Category Archives: Bigotry and Discrimination

Fear of “the other”, just because they’re other.

On shitholes.

Let me start with the fact that I’m saddened that I need to use the word “shitholes” at all – much less in a public forum. I was raised and educated (in public schools) to avoid vulgarities in polite conversation, in public, and most especially in professional settings. You don’t use coarse language, because you don’t need that kind of language, and because generally, it’s lazy. It’s called having a sense of decorum.

It should come as no surprise that President Trump lacks a sense of decorum.

But that’s not the sad part of his recent “shithole countries” remark. I expect no better from Mr. Trump. (I DO expect – better – MUCH better – from the President of the United States. But that just is a another log on the “Donald Trump is not fit for the Presidency” fire.)

The sad part is the people trying to defend that statement, generally by suggesting that that’s really what “the forgotten man sitting at the bar” is thinking.

That is wrong on so many levels, that my head is about to explode.

First is the sheer arrogance of that statement. Of course, Dear Pundit, you don’t think that kind of thing – but those poor schlubs in flyover country probably do, and, well, don’t their opinions count for something? (Or could it be that you’re jealous that you can’t say that kind of thing out loud, given your more elite position – so you take comfort in the fact that there must be others who can give voice to your darker thoughts? Nah ….)

Second, so what? Yes, I will gladly acknowledge that there are some people – all across this great land of ours – who harbor exactly those kinds of feelings. Does that mean we promote that? Celebrate it? It’s anti-social behavior, and it’s something we try to root out. “Good citizenship” was graded on when I was in elementary school. “Civics” were taught. Churches preached “love your neighbor as thyself”, and went so far as to treat things like this as sinful. We denounce and shun unprincipled behaviors, not promote and normalize them.

Which leads us to the third point – normalizing bigotry. The bar is being consistently lowered. The bigots are emboldened; and when there are no real consequences to their bigotry, they feel safe to go further. And everyone else becomes inured to it. It’s tiring to keep fighting. And is disheartening to see those in leadership positions not only do nothing about it, but look for ways to condone it. And that’s completely unnecessary. You can promote an agenda – ANY agenda – with dignity, class, and comity. There is no reason to tolerate what is being tolerated – by either side.

This is simply another riff on the “us vs. them” strategy, promoting the thought that “others” are responsible for our troubles. Divisiveness only weakens us. The real “shitholes” in this whole affair are the leaders and pundits driving this narrative and working to promote discord, hatred, and bigotry.

Don’t be complicit. Speak up. Help Stamp Out Stupid.

Why a Protocol Officer is a good idea …

Trump with Navajo Code Talkers

 

Let’s say you’re the President of the United States.  And let’s say that you’re hosting an event at the White House to honor some Word War II vets who happen to be Native American,  What would you think the focus of such an event should be?

  1. Honoring the aforementioned vets for their service
  2. Using the event to take pot shots (complete with ethnic slurring) at a political opponent who is in no way connected to the event being held, or
  3. Causing discomfort to the honorees by holding the event in a location prominently featuring the portrait of a man who was responsible for much suffering and death amongst Native Americans during his Presidency.

If you’re most people, you’d go with #1.  But President Trump is not most people.  Any honoring that got done at the event was overshadowed by #s 2 and 3.

We can be generous and write off #3 – holding the event in front of a portrait of Andrew Jackson, he of Trail of Tears fame and a true bigot when it came to native Americans – as cluelessness rather than malice.  The problem is, professional administrations have protocol offices to look out for these kinds of things.  Apparently, Mr. Trump doesn’t  feel the need to avail himself of a competent protocol officer..

That’s just stupid.  You end up with a gaffe that could have been easily avoided, but wasn’t – because you couldn’t be bothered to take basic steps to prevent it.

The pot-shots are another story entirely.  Referring to Sen. Elizabeth Warren (who claimed a bit of Cherokee in her ancestry) as Pocahontas (a Powhatan) while celebrating the Navajo Code Talkers of WWII was simply an exercise in pettiness.  Again, this is where a protocol officer could have helped – assuming they could have kept the President on-script (a questionable assumption at best).  The use of “Pocahontas” was intended as a derogatory term  – who in their right mind thinks that is appropriate when honoring Native Americans?  More importantly, the whole affair had the effect of taking the focus off of the veterans being honored, and turning it on to Mr. Trump.

Which is a waste, because those gentlemen deserve to be honored.

Get a good Protocol Officer, Mr. Trump – and let them do their job.  It’ll help turn down the stupid coming out of your White House.  A little.  I hope.

Dear Alt-right: No, we’re not “anti-white”

To the white supremacists, neo-Nazis, and other members of the so-called “alt-right”:

The fact that people oppose you does not make them “anti-white”. Believing that it does suggests a major misconception on your part – namely, that you represent what it means to be “white”.

That’s just stupid.

When you choose to march in the name of bigotry, in the name of intolerance, and in the name of hatred, you are going to be opposed. Not because you’re white – but because you’re a bigot, because you’re racist. and, frankly, because you’re a bunch of assholes. You invite opposition by your actions.

In a similar vein, people who reject your values and stand against you are not “haters”. You seem to have that covered yourself. The fact that we find you rude, crude, and socially unacceptable stems from the fact that, at the core, you are evil. Standing against bigotry in support of tolerance and brotherhood is not hating. In fact, it’s just the opposite.

Don’t misjudge your position. I am among millions of Americans who share the same skin color as you. And we reject you. We disown you. We can’t stop you from hating; we can’t stop you from holding the beliefs that you hold. But we can invite you to STFU and crawl back under the rock you’ve been hiding under these past decades.

You don’t speak for us.

Sweet Home Alabama

BREAKING –This is huge.Developing.

Posted by The New Civil Rights Movement on Wednesday, January 6, 2016

 

In what isn’t a state Supreme Court ruling, but rather an administrative order, Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore is looking to halt same-sex marriage in Alabama.  His reasoning?  He’s not sure that last summer’s United States Supreme Court ruling on the matter applies to the Great State of Alabama.

Seriously, Judge Moore?  Look, the North won, and Alabama is a part of the United States of America.  Which means that Federal law – and the rulings of the U.S. Supreme Court – do indeed apply to Alabama.  You don’t have to like the law, but you – especially you – need to uphold the law.  ALL of the law – for everyone.

Making your state’s  probate judges choose between your hissy fit and the law of the land does no one any good.  Gay marriage is here to stay – and most people are just fine with it,  And there’s a good reason for that –

Gay people getting married doesn’t affect straight people’s lives in the least!

So fighting this fight – which is already lost – does nothing positive.  It makes you look stupid – a fossil from another era.  It stresses out your judges state-wide, who have to worry about whether doing their jobs will get them fired.  And it makes your state look bad – there are already enough negative stereotypes about Alabama as it is.  You don’t need to re-enforce them.

My advice – take a deep breath, go bail your son out, channel your inner Disney princess, and “Let it Go”