A 2008 comment by a city manager comparing the former Beacon Light apartment complex has now ticked off a fellow Arab:
The owner of the former Beacon Light apartment complex took issue with Henderson City Manager Ray Griffin having once said the land and structures were akin to photos of the old war zones of Beirut.
"We couldn’t find any place in the United States to make [a] similarity between this condition and my property?" Sharif Abdelhalim told the Henderson City Council at a Monday evening meeting. "Why is this Beirut?"
"I think everybody got the impression that, "What is this? This guy is a terrorist? Let us demolish his property’," Abdelhalim said.
Now there’s a dangerous cocktail — Arab (=terrorist), building owner (=authority), Beirut comparison (=destruction) — that can only spell one thing: BOOM. Though I must say, its quite lame to play the terrorist card. I mean the place is a dump.
Despite the fact the original comment had been made before this website even existed, I believe Ray Griffin is in need of an LLB Certificate. Actually, he also needs a book on similes and metaphors:
Griffin[…]also said the weeds at Beacon Light were as tall as Councilwoman Mary Emma Evans.
Ray is as original as a used car.
I wonder if he could sue the Sheriff as this was a prejudiced and racist remark.
He probably could but it may not be worth the costs. Plus with the description of living conditions in the building (i.e. sewage seeping through the floors), the building shouldn’t be standing. It may be cheaper to rebuild.