DISCRIMINATED AGAINST BUT JANET SAVES THEIR ASS

2009 09:05 AM ET

Janet Jackson single-handedly saves MTV VMA tribute to Michael Jackson

by Michael Slezak

Categories: Dancing Machines, Janet Jackson, MTV, Michael Jackson

There’s no way MTV would have (or should have) presented the 2009 VMAs without a tribute to the late Michael Jackson, the man who perhaps more than any artist ever, raised the business of making music videos into a rare and delectable art form. But while I can’t be sure how it looked live from Radio City Music Hall, I found the opening three and a half minutes of last night’s celebration played somewhat tepidly from my living-room couch. The hyper-fast cuts of the MTV cameras and the presence of a giant video screen playing “Thriller,” “Bad,” and “Smooth Criminal” made it difficult to focus on the actual dancing taking place on the stage. Yeah, I realize that by playing MJ’s greatest hits in the background, we were able to see just how lovingly his choreography was being recreated right there on the VMA stage — and today’s yoots who may have been unfamiliar with Jackson’s oeuvre (gasp!) got a glimpse of his genius — but the overall effect left me wondering why MTV bothered with the live dancing at all. Seriously, why not just replay a highlight reel of Michael’s most iconic dances?

Thankfully, though, at the 4:15 mark, Janet Jackson came to the rescue, shattering through a safety glass screen to recreate that classic “Scream” dance-off with her big brother. The woman whose “first name ain’t baby” may not have been 100% in sync with the video screen behind her, but so what? She worked that stage harder than an underpaid assistant doin’ overtime, and as tributes go, this was as energetic as it was heartfelt. I predict “Scream” on repeat on my iPod as I head to work this morning.

What did you think of last night’s MJ memorial? Were you touched by Janet’s appearance? And did anyone else get a case of the eeries hearing the line “Oh my God can’t believe what I saw as I turned on the TV this evening” in the wake of Michael’s death?