Clipmarks | AtlLiberal's 'prejudice' clips

Those Damn Liberals

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 18:08:43 GMT

clipped by: AtlLiberal
clipper's remarks: Intolerance, hate, prejudice. Still alive and very active in large portions of the US. Incidents like this remind us to never become complacent and assume that actions like this are rare or isolated. Almost 8,000 hate crimes in 2006. And according to the Southern Poverty Law Center they are on the rise.

Clip Source: www.commondreams.org

Tennessee Man Cites Church’s Liberal Values As Reason For Shooting

According to a four-page manifesto police found in his SUV in the church parking lot, Adkisson believed the church to be a bastion of liberalism in an otherwise socially conservative area of eastern Tennessee.

“That church had received some publicity in the recent past regarding its liberal stance on things,” Owen said, “and that is at least one of the issues we believe caused that church to be targeted”.

The church’s website speaks of its “long and rich history of taking stands for social justice,” and said it has fought since the 1950s for racial desegregation, fair wages and equal treatment for women and homosexuals. It provides sanctuary for political refugees and founded a chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. The church hosts social events for gay and lesbian teens.

The FBI logged 7,722 hate crimes in 2006, the most recent year for which complete statistics are available.

Tags: crime, hate, prejudice

Nader - One Trick Pony

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 01:16:49 GMT

clipped by: AtlLiberal
clipper's remarks: Admiration for past good deeds aside, Nader presents these days as bitter, self-absorbed, and out of touch. Now he's accusing Obama of attempting to "talk white". I'm not even sure what the hell he means by this except perhaps a twisted view into his own cultural stereotypes

Clip Source: www.cnn.com

Obama using 'white guilt,' Nader says

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Ralph Nader's presidential candidacy has received little media attention, but his latest critique of Sen. Barack Obama has come under fire for its seemingly racial overtones.

Speaking with Colorado's Rocky Mountain News, Nader accused Obama of attempting to "talk white" and appealing to "white guilt" in his quest to win the White House.

"There's only one thing different about Barack Obama when it comes to being a Democratic presidential candidate. He's half African-American," Nader told the paper in comments published Tuesday.

"Whether that will make any difference, I don't know. I haven't heard him have a strong crackdown on economic exploitation in the ghettos. Payday loans, predatory lending, asbestos, lead. What's keeping him from doing that? Is it because he wants to talk white? He doesn't want to appear like Jesse Jackson? We'll see all that play out in the next few months and if he gets elected afterwards," Nader added.

Tags: racist, prejudice, nader, president, ignaorance

Mormons Hoping Fear and Prejudice Will Rule the Day

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 18:27:29 GMT

clipped by: AtlLiberal
clipper's remarks: As explicitly spelled out in the Mormon letter this is a solely religious viewpoint. So why would they expect others to respect or obey their edicts? If they choose to do so it's their business. Otherwise this is a matter mostly of rights that are being denied to a segment of the population. Bias and prejudice aside, there is no rational reason that gays be denied the rights afforded straight people. Majority rule does not imply correctness. Have we forgotten the manner in which we denied rights to Blacks? Have we forgotten the way we denied rights to Native Americans? The majority was behind these oppressive measures too.

Clip Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Mormon church enters Calif. gay marriage fight

SALT LAKE CITY — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is asking California members to join the effort to amend that state's constitution to define marriage as being between a man and a woman.

In May, California's Supreme Court overturned a voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage, saying gays could not be denied marriage licenses.

"The church's teachings and position on this moral issue are unequivocal. Marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and the formation of families is central to the Creator's plan for His children," the four-paragraph letter states.

"This initiative will hurt so many people," executive director W. Olin Thomas said in a statement Monday. "The California law affects civil marriage; it has no effect on any religious institution or official."

Tags: gay marriage, rights, constitution, california

Racism in Metro Atlanta

Tue, 13 May 2008 15:25:14 GMT

clipped by: AtlLiberal
clipper's remarks: Still think we've "gotten over it"? Still think racism is not a problem in this day and age? Think again.

Clip Source: www.ajc.com

Cobb bar protested as racist for Obama T-shirts

Mulligan's selling shirts with 'Curious George' picture

Marietta tavern owner Mike Norman says the T-shirts he's peddling, featuring cartoon chimp Curious George peeling a banana, with "Obama in '08" scrolled underneath, are "cute." But to a coalition of critics, the shirts are an insulting exploitation of racial stereotypes from generations past.

"I'm saying out loud what everyone in this town whispers," Norman said.

Norman said those offended are "hunting for a reason to be mad" and insisted he is "not a racist."

Why picture Obama as Curious George? "Look at him . . . the hairline, the ears, he looks just like Curious George," Norman said.

Pellegrino said Mulligan's is giving Marietta a bad name, adding that the critics intend to remain vocal.

"These T-shirts were almost a godsend," he said. "We're a coalition now, and we're very determined."

Tags: racism, prejudice, politics

Culture Clash

Sun, 27 Apr 2008 17:17:20 GMT

clipped by: AtlLiberal
clipper's remarks: I've wrestled with the question of cultural differences all my life it seems. As a cohesive element it seems to be effective. Yet the dark side to this cohesiveness is that it is divisive also. In addition, morally speaking, cultural issues like those addressed in this clip are simply wrong from a humanist point of view. There is nothing moral about actions such as this. They are antiquated, misogynistic, throwbacks that have no place in 21st Century life. Anyone who defends such heinous acts is as morally bankrupt as the killer father.

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Her crime was to fall in love. She paid with her life

Rand Abdel-Qader, 17, told her closest friend that she was in love from the moment she set eyes on the young British soldier working alongside her in Basra, and she dreamed of a future with him.

It was an innocent infatuation but five months after Rand, a student of English at Basra University, met Paul, a 22-year-old soldier posted to southern Iraq, she was dead. She was stamped on, suffocated and stabbed by her father. Several brutal knife wounds punctured her slender, bruised body - from her face to her feet. He had done it, he proclaimed to the neighbours who soon gathered round, to 'cleanse his honour'.

According to Leila, her husband was initially arrested. 'But he was released two hours later because it was an "honour killing". And, unfortunately, that is something to be proud of for any Iraqi man.'

Tags: culture, hate, fear, prejudice, honor, islam, crime

Clown Power!!!

Sun, 20 Apr 2008 16:15:55 GMT

clipped by: AtlLiberal
clipper's remarks: I would have loved to have been there to witness this first hand. Hate groups (an estimated 888 this year; a growth of 48% since 2000) evidently can't respond to ridicule and clowns! Their entire existence is predicated by feeding on fear and ignorance. Derision, laughter, and mockery seem perfectly well suited to deal with such people and bypasses the anger and hatred that fuels them. Brilliant!

Clip Source: asheville.indymedia.org

Clowns KKKick KKK ass!

Saturday May 26th the VNN Vanguard Nazi/KKK group attempted to host a hate rally to try to take advantage of the brutal murder of a white couple for media and recruitment purposes. http://www.volunteertv.com/special

Unfortunately for them the 100th ARA (Anti Racist Action) clown block came and handed them their asses by making them appear like the asses they were.

“White Power!” the Nazi’s shouted, “White Flour?” the clowns yelled back running in circles throwing flour in the air and raising separate letters which spelt “White Flour”.

“White Power!” the Nazi’s angrily shouted once more, “White flowers?” the clowns cheers and threw white flowers in the air and danced about merrily.

“White Power!” the Nazi’s tried once again in a doomed and somewhat funny attempt to clarify their message, “ohhhhhh!” the clowns yelled “Tight Shower!” and held a solar shower in the air and all tried to crowd under to get clean as per the Klan’s directions.

Tags: kkk, fear, hatred, prejudice, clowns, humor

"Repelled" Opens Soon

Sat, 19 Apr 2008 15:39:14 GMT

clipped by: AtlLiberal
clipper's remarks: While this "documentary" has been widely panned by many people it will have to be the misinformed and scientifically ignorant that save it. Considering the gullibility of the American public and their abysmal understanding of science and evolution I wouldn't be too surprised if this hatchet job did better than expected. Though, I would be extremely disappointed in the level of intelligence and lack of judgment in the movie going public.

Clip Source: www.theweekdaily.com

Will Christians help ‘Expelled’ beat box office expectations?

Actor, comedian, and commentator Ben Stein’s new film, Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, which investigates the way intelligent design is handled in American schools, is opening this weekend and receiving the widest documentary release ever. However, the movie is not expected to pull in big numbers at the box office. But some critics think that it might beat expectations because it was marketed heavily to faith-based groups.

Expelled is nothing more than “a cynical attempt to sucker Christian conservatives into thinking they’re losing the ‘intelligent design’ debate because of academic ‘prejudice,’” said Roger Moore in the Orlando Sentinel. And “when academia, the courts, the opinions of the educated have all weighed in on this subject on that ‘other side,’” we’ll see who “the real monkey in this ‘debate’” is.

Tags: evolution, film, religion, creationism

Bigotry in Illinois

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 22:21:36 GMT

clipped by: AtlLiberal
clipper's remarks: Far from being unique, this latest outburst is simply one of the loudest. There is a wide spread prejudice against non-theists in the US that to a large degree is condoned by a large portion of the population. It's only when the bigots become shrill and irrational, like Rep. Davis did, that it becomes news. Maybe this could be a good thing. It brings it out in the open.

Clip Source: blogs.chicagotribune.com

Rep. Monique Davis to atheist Rob Sherman: `It’s dangerous for our children to even know that your philosophy exists!'

The following exchange between atheist activist Rob Sherman of Buffalo Grove and Ill. Rep. Monique Davis (D-Chicago) took place Wednesday afternoon in the General Assembly as Sherman testified before the House State Government Administration Committee.

I know from experience that many of you will side with Davis (update -- apparently I was wrong! ), but I ask you to consider what the outcry would have been if a lawmaker had launched a similar attack on the beliefs of a religious person.

Davis: You have no right to be here! We believe in something. You believe in destroying! You believe in destroying what this state was built upon.

Sherman didn't budge, continued his testimony related to Gov. Rod Blagojevich's oddly misdirected $1 million grant intended for Pilgrim Baptist Church, (story) and later told me he "felt like Rosa Parks."

Tags: atheism, bigotry, prejudice

Religious Tests?

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 19:22:17 GMT

clipped by: AtlLiberal
clipper's remarks: Once again we're presented with examples of outright bigoted prejudice. Perhaps not surprising if it was put forth from a stereotypical Nascar dad but from a contender to the presidency it seems a bit out of line.

Clip Source: atheism.about.com

John McCain Wants to Limit the Presidency to Christians... and mabye Jews

Questions about that are very legitimate.... And it's also appropriate for me at certain points in the conversation to say, look, that's sort of a private matter between me and my Creator.... But I think the number one issue people should make [in the] selection of the President of the United States is, 'Will this person carry on in the Judeo Christian principled tradition that has made this nation the greatest experiment in the history of mankind?'"

What, exactly, does "carry on in the Judeo-Christian principled tradition" even mean? It sounds like a phrase that was designed by marketing experts to hit all the right emotional buttons among Christians without saying anything substantive enough to be considered meaningful.

Tags: prejudice, religion, christian, atheism, bigotry

Heard of any Atheist Suicide Bombers Lately?

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 23:05:50 GMT

clipped by: AtlLiberal
clipper's remarks: My irony meter pegged out after reading this bit of hate speech from one of our "allies".

Clip Source: www.secularism.org.uk

Saudi King wants monotheisms to unite to defeat atheism

King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia — head of one of the most oppressive regimes in the world — has said that atheism is a “frightening phenomenon that must be vanquished”. He made the threat during a speech in which he called for dialogue between all monotheistic religions.

"I ask representatives of all the monotheistic religions to meet with their brothers in faith," Abdullah told delegates to a seminar on "Dialogue Among Civilizations between Japan and the Islamic World," according to the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA). “If God wills it, we will then meet with our brothers from other religions, including those of the Torah and the Gospel... to come up with ways to safeguard humanity," he added.

Tags: atheism, muslim, religion, hate, prejudice

Grandpa McCain Don't Like Them Atheists!

Sun, 23 Mar 2008 18:21:47 GMT

clipped by: AtlLiberal
clipper's remarks: Promulgating the idea of bigoted, separatist thought seems to take up a lot of the energies of the Republicans these days. Of course this has been their bread and butter issue for years. Give us someone to hate and forget about the real issues that plague the common man. They're the first to cry foul over class issues but they certainly have no qualms about using them to instill fear and prejudice if it suits their corporate aims.

Clip Source: atheism.about.com

John McCain on Secular Atheists: Is John McCain Bigoted Against Atheists?

Atheists are the most despised minority in America; this is demonstrated most clearly by the fact that more people would be willing to vote for any other minority - Muslim, gay, female - than vote for an atheist for president. This discrimination is fueled by bigoted prejudices about atheists' values and morality, and you can tell a lot about a person's character based on whether they promote or oppose this bigotry. Sadly, John McCain is on record as supporting anti-atheist bigotry.

I think the number one issue people should make [in the] selection of the President of the United States is, 'Will this person carry on in the Judeo Christian principled tradition that has made this nation the greatest experiment in the history of mankind?'"

John McCain's opposition to nonbelievers as president is no less bigoted than being opposed to Jews, Catholics, blacks, or Latinos as president.

Tags: conservative, politics, mccain, republican, fear

Religious Dogma Invades Healthcare

Sun, 02 Mar 2008 16:16:42 GMT

clipped by: AtlLiberal
clipper's remarks: Cline makes a good point that professionals like doctors and pharmacists knowingly enter professions that could compromise their religious beliefs. What could be their justification for then using these religious beliefs to refuse services to certain individuals?

Clip Source: atheism.about.com

Doctors Refuse Pap Test to Unmarried Women, Cite Religious Beliefs

First they came to demand exemptions from abortions, and the government relented. The men in government didn't get abortions and didn't want to make an issue out of it. Then they came to demand exemptions from providing women with contraceptives, and the government relented again. Only unmarried sluts need contraceptives, right? Now doctors want exemptions from providing basic medical tests like pap smears.

Have we finally had enough? Can we finally call a halt to so-called medical "professionals" who are trying to undermine women's health care on the basis of ancient religious dogma? No one is conscripted into the ranks of pharmacists, physicians, or nurses, and those who voluntarily join these professions are not forced into the specialties where they might become involved with women who might annoyingly exercise reproductive autonomy.

Tags: religion, science, prejudice, bigotry, healthcare, dogma

Law Abiding Immigrants

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 15:39:29 GMT

clipped by: AtlLiberal
clipper's remarks: Another straw man that ultra nationalists love to offer shows that it has no legs. With much of present day conservatism based on fear manipulation of the population this study indicates what a little sunshine can do to rank prejudice and bigotry.

Clip Source: www.mercurynews.com

Immigrants incarcerated less frequently

Stereotypes about foreign-born residents' role in crime disproven

Countering a widespread belief, a new report shows California's foreign-born population -- including illegal immigrants -- makes up only a sliver of the state's population of inmates.

The report released Monday by the Public Policy Institute of California also suggests that the foreign-born population, which makes up more than a third of the state's adults, plays a disproportionately smaller role in serious crime.

"Crime, Corrections, and California: What Does Immigration Have to Do with It?" gives one of the clearest glimpses yet into the effect of immigrants and immigration on the state's justice system.

It also aims to dispel the perception that cities with large foreign-born populations are criminal hot beds, with several California cities showing a dip in police activity amid recent immigration waves.

Tags: politics, immigration, aliens, law

Hope For the Future

Tue, 05 Feb 2008 15:39:27 GMT

clipped by: AtlLiberal
clipper's remarks: While the future of this election is still undecided, I catch a glimmer of hope by the irrelevance of race among young people. I've fought on the sidelines since the sixties for equality for all peoples and it seems a cultural shift is occurring. For a substantial segment of the population to be unconcerned about race is a collossal breakthrough in societal change. I think it was understood that this was a generational problem and would not vanish at the drop of a coin. Reality shows that racism is still rampant, particularly among less educated peoples however this election has demonstrated what I'd view as substantial progress in large scale shifts in the countries views. This pleases me beyond words.

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

The Barack Obama forces don’t seem to understand that they’re sailing against the wind, that they’re not supposed to be able to capture the Democratic nomination for president.

During a series of interviews on the campus of Stanford University, students expressed great interest in the election but seemed unconcerned with such factors as Mr. Obama’s race or perceived electability.

“The students like him because he’s a fresh face, a personality with fresh ideas,” said Julia Liebner, a human biology major. “Hillary may do great things for the country if she is elected, but I think the kids are responding to Obama’s more hopeful message and his idea of bringing people together.”

Ben Fried, who was interviewed as he straddled a bicycle under a sky that threatened a downpour at any moment, said that he had participated in many conversations about the election and that race had not been a factor in any of them. “I would just say the kids like Obama,” he said.

Tags: race, politics, prejudice

Bigotry Alive and Well in Dixie

Sat, 08 Dec 2007 16:09:34 GMT

clipped by: AtlLiberal
clipper's remarks: What I didn't include in the clip was that this County Commissioner is 82 years old. I fervently hope that his comment is more of a generational issue than a regional issue. I suspect it's both.

Living in this southern bulwark of Republican Conservatism I'm almost immune to comments like this. Not from politicians so much but from the man on the street. To live in a country that is 85% Christian it's ironic to hear this much hate and so little compassion.

Clip Source: www.ajc.com

Hispanics want apology for 'wetback' comment

Members of metro-Atlanta's Hispanic community want an apology from Carroll County Commissioner Bill Head after he used the term "wetback" in a county meeting this week.

"If he doesn't apologize, he should resign," said Jerry Gonzalez, executive director of the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials. "If he doesn't apologize, he can't conduct county business without bias against Latinos."

Others say stepping down is not necessary, but Head should admit he was wrong.

Commissioners were discussing the location of a new building to handle the county's increased need for courtrooms, said Commission Chairman Bill Chappell.

That's when Head made his comment.

"It's going to get worse as criminals move in from Atlanta and, based on what I see, and wetbacks from down south, uh, we're going to have more and more all the time," Head said.

Head told local TV news stations Thursday that he stood by his comments and did not plan to apologize.

Tags: prejudice, racism, politics, south, dixie