Tuesday, May 01, 2007

Respect and it's limits

Last November during the Ellison campaign/coronation, just about any criticism of the man was dismissed as anti-muslim bigotry. More recently, the Twin Cities have been the frontline of a debate on religious accomadation as cab drivers have refused fares that might offend their principles and checkers at Target have refused to scan pork products. We are urged to understand and respect religous differences.
Meanwhile, it's hard to drive in my neighborhood without stopping behind a car with a bumper sticker ridiculing Christians. The Darwin fish is probably the most popular, of course, because making fun of people's creation beliefs is always good for a laugh. I'm sure most of these cars just haven't gotten around to getting something that explains that Gaia spirit thing isn't really grounded in science either.
This outstanding post from Ken Jennings brought all of this to mind for me. He's writing about the recent uprising in Mormon ridicule that goes along with the Romney bid. Excerpt:
After you get off a particularly good zinger at those gullible Mormons, try recasting your sentence so it refers to “those gullible Jews” or “…Catholics” or “…Muslims.” If, Wonkette, you think Mormon temple garments should be called “magic underwear” throughout your post, try substituting “magic beanie” for “yarmulke” or “magic Nilla wafer” for “Communion host” in a similar context and considering whether that’s journalism, or whether that’s even funny anymore. If you’re horrified by the result, it’s because bigotry is bigotry, no matter the target.
And I couldn't agree more. What bothers me is that the tempo of this will only increase as the election season continues. People who preach understanding will take cheap shots at someone because of their 'weird' beliefs. Hyporcrites, and classless hypocrites at that.

2 comments:

Sarita said...

When I think Mormon, I think white, middle class. I may be wrong, but it's a common perception, and that puts Mormons in the minority of the majority category.

Check out this commentary from the Strib today. Peter Moore puts it better than I could.

IMO, rule #3 applies pretty well here.

Peder said...

The problem with the idea that stereotypes about the majority is ok, is that everyone is a minority. Each individual is a minority of one. The whole 'ruling class is fair game' argument only creates double standards that in turn create more friction. For instance, I truly believe that race relations in this country would be better if everyone (white, black, etc.) try to live up to the MLK dream of character, not color. Instead we've got the blight of identity politics and all of the division that creates.