Schabarum’s Praise Not Taken as Such

The issue before the Board of Supervisors was controversial enough--whether to provide intravenous drug users with condoms and with bleach kits to clean their syringes to slow the spread of AIDS.

But Supervisor Pete Schabarum caused a flap of his own Tuesday with a remark intended to praise several black women who spoke out against the proposal. Included was one woman who argued that the anti-AIDS program would benefit drug users, homosexuals and other “perverts.”

“For the first time, and I mean for the first time in many years, I have never seen such an articulate group from the black community as the ladies that have been here this morning,” Schabarum said.

His remark drew immediate catcalls from some black members of the audience, and two black women momentarily disrupted the proceedings when they approached the supervisors and demanded to be heard.

As sheriff’s deputies were called to restore order, Schabarum could be heard chuckling over his microphone and saying privately to his colleagues: “Did I make my point?”

Later, one of the women who protested the statement, Bernice Woods of Compton, said the Schabarum comment was patronizing and “an insult to the black community.”

Asked later if his comments could be viewed as condescending, an irritated Schabarum told reporters that his remarks were misconstrued. “That’s their assumption, and unfortunately they are making an incorrect assumption,” he said labeling the dispute “ridiculous.”