.
.
.
Despite my conservative views, I was raised in a house with two liberal parents who were actively involved in their local public employees’ union. The Noble Civil Rights Movement (as it was always described in my house) was a frequent subject of conversation at our dinner table. I watched my father yell in anger at the world with the news of the murder of Malcolm X (whose autobiography I read when I was 9 or 10) and we all cried with word of the assasination of Martin Luther King, Jr. There were certain core beliefs that were drilled into my head as a child and which I continue to stand behind even after much reflection as an adult:
1) All people are equal regardless of gender, race, skin color or religion;
2) There should be equality of opportunity for everyone regardless of gender, race, skin color, religion or the prestige (or lack thereof) of mommy and daddy;
3) Gender, race, skin color and religion should not be the basis of hiring/firing, promotion, determining pay, college entrance or receipt of any public benefit;
4) Everyone is subject to the law equally regardless of gender, race, skin color, religion or the prestige (or lack thereof) of mommy and daddy;
5) No club or organization should promote one gender, race or skin color at the expense of another, especially in a school or work setting;
6) Everyone has a right to believe, or not, in the religion and belief system of their choice;
7) The First Amendment applies to speech we detest as much as to speech we like.
While I have always taken these beliefs as basic concepts of respect, and in my case Christianity, I have been shocked by how thoughts such as the above still engender such words of hate and violence right here in Orange County. I view these as the basic rights that should be afforded to a civilized society and I am always surprised by the push back that I get.
All good stuff most of us would agree with … what will the next shoe look like when it drops??
My parents were the opposite – John Birch, Joe McCarthy Republicans that i rebelled against. They said Martin Luther King was a Commie. (I won’t go on; they or my siblings might read this, and EVERYBODY loves MLK now, despite what they may have said in unguarded moments in the 60s around their young kids…)
Vern,
Geoff’s a size 10, or maybe 11 – he has falling arches. Given your comment, I’ll have to search the archives for your stance on affirmative action.
#3 and #5 should not be confused with Affirmative Action nor minority associations. To do so would be historically unfaithful to Dr. King’s vision.
Just so that I understand what you are trying to say, racism and sexism are OK as long as they are anti male and anti white? Really?? Clubs that exclude white males are OK? Drinking fountains and busses that exclude white males are OK?
Just what is a “minority association?” A majority of Americans are certainly not British or French or German – it would be OK to have a minority association that excluded anyone except those folks?
Since you are throwing out the history card, that horribly conservative group NOW points out that the term “affirmative action” was first used by Kennedy to forward the concept that we should take affirmative steps to eradicate racism – NOT steps to further racism.
http://www.now.org/nnt/08-95/affirmhs.html
Of course #3 is not to be confused with affirmative action. It is the antithesis of affirmative action – namely that an individual is judged based on his or her performance alone, with no favoritism or benefit for anything other than doing a good job.
One of the great myths of American society…that we live in a meritocracy…or that we ever will.
How about all the wealthy and connected kids who get into ivy league schools and who land great jobs simply based on those connections?
A completely agree with you anon that anything that breaks away from merit based decisions violates my core beliefs. I tried to capture that concept in various places above with the references to the “prestige” or “wealth” of the parents of the favored. I find that just as offensive as any of the other non merit based criteria.
Some sociologists have argued for transitioning to an income-based affirmative action to balance the inherent privileges that the wealthy and connected experience. I really don’t have a problem with that idea. Got no problem with special consideration for those born into staggering poverty and subjected to shitty schools.
Notwithstanding any of your distortions:
*The issue is when you research what brother King was all about you find out things like this:
“The Martin Luther King Research and Education Institute notes that the civil rights leader, “maintained that African-Americans could never be adequately compensated for the “exploitation and humiliation” they had suffered in the past, but he proposed a “Negro Bill of Rights” as a partial remedy for these wrongs. He insisted that African-Americans should be compensated through “a massive program by the government of special, compensatory measures which could be regarded as a settlement in accordance with the accepted practice of common law.”
*Plus Dr. King also gave supportive speeches for minority associations such as the Negro Radio Association (ironically, the NRA if you will)
This is part of the noble civil rights movement that continues to this very day. I don’t subscribe to the sanitized version of Dr. King.
Imagine the pushback at a public school in an affluent North Orange County suburb elementary school……..If you were Muslim.
You have to sing about Jesus (well you don’t really have to, only if you want to sing).
Your school becomes a theatre for “Veggie Tales” wednesday after school.
Your school becomes a CALVARY CHRISTAIN CHURCH on Sundays.
The cafeteria volunteers INSIST there is “Nothing wrong with Pepperoni”. Thank God for the manager who pushes back.
All good stuff Geoff, just mostly forgotten here.
I guess Mr. Serra has missed the stories of Eric Holder’s Justice Department suing on behalf of a female teacher who asked for three weeks off in the middle of the school year to attend Mecca but was denied since she gets what three+ months off in the summer. He also must have missed the story about the San Diego elementary school that added an extra recess period to allow Muslim students to pray. I’m guessing Holder won’t be coming to the defense of any Christian teacher that wants to take time off during the school year to travel to Israel. And I’m certain there are no school districts that have provided an extra recess period for Christian students to pray (lest the ACLU be hot on their heels). So Mr. Serra, next time please use real examples and not non sequitors about what happens (constitutionally) after hours on school property (or are you saying it is ok to discriminate against Christians as long as it is not during school hours?)
As a White Man, my distance ancestors were discriminated against.
I want my just compensation.
Blue Stater tho I may be, I also find that Sermon on the Mount to be a pretty darn good For Idiots guide to life in general. “Blessed be the cheesemakers? Oh, how nice for them!”
Or bluestater tho I may not be …:-)
“7) The First Amendment applies to speech we detest as much as to speech we like.”
Item # 7 reminds me of something I heard recently from a person who claimed that they were “progressive.” This was the comment that was uttered regarding Westboro Baptist Church and their protest of Elizabeth Edwards funeral.
“What WBC is doing is horrible. When did the 1st Amendment become more important than security or safety? They shouldn’t be allowed to protest.”
As much as I detest the philosophies of Fred Phelps and his merry band of circus sideshow Kansans, I took real offense at that comment from this self proclaimed bastion of open mindedness and tolerance. For me, the real test is not when you stand up for speech that you like and agree with, but when you have the courage to stand up for speech that you vehemently detest and disagree with. More often than not, we want to santize everything for the protection of the groups that we believe are oppressed or, my favorite, “for the children” that we end up becoming the oppressors or tyrants that we claim to abhor. This was exactly why I spoke out against “speech codes” on college campuses when I was in college and caught a lot of flack for being a sympathizer for racists and bigots from people who claimed the mantle of tolerance and open mindedness.
I explained to this woman (who is a fellow member of my church) as long as WBC is not doing anything to directly physically harm the participants of the funeral or making a nuisance on the actual cemetary grounds, they should be free to exercise their rights to free speech. No matter how disgusting or crass it may be. These are the same rights that are and should be afforded to groups like NORML, PETA, Code Pink, the NRA or the Tea Party Patriots. Once we decide to eliminate rights to speech and assembly for groups we don’t like, it won’t be long before those proverbial tables are turned against groups and speech we support and like.
I was very disappointed that Phelps’ gang didn’t show up at the recent Laramie Project performance in Santa Ana, and when we thought they were coming and everybody was planning huge counter-protests against them, I tried to talk the counter-protesters down. I thought they would have looked perfect outside the Laramie Project with everyone but the TV cameras ignoring them – as an illustration of how pathetic homophobia is. But they wimped out.
Did I ever tell you how I helped – long-distance – my cousins in Missouri organize their military nephew’s funeral when they knew they were coming? It turned out pretty great. They were given a permit to be in a certain spot, and right before they got there, some truck drivers parked their huge semis all around them so they were invisible, while some bikers revved their Harley motors making them inaudible. LOL…
They got a Kumbayah sort of quality to them too, as righties and lefties detest them equally.
The antics of WBC are lot like the Oakland Raiders of today. They hype themselves up by talking a big and intimidating game. When it comes to game time, they fail to deliver on their promises.
The only difference is that the Oakland Raiders actually show up for their scheduled games.
You guys are no fun when I agree with what you say.