I have repeatedly opposed the bigoted remarks I have heard from the far right on Faux Noise, talk radio, and even on the House floor. To politicians and pundits, racism and homophobia may just be a tactic to serve Kool-Aid to the the GOP base, but even if their remarks do not reflect their true feelings, which I doubt, their hate speech reaches the ears of people who act on it. Here’s an example:
Racism and homophobia are still alive and well in America:
A Geneva High School [Illinois] teacher is being accused of making anti-gay and racist comments in his classroom.
Dave Burk, who teaches consumer education, is accused of making the comments by his students during an Oct. 5 lecture on tax money involving the National Endowment for the Arts.
"How would you feel about your tax dollars going to pay some black fag in New York to take pictures of other black fags?" Burk allegedly asked, according to student Jordan Hunter…
…The man who reported Burk to the school administration is calling for his firing, and rightfully so…
Inserted from <Crooks and Liars>
Will one of the students that heard this think it’s OK to beat up black or gay people. I certainly hope not. But GOP hate speech on the House floor has already led to the death of a census worker. How can we be bipartisan with this?
6 Responses to “GOP Hate Speech Finds the Classroom”
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How can we be bipartisan with this?
By turning the Justice Department loose on hate speech wherever it is uttered be it classroom, television or the floor of congress.
One person need stand up and say so and so's comment made me fear for my life.
Mark, wouldn't that be great. I don't understand why it has not been done.
Where does it say that the teacher is a Republican or that his views came from watching Fox News? Not sure if I missed something here.
What the guy said was horrible and he should be suspended from his job until the school board decides what to do with him. But like I said…where is it written that has been influenced by the GOP.
Nunly, I did not say the guy is a Republican or that he got them from Faux Noise. I said that his behavior reflects the views coming from some Congressional Republicans and pundits. When Moveon.org purchased an ad about Petraeus that was highly disrespectful, but completely accurate, Democratic leaders in Congress urged Democratic members to join Republicans in condemning it. They did. When Republican groups/pundits dispense hate speech that is completely spurious, Republican leaders in Congress not only refuse to condemn it, but also echo the lies upon which it is based. That's how it is influenced by the GOP.
But TC- this is a small story from Illinois and the chances are most politicians had not even seen it. Why condemn them for something they had nothing to do with and may not have seen in the first place? This was a local story that made it to the blogosphere.
If you expect a response from the GOP, where is the response from Obama? Why didn't he condemn it? Why didn't the Dem party leaders condemn it?
To compare this to the Petraeus story is a bit of a stretch, IMO. That had to do with a General in the military…this guy was just a school teacher in a small community.
Nunly, I am not condemning them for this act. I'm using this act as an example of what can happen when hate speech emboldens the outer fringe. This teacher was obviously referring to the National Endowment for the Arts. They have been a target of GOP hate speech for some time. Democrats in Congress have condemned the hate speech coming from the GOP on multiple occasions. Obama is trying to stand above it, because he is the target of so much of it. I think he is mistaken to take that approach.