Political Post: Dr. Laura and the Culture of Racism
Growing up against the conservative backdrop of Kansas City, I got used to people disagreeing with my politics from a pretty early age. But there were some fundamental truths that I was never willing to waiver from, regardless of how much punishment I experienced for it.
1. Racism, misogyny, and homophobia are unquestionably wrong. Prejudice against any particular religious group, ethnic identity, sexual orientation, etc. is never acceptable, or okay. It's taken me years to identify all the ways that I have, at some point or another, been guilty of such prejudice in my own life, but I work everyday to check my privilege and be part of the solution, rather than the problem.
2. There's no such thing as Hell. This was developed in response to the above issue, when many of my questions such as, "Grandma, why are you saying homosexuals shouldn't be allowed to marry?" were 'answered' with, "Because God says they are evil, and God hates people that are evil, because they're going to Hell." If you want to tell me that your God is unconditional, universal love, then that means the idea of hate, or an entire place dedicated to punishing people, is pretty antithetical to that end.
3. This is not a Christian country. As it turns out, I was actually right about this one. Years down the road, this would create a solid belief in Deism; I was quite delighted to find out many of the most important minds in the foundation of this country ascribed to the same beliefs.
I've been thinking about theses a lot lately. The whole business with Dr. Laura has really sparked my ire. It isn't that I care about her going off the air (hell, we should all be so lucky!) but her defense is the same routine racist and conservative bullshit.
My response:
1. Racism, misogyny, and homophobia are unquestionably wrong. Prejudice against any particular religious group, ethnic identity, sexual orientation, etc. is never acceptable, or okay. It's taken me years to identify all the ways that I have, at some point or another, been guilty of such prejudice in my own life, but I work everyday to check my privilege and be part of the solution, rather than the problem.
2. There's no such thing as Hell. This was developed in response to the above issue, when many of my questions such as, "Grandma, why are you saying homosexuals shouldn't be allowed to marry?" were 'answered' with, "Because God says they are evil, and God hates people that are evil, because they're going to Hell." If you want to tell me that your God is unconditional, universal love, then that means the idea of hate, or an entire place dedicated to punishing people, is pretty antithetical to that end.
3. This is not a Christian country. As it turns out, I was actually right about this one. Years down the road, this would create a solid belief in Deism; I was quite delighted to find out many of the most important minds in the foundation of this country ascribed to the same beliefs.
I've been thinking about theses a lot lately. The whole business with Dr. Laura has really sparked my ire. It isn't that I care about her going off the air (hell, we should all be so lucky!) but her defense is the same routine racist and conservative bullshit.
My response:
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