Let’s say you are running for president. Even though you have never been a member of a polygamous cult, you are constantly dogged by the press and public, who constantly accuse you of being a member. You do your best to dispel the rumors, even starting a website to deny that you were ever involved with a polygamous cult and that you hold beliefs in stark contrast to that group of people.
Then, at one of your campaign rallies, a member of a polygamous cult asks to sit behind you while you give your speech. She’s wearing one of those long, plain, homemade dresses, has her hair piled a foot high on top of her head, no makeup, and has a unibrow that would shame most neanderthals. Your staff informs her that she isn’t welcome to sit behind you during your rally because it might aggravate an already sensitive situation. She angrily informs the press that she had been discriminated against and demands a direct apology from you.
Now, imagine that this person is a member of the KKK wearing a white, pointy hat. Or a drag queen in a rainbow-colored minidress with matching 12″ platform shoes. Or a Muslim woman wearing a hijab.
What would you do?
13 Comments
Fire my staff and publicly apologize to the offended person of course. It wouldn’t help my campaign but it’s the right thing to do.
If a person that belonged to an organization that I strongly disagreed with wanted to sit behind me, I would tell them no. If I am strongly opposed to their views, beliefs or lifestyle than I’m entitled to my beliefs and to express them. I think in particular that a presidential candidate should stand behind their beliefs and not hide them just to gain a vote. We don’t need someone in there that cowers to every wave of opinion (I think that you’ve shown how effective that has been for McCain LOL)
I think people are too often offended and blow things out of proportion. Why does this person want to sit behind me if they know that I strongly oppose their views? Why do they feel entitled to do so? Aren’t I entitled to choose who has the honor of sitting there?
What if a child rapist wanted to sit behind me? Am I discriminating against him/her if I don’t let them? And if I am discriminating, aren’t I allowed to? At some point, people have to stop worrying about being so politically correct and use some logic.
One of the definitions for discriminate is actually to make sensible decisions; judge wisely. http://www.answers.com/topic/discriminate
I think there is good discrimination and bad discrimination. Not allowing someone to watch my kids because they are a different color than me… bad discrimination. Not allowing someone to watch my kids because they are a pedophile… good discrimination. I don’t give a darn if the pedophile is offended or not. I’ll not be apologizing.
This election cycle is beyond being political correct. The simple thing for Obama to have done was to introduce the lady in the scarf, let her explain why she back obama, and go on from their. It is racist, but oh my mistake Obama wants to bring us all together. Just think, we have another five months of this. Could this be one of the mistakes Mizz Hillary is waiting for so she can step back in?
@ jonolan: Really?
@ Chris: Thanks for sharing your thoughts! We normally don’t think of the word “discriminate” as having that definition.
@ Yvonne Wittig: Islam isn’t a race, so his actions can’t be classified as racist.
I listened to a broadcast of the Interfaith Voices public forum on religion in the 2008 election. Kathleen Kennedy Townshend was saying how difficult it is to have to make this kind of decision.
http://interfaithradio.org/node/499
I don’t know what I would do.
Intriguing post, Brian. I love your examples! As far as “what would I do?”…the polygamous cult members don’t participate in the political process anyway, they have withdrawn from the culture, so no issue there.
As far as the others: “NO!” to the KKK. “absolutely yes” to the drag queen and the woman in the hijab–and sit them next to each other. I think it’s tacky that campaigns are so selective about who they USE as window dressing.
These women are practicing their faith just like so many other Americans do–no different than a Christian wearing a cross necklace or a Jewish man wearing a yarmulke. I think Obama’s best move is to let the women sit there and hit the issue head on. “This freedom of religious expression is something we value and protect as Americans. It is one of our most cherished freedoms, equal to freedom of speech. Being Muslim doesn’t make one a terrorist. America is composed of citizens of many different faith traditions, and this campaign represents that wide and beautiful variety.”
Having a Muslim woman in the background crowd doesn’t make the candidate a Muslim any more than having a Buddhist monk in the crowd makes him Buddhist, or McCain having members of the Log Cabin Republicans nearby makes him gay.
@ fightingwindmills: It has to be a difficult position to be in. I don’t know what I would do either.
@ jimthomp87: I had fun creating the examples, so I’m glad you enjoyed them! I have conflicting thoughts about this story. I can understand the feelings of Obama’s staff and also the feelings of the Muslim woman.
I read a statistic today that said around 15% of Americans still believe that Obama is a Muslim. I was recently in a video store returning some movies, when the elderly man in front of me engaged the clerk in a back-and-forth about how neither could believe that people were voting for a Muslim.
Since 15% of the population can have a huge impact on the election, I can understand his staff trying to limit that association as much as possible. But then, the Muslim woman also has the right to participate in the election just as much as the next person.
I think you have the right idea! By the way, were those your words at the end of the third paragraph? If so, you should write speeches for presidents.
Yes, those are my words; you know how passionate I am about freedom of religion…for every faith tradition. Thanks for the compliment, but I’ll leave the speech writing to others.
Modern political elections are all about managing your message or distorting your opponent’s. Pardon my lack of faith in the American electorate, but recent elections, including the primaries, have demonstrated that a distressingly large fraction are cattle, following the herd and not thinking for themselves. Vote for the woman! Vote for the black! Vote for the veteran (who conveniently isn’t either female or black)! Don’t vote for the Muslim!
In the America I want to live in, no one bats an eye no matter where those women sit. In the America I do live in, it’s not so easy.
Campaign rallies such as these are for the promotion of the candidate, and thus, IMHO, the attendees ought to gracefully defer to the judgment of the organizers, and, if they’re sincere supports, ought to have thicker skins than to go off and whine to the press for their two minutes in the spotlight. Instead, they’ve gone and caused an embarrassing scene, which can only detract from the candidate they were allegedly there to support.
Man, I’m cynical at 2 in the morning.
I think you are absolutely right Mario. Well said
@ jimthomp87: I bow to your awesome use of vocabulary.
@ mario: Excellent point about the attendees deferring to the judgment of the organizers. I agree completely.
Amazing comments.. seriously… Especially the one comparing the Muslim woman to a child rapist (Chris)
All this does is scream ignorance.
I ask this: what if a nun or a paster wanted to sit behind him? Would they stop them because of the way they’re dressed?
Following a religion that allows polygamy under certain circumstances doesn’t mean you belong to a polygamous cult!
And just because there is a person wearing a headscarf behind you doesn’t mean you agree with her religious beliefs. It only means that you are tolerant of her beliefs.
Obama made it clear that he is NOT against any religion. He talks about tolerance and says that he knows a lot about other cultures (because of the way he was raised). OK. That’s cool and all. But it sounds to me like this is all talk and no action.
@ HY: Chris wasn’t comparing the Muslim woman to a child rapist, she was merely making the point that we all discriminate on some level.
And are you implying that the polygamist ranch in Texas isn’t a cult just because all the inhabitants aren’t involved in polygamous relationships?