"Obama is a Nigger." ~Jim Hazelwood

While working at Dunaway Timbermill in Garfield, Kentucky for a week in November 2014, on the second to last day of my employment, I got into a weird conversation with the men who worked there. The work, while strenuous, was fine. It sucked to go through so many gloves, and eventually, once Jim Hazelwood decided to become an asshole, that's all I was working around: a bunch of assholes.

I was in charge of flipping over the pieces of tree just cut, to make sure they ran smoothly over the rollers, and to edge the boards that were trimmed off the trees. Dunaway Timbermill's main focus was the creation of making more railroad ties. So the parts of the trees that wasn't a railroad tie, which was most of it, was handled by me. Some cuts were made into boards to be used. Other cuts, like the first cut of the side of a tree, which had a ton of bark on it, were just going straight into the chipper.

One of the men there, some dumbass bumbling Boomhauer (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boomhauer), who couldn't put together a sentence to save his life, just started yelling at me for the tiniest of shit. Eventually, I got mad at him, because on a Friday, I went over to help him clean up his mess, and he yelled at me to clean a specific spot. Wtf? I go to help that cocksucker, and he just starts ordering me around like a dumbass bitch? He's not the boss, but just the fact that's how he thinks we're supposed to talk to folks. It pissed me off, and he saw that I was mad, but once he started talking to me in a better voice, I got over it. But still. I had to display some power in order to get that asshole to knock off his assholery.

The first day I went there to apply, there was a Black man who was working the same job that I would eventually be working. Jim Hazelwood assured me that I hadn't taken his spot, but I'm sure that I did. There were 5 spots on “the line” at the Timbermill. There was the man who operated the cutting machine, who was smooth at doing his job, but he was an asshole. Some skinny old white man. Then there was Randy, who I liked, up till the end, when he ran and told on me, because one of the boards had an extra ½ inch on it. He was in charge of quality control. Then Boomhaur, who would use a circular saw to trim the ends of the boards I edged, and then finally, Shawn, a new hire, who actually took the job I was originally hired to get. His job was to trim the railroad ties, and then to stack them on a pallet for the drivers to hull off some where. Either on a truck, or off to the side somewheres. All were white men.

Jim Hazelwood told me that he would hire me, but that I needed my Social Security card, as well as steel-toed boots. After an hour, after I got both of those things, one from my house 25 minutes away, and one from Walmart in Hardinsburg, I was told that Jim Hazelwood had given up on me, and decided to hire somebody else. That's when Jim decided to put me where the Black man was working.

The Black man, dressed in camo shirt and pants, was working his ass off, sorting the boards to be edged, and the ones to go on through.

The next day, my first day of work, the Black man didn't come into work. But one of the white boys there was wearing a Confederate hat beanie. Brian Deis said he would have took it off of his head, and put a bag of shit into it. I felt like that, but I also wanted to keep my job. It seemed like a political protest. A Black man had been working there the day before, and now this guy was wearing a Confederate hat beanie. Coincidence? I don't think so. This white supremacist aimed to make that newly hired Black man to feel unwelcomed. That's also something I know about racists, whether black or white; if you aren't down with their racism, than that hatred will roll over you.

I was ordered by some young white man to come to the office up on the hill (there were two offices; one by the weigh station, and one by the timbermill), and I voiced my disagreement about how I was being treated. I went and bought me a new pair of steel-toed boots just for this job, and considering I was on my last dollars, that was a huge investment on my part. Even though Jim had hired somebody from out from underneath me, he decided to rectify the situation with me by putting me in the position that the Black man had been doing the day before.

The work was hard, and I'd come home tired as hell, but it felt good. I liked how my muscles ached, and I felt like I did an honest day's work. It was for only $9 an hour, but for Breckinridge County, that's a good job.

The Racist Conversation

While on a lunch break, Jim Hazelwood seems to “have a good time” by just being an asshole. He likes berating and yelling at his employees, and I felt as though, I could think with a corporate mentality, or with a union mentality, so when I looked at Garfield Timbermill, I'd think about the processes and procedures. How the machines worked, and who the clients were that we sold to. When complaining about my muscles being sore, Jim had suggested that I rub BenGay on my ass. He later amended it to the “crack of my ass”, but I wasn't so sure why he was thinking about my ass so much. Another time in the break room, Jim told me that he enjoyed hurting people's hands. He said whenever his wife, or girlfriend, would complain about some injury on her hand, he'd pinch it, just to be a dick. He has a bad problem with empathizing, and that's unfortunate. I smashed my fingers twice underneath the boards being thrown out from the machine. It was painful. Eventually, the ring finger on my left hand was injured just minor enough for me to keep working, even though it still hurt. The next finger injury got me thinking bigtime. I have to type up papers, and without my fingers, I can't do that. I need them all to type as fast as I can. I had smashed my middle finger on my right hand. This was a very important finger. The blood came to the surface of my fingernail, and it swelled up into a small purple balloon. Just typing with it was painful, let alone lifting up any big boards. I wouldn't have been able to do my job with 100% of my effort, and since Boomhaur had started being a dick to me, I wasn't looking forward to their shitty complaints. It's also my finger. For about an hour, I heated up a staple, trying to burn a hole into the top of my fingernail, to let the bleeding out. I think I waited too long, and no blood came out, but it still hurt like a mf'er. Anyways. Had I been allowed to recuperate, I would have came in bright-eyed and bushy tailed once I was bad to full health, to do the job. But I knew Jim didn't want that. So I quit. Right before I quit, however, a racist conversation unearthed.

At first Jim told Randy that he better take care of his wife, or else, she'd kick his ass. Randy got a bit mad, but said that he treated his wife really well. Jim said that he loved to get Randy “all worked up”, because for Jim, being an asshole to his wage slaves (read: niggers), is really all he lived for. He then started in on me. So I decided to say something back.

Jim Hazelwood asked Boomhaur, Randy, the skinny Republican who ran the tree cutting machine, and the man who wore the Confederate flag beanie the day after the Black man worked at Dunaway Timbermill, who would take his job instead of the job they had. I volunteered. Yeah asshole, I'll be your huckleberry. Of course it would be easier to just drive around in a truck, and to make sure everybody was doing their jobs. I'd also focus on maximizing production, and minimizing waste, which is something Jim didn't care for. On Fridays, we'd spend 2 hours just sweeping up the place with these shitty brooms. Just having a bin on wheels would have cut our time cleaning in half, if not more, so we'd be more focused on making more railroad ties. Just that morning, Jim had told us that the company was expecting our production rates to go up 15%.

Jim also has a problem with hearing, or perhaps it's selective. Sometimes he catches everything, but other times, he doesn't catch any of it. So I got in some words, but when you're only worried about being hear, and not listening, it makes the discussion very one-sided. Jim is also a short man in stature, so when I think about having to listen to a white supremacist retarded old man who could barely hear, I knew it was time to go.

So back to the racist conversation. Jim asked the group who would be willing to take his job, and he spoke about some anecdote, where some man had control of the timbermill while Jim was out, and the man just kept on saying “no”, that he didn't want to be “foreman”, or manager, or whatever Jim was. For that man, his stupid repetitive job was better than Jim's job. That's fine. Folks can have their own opinions about whatnot, and of course, that sentiment plumped up Jim's pride in himself, thinking he had a job that only he could do. I'm not saying Jim isn't talented with machines, because he was fixing a hydraulic gadget, in order to replace it, while he was being a dick, looking to piss folks off, just for the hell of it. I would have got more out of a conversation where he was talking about how things work, instead of just letting him fly off the handle, being shitty to whoever he wanted to be. I'm sure Jim knows much about the machines at the timbermill. My point, was that he got paid more, and he had power. Of course I'd rather get more money, and to have more power, instead of being the lowest man on the totem pole, doing the worst hardest job at the timbermill, being yelled at intellectually inferior and racist Boomhaur assholes. There's no competition in my mind whatsoever there.

Remembering how Keith, the man who trained me, who is a great survivor, and who I felt, whether he agreed with me or not, he was amicable, and a genuinely good guy. He said he had been working there for 5 years. That skinny Republican racist who ran the machines, he never introduced himself to me, but fuck him. Dogshit usually doesn't want to be known by others anyways, but he had been working there for 30 years, and was looking forward to his retirement on Social Security, which is ironic, considering this racist conversation I haven't got to yet.

So, getting into the corporate mindset, I was curious about who Dunaway Timbermill sold their Railroad Ties to. I wanted a specific name and so I asked Jim who they were sold to. Jim gave an asshole response, answering, “The railroad company does”, and then started laughing about his smartass sarcastic answer. “Did you hear what he asked? He asked where does the railroad ties get sold to? Well, the railroad companies... bahahaha!” Randy, while not like being berated by Jim, loved when Jim was attacking others, and joined in on the fun. He snorted, “I can't believe you asked who do we sell the Railroad ties to. It's the railroad companies! Duh!” I replied with “no shit Sherlock”, and Randy laughed, but left shortly thereafter. My question wasn't that basic. I wanted a company name, but Jim wasn't talking to educate; he was talking to insult, and be shitty.

So I figured I'd bring up Obama. Outloud, the white boy who told me to come up to the office on my day of work, basically, to fire me, and that white trash dude with the Confederate beanie, both insisted that the Black “boy” didn't show up to work because Jim didn't hire his buddy, who drove the Black man to work. They pretended it had something to do with politics, and while that was factor, I think them being white supremacists, and not wanting a Black man at their mill was the most important factor.

Since Jim Hazelwood couldn't name a single railroad company that he sold the railroad ties to, I suggested that it was Obama who bought them. The railroad companies are owned by the government, and they have a reputation for power: “Don't fuck with the railroad company.” The railroad companies are owned by the government, and Obama is the face of the federal government, so therefore, Obama bought the Railroad Ties. Boy oh Boy! Jim did not like me even bringing up Obama's name, nor did he understand what I was talking about. When I mentioned “Obama”, Jim asked, “You want me to tell you what I think about Obama?” Sure Jim, why not? Jim said, “I think Obama is a nigger.” And he stared at me as if that should have startled me. I coyly responded that I didn't believe that to be true, mostly thinking about Kat Williams' comedy show, when he pointed out how Obama seemed to rise above the problems of many poor Blacks: Obama didn't have a bunch of baby-mamas, or a criminal record, or any other things one would stereotype Black folks with.

“White people, I don't think you should vote for somebody just cuz of their race, but I will say, if you was ever going to vote for a nigga, if you was ever going to vote for a nigga, this is the nigga to vote for, right here, this is the one. Yes. Absolutely. Cuz he is nigga-lite. This nigga be running for two years, and he hadn't no baby-mama come out of the woodwork, this nigga doesn't owe anybody $200 for nothing, he ain't never had no pitbull puppy, don't have an earring, never had a tattoo... where did you get this nigga from? A cave from Salt Lake City somewhere? This nigga is like a Black superhero. This nigga is amazing. I believe he can fly.” Start at 13:35. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJ8dgl-vNi8

I told Jim that I didn't believe what he was saying. Obama isn't a nigger. He has Black skin, but that's just stupid racism. If he's saying that Obama is a bad Black, that's wrong too. I just responded with "there's good ones and bad ones, just like in any group" (including whites). The fact that MLK got shot over some obvious shit: judge another by the content of their character, and not the color of their skin. No fuck'n shit. I also asked him what he thought about Steve Beshear, Kentucky's Democratic Governor, but Jim didn't know him. He just knows enough of what Fox News keeps on telling him. But the local politics. The nuances of civics. He doesn't know a single fucking thing about. Jim continued on, saying that Obama couldn't do the hard dirty work, and maybe that's true, but does he think that Mitch McConnell can do the hard dirty work? Mitch is a tyrannical bitch. He got kicked out of Fort Knox for sodomy. Is that who Jim Hazelwood thinks of himself as? For 30 years, Mitch has done nothing but paperwork, paperwork to fuck over working class peoples. That's Mitch McConnell. Then that skinny Republican who ran the tree cutting machine made a joke. He said, “I saw a Democrat walking down the street the other day with his hands in his own pockets.” It was a clever joke, I didn't have one as clever, nor did I have an audience who wanted to hear anything I said. So I just left. I was pissed off about a bunch of shit, but I needed the bread, and I had figured that I had already stirred the waters enough. I got a victory by getting Jim to unearth his true sentiments about Black folks. That Black man who worked at Dunaway Timbermill may have a discrimination lawsuit against them, but I'm not sure how much he could win, considering he worked for a day. But it's not right to be discriminated against, for any reason. If Obama is a nigger to Jim Hazelwood, when Obama has accomplished more than Jim could ever hope to accomplish in his entire life, then all Black folks were niggers to Jim. That white boy with the Confederate beanie was getting into Jim's racism, and he's dating some fat trailer park trash. And that's sad. I see hierarchy, and from a rich versus poor perspective, we're all niggers. And since Jim Hazelwood gets his money from the federal government, through the railroad companies, him, and all his niggers, are just niggers for Obama. To put a hate-filled label on somebody you know nothing about... that's just as bad as Black folks hating whites as if they are all racist white trash. That's not true either (ahem: Diana Richardson). And speaking on that subject, I'd never be friends with a white supremacist, but I guarantee you, many Black folks are friends with racist Black folks. And it's all stupid. There's not a single "white" or "black" person in America, anywhere. It's socially constructed, and the white and black supremacists NEED racism to exist, because if we just looked at each other as individuals, based on our own merits, that would put all the racists out of commission. Black and White supremacists should all just be put on an island, and do themselves in. 

It just seemed so weird to me, that Jim Hazelwood went straight to the racism. “Oh, you want to know what I think about Obama?” … um. No. That's not what I said, you stupid retarded racist piece of shit. Do you not know that the Railroad Companies are owned by the government? Who here doesn't know that the government owns the Railroad Companies? Raise your hands, you retards. That's what I wished I would have said, and I would have felt better, but at the time, I needed the job, and that's how economics keeps working class folks down. I suggested unionizing to Keith, in order to get a door put up. There's doors on two sides of the structure, and the one side didn't need a door, so why just let cold air freeze Shawn over at the end of the line? But to unionize, you'd need men who had a sense of self-worth, one who had a sense of dignity, and these guys didn't have that. They were the boss's bitches, the bitch ass nigger wage slaves, and they were happy with being the uncle tom House Negroes that they are.

Since the government owns the railroads, every single penny that goes to Dunaway Timbermill, comes from taxpayer dollars. So when that skinny Republican dickwad made the joke about Democrats having their hands in other people's pockets, really, Mitch McConnell takes our tax dollars, and gives them out to the big bankers, corporations, and the wealthy. Plus his cocaine dealers. That's how you want our taxes to be spent? Socialism for the Rich? How's that help anybody? And since all of the employees are being paid by the government, albeit indirectly, that makes them all niggers to Obama, and not the other way around. It just sucks that in order to win politically around here, these dumbfucks have to be appealed to (see Alison's “absolutely no amnesty” TV ad). Or maybe a political realignment is called for.

“I don't judge people based on color, race, religion, sexuality, gender, ability or size. I base it on whether or not they're an asshole.” ~a meme shared by Barry Laycock.

I had also asked Jim if productive went up or down since Obama has been in office, and he said that it stayed the same. I think Jim thought I was advocating for something, which I wasn't. I was just asking questions, and if he cared to inform and educate, my questions would have been answered. But he didn't care to inform and educate; he wanted to demoralize and insult. He jumped at the chance to tell me that he thought Obama was a nigger. He couldn't wait for it! And if those dumbfuck don't understand that the government owns the railroads, then they've got way more problems living in ignorance than I can ever handle, so perhaps I should pity them. I also know that the KKK are a bunch of cowards, which is the reason they wear their white hoods. They're embarrassed and ashamed of themselves, and can only hurt folks late at night, while they're sleeping, instead of duking it out like men, as if that would solve anything. How about, just let good folks be? Can those mf'ers do that?

I shouldn't be surprised that there's racism in Breckinridge County. There's racism in Northern Kentucky, which is adjacent to Cincinnati, which has 50/50 white to black ratio. But in Northern Kentucky, it's 95% white. So if Northern Kentucky is like that, then I'd assume the more south you go down the Mason-Dixon line, the worst it gets. Malcolm X said that as long as you were south of the Canadian border, then you were “South”, which is kinda true, but 90% of Black folks in America still live in the South, and the Southern Bible belt assholes breeds a specific kind of stupid. Racist cowshit eaters are like pigeons playing chess. They knock over all the pieces, shit on the board, and then they strut around like they just done something. You didn't just do something. You're stupid and you fucked it all up, and you're so dumb, you're proud at fucking it all up. You didn't accomplish shit, and because you feel the need to do something, to feel like you're a part of it, you were just an asshole, and you fucked it all up. Like a sadistic psychopath, who just injures others just for the fuck of it. Just because they don't know how else to be.

Even the man who ran the St. Romuald Catholic School in Hardinsburg said that the Blacks in Breckinridge County were good here, since “they knew their place”. Really? What is the fuck does that mean? And this is the man who is doing the hiring, who all future prospective employees need to appeal to? I wished folks knew better how to treat each other. Just a bunch of assholes. That's America. A shitton of cocky stupid fk'n racist assholes. Who don't understand democracy. Who don't understand building culture. Who don't understand cooperating with others, or being self-reliant or independent. They find a dick to ride, and keep their eyes, ears, and mouth shut, as they ride that dick straight to hell.

Afterwards, Jim, while wearing a Rocky and Bullwinkle skullcap, would just act as innocent as all get out. I feel bad, and yet, I don't. When Jim liked me, I could endure the assholery of the others, but once he started to be a dick, it just felt downhill from there. I would have liked to think about being the man who ran a company, to which all conflicts, the buck stops with me. That would have been awesome. Because the GOP has swept into office, I feel like America is complete: we're a nation of corporations. And Wal-mart has a larger economy than most countries. We aren't citizens in a democracy. We're cheap labor in corporate America. Also, I'm a solidarity and union guy. I would have gone to bat for any of my co-workers for any issue they had. But they didn't care about themselves: they loved their boss more. Or maybe they're just too stupid to know how to interact with others. House Negroes: “Run away? Fight back? Where else can we go, and have the good food we eat here? And the warm blankets, and nice house to live in? Sure, a house Negro is still a slave, but it's such a nice slavery. It's like swallowing the blue pill. Why know about the painful truth of reality, when the blissful ignorance of illusion is so goddamned comforting?” Those who work underneath Jim Hazelwood are just a bunch of bitches, just a bunch of kiss-ass bitches to a short retarded racist fascist asshole. Good call white supremacists! Enjoy your lives not living!