Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Stupid Is As Stupid Does
A pair of angry rednecks are confirming every negative stereotype of southerners today.
The first is Republican Congressman Virgil Goode. You may remember the recent controversy about a letter he sent to constituents criticizing an incoming Democratic congressman for wanting to use the Koran during his ceremonial oath.
He wrote that "the Muslim Representative from Minnesota was elected by the voters of that district and if American citizens don't wake up and adopt the Virgil Goode position on immigration there will likely be many more Muslims elected to office and demanding the use of the Koran."
He went on to write that "in the next century we will have many more Muslims in the United States if we do not adopt the strict immigration policies that I believe are necessary to preserve the values and beliefs traditional to the United States of America and to prevent our resources from being swamped."
After an understandable outcry, Goode is still at it. He's making similar outlandish statements in a USA Today op-ed.
The biggest problem with Goode's letter and op-ed are his ignorance of the facts. That "Muslim Representative" is not an immigrant. He was born in the United States and is just as much a citizen as Goode or any of the brown skin-hating people he wrote that letter to.
Furthermore, the use of the Koran, Bible, or Betty Crocker Cook Book is entirely symbolic. The actual oath of office is administered to the entire House at the same time. Everybody stands in front of the speaker's podium and no book is used. Individual members can then use any book they want during a second oath. That second oath is nothing more than a photo-op.
Goode's bigotry is matched by an angry homeowner in Katy, Texas.
Craig Barker is unhappy with hew new neighbors. Land near his home has been legally purchased by a local Islamic association. The association plans to build a school, athletic facilities, community center, and a mosque on that land. They have asked Barker to remove his livestock from their new property.
Barker says the Muslims are trying to run him off of land his family has used for a century. How he justifies such a claim is beyond me. He's protesting the new construction by hosting weekly pig races on his property.
As a Little Rock TV station reports, "pigs are forbidden from the Muslim diet, but officials of the Islamic group are indifferent to Barker's protest. The group's president says Muslims don't hate pigs; they just don't eat them."
I have long thought that bigoted people are somehow lacking in knowledge, and maybe even in intelligence. Goode and Barker have confirmed both for me.
The first is Republican Congressman Virgil Goode. You may remember the recent controversy about a letter he sent to constituents criticizing an incoming Democratic congressman for wanting to use the Koran during his ceremonial oath.
He wrote that "the Muslim Representative from Minnesota was elected by the voters of that district and if American citizens don't wake up and adopt the Virgil Goode position on immigration there will likely be many more Muslims elected to office and demanding the use of the Koran."
He went on to write that "in the next century we will have many more Muslims in the United States if we do not adopt the strict immigration policies that I believe are necessary to preserve the values and beliefs traditional to the United States of America and to prevent our resources from being swamped."
After an understandable outcry, Goode is still at it. He's making similar outlandish statements in a USA Today op-ed.
The biggest problem with Goode's letter and op-ed are his ignorance of the facts. That "Muslim Representative" is not an immigrant. He was born in the United States and is just as much a citizen as Goode or any of the brown skin-hating people he wrote that letter to.
Furthermore, the use of the Koran, Bible, or Betty Crocker Cook Book is entirely symbolic. The actual oath of office is administered to the entire House at the same time. Everybody stands in front of the speaker's podium and no book is used. Individual members can then use any book they want during a second oath. That second oath is nothing more than a photo-op.
Goode's bigotry is matched by an angry homeowner in Katy, Texas.
Craig Barker is unhappy with hew new neighbors. Land near his home has been legally purchased by a local Islamic association. The association plans to build a school, athletic facilities, community center, and a mosque on that land. They have asked Barker to remove his livestock from their new property.
Barker says the Muslims are trying to run him off of land his family has used for a century. How he justifies such a claim is beyond me. He's protesting the new construction by hosting weekly pig races on his property.
As a Little Rock TV station reports, "pigs are forbidden from the Muslim diet, but officials of the Islamic group are indifferent to Barker's protest. The group's president says Muslims don't hate pigs; they just don't eat them."
I have long thought that bigoted people are somehow lacking in knowledge, and maybe even in intelligence. Goode and Barker have confirmed both for me.
