The Retort

Martin Luther King Day

January 29th, 2010 by Ken Cunningham For The Retort

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day has come and gone, and our nation remembers the inspiring character and vision of this glorious man. Since the Civil War ended, the African-American people were set free to pursue life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Unfortunately, within a few years, these promises were taken away, especially in the South. It was not until the 1950s that the Civil Rights Movement started anew to gain credibility and stature. Many people sacrificed much, including their lives, to see the day when all people, no matter what their color or creed, were truly free in America. Dr. King was at the forefront of this movement, inspired by his Christian faith and the work of Mahatma Gandhi in the use of nonviolence to achieve lasting change. He gave his life trying to help garbage workers get a better deal, having already led the way to the Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights legislation that once and for all changed the way minorities are treated in this country.

So, it is sad to report that racism not only exists today, but it is glorified by a certain segment of our people. Three blatant examples of pathetic and utterly scandalous hate speech and bigotry (both racial and religious) have been broadcast in the last few days. As we fret over terrorists blowing up airplanes, the seamy undercurrent of racism is once again starting to gain traction, or at least slip under the radar screen.

Let’s start with my favorite wind bag, racist, bigot, and just plain worthless human being, Rush Limbaugh. Ever since the crisis in Haiti, Rush has taken every opportunity to not only trash the president and invoke racism into his twisted reasoning; he is actually trying to dissuade people from helping out these poor people. As hundreds of thousands of people have died, and many more are suffering, this pig cracks wise about how good this disaster will be for Obama to “burnish (his) credibility with the black community, both light-skinned and dark-skinned.” Using stereotypical race hate speech, he goes on to discourage giving money to Haitians because it will "make them lazy.” These comments are just one of many racist screeds this clown has spewed, including calling Obama a “half-American,” and the NFL a game between the Crypts and the Bloods. I get it - he wants to shock people, that's his shtick. Yet, when Don Imus crossed the line with his “nappy headed hos” remark, he nearly lost his career, and went to great lengths to apologize and redeem himself. That’s not in Rush’s vocabulary: I’m sorry and Forgive me. It’s more like “notice me” and “aren’t I clever.” Considering his power over the Republican party, you’d think someone would at least question him or chastise him for his obvious indecency. However, the silence is deafening.

Then there’s Pat Robertson. He is the leader of the 700 Club, a right wing, conservative Christian organization that has its own television show. Hours after the quake hit, this bozo goes on the air to teach us all a “history lesson.” “(The Haitian people) got together and swore a pact with the Devil if he would get them free of the French,” and “the Devil said okay.” Haiti was one of the first island nations to declare independence from slave masters over 200 years ago, and scared the crap out of many other slave-owning nations. For this yahoo to actually state as a fact that the reason the earthquake hit was the work of the Devil is preposterous, obviously racist and bigoted, and frankly, just plain ignorant. This man, Mr. Robertson, has also claimed that Islam is an “evil” religion, and that we should assassinate Hugo Chavez in Venezuela, probably because he doesn't donate to the 700 Club telethon, among his many other indiscretions.

The one I found most unbelievable and completely inappropriate was Fox News anchor Brett Hume dispensing religious advice to Tiger Woods. Amazingly, Mr. Hume suggested that Tiger Woods should drop his Buddhist faith and embrace the Christian religion. Why? Because, according to this clueless moron, Christianity has a “better deal” on redemption and forgiveness than does Buddhism. Huh? Since when is Brett Hume a religious scholar? Besides, isn’t one’s religion a personal and sacred thing, allowed to be freely expressed and worshipped. I'm sure the fact that Tiger is half-African American and half-Asian had nothing to do with Mr. Hume’s comments. Or, that Buddhism is misunderstood at best and practically not even known to most Americans at worst, played into Mr. Hume’s pep talk. He reminds me of a bad car salesman, trying to bait and switch some poor slob. Or worse, of a desperate human being attempting to justify his own bankrupt life and beliefs by belittling another's.

And in all these episodes, not one peep from any conservative or right wing Christian group or individual. How ironic, that as man of faith was celebrated, there was no outcry over these horrific, racist and hateful comments. Racism and bigotry are truly the reoccurring terrorism in our country today.

“Racism is man’s gravest threat to man - the maximum of hatred for a minimum of reason.” Abraham J. Heschel (Jewish theologian and philosopher, 1907-1972)