Posts Tagged ‘intolerance’
I hope some day this won’t be worth reporting
One way we’ll know that we’ve conquered intolerance and racism is when groups of different races gathering together is no longer newsworthy.
One of the most hateful thoughts in human history is the notion that one group of people has more inherent worth than another. Centuries have been wasted perpetuating that thought. If we’re going to face all of the differences that divide us, we need to start spending time together with people who are different from us, even people with whom we disagree. That’s the only way we’ll ever learn that we’re not that different after all.
Tags: civil rights, Corinthian Baptist Church, First Unitarian Universalist Church, intolerance, martin luther king, mlk, nashville, politics, racism, tennessee, wsmv-tv
Compassion: It’s almost as exhausting as the alternative
- While the rest of us routinely suffer from “compassion fatigue,” Virginia Trimble Ritter finds a way to forgive a murderer. That’s a remarkable and inspiring example.
- Speaking of compassion, Clarksville mayor Johnny Piper could use a little more right now. Most Muslims aren’t violent, hateful people, and neither are most Christians.
- On the subject of fatigue, Vandy’s nonstop football schedule may be tiring, but it may also be beneficial. A team that has struggled mightily with consistency, despite its recent success, may fare better without bye weeks to stall its momentum.
- College hijinks aren’t just for drunks anymore. This story sounds strange enough until you consider that these students were actually sober the entire time. Now that’s weird.
Tags: barack obama, campus crusade for christ, clarksville, college football, compassion, forgiveness, intolerance, islam, jerome barrett, johnny piper, knoxville, marcia trimble, nashville, tennessee, vanderbilt, virginia trimble ritter
Is English Only the new black?
The LPGA is getting into the intolerance act by requiring its golfers to communicate only in English. It may or may not have the intended effect:
Effectively what the LPGA is doing by implementing this policy is buying a lawsuit. Because it will be challenged and it will take forever to wind through the court system. The players who are challenging the ruling will probably receive an injunction which allows them to continue on tour until the policy runs the course in the legal system. After every court ruling the same headlines will recur, the same issues will be discussed, and the same bad publicity will ensue. Eventually, after six or seven years, the LPGA’s policy will be deemed legal or illegal. (See Martin, Casey). Is this contentious path really worth it to the LPGA?
Predictably, the LPGA is already backpedaling from their public relations mess. Noting that their attorney’s vetted the proposal before it was announced. Which is always the refuge of the idiots. Because the LPGA’s policy may very well be legal. The LPGA’s true issue isn’t with the legality of the proposed policy, but with the public reaction to that policy. Just because something is legal doesn’t mean it’s smart.
I originally picked the headline for this post as a parody of the tired fashion expression, “pink is the new black.” The idea had nothing to do with race, but then I realized the unintended pun I had created by using the word “black.” (All of my funniest puns are unplanned.) Maybe there’s truth in that play on words, though: Is racism being replaced by cultural discrimination? It’s starting to seem that way.
Tags: discrimination, english only, immigration, intolerance, LPGA, nashville, politics, racism
Intolerance must not be silenced
So say the backers of English Only:
Attorneys supporting English Only will file a lawsuit in Chancery Court this afternoon challenging the Davidson County Election Commission’s vote to keep the charter amendment off the November ballot. Jonathan Crisp, an English Only supporter, said attorney Jim Roberts planned to file today and would seek an expedited ruling so the proposed charter amendment could still appear on the Nov. 4 ballot … Crisp vowed to take the legal challenge to the Tennessee Supreme Court if necessary.
Imagine what English Only supporters might accomplish if they directed their time, energy and money toward positive outcomes, such as outreach to immigrants regarding the benefits of learning English and developing ways that make it easier for them to do so. What a novel concept: Welcoming people to our community rather than kicking them in the teeth for having the gall to choose to live in Nashville.
Tags: english only, eric crafton, immigration, intolerance, jon crisp, nashville, politics
English Only off the ballot, for now
It may be a technicality, and it may be short-lived, but anything that makes English Only less likely to become law is a good thing, in my opinion:
[Metro legal director Sue] Cain’s Monday ruling said petition-driven charter amendments can only be submitted every two years. Cain’s ruling interprets the word “submitted” to mean when the voters weigh in on the proposed charter amendment. Davidson County voters approved the charter amendment requiring voter approval for property tax increases on Nov. 7, 2006. The English Only amendment proposal would be on the Nov. 4 ballot, which according to Cain means it falls short of the two-year waiting period by three days.
Maybe this will buy time for a stronger opposition to what I think is shortsighted and intolerant legislation that will do little else beyond serving as a lightning rod, and maybe it will energize an apathetic electorate. I’m not really sure, but I’m glad that, at least for now, this wrongheaded amendment will not be on the ballot this November.
Tags: election, english only, eric crafton, immigration, intolerance, nashville, nashville post, politics
