This latest kerfuffle involving Paul Deen and the ubiquitous “N-Word” is a study in hypocrisy. Our feigned outrage over an old white lady from the deep South admitting during a deposition that at some point in her life, she’d referred to a Black person as a nigger, pushes the bounds of my patience to its point of breaking! Really??? The attorney might as well have asked her if she’d ever farted?
Lets be real for a moment. Is there any white person born and raised in the United States of America who can truthfully say, they’ve never in their entire life uttered the word “nigger?” If a white person reading this can truthfully make this claim, please send me an e-mail. I would dearly like to talk to you and learn the details of your upbringing.
Don’t get me wrong. In my youth, I integrated sever all white schools out on the west coast. It was my policy to beat the ass of any white person who called me a nigger. I once chased one little white boy six blocks, dragged him back out of his house and whipped his ass right in front of his mother and screaming sister. It is a word that should not be used.
Since then, I’ve had several white people who felt comfortable enough with me to ask the question so near and dear to most of their hearts. To wit: “We hear Black people using that word… why can’t we?” My response? “You can… However, if I have one of my blackouts and come to stomping on your neck… you will forgive me won’t you?” That usually settles the matter.
All of this having been said, the facts of the matter are these. Mrs. Deen comes from an era and a geographic location where she was raised around people, and by people for whom that type of terminology was the norm. Who was going to sit her down in her youth and teach her that referring to Black people in that manner was wrong? Is how a child is raised the child’s fault or the parents fault? I do give Mrs. Deen credit for becoming more aware of right, wrong and what is acceptable in a civilized, multicultural society.
Eclipsing The Real Issue
The reason Paula Deen was being deposed had to do with a discrimination law suit involving an employee of color who has alleged racist behavior and abuse. Did it happen? I have no idea. However, I’ve been around the block enough times to know that just because someone alleges something in a law suit, doesn’t make it so. That is why we have trials and the presentation of evidence. Conversely, merely because someone uses the word “Y’all,” speaks with a southern drawl and admits to having used the word “nigger” in the past, doesn’t mean that they’ve treated an employee in a discriminatory manner. Let’s wait for the trial.
A Study In Hypocrisy
As of today, the Food Network has fired Paula Deen because she told the truth under oath and answered a question which might not have been allowed in open court for being overly broad and irrelevant. The rules for depositions are a lot more flexible. In court the only way an attorney could ask such a question would be if Paula Deen stated that she didn’t use that word. Then the question of whether or not she had ever used that word would become relevant.
Suppose the same question were posed to the attorney who asked it? What would he or she have said? Suppose that question were posed to the judge? What would she or he say? If every white person who has ever used the word nigger – in life – were taken off the air tomorrow, we’d be watching a blank screen and listening to a test tone.
Addendum
When use of the “N-Word,” becomes the litmus test for racism, then ardent racist like Rush Limbaugh can claim to be non-racist because no one has yet to come forward to out him for having said it. White people who are comfortable with their separatist attitudes – many don’t realize they have them – are quick to seize on use of the “N-Word” as being the litmus test. “So long as I don’t say that word, I’m not a racist!” Thus they can support all manner of racist positions. The President is Kenyan. He wasn’t born here. He’s un-American, our economic woes are due to minorities on welfare… on and on.
Paula Deen – bless her soul – simply doesn’t get it. In truth, because of her history and upbringing, she may well be incapable of ever getting it. She’s not the problem. You can see her coming from a “Y’all” away. The problem is the corporate bigwigs that run corporations like the Food Network. They’re racist to their core. When Paula Deen started talking about the beauty of an “Old Southern Wedding” served by Black people dressed as Slaves, they should have cut ties with her back then. They might have said that her views were inconsistent with the audience they were trying to build and attract. They did not. They were comfortable chalking it up to her eccentricities. Why? Because for them, the litmus test for racism is use of the “N-Word.”
A white banker doesn’t have to call a black person applying for a loan a “nigger.” All he has to do is make sure he gets his loan at a higher interest rate. An insurance company doesn’t have to call a Black person a “nigger,” all they have to do is determine where minority communities are located and designate those areas for higher insurance rates. The company a Black person works for doesn’t have to call them a “nigger.” All they have to do is pay them less than the white person working beside them doing the exact same job. When we allow use of the “N-Word” to become the litmus test for racism, we are deluding ourselves about reality and the way the world works.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, an interesting phenomena has been observed. Something of a shark feeding frenzy has been occurring amongst Republicans.
Those Republicans who’s districts are located along the Atlantic seaboard, where hurricane Sandy did most of it’s devastation, are suddenly coming face to face with the consequences of their own policies and rhetoric. Who are they at war with? Interestingly enough, their fellow Republicans!
The TEA Party
If we’re going to be honest and objective, the Republican philosophy has been proven to be a farce for years now. It is one of the most dramatic examples of false advertising imaginable. What are the primary planks of the Republican platform? I’m sure you know them. These are the things that come immediately to mind when you think “Republican.”
Smaller Government.
Strong National Defence.
Lower Taxes.
Self-Reliance/Independence/Personal Liberty.
You might be able to add one or two more, however they’re going to be in this same vein. When you look at the history of Republican administrations from the 50’s to now, what you see is nothing of the sort. Consider the national debt. Does it go up or down under fiscally conservative Republican Administrations?
The Inconvenient Truth
You might be surprised to know it goes up dramatically under the Republicans. While they are talking East, they’re walking West. How did Ronald Reagan defeat the Soviet Union? He spent them into oblivion. They simply could not match our spending and in trying to do so, they ruined their economy forcing their breakup. Is the world safer for having them gone? Simple question: Who now is controlling and monitoring all their nuclear weapons?
President Obama is the most frugal President we’ve had in modern history
Is President Obama the biggest spender in the history of our nation? The thing about statistics is, figures lie and liars figure and sometimes it is difficult to tell who is doing which. Republicans like to simply take the raw numbers out of context. They forget that President Obama is dealing with a much higher GDP and he’s also dealing with a debt that his predecessor – “Lord Voldemort or He Who Shall Not Be Named” – ran up. Thus, by simply paying on the debt already in existence, his spending is going to be – by the pure numbers – higher. However, when you compare his numbers to the rest of the economy and look at the adjusted and thus more correct big picture, it turns out that President Obama may be the most frugal President we’ve had in modern history.
Sometimes a dog will turn on it’s master.
This fact has not been lost on the American voting public. In an effort to generate enthusiasm, energy and new blood into the foundering Republican Party, they formed an unholy alliance with the TEA Party. These misguided souls, mostly racist running under the banner of people angry about paying too much in taxes, are like an attack dog. People seem to enjoy owning an attack dog. The concept of having an ever vigilant ally on one’s side seems comforting. But what happens when your dog turns on you?
Hurricane Sandy And Republican Hypocrisy
New York Republican Representative Peter King is livid.
This past week, Congressman Peter King of New York took to the airwaves to deliver one of the most scathing rebukes I’ve heard, to the Republican Party. What makes this so unusual? Rep. Peter King is himself a Republican. Within 10 days of Hurricane Katrina, the House voted to appropriate 60 billion dollars in relief and rebuilding aid for the stricken Gulf Coast. It has been 9 weeks and they haven’t appropriated a cent to aid the Atlantic seaboard. Frankly? I do not blame him! This shouldn’t be about politics. There are over 517,000 people who have had their lives devastated. Many have lost everything. You can have insurance, but what happens when the insurance company runs out of money? What happens when you cannot get building supplies to your lot to rebuild your home because the roads are impassable? Each day that goes by, the damage is compounded. If you’ve ever experienced a basement flood, you know that getting the water pumped out and the basement dried as quickly as possible is of paramount importance. It doesn’t take mold long to grow. Once mold sets in, you’ve got to start tearing out walls.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie – the presumed Republican Presidential nominee for 2016 – also had quite a lot to say. What made his comments so Earth shattering was the fact he was the keynote speaker at the most recent RNC convention. He is considered the “working man’s blue collar Republican Champion.” Caustic, bombastic and extremely “real,” truth be told, Hell! I don’t know that I wouldn’t vote for him if I lived in New Jersey. I would rather have someone with whom I disagreed with on some issues but whom I knew was doing the best job for the welfare of my State. When Chris Christie called out the Republican House and John Boehner, it got people’s attention and rightly so! Why? Because the needs of American citizens who through no fault of their own, were being thrown under the bus in the name of Republican and TEA Party ideology.
America Is An Idea – Nothing More
Quite often we become confused with borders, State and Federal and we think our geography is what defines us. We are not a homogeneous society defined by ethnicity like China or Japan. You cannot look at someone walking on our streets, note their ethnicity or how they’re dressed and conclude that they are or are not American citizens.
What makes us American is we all believe in the idea of America. “Out of many one.” From California to New York, from North Dakota to Mississippi, from Texas to Maine, we all consider ourselves one nation. When trouble rises or disasters strike, historically we all have pulled together as Americans… until now. When the events of September 11, 2001 happened, we didn’t say, “bummer! Too bad about New York.” We felt that we all had been attacked. We were ready to go to war… with somebody… anybody… turns out that’s just what we did.
Republican Hypocrisy
Pork is always something benefiting someone else’s district.
The definition of “Pork” in a congressional bill is anything that doesn’t directly benefit your State and your constituents. The same Republicans from the Atlantic seaboard who have decried wasteful government spending and who have demanded that there be cuts and offsets for every dollar spent, are now facing their Republican counterparts from States who were not affected by Hurricane Sandy. It’s a case of political Karma. How does it feel? It’s like being in the “Emergency Room” bleeding to death and before the doctor will operate to stop the bleeding and save your life, he pulls up a chair and begins discussing who your insurance carrier is and wants to check if you’re paid up on your premiums.
Crazy as a Mad Hatter.
Is this what the TEA Party has brought us to? We will either stand together or hang separately. The TEA Party mentality is exactly the same as that of the Southern Secessionists. The bloodiest war in our history was fought to lay that idea to rest. Many of these States who’s representatives promote these ideas are also the very States first in line with their hands outstretched seeking Federal aid. While Governor Rick Perry was making political points with his base talking about Texas seceding from the Union, wildfires were burning across his State. He was at the front of the line asking President Obama for Federal aid for his State. Like a rabid dog, he was busy biting the hand that feeds him while whining for more food.
It is time we say, enough is enough and get rid of our current crop of Republicans. No, you cannot make the “false equivalence” argument and try and claim that the Democrats do the same thing. They don’t. It is time to belly up to the bar, call a spade a spade and hold accountable the Party who is busily engaged in destroying our homeland. It is time to call Republicans on their hypocrisy. America will exist only as long as it’s citizens embrace the idea of America. That idea is under all out assault by the wing nuts in the Republican Party.
First let me say by way of disclaimer, I am a devout Agnostic. You might say, “then you have no dog in this fight?” In one sense, that would be true. However although I do not subscribe to any system of belief, I live in a country where those in government not only do subscribe to systems of belief, but invite us to form opinions regarding their integrity and fitness for office based on their particular brand of faith. Since we are invited to use their professions of faith as a measuring stick for their fitness to lead us, it is only fair that we oblige them and examine, not only their beliefs, but how ardently they adhere to those beliefs. Likewise when people with the title of Evangelist share their faith with us, it is not beyond the pale to observe and examine their actions to determine if they actually believe in what they’re selling.
When Racism Trumps Christian Faith
Strange Bed Fellows Indeed
This past week “Evangelist to the Presidents,” Billy Graham and the heir to his ministry, Franklin Graham sat down with Governor Willard Mitt Romney. Mr. Romney is running for the office of President of these United States, so on the surface there is nothing strange or unusual about their meeting. Indeed the 93 year old Rev. Graham has met with every President since Eisenhower. What is unusual is what happened following that meeting.
On Rev. Graham’s website at that time there was a list of religious groups he considered to be “cults.” Mormonism was on that list along with Jehovah’s Witnesses, The Church of Scientology and others. Following that meeting, Mormonism was removed from that list. Why? What happened? What changed? When things seem unusual, it is often best to dig a little deeper. First, we need to take a step back and get a perspective on some things.
Moses Brings Down the Ten Commandments
Christianity has been a “no compromise” religion. If you trace it back through it’s roots in Judaism, the Christian God wrecked genocide on groups of people who did not believe in or worship him. The Old Testament of the Bible is rife with wars of aggression being waged against people for whom there was precious little mentioned in the way of provocation. You must remember, if you believe the whole “10 Commandments” thing with Moses, a mountain and God, the “10 Commandments” were given to the Jews, not the rest of the world. Thus, to punish people for not living up to a law they were never given in the first place, seems a bit peculiar does it not?
The Walls of Jericho Coming Down
It would be sort of like driving through a town in your shiny black truck, being stopped by the police, pulled out of your truck and then summarily shot! Why? Because driving a black colored vehicle is a crime punishable by immediate death in the town you’re driving through. Might have been nice to have known that before hand wouldn’t it? Remember the famous battle of Jericho? You know? Probably heard about it in Sunday School? People marched, trumpets blew, walls came crashing down, slaughter ensued… What did those people ever do to deserve what happened to them? If we’re going by the Biblical accounts, not a thing.
The Crusades
Saladin
Fast forward in time to the “Middle Ages.” You have the Crusades. If you drill down an actually analyze the issues, Saladin the Muslim Sultan of Egypt and Syria was an admirable person. He had no problem with Christian pilgrims coming to the “Holy Lands.” The problem was, the Roman Catholic Church simply could not abide the fact that Jerusalem was being controlled and run by people who were not Christian. Never mind the fact that the sites they considered holy were not being defiled but were equally revered by the Muslims. They had to go to war. Thousands of innocent people – civilians if you please – lost their lives for no good purpose. The wounds inflicted during the “Crusades” still haunt us today and influence the relationship between Islam and the West. Why all the bloodshed? Muslims believed differently than Christians. Same God. Same patriarchs but a different spin on things. Christians, Jews and Muslims all claim to worship the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Odd that with so much in common, they simply cannot get along.
Thirty Years War
European Involvement in Thirty Years War
Fast forward again to the “Pre-Colonial” period. One of the longest lasting and most destructive wars in recorded history was what is known as the “Thirty Years War.” This was a war between Catholics and Protestants. It involved most of Europe at one time or another. Again, same God, same basic beliefs, but because one group had a different spin on things, they had to go to war and people had to die. The cost in lives and resources was tremendous.
Indeed, all the denominations we have today, your Baptist, Methodist, Episcopalian, Lutheran, all of them Protestants, could be said to have had their genesis in the “Thirty Years War.” It was this war that helped to solidify the lines as it were and the differences between these groups. The question I continually ask is, “how can all these people, reading from the same book, the “Holy Bible,” all come away with something different?
Mormonism
[KJV] Galatians 1:8
But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.
No, these are not really them. This is an artists depiction of what they might have looked like had they actually existed.
Mormonism in the grand scheme of things is a brand new man made religion with little to no basis in reality. It lacks the historical context that the other religions point to. Other religions regardless of how they interpret the archaeological data, at least have archaeological data they can point to. Mormonism does not. Those “Golden Tablets” supposedly delivered to Joseph Smith by the “Angel Moroni?” Well, supposedly they were taken back to heaven. Thus, they don’t exist. Even before they were magically transported back to heaven, you couldn’t see them if you were not a truebeliever. I don’t mean they wouldn’t let you see them. I mean you could be looking directly into the box they were supposed to by lying in. Only those who trulybelieved could see them. A delusion induced hallucination by any other name.
Mythical Battle Between the Lamanites and the Nephites
There is no archaeological evidence for any of the supposed battles claimed to have occurred between the “Lamanites and the Nephites.” No weapons, arrowheads, swords, shields all the things that we find from the sites of battles many thousands of years more remote in their historical context. What’s worse is, the science of DNA disproves the seminal Mormon claim that the Native Americans are actually descendants of lost tribes of Jews. Of course, Joseph Smith didn’t know about DNA or the science of genetics when he was making up his religion. Who did back at that time? He had absolutely no idea that a time would come when with just a simple cheek swab, we could pinpoint a person’s ancestry to almost any point on the globe. Not only that, but using DNA you can pull out all the different ethnic contributions that make up who you are.
We know that this never happened
The bottom line? The Native Americans are in no way, nor have they ever been related to Semitic people. Thus, they’re not some lost tribe of Jews. Of course, one never asks, how exactly do you lose a tribe of people? Has this put the lie to Mormonism? Of course not! Some people simply do not want to be confused with facts. When it comes to Judaism, Christianity and to some extent Islam, much of their lore is simply uncheckable. Can we prove that Abraham existed? No we cannot. We also cannot prove that he did not exist. Science and archaeological evidence strongly suggests it is all a myth, however the events occurred so far back in time that we can never be absolutely certain as to what happened.
Tom Green – Mormon Polygamist with his five wives
Unfortunately for Mormonism, this is not the case. We actually have the records of Joseph Smith’s run-ins with the law on fraud charges. We have records of how he actually died in a gun battle trying to escape from being lynched in jail. We have records of his numerous infidelities with the wives of other men. How surprising that the religion he founds has as one of it’s primary tenets of faith, polygamy. In fact to become a God with your very own planet to rule, you had to take many wives. The more the merrier as they say.
Irreconcilable Differences
The differences between Mormonism and orthodox Christian teachings, is simply staggering. Put another way, wars have been fought and thousands of people have died over disputes in theology that look specious by comparison. Christians teach that Jesus is the only begotten son of God.Mormons teachthat not only did God have other sons, Jesus and Lucifer are in fact brothers. Thus all humanity is caught up in a family dispute over a difference of opinions.
Poor Joseph, God would have been a hard act to follow.
Christianity teaches that God is a spirit and those who worship him, worship him in spirit and in truth. Mormonism teaches that God has a physical body with which he enjoys endless celestial sex with his numerous wives. Christianity teaches that Jesus was born of the “Virgin Mary” who conceived through a move of the “Holy Spirit.” Mormonism teaches that God – Elohim – came down in a physical body and had sex with Mary. Of course, if she were a virgin, she wouldn’t have been after that.
Had Joseph Smith been around during the Inquisition his theology would have received a warm reception.
The most staggering problem with Mormonism and in essence, what ought to be the deal breaker for even serious consideration as a religion is this fundamental error in logic. According to Mormonism, Elohim was born a human being to as yet unknown, unnamed parents who were of course gods. Elohim was elevated to God status following his death because of his adherence to the teachings of Mormonism.Did you catch that? How could Elohim the supposed creator of this Universe and this planet have followed the teachings of Mormonism when Joseph Smith had not been born and of course had yet to invent Mormonism? You say it was given to him by the angel Moroni? Where did Moroni get it? The whole scam… er, schemefalls apart with the application of a few very simple questions. Had Joseph Smith lived during the time of the Inquisition – damn shame he didn’t – he would have been summarily burned at the stake.
When Racism Trumps Christian Faith
“In the face of a common foe, traditional enemies will unite.”
So what on earth could have bridged the gap between Christianity and Mormonism? Who could have brought these two diametrically opposed theologies together? Who is the “unite-er and not the divider?” Who on this planet has the power to upend 2,000 years of Christian beliefs? Beliefs held so strongly that people have been willing to die for them? Whom could possibly do this?
President Barack Hussein Obama 44th President of the United States
There is but one man on this planet with the power to perform such a miracle. His name? President Barack Hussein Obama. Yes, his very presence, his very existence has caused racist white people so much distraught that possibly for the first time in recorded history, they’ve stopped fighting one another over the basis of their theological differences and have come together in unity to fight against the very thought of our first Black President having a second term in office. This phenomenon is one that should be studied for years to come. It should be of interest to political science students and theologians as well. When you look back over recorded history and realize how many wars have been fought and blood spilt over such minor issues as to whether or not one group had their baptismal formula correct or whether or not one needed to be fully immersed in water or simply have water poured over one’s head.
“I am not at all bothered by the fact that Mitt Romney is a Mormon.”
The history of religion has been fraught with one war after the other over what a disinterested 3rd party would consider minor points of doctrine. After all, they all read from the same book, believe in the same God, who cares what comes first in a worship service? This is what makes these current events so damn miraculous! The differences between Mormon theology and Christian theology are not at all small. They’re huge! So, when Franklin Graham says he’s not at all bothered by the fact that Mitt Romney is a Mormon, there must be something else, some power working behind the scenes that can warp the very fabric of theological reality.
Racism
Racism has always been a part of Christianity
Our first clue to this mystery probably has to do with the fact that in spite of the fact that President Obama spent over 20 years in a Christian church, was baptized, there, married there, had his daughters Christened there, a portion of this nation still believes him to be a Muslim. In point of fact, there would be nothingwrong with him being a Muslim, but why do they insist on making him something he is not?
Islam is considered by many white people to be a religion for dark skinned people. Thus if they’re already racist, it carries a connotation when mentioned.
Islam is considered to be a religion for and of dark skinned people. When you say the word Muslim, in many white people’s minds, the word “Black” is inserted in front of it. Thus, Muslim becomes “Black Muslim.” The reality is, people of allraces practice the Islamic faith. However, to know this, you’d actually have to study a bit and become familiar with what Islam is. There are approximately 1.6 billion Muslims in the world today. You would think with that many people practicing a system of belief, you might want to know a little about what it is they believe.
Christian pilgrims participating in a group baptismal ritual in the river Jordan. Of course they’re white people, but as with Muslims, they could have well been any race of people.
There are a little over 2 billion Christians in the world. The difference in those numbers is actually negligible in the grand scheme of things. When you have a billion people on the planet who think anythingis important, it might be a good idea to become familiar with it. It is not so much what we say, not so much what people hear, the important things is what happens in their minds when they’re processing our words. Just as Islam is considered to be a religion practiced by dark skinned people, so too is Christianity considered to be the religion of white people. If I say to you, “he’s a good Christian man” when describing someone to you whom you’ve never met, what image pops into your mind? What race of person are you seeing? By the same token, if I were to describe someone as a good practicing Muslim, what image pops into your head? What is the race of the person you’re imagining?
Mormonism
Mormon Missionaries
The same is particularly true for Mormonism. If I told you to pick the Mormon out of a crowd, you would begin looking for a white person. Believe it or not, there are Black Mormons, nevertheless when you think of Mormons you do not consider Black people as being Mormon. The perception of a Mormon is a white male with no facial hair, wearing a white shirt, black slacks and a neck tie. If we were going to go all in on the stereotype, you’d be looking for a bicycle nearby. This is the image many people have of Mormons. At some point you were presented with it, probably can’t remember when or where and it’s been reinforced over time. Thus when you hear the word Mormons, that memory is automatically triggered.
Mormon Sister Wives
Of course there is the other popular image and that is of a group of women – “sister wives” – all with their hair similarly arranged, uncut, wearing shapeless, straight dresses that could easily be made at home. These are images which automatically come to mind whenever we’re presented with certain triggers. Is this true? Is this factual? It doesn’t matter. We operate from our perceptions. Racism flows from our perceptions. Our perceptions is where latent and often overt racism resides.
When Franklin Graham opines that President Obama may secretly be a Muslim, on what does he base his opinion? President Obama is rather fond of beer. Muslims like Mormons abstain from alcoholic beverages. President Obama is married to only one woman and has only been married to one woman. Many Muslims around the world just as do many Mormons, practice polygamy. President Obama believes the same gospel Franklin’s father has been preaching for over 63 years. Mitt Romney does not. Yet we now find these two as the strangest of bed fellows. Why?
It is clear that racial hatred long buried and obscured by the façade of Christianity has revealed it’s self at last. For your racial hatred to be so strong it will allow you to embrace with open arms what heretofore on your own website you called a cult. It must be strong indeed. Let’s be clear. Prior to this unholy alliance, had you asked either of the Grahams if there would be any Mormons in heaven, without hesitation they would of told you unequivocally no!Further they would have told you that anyone teaching the false gospel of Mormonism was leading people straight to hell and imperilling their immortal souls. If this is suddenly no longer true, then perhaps we ought to question the entire gospel the Grahams have been preaching all these years. Were they only in it for the money?
If you want to know what Mormons believe and teach, watch the following video presentation prepared by ex-Mormons based on their own documentation. If after watching this you conclude that people who sincerely believe the Christian message as outlined in the Bible, can embrace Mormonism as just another branch or denomination of the Christian faith, then all bets are off and we need to dispense with the Bible because it’s become meaningless psycho-babble.
by Benjamin T. Moore, Jr.
