It appears that bigotry is back in vogue these days.
In one of my previous posts, I discussed the all-too-typical response by the holier-than-thou righties regarding the first Muslim member of Congress using the Koran in his swearing-in ceremony. The likes of Dennis Prager warned of the evils of "multiculturalist activism", and the fact that the act "undermines American civilization."
Now we have a member of Congress spewing his version of good old red-blooded American bigotry regarding the same subject.
Rep. Virgil Goode mass mailed a letter stating HE was going to have a Bible in HIS hand when he took the oath of office. The Republican from Virginia (how did I know he was from the south?) further suggested that unless everyone adopts HIS position on immigration, there would be "many more Muslims elected to office and demanding the use of the Koran.". Oh my GOD!!!!! What will we do??? How dare these Muslims presume to have the same rights as every other American!! What is this world coming to??
Mr. Goode further warned that we need to limit legal immigration of Muslims if we want to "preserve the values and beliefs traditional to the United States of America and to prevent our resources from being swamped." A Native American with the ID "Bearpaw" had a great comment on a discussion board regarding Rep. Goode's comment:
"Clearly things would've been so much simpler if my ancestors hadn't set a bad precedent when they helped the Pilgrims live through the winter. If we'd only known that our resources would've been swamped ..."
Darn that multiculturalism! It's downright un-American!
I remember that we used to have another term for that evil "multiculturalism" in our country. We called it "the great melting pot", and time was, it wasn't such a bad thing. Apparently though, we've since de-evolved into a less tolerant, more bigoted nation. Sad.
Yes indeed, "Bring us your poor, your tired, your huddled masses..." Just as long as they're white, Christian, English-speaking sheeple of European descent.
Labels: Bigotry, immigration, Islam, religion, tolerance
posted by Marlipern @ 11:11 AM
7 comments
7 Comments:
Marli,
I know you do this just for me! Bigotry is back in vogue? Let’s see:
“the all-too-typical response by the holier-than-thou righties”
“how did I know he was from the south?”
"sheeple".
Those comments seem to smack of a certain smarmy, intellectual prejudice, don’t you think? And if you really want to discuss bigotry’s return perhaps you could do the topic justice by reviewing the Kos Kids take on Israel and Jews.
But the real prize in this post is this:
“Darn that multiculturalism! It's downright un-American! I remember that we used to have another term for that evil "multiculturalism" in our country. We called it "the great melting pot", and time was, it wasn't such a bad thing.”
From Wikipedia:
Multiculturalism “Multiculturalism is an ideology advocating that society should consist of, or at least allow and include, distinct cultural groups, with equal status. Multiculturalism contrasts with the monoculturalism which was historically the norm in the nation-state. (Monoculturalism implies a normative cultural unity, 'monocultural' can be a descriptive term for pre-existing homogeneity). The term multiculturalism is almost always applied to distinct cultures of immigrant groups in developed countries, not to the presence of indigenous peoples.
Melting Pot “The melting pot is a metaphor for the way in which homogeneous societies develop, in which the ingredients in the pot (people of different cultures and religions) are combined so as to lose their discrete identities to some degree, yielding a final product which has a more uniform consistency and flavor, and which is quite different from the original inputs.”
As you can see, multiculturalism is directly opposed to the melting pot theory and, being an assimilationist, I believe that it is un-American. Here is my take, again from Wikipedia:
“Whereas multiculturalists tend to view the melting-pot theory as oppressive, assimilationists view it as advantageous to both a government and its people. They tend to favor controlled levels of immigration—enough to benefit society economically, but not enough to profoundly alter it. Assimilationists tend to be opposed to programs that, in their view, give out special privileges to minorities at the expense of the majority.
Assimilationists tend to believe that their nation has reached its present state of development because it has been able to forge one national identity. They argue that separating citizens by ethnicity or race and providing immigrant groups "special privileges" can harm the very groups they are intended to help. By calling attention to differences between these groups and the majority, the government may foster resentment towards them by the majority and, in turn, cause the immigrant group to turn inward and shun mainstream culture. Assimilationists suggest that if a society makes a full effort to incorporate immigrants into the mainstream, immigrants will then naturally work to reciprocate the gesture and adopt new customs. Through this process, it is argued, national unity is retained.”
I know I skated right past the “meat” of your post and I understand your indignation at Congressman Goode. But indignation will carry you only so far; you need to have a better understanding of the underlying issues and, unfortunately, you mixed them up, thereby undermining your entire argument.
When immigrants have come to this country, not all of them choose to give up their cultural uniqueness. And yet we still have our great melting pot.
When Buddhists come to the U.S., most of them don't choose to adopt the supposed "defacto" religion of America - Christianity. Same with Hindus. Same with Sikhs. Same with Jews. Same with Muslims. And yet we still have our great melting pot.
It is the very diversity that has thrived in our country, which makes America’s great melting pot so successful. One nation yes, but many flavors. You simply can't have the melting pot scenario without multiple cultures.
Hence my comparison to "multiculturalism".
When you go strolling up and down Murray Hill during the Feast of the Assumption, in Cleveland's Little Italy, why are you there? Same thing with Chinatown. How 'bout Slavic Village? German Town in Detroit? Little Havana in Miami? Etc. etc.
Could it be that you and others are attracted to the specific cultural uniqueness of those areas? That just perhaps your experience is richer because the population in those areas held onto some of their cultural traditions?
Immigrants to this country do not, and have not, and will not want to be "assimilated". They simply want to make a better life for themselves. Just as my ancestors and yours did. Assimilated? This isn't the Borg collective my friend, it's America.
I wonder where we would be today if the Native American peoples decided that the European settlers needed to be "assimilated". But then again, we had the better weaponry. Tough break for those original Americans.
Assimilation? No thanks. I'll hang on to my individuality just a little bit longer. And I'll continue to cherish and fight for the diversity that makes our country so great.
Marli,
Please go back to my comments and try to DIGEST THEM before you put pixel to screen.
“This isn't the Borg collective my friend, it's America.”
You’re right – it isn’t and I never suggested that it was or should be. But what’s sad is that you are more conversant with Star Trek than the issues.
Try again.
And again, as you pointed out earlier, you skated past the "meat" of my post.
Do you deny that we are a greater nation because of our diversity? That our population is the richer for all of the cultural traditions that immigrants have brought to our shores? Whether those be the food, the language, the clothing, the art, the crafts, or yes, the religion; these things have molded us into the great nation that we are.
You believe that I don't grasp the issues. I believe that I grasp them just fine. I simply don't agree with your take on it.
I use tongue-in-cheek comments like "the Borg collective" all the time. It's just part of who I am. What can I say? I like one-liners, and I try not to take myself too seriously.
The fact of the matter is that assimilation, taken to it's extreme (and sadly, these days, we seem to gravitate toward extremes in this country), would strip our nation of the very character that makes our country so unique. By pushing the limit to form "one nation", we may very well lose our very identity as a country. That identity was forged from many cultures. Not by putting them in a blender and hitting "frappe", but by welcoming their cultures into the fold of this great nation.
Our differences make us stronger as a nation. The have made us who we are as a people. To dilute that, to deny that, or worst of all, to eliminate that, would truly be a tragedy for our country.
Marlipern,
“And again, as you pointed out earlier, you skated past the "meat" of my post.”
Please note that the word “meat” is in quotation marks and is meant to be read as sarcasm. The “meat” of your original post was your usual righteously indignant blather about a given topic while exposing your lack of understanding about the underlying arguments.
Second:
“Do you deny that we are a greater nation because of our diversity?” Straw man alert! Straw man alert! Please review my comments and show me where I said anything resembling that remark. And while you’re at it, why don’t you ask me if I have stopped beating my wife yet?
Third:
“You believe that I don't grasp the issues. I believe that I grasp them just fine.” Anyone that confuses multiculturalism and melting pot theory does not have a grasp of the issues. Period.
Lastly:
I believe I will need to write about this topic at greater length on my own blog. I have some other source materials I’d like to quote but that are just too lengthy to be handled here. I’ll let you know when it’s up so I can get your comments.
..
absurd thought -
God of the Universe says
never confront Islamists
just let them push you around
change your culture to fit them
..
Uspace,
I don't for a second believe that allowing Keith Ellison to exercise his constitutional right to use the Koran in his swearing in ceremony is allowing "Islamists" to push anybody around.
It's simply sad to see that there are so many Americans who are so insecure in their own culture and beliefs that they don't want to allow others to practice their's.
It looks to me like homophobia will have to start to take a back seat in this country to "Islamophobia".
Don't look now Uspace, those "Islamists" are all out to get you. And they're going to turn your children into "Islamists" too!
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