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I read this article in today's San Francisco Chronicle. A 17-year-old from Sonoma County, from certain viewpoints, may have said too much to offend certain individuals because of his ultra-conservative ideology.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cg...NGTG4MBG31.DTL
What do you think? He certainly didn't try to mince words, but being so straight-forward might not have been the best move on his part. He's entitled to it, though.
When you say:
"Liberals welcome every Muhammad, Jamul and Jose who wishes to leave his Third World state and come to America -- mostly illegally -- to rip off our health care system, balkanize our language and destroy our political system."
I think that crosses the line from political to racist. Of course, right wingers have always been fond of using racial tensions to divide and conquer.
Bueler? Hmmm, is that name indigenous?
If you find those names offensive than I feel sorry for you, if someone said "Tom, Dick, and Harry" about Americans would you get upset? What if those names are more common in the countries he's trying to portray?Quote:
Originally posted by eestlinc
When you say:
"Liberals welcome every Muhammad, Jamul and Jose who wishes to leave his Third World state and come to America -- mostly illegally -- to rip off our health care system, balkanize our language and destroy our political system."
On the other hand, that whole part could've been left out completely and he still could've had his point put across.
O'Reilly pretty much viewed it the same way I do. It's good that the kid is working to change his surroundings as every student should try to do, but he needs to tone it down in order to be taken seriously.
I find this hilarious, you took a common and well know left-wing tactic, crossed out left-wing and slapped right-wing over it. You're a perfect example by calling this guy a racist, you throw that word around to anyone that doesn't share your views in order to crush them.Quote:
Originally posted by eestlinc I think that crosses the line from political to racist. Of course, right wingers have always been fond of using racial tensions to divide and conquer.
From the article his comments did seem a bit fanatical. That "balkanize our language" bit almost seems white-supremacist.
I don't agree with his comments, but I'm certainly not going to interfere with his freedom of speech. Anyone who finds it offensive should just ignore him and let him rant until his face turns blue.
I'm sorry Talus, but anyone who refers to ethnic groups by common names is using an ethnic slur. If I refer to Chinese as Wangs and Changs, it's the same thing. I'm not trying to say all Republicans or right-winger are racists, but this guy does seem primed for an Aryan Nation rally.
The student is of little consequence to me in this article. Anyone can whip up a fiery, offensive article and get attention. Most people don't want to. The school deserves praise for supporting his right to freedom of speech, rather than crushing him in a panic and making him a martyr. This way, he's the villain with the racist rhetoric, and the school is the Constitution abiding, supporter of open discourse that defended him above and beyond the norm. They know how to best quell an upstart like him.
Quote:
Originally posted by eestlinc
I'm sorry Talus, but anyone who refers to ethnic groups by common names is using an ethnic slur. If I refer to Chinese as Wangs and Changs, it's the same thing. I'm not trying to say all Republicans or right-winger are racists, but this guy does seem primed for an Aryan Nation rally.
Who says this guy is Aryan? He could be Jewish, he could be Italian, he could be whatever! I think you just made an ethnic slur about this guy, yourself. And I'm sorry, but in this day and age, being called an Aryan can be pretty offensive. I know I'm offended when someone calls me an Aryan.Quote:
slur ( P ) Pronunciation Key (slūr)
n.
A disparaging remark; an aspersion.
A slurred utterance or sound.
Music.
A curved line connecting notes on a score to indicate that they are to be played or sung legato.
A passage played or sung in this manner.
Printing. A smeared or blurred impression.
I didn't say he was an Aryan. I said he seemed like he would fit in with their world view, ie hatred of foreigners.
I don't know if the school deserves too much praise, the article kind of told half a story. According to the student the teachers would say some pretty extreme things themselves, such as the blood of 9/11 is on Bush's hands. So basically you have the school on one extreme of a spectrum and this student way over on the other side of the spectrum. This article tends to make the student out to be the bad guy and some radio/television programs will have to school look bad.
The truth lies in the middle of it all, some of the teachers shared their biased opinions in class sparking this students intrests, he felt the only way to be heard is through extreme and equally biased comments.
And for Eestlinc, I know what the student said was very much inappropriate. I'm just trying to get people to view this from multiple angles. Your judgment of him as an Aryan (or potential to be one) could be viewed as equally offensive to the student's assumption against foreigners.
I know, I just grew up around a lot of racists and I know the profile they fall into and it's really sad.
That dumbass got what was coming to him. You would think that a whole school getting pissed off at you and wanting to kick your , would snap you out of your way of thinking. OOOOH NO! Not for this person. Appearntly those liberial numbskulls need a bigger and harder dose of 'the truth'.
People like this only make me hate both sides...cept Al Frankin. That man is just funny.
Yes, we all know you yanks have allready buggered up our language.Quote:
From the article his comments did seem a bit fanatical. That "balkanize our language" bit almost seems white-supremacist.
Frankly, i'm not riled up by this kid. Any sort of extremist rant is going to illicit from me one of two responses:
A) Hey, i agree, all right.
b) Wow, i disagree, no good.
But he's too extreme to be changing my mind, so he doesn't bother me. So long as he restrains himself within the limits of the law, all i see is sensationalism. His opinions in themselves, however, are another matter entirely.
What i've never understood about the argument against immigration is that, save the descendants of Native Americans, we're all the product of immigration at some point in the family tree. Bueller has plenty to say, but some of his comments do smell of racism, and certainly intolerance.
Also, these attacks on Eestlinc's comment about Bueller having opinions similar to those of the Nazis are foolish. He didn't call Bueller Aryan - he simply said that Bueller isn't far from that mindset. It was merely a comparison. Yes, it carries with it a connotation greater than extremist politics, and perhaps it wasn't the best term, but "Aryan" hardly has the same diminutive racial slant as any ethnic slur, and it has nothing to do with an actual ethnicity or race at all - it's a political and social invention. To attempt to make a mockery of his argument like that is rather petty.