A useful baseline for bigotry.
Because I'm nice that way.
By Moe Lane Posted in 2008 | anti-Semitism Watch | Content of their Character | It breaks your heart — Comments (8) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
It looks like this:
Jewish Rep. Cohen Battles Antisemitism and Racism In Re-Election
If you thought race was an uncomfortable issue in the Democratic presidential primary, wait 'til you get a load of what's going on in the Democratic primary in the Memphis area's 9th District of Tennessee, where a shockingly worded flier paints Jewish Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) as a Jesus hater.
"Memphis Congressman Steve Cohen and the JEWS HATE Jesus," blares the flier, which Cohen himself received in the mail -- inducing gasps -- last week.
Circulated by an African-American minister from Murfreesboro Tenn., which isn't even in Cohen's district, the literature encourages other black leaders in Memphis to "see to it that one and ONLY one black Christian faces this opponent of Christ and Christianity in the 2008 election."
Read on.
Rep Cohen, as you may recall, is a Caucasian representing a majority African-American district; he attempted to join the Congressional Black Caucus last year, but was refused... for reasons which I'm sure made sense to the people doing the refusing, but I'll be blessed if I can figure it out. Then again, I grew up being told that it was the content of my character that mattered, as opposed to, say, the color of my skin. This is apparently news to Rev. George Brooks, who explicitly accused Rep. Cohen of being an opponent of Christianity, then went on to call for a "Black Christian" to hold the seat. You will note that I do not reproduce the picture: frankly (and speaking as a Christian), I don't want filth like that on this website.
Now, as Captain Ed notes, "We've listened to insults from Democrats for years for far less than this." However, I'm a reasonable man. Bad apples don't spoil the barrel, and all that: so all we need to have happen is for the national and State Democratic Party come down upon this like a ton of bricks. That would explicitly include Senator Barack Obama, by the way. Why? Because he's Cohen's guy, that's why. One of Obama's super-delegates, in fact: that sort of relationship goes both ways, although I don't really need to tell an Illinois Democratic politico this. Besides, we keep getting told about "hope" and "change;" what better way to have him actually show some than by coming down to TN's 9th District and giving a good impression of the wrath of God against those who would hold a man's religion against him? Even if they are themselves African-American. Even if there is existing resentment against Rep. Cohen in the district for his support of a federal hate crimes bill that included provisions for protecting gays.
I look forward to seeing Senator Obama's acts of elementary courage and basic loyalty to his supporter.
(pause)
No, I wasn't planning to hold my breath. But why would I want to in the first place?
Moe Lane
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A useful baseline for bigotry. 8 Comments (0 topical, 8 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
Are they trying to say its OK to be brutal thug if you are cheerful and carefree about it ?
I also really dislike trying to judge the content of someones soul. Let Anubis figure out whether its as light as a feather.
All you can really say is that the only people that don't believe democrats are bigots are independents that mostly don't pay attention.
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"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
-Thomas Paine: The American Crisis, No. 4, 1777
I don't know the actual legal definition, but I think of "hate crimes" as a form of domestic terrorism. To my way of thinking, a hate crime is primarily motivated by prejudice and intentionally designed to terrorize a group of people into inaction or some other deleterious effect.
The classic example is the burning cross. Clearly it was an act of vandalism, but more to the point, the KKK's used it to threaten the black community with future reprisals if they didn't submit.
In the case of the "African-American minister from Murfreesboro Tenn", clearly he is motivated by prejudice, and clearly he is attempting to prevent blacks from voting for Rep. Cohen. But does his flyer accomplish this by terrifying blacks? That's harder to argue.
"Austere, intolerant, well-armed, and blood-thirsty, in their own regions the Wahhabis are a distinct factor which must be taken into account" - Winston Churchill, 1921
Hey why not? These crazy Jewish guys are on the wrong side of the GWOT anyway. "I believe we must adjourn this meeting to some other place." - The last recorded words of Adam Smith.
Steve Cohen is "my" congressman; and he's worthless, as a person, and as a legislator. He has years of race bating in Tennessee himself and personally, I thinks this is a just reward.
Please note that my problems with Mr. Cohen are his rather idiotic ideas, not his regilion.
I also know of Cohen....although what this guy is doing may not be nice or even legal it is probably not far from the the truth. It seems to me that Cohen gives the appearance of hating not only Christians but White people in general........He is a real deal.....
The Fuzzy Puppy of the VRWC. I've been usurped!
friends in the Ninth Congressional District for Tennessee. From what I was told by people I trust, this type bigotry was rampant in 2006 during the Ford/Corker contest. Many of the worst offenders were Ford family members or associates. Since the Tennessee media favored Ford, very little was reported about the race to fill his House seat. I have to wonder if the absence of a statewide race with a media darling down there may not lead to more focus on this cesspool of hate and intolerance.
I also agree with the above poster that if such a noxious thing has to happen, the fact Steve Cohen is the focus is a bit of karma. He and his left-wing views deserve ample scorn, but certainly not due to his race and religion.
When I lived there, the joke was there were two political classes--Fords and the convicted, and the latter meant the former hadn't been indicted yet.
would he want to represent a district that will throw him away b/c of the color of his skin and why would he want to associate or be involved with those who will work so hard to defeat him, even though he is a member of their own party, b/c of the color of his skin. Must be a masochist.
"Glory is not a conceit. It is not a decoration for valor. Glory belongs to the act of being constant to something greater than yourself, to a cause, to your principles, to the people on whom you rely and who rely on you in return."-Senator John Mc