Tag: Bigotry

The Bigotry of Mike Pence

On By Norbert HauptIn Commentaries3 Comments

During his public career, Pence has been an outspoken opponent of equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender citizens. In Congress, he opposed efforts to encourage foreign governments to decriminalize homosexuality and sought to block the repeal of the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. As a governor, he stood against not only marriage equality, but civil unions as well. He also opposed a law prohibiting discrimination against LGBT people in the workplace and signed one opening the door to wide-ranging discrimination against these residents of his own state under the guise of religious liberty.

— Chrys Kefalas in the Washington Post

What causes a politician to do things like that? Why would you go out of your way to actively take away rights of fellow citizens? Ok, he obviously doesn’t like homosexual people.

This country is founded on the principles of equal rights for all. Some people are gay, some are black, some are atheist, some speak Spanish, some are Muslim, some are short, some are tall, and some are female.

But they’re all people.

What gives the white male politicians the right to take away the liberties of others that are not like them? Because they were born white?

White male politicians, leave the people alone. Stay out of their bedrooms, prayer halls, libraries and schools. Let the people live their own lives!

Congressman Steve King’s Bigotry

On By Norbert HauptIn Atrocities, Political, Wisdom2 Comments

Here is a sitting GOP congressman, on national TV, asking what minorities (by which he means non-whites) have done for civilization?

This has got to be the most arrogant and blatant racism I have ever heard from an elected official. He really believes this stuff?

First, whites are only about 17% of the world’s population, with 14% black and 60% Asian. Perhaps whites have built more tanks and rockets than other races, but they have also done their share of harm to the world (Hitler and Stalin come to mind).

Maybe King needs to travel more:

Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrowmindedness … and many of our people need it solely on these accounts.

— Mark Twain

But justifying current discriminatory actions and outright racism based on made-up historic facts and subjective evaluation of the values of “contribution” to civilization is very despicable racism. It’s exactly what Hitler did to justify his deeds.

Way to go, GOP, way to go!

How Russians Thought of Germans – Bigotry and Xenophobia

On By Norbert HauptIn Crack-Ups, History, Language2 Comments

To a Russian soldier the Austrians, as well as all non-Russian speakers, were all “Germans.” The word German (Немецкий – pron. nimietzki) in Russian means a “dumb man” — one who cannot speak so that we can understand him.

— translation note by Aylmer Maude in Tolstoy’s War and Peace

War and Peace takes place in Europe in 1805 through 1810. Much has changed in the years since then in Europe. But it makes me think of what so many Americans, xenophobic as we often are, think of foreigners that don’t speak “our language.” The bigotry of people who view those who speak other languages as “dumb” and inferior goes back through the centuries, the times when imperial Russia was a superpower during the Napoleonic wars, and of course far back into the distant reaches of history to the ancient Egyptians.

It reminds me of the quote often attributed to Miriam Ferguson, the first governor of Texas:

“If English was good enough for Jesus Christ, it ought to be good enough for the children of Texas.”

The Bigotry of Suzanne Price

On By Norbert HauptIn Commentaries, PoliticalLeave a comment

This showed up on my Facebook feed today:

Bigots

I don’t know the woman whispering into Ms. Clinton’s ear, but sitting behind President Obama is Valerie Jarrett. Here are her credentials [source Wikipedia]:

Jarrett was born in Shiraz, Iran, to American parents James E. Bowman and Barbara Taylor Bowman. One of her maternal great-grandfathers, Robert Robinson Taylor, was an architect who is sometimes cited as the first accredited African American architect.

Her father, a pathologist and geneticist ran a hospital for children in Shiraz in 1956, as part of a program where American physicians and agricultural experts sought to help developing countries’ health and farming efforts. When she was five years old, the family moved to London for a year, later moving to Chicago in 1963. Her parents were both African-American; on the television series Finding Your Roots, genealogical research and DNA testing indicated that Jarrett also has French, Scottish, and Native American ancestry. One of her great-grandfathers was Jewish. As a child, Jarrett spoke Persian and French. In 1966, her mother was one of four child advocates that created the Erikson Institute. The Institute was established to provide collective knowledge in child development for teachers and other professionals working with young children.

Jarrett graduated from Northfield Mount Hermon in 1974. She earned a B.A. in psychology from Stanford University in 1978 and a juris doctor (J.D.) from the University of Michigan Law School in 1981.

I am impressed with Ms. Jarrett’s background and career, regardless whether she was born in Shiraz, Iran.

For comparison, I tried to look up Ms. Price and found nothing but her own Facebook profile, according to which she is the Executive Assistant to the Chief of Staff, Director of Social Media at Stand Up America USA. Should I be impressed?

From Merriam-Webster:

Bigot :  a person who is obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices; especially :  one who regards or treats the members of a group (as a racial or ethnic group) with hatred and intolerance

Based on this definition, and her message above, Suzanne Price is a bigot and she is spreading bigoted messages on Facebook.

Who would I rather have advising the president? Ms. Jarrett or Ms. Price?