Politics of Hate category archive
Chaining Your Jerk 0
In the Denver Post, Patty Limerick, self-designated founder of the School of Jerk Studies, plays trump. A snippet:
And here my analysis takes an even more distinctive turn: Trump is not in himself the problem, even though such a statement would (I can only hope) injure his vanity.
Interviewed recently by the New York Times, Brian Wagenaar, a 21-year-old college student in Minnesota, out-performed all other commentators. “We all have to safeguard against an inner Trump,” Wagenaar observed.
Plus Ca Change 0
China Hand points out an uncomfortable truth. A snippet:
T’aint so, unfortunately. It’s more like “this was us and, apparently, still is at least some of us and maybe a lot of us.”
And maybe “us” isn’t just anxious blue-collar xenophobes. Maybe “us” includes a big chunk of the political elite and the strategists who guide them.
Trump seizes upon the implicit and makes it explicit; that’s his offense. And his strength.
A history of the synergy between popular bigotry, political calculation, and institutionalized discrimination is enlightening.
The storyline isn’t “It Can’t Happen Here”; try “It Does Happen Here, and with Depressing Frequency”.
Follow the link for some of the real Murican history, the bits you won’t get taught in school.
They ain’t purty.
“Do You Have Anything To Declare?” 0
Jeff Gauger remembers his time in Saudi Arabia during his early days as a reporter. A nugget:
While there, I stayed in three different hotels, one each in Jeddah, Riyadh and Al Khobar. As here at home, booking a room required guests to fill out a registration card. The cards asked the usual stuff: Name, car tag number, method of payment.
They also asked for a guest’s nationality. And one other thing — religion.
I wrote “Christian,” although doing so made me queasy. I wasn’t ashamed of the faith of my upbringing but providing details to conduct normal business made me uncomfortable.
Read the rest.
“No Religious Test . . . .” 0
Reg Henry envisions customs in a time of religious screenings:
Poor border officials. It is hard enough for them to find Cuban cigars in luggage, now they will have to ask, “Do you have anything to declare, you know, like a religion?”
Absurd conversations are likely to abound. “I am a Sufi,” a visitor will say. And the border guard, not trained in comparative religions, will reply: “You’re a softie? Come right in and welcome to the United States!”
A woman in a head covering will be rejected and will protest the injustice: “But I am a traditional Roman Catholic nun.” To which the official will ask his pal, “Hey Joe! Are roaming Catholics on the list?”
Follow the link for more, in which he goes for a Cruz.
“No Irish Muslims Need Apply”
4
In the Seattle Times, Nick Hanauer indulges in a bit of hyperbole in arguing against closing our borders:
Imagine an America where Jobs’ father was turned away because of his Muslim faith. You might be reading these words on a massive 25-pound desktop computer right now. When we exclude people, our perspectives narrow, fewer people feel welcome, fewer problems are solved and we enter an economic death spiral of homogeneity.
I’ve had a number of desktop computers. I’m pretty sure none of them weighed even half of 25 pounds; the one I’m using right now weighs about five pounds. Furthermore, Jobs was not a tech genius; he was a marketing genius.
Despite the hyperbole, the author has a point.
Follow the link for the rest.
Fly the Fiendly Skies 0
Jesus, Mary, Joseph.
(snip)
“The passenger behind me raised his voice,” Kaur wrote on her Facebook page. “I turned around. He was a white man and his face was angry. He asked why I removed the tag. I offered to explain but he said he didn’t want to know.”
“Can You Give Me Sanctuary I Must Have a Place To Hide” 0
Above the Law offers a primer on how to tell the difference between a refugee and a terrorist. Here’s a bit (emphasis in the original):
4. Could the person’s immediate problems be solved with a sandwich and fresh linens?
Refugee.
Terrorists have goals, refugees have needs. . . .
Follow the link for the rest.
Market Forces 0
Leonard Pitts, Jr., points out that Donald Trump is applying market principles and giving his customers exactly what they want. A snippet: