Racism is Alive and Well

And on that note: Haley Barbour can kiss goodbye his chances of becoming the Republican candidate for President in 2010, and of being elected to any office at the national level... thanks to Rachel Maddow.

On Mosques and Principles

I was going to let the issue of the so-called 'Ground Zero Mosque' go by without commenting, but Bill O'Reilly's latest tirade on The View (no, I don't actually watch the show) got me angry and here's my take on the issue, as pithily as I can put it:

Under normal circumstances, I would have ben the first to dismiss the building of a place of worship—be it a church, mosque, synagogue, temple, etc.—as an unnecessary extravagance. I would probably have gone so far as to say that we don't need to expand whatever extent religion already has; and I would definitely have ventured to advocate, instead, the building of a more universally beneficial type of building, such as a school, hospital, or no building at all and a park or garden instead.

But given the airtime that was given to this issue, and the ink and bile that was spilled over it, I have to come out now, as a strong supporter of the 'Ground Zero Mosque.'

First of all, there was a lot of deliberately misleading information on the so-called 'mosque.' Calling it a 'mosque' was supposed to make people conjure up images of a lead-domed building with sky-piercing, imposing minarets. And they did. The building in question is, in fact, a multi-faith cultural center that will provide the Manhattan community with more 'secular' amenities such as a gym, pool, daycare center, etc..

Secondly, the debate in question should never have taken a national dimension. But it did (thanks, Palin!). The only people making a decision on it should have been local authorities responsible for issuing building permits and the like; the only laws to be observed should have been safety and zoning laws; the only additional considerations should have been on the aesthetics of the building—and that, only if NYC has any.

By overtaking the national airwaves, the debate over this cultural center reached a level of perversion that many self-righteous (read: mistaken) citizens across the nation embraced as justified. Suddenly, an organization whose whole reason-for-being is combatting bigotry discredited itself by coming out against this building; then a bigot in X or Y county felt proud to say that allowing such a building was 'insensitive' or 'un-American' (question: who died and made you a moral dictator of America?); then a zealot in Florida threatened to organize a Koran-burning event that escalated attacks and violence against our troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, while also aggravating any existing ire of Muslims across the globe. Yes, in just a matter of weeks, a debate that never should have gone beyond the requirements of local formalities became national and eventually medieval.

Thirdly, it should be understood that everybody has the right to voice his or her own opinion on whatever issue; but nobody has the right to pervert long-standing constitutional principles on issues of 'sensitivity,' especially when doing so means depriving others of the first freedom guaranteed by the Constitution.

I'm sorry, angered Americans-at-large: it's not up to you to decide whether a church or mosque or whatever else gets built in your country. It is not up to me, either....

I'm sorry, Manhattan residents: it's not up to you to prevent the construction of a building you don't 'like.' Comply with the decisions of the people you have chosen to represent you in enacting and enforcing local building and zoning laws.

Lastly, I'm sorry families of 9/11 victims: your pain and anger, however real and 'raw' (to use a word that was thrown around by Palin & Co.), do not entitle you to abridging the rights of any group, much less those of Muslims as a whole, who—as a whole—were never against us.

We were attacked by religious zealots with radically perverted views of Islam and the world, and with a total lack of consideration and respect for human life. Perhaps an example closer to home would serve to better illustrate it: the latter are the equivalent of the many (pseudo-)Christian groups in this country whose hateful and bigoted ideas spring up every day in dark and dreary basements across America, and whose abusive rhetoric or violent actions often reach the public scene.

Above all, remember that we are a state of laws; laws that condemn harmful behavior on others, and laws that defend liberties of individuals who set foot in this country (including minorities that can easily be overwhelmed by a majority). We have those laws for a reason and, despite whatever defects our legal-judicial system may have, intolerance of this kind is not one that should be imposed on or expected of it, no matter what the angry or otherwise emotional multitudes say about it.

It's a matter of principle.

Politics and Bigotry Before Justice

An exposé of the hypocrisy plaguing our Congress and obstructing its legislative process, this time on Don't-Ask-Don't-Tell:

Loon Watch

Sooooooo... does this make her a lez? Judging by her male counterparts' rhetoric against gays and their subsequently-discovered love for the cock, I'd say she's as lesbian as poetry readings!

She does say 'I want some young women; you come stand with me' and then goes on to ask for a few women by name. I'd say she's a bitter lesbian at best....

(via BuzzFeed)

Fox News's Witch Hunt

Fox News is an expert propaganda machine and, as such, is also good at demonizing people and forcing qualified, decent individuals to resign from their positions of power.

Their latest victim is Shirley Sharrod, an official in the Department of Agriculture under Obama, who has been accused by right-wind groups of racism. That message was reiterated ad nauseam by their cronies at Fox News and, as a result, she had to resign her post.

The truth of the matter is that the speech that led to accusations of racism is nothing more than a well-edited attack on her person. This is not the first time the right wing machine or Fox News have done something of the sort. On the contrary, many organizations and individuals have fallen prey to their smear tactics and have had to eventually resign or, in the case of ACORN, cease to exist.

Yet, we must admit that there is racism in this situation; only, it is not the racism of which they accuse Sharrod: It is a more concentrated and vitriolic form of the 0ld-fashioned whites-are-better-than-blacks racist stance. More concentrated because it is not the sole example in the last year and a half; more vitriolic because we allow it to happen and 'news' organizations such as Fox News propagate it without the slightest modicum of shame in this day and age. I guess I could call it shameful, too, because it feeds whatever latent traces of racism there are in American society, leading them to amplify and reach the public sphere where they are widely tolerated and touted as manifestations of our democracy.

Of course, this is nothing of the sort. I have said it before and I will say it again: a large chunk of the animosity against President Obama and his policies is a direct consequence of racism in this country. It is unlikely anybody can convince me otherwise. The rhetoric, the actions taken, the condescension with which they refer to the President on many media outlets is nothing more than a return to our shameless past when calling blacks 'uppity' and wanting to 'put (or keep) them in their place' was defended as 'American.'

Aren't we in the same crossroads as 40, 50, 140 years ago? And shouldn't we think before we take our next step into the road of peaceful existence, or into the abyss of hatred and bigotry...?

For more info, watch Rachel Maddow's segment on the issue, as well as the Sharrod's full allegedly 'racist' speech.

Police Profiling Now Legal

It has always happened, it has always been a sad reality in many countries and states, but now Arizona has taken steps to legalize racial and ethnic profiling by police in that state.

I am not wont to comparing many things to the Nazis, but the only scenarios I seem to recall where police ask for 'papers' come from the many World War II movies of Nazi-occupied France or Albania that I have watched.

Way to go Arizona!

The Bigotry Army

This year, the Salvation Army must have watched too much Lou Dobbs or something. Before they give out toys, they are requiring that immigrant families be here legally, or that they have at least applied for legal status, or that at least one of their children is legal. What boobs! I knew they were homophobic, but this year they seem to be embracing all the ugly phobias.

(Found through boingboing)

Miscegenation Doesn't Work

Or so a Louisiana justice of the peace would have you believe. He has refused to issue a marriage license to a black and white couple because he doesn't believe 'in mixing the races that way.'

He cites as his concern the children, but that's obviously his way of covering his racist behind.

Vox Clamantis in Insanity

The title says it all.

(Source: BuzzFeed)

Gayning Ground

A few strides have been made in the past week on gay rights, mostly in the Northeast. They are not clear-cut, though, and resistance to them is also growing.

The start of September 1 in Vermont signaled that state's recognition of same-sex marriages, prompting certain couples to take advantage of it immediately. The change was not that welcomed for representatives of the Westboro Baptist Church in Montpelier, VT, who themselves faced a crowd of supporters of same-sex marriage. To celebrate the occasion, Vermont's 'gayest duo,' Ben and Jerry of Ben & Jerry's ice-cream, changed the name of their Chubby Hubby ice-cream to 'Hubby Hubby' and offered free scoops of it around the state.

Meanwhile, opponents of same-sex marriage in Maine, which is supposed to start allowing those marriages on September 12, have gathered enough petition signatures to put a measure on the ballot in a November election, which would overturn the decision to allow same-sex marriages. Their efforts are met with resistance, however, as supporters of same-sex marriage have raised their own groups advocating the upholding of the decision. As an NPR report states, battle lines are drawn in this upcoming election. The NPR audio on the issue is below.

Proponents of same-sex marriage have also launched an ad campaign on television, appealing to the independent nature of Maine residents, hoping to garner their votes when the issue goes on the ballot. One of these ads is below.

Despite all these advances, gay rights advocates are not satisfied with president Obama's performance on the issue, claiming that he is not working fast enough on national issues such as Don't Ask, Don't Tell, or the Defense of Marriage Act.

On a national level, Congress is closer to passing the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, protecting LGBT individuals from discrimination at work because of their sexual preference or gender identity.

Fidel Castro is Right

The American right wing does hate Obama because he is black.

Its representatives have tried and are still trying to portray him as an outsider from the moment he became a serious contender for the presidency. We had Sarah Palin and her nutty followers who screamed 'terrorist,' 'muslim,' and 'Arab,' disregarding both facts and geography and thereby showing their ignorance and bigotry. Nowadays many others, so-called 'birthers,' are questioning his status as a natural-born citizen of the United States.

All those who still propagate these rumors and promulgate the idea that he is not a natural-born citizen, un-american, a terrorist, a muslim, or a socialist are simply racists and demagogues who are coping very badly with their fears of a more equal-opportunity America.

The United Bigots of Alaska

Bigotry is alive and well in the land of Sarah Palin. The mayor of Anchorage, AK vetoes a law condemning discrimination based on sexual orientation on the grounds that 'it was unclear that such discrimination existed.' A religious figure from the same town practically says that being gay is a choice of lifestyle, and affirms that such protection would be giving 'special rights' to homosexuals.

Rushed Bigotry

The great values defended by that huge megaphone of conservatism... all within the space of two days:

Homophobia (there's no ambiguity he's targeting gays here more than any other group):

Racism (black man subverting white establishment):

Sexism (this one needs no explaining):

Racism in America

It's still alive and well.

You'd think a half-black president would serve to educate the ignorant masses, but instead of quelling the fire, it has fed it.