Homophobic Comments From Jeff Flake’s Son Reflect GOP’s Isolation
by Jamelle Bouie Jun 14, 2013 12:14 PM EDT
Tanner Flake’s homophobic remarks are what can result when a racially homogeneous life leads to isolation and a blinkered worldview. That’s also a fair diagnosis for today’s Republican Party, says Jamelle Bouie.
In general, the children of public figures are off-limits. But with the recent remarks from Tanner Flake, son of Sen. Jeff Flake (R–Arizona), it’s worth relaxing that rule for a moment
First, the details. On Wednesday, BuzzFeed’s John Stanton uncovered the Twitter feed of Senator Flake’s 15-year-old, Tanner, who used the social-networking service to threaten the “faggot” who stole his bike and broadcast his scores in an online game, where he went by the moniker of “n1ggerkiller.” His comments on YouTube contained similar language, calling Mexicans the “scum of the earth.”
Senator Flake has issued an apology on behalf of his son, saying: “I’m very disappointed in my teenage son’s words, and I sincerely apologize for the insensitivity. This language is unacceptable, anywhere. Needless to say, I’ve already spoken with him about this, he has apologized, and I apologize as well.” There’s no reason to think that apology isn’t sincere or that Flake is somehow responsible for his son’s comments.
What we do know, however, is that when he was a member of the House, Flake represented, and lived in, an area that was overwhelmingly entirely white, 76.6 percent white, according to the latest release from the Census Bureau. In all likelihood, and like many other Americans, he lives a racially homogeneous personal and professional life.
For many people—including Senator Flake, I think—that doesn’t preclude an ability to see and empathize with the experiences of people with different racial, ethnic, and religious backgrounds. For others, it does, and Tanner Flake’s comments are what it looks like when homogeneity leads to isolation, lack of compassion, and a blinkered view of the world.
full article
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/06/14/homophobic-comments-from-jeff-flake-s-son-reflect-gop-s-isolation.html
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That kid CLEARLY was in an on-going, predominant environment where that shit was flung around with no apologies. It was evidently common enough, and he heard it often enough, and from enough of his friends and peers and possibly also the parents of his friends and peers, so he just absorbed it. Pretty obvious that's what was around him often enough for him to take notice. Obviously that behavior was not corrected by his parents, or isolated, or described in any way as offensive or something one must not do, or things one must not say, or ideas that one must not embrace. There was clearly no effort to correct this kind of bad behavior when that kid was younger and more impressionable and more open to instruction and guidance. Now, that shit is set. It's been allowed to dry and harden and the stain of it allowed to sink in.
Happy Fathers Day, flake - you ASSHOLE. Piss-poor job YOU did as a parent! We all have the evidence of the shit job you did, don't we?
