A nation of George Allens - Democratic Underground

BobcatJH

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Tue Aug-15-06 12:14 PM
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A nation of George Allens

Hey, everyone, did you hear? A Republican put his foot in his mouth, coming out of the closet as the racist most had suspected him to be. He knowingly ridiculed someone's ethnicity and did so to the pleasure of his monochromatic audience. Then, in true Republican fashion, both he and his people tried to extract themselves from the embarrassment of his own creation. And, though his ham-fisted excuses and half-hearted apologies centered around his ignorance, reality would indicate otherwise. The racism was raw, captured on tape, there for all to see. But what will come of it?

Sure, George Allen drew attention to his tight senate race for all the wrong reasons, but his actions only represent the latest in a long line of examples of life in Republican America. The America that, thanks to President Bush, his party and their post-September 11 stewardship, has allowed racism to not only fester, but also to prosper. What once got you branded as an extremist now earns you elected office. What once was whispered in smokey backrooms and private living rooms now gets shouted for thousands to hear. A nation above which the Stars & Stripes once flew now appears to be living under the Stars & Bars.

Think of the hostile environment this president has helped foment. Since September 11, America's de facto enemies have been Muslims. And when people from the president* on down refer to our so-called adversaries as "Islamic fascists" long enough, the results are obvious. A recent Gallup poll indicates that those of the Muslim faith in America have yet to see the worst of things. Nearly a quarter of those in this country (22 percent) would prefer not to have a Muslim as a neighbor. What's more, 34 percent think Muslims living in the United States are supportive of al Qaeda. Only 49 percent think them loyal to America. Four-in-ten consider their religious views too "extreme", while 39 percent admit to harboring a prejudice against Muslims. And, as evidence in our continued slide toward a very dark future, that same number - 39 percent - suggest that Muslims in America carry special identification.

As the rhetoric coming from the Republican Party and its surrogates intensifies, so, too, does the dangerous atmosphere in America for minorities, especially Muslims. Take, for instance, the recent incident in Maryland, where a man protested in front of the house of a Muslim candidate for the state's House of Delegates. The man, Timothy Truett, "sat in a folding chair Saturday on the cul-de-sac outside Saqib Ali's home in Gaithersburg with a sign reading 'Islam sucks,' and a shirt with the slogan, 'This mind is an Allah-free zone.'" Later, Truett referred to his actions as "an experiment". "I had heard that Muslims were generally intolerant of views other than their own," he said, "and so I thought I would put it to the test." I wonder where Truett would have heard such a thing? From which group of people, I wonder, would such a thought come? Hmm ...

Perhaps it was from Ann Coulter, who has referred to Muslims as "ragheads" and once said, "We should invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity." Perhaps it was from Glenn Beck, who, on his television show, asked, "Why did God put all of the oil under dirtbag countries?" Perhaps it was from Neal Boortz, who said Islam was a "religion of vicious, violent, bloodthirsty cretins" and called Muhammad a "phony rag-picker". Perhaps it was from Bo Dietl who said, on Fox, that Islam "is a Johnny-come-lately religion" and that "I think we should reevaluate people who pray to someone who wants to kill you." Perhaps it was from Pat Robertson, who called Islam a "bloody, bloody, brutal type of religion". Perhaps it was from ... Get the picture? It appears a mindless dope like Truett did.

Here's the thing: Where does it stop? Seriously, not only would I like to know when will it stop, but I'd also like to know where does it stop? We already live in a country where you can call for someone's death without repercussions. We already live in a country where you can physically assault your intellectual adversaries without many people thinking twice. Sure, we find ourselves scolding Allen for his comments and those of other bigots like him. But how long until we find ourselves dealing with the consequences of living in an America shaped by the comments of Allen and the attitudes of so many others, all emboldened by this president? How long until something far more drastic happens? How long until the right-wing pundits of the world aren't excusing wrong-headed comments, but are instead excusing physical violence? Or murder? As a society, we've gotten very good at shifting the goalposts of what, in terms of such prejudice, we excuse. So do you want to know what, to me, was the worst aspect of Allen's Mel Gibson moment? Other, of course, than it happened in the first place? Or that people continue to vote for racist bozos like the senator? No, neither of those represented the most disappointing part of this whole affair. What was? That I wasn't surprised. At all. I'm sure you weren't, either. And that's sad.

* President Bush uses the phrase "Islamic fascists", yet he didn't know the difference between Sunnis and Shiites on the eve of the Iraq war.