It was a real nice conspiracy we had going there

Psst. Falcon to Brown Fox. Abort mission, the Bald Eagle has blown

our cover.

Ten-four Falcon. Over and out.

Man, so much for our covert operation. There is no fooling Newport

Beach Councilman Dick Nichols on this one. In his first public

appearance since he came under fire for making racially charged --

er, truthful -- remarks about Mexicans, the councilman asserted his

belief in a citywide conspiracy to oust him.

Nichols believes the Pilot, Mayor Steve Bromberg, city staffers

and the members of Newport Beach Firefighters Assn. have all formed

an underground coalition to ruin him and one day return California to

Mexico.

(Evil cackling heard here.) “Today, Dick Nichols. Tomorrow, the

world!”

Bromberg, who agreed to use the code name “mayor” so nobody would

know it was him, said Nichols is just “dancing.” Dancing is what a

lawyer does in court when he has no more ammunition. He makes stuff

up, shifts the attention. Nichols is doing the fox trot.

“Really, how can this [conspiracy theory] even be an issue?”

Bromberg said. “I just don’t know how to respond to the absurd.”

Let’s take inventory of Nichols’ arsenal, shall we:

First, he defended the comment by saying it was not racially

charged but a simple observation. Then, he said his comment was taken

out of context and that it was just one statement in the course of a

longer discussion about proposed changes at Corona del Mar State

Beach. Tuesday night he went as far as to say the comment was off the

record, which seems to contradict the fact that it was allegedly

taken out of context. And now, there is an evil plot to take Nichols

down.

Phew. To be honest, I am glad the charade is over. I was getting

pretty tired of running around town in a cloak, memorizing secret

handshakes and making late night trips to Fire Station 6 for

mandatory meetings. (OK, well not the last part.)

Between working a full-time job, raising a son, training for

fights, teaching four boxing classes a week and playing soccer, I was

beginning to fear I might not have enough time to fully devote myself

to Operation Nix Nichols.

But seriously, there is no need for a conspiracy to paint Nichols

as a bigot -- his supporters do that for him. On Tuesday, speaker

after speaker went to the podium at City Hall to “defend” him. And

time after time, they spewed revulsion and loathing toward those of

Latino descent and were truly affronted by having to look at, be

around and listen to people of Latino origin.

Not once did Nichols stop them, disagree with them or make

comments to distance himself from their views. Before this week, I

was reluctant to really take personal offense at Nichols comment

about Mexicans. I grew up in Orange County. I have heard derogatory

comments about Mexicans all my life.

When I would confront people about their derogatory comments, they

would usually say something like, “You know I’m not talking about

people like you,” or “I’m not racist. My best friend is Mexican.” Or

my personal favorite, from one of my closest friends who is Mexican

herself, “I’m not like them.”

Ignorant? Yes. Stupid? Yes. Insensitive? Yes. Evil bigots? No.

But even the people I grew up with would have been shocked by the

venom being spewed at the council meeting. I have heard some pretty

ignorant things from both sides of the argument that ignore all

common sense and play upon emotions, exaggerations and rhetoric.

It’s not Nichols’ fault he said all those things about Mexicans.

It is not his fault people find his comments to be completely out of

line. It’s all a set up. A plot to take him down. How dare the Pilot

accurately quote him, and how dare people take offense to his

comment. Nichols smells a rat. I would argue the stench is coming

from his own camp.

So, now that Nichols has helped us all uncover yet another

“truth,” why not at least entertain my conspiracy theory.

Here’s a shocker: Some people say and do things that are not

representative of their entire religion, race, nationality, school,

profession, etc.

Basketball players don’t all wear wedding dresses and own a boat

named “Sexual Chocolate.” Not every police officer uses excessive

force. Not all rich people are heartless, superficial yuppies. Not

all journalists pass fiction off as fact. Not all USC sorority girls

pose for the coed edition of Playboy. Not all African Americans can

dance well. Not all blonds are dumb. Not all priests are child

molesters.

Yes, some Latinos refuse to learn English and resist assimilation.

And, yes, some fair-skinned people are racist. Neither one, nor the

other, can epitomize either group. There has got to be some middle

ground. Both sides need to drop the rhetoric and get to the root of

the problem. Stop shouting and start listening.

I know none of this is as sexy as an alleged clandestine

conspiracy but it seems to make sense to me. Call me crazy.

This is Brown Fox, signing off.

* LOLITA HARPER writes columns Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and

covers culture and the arts. She may be reached at (949) 574-4275 or

by e-mail at lolita.harper@latimes.com.