"Not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." Martin Luther King, Jr.









From the Facebook page of George Takei

"Hooker" Remark by a Michigan State Senator Prompts Outrage

Michigan State Senator Gretchen Whitmer, writing a guest commentary in today's Detroit Free Press, took a Senate colleague to task for a comment he allegedly made in a letter distributed in Lansing. She wrote:

"Sexism in the Legislature is usually more latent, but as of late it has become particularly blatant. Recently state Sen. Rick Jones, R-Grand Ledge, publicly and premeditatedly compared a prominent female professional in Lansing to a 'hooker.'"

Senator Whitmer contends that the sexist comment was not the first by Jones nor unique to him:

"Sadly, this is just the most recent and most prominent incident in a pattern of Jones' boorish and chauvinistic behavior and his leadership's apparent willingness to tolerate it.

This issue goes beyond a single remark from an individual legislator. Political discourse is decaying at an alarming rate. Debate has dwindled to degradation. From when I was first elected to now, the Legislature seems to be going backward in terms of the respect and decency in the way people are treated -- for both women and men."

Senator Whitmer called for an apology and a rebuke of Senator Rick Jones by Senate leadership. She provides much insight into the power or words in the following statement:

"With its 'boys will be boys' mentality, the good ol' boys network in Lansing has gotten out of hand and must stop. A strong woman is NOT a bitch. A successful woman is NOT a hooker or a gold-digger. A compassionate woman is NOT overly sensitive and thin-skinned. And a passionate woman is NOT shrill."

The full column may be viewed in today's online Free Press by clicking here.

Comments?

Oppression in Mainstream Politics: Who Called Mrs. Obama "Mrs. YoMama"?

Speaker O’Neal apologizes for forwarding email that calls Michelle Obama “Mrs. YoMama”

LJWorld.com (Lawrence Journal-Kansas) posted an article by Scott Rothschild on January 5, 2012, reporting that Kansas House Speaker Mike O'Neal sent email to Kansas House Republicans referring to First Lady Michelle Obama as "Mrs. YoMama." In the email Mrs. Obama's photo is compared to a picture of the Grinch. The article reports that the email stated:

"I'm sure you'll join me in wishing Mrs. YoMama a wonderful, long Hawaii Christmas vacation — at our expense, of course."

The article also refers to an email sent earlier in the week from O'Neal's same private email account:

"Earlier this week, the Lawrence Journal-World was sent an email that O'Neal had forwarded to House Republicans that referred to President Obama and a Bible verse that says 'Let his days be few and brief.'

Rodee said that that email was referring to the president’s days in office.

The email, which has been posted in various places on the Internet, refers to a bumper sticker that reads 'Pray for Obama. Psalm 109:8.'

Psalm 109:8 says, 'Let his days be few and brief; and let others step forward to replace him.'

The email states: 'At last — I can honestly voice a Biblical prayer for our president! Look it up — it is word for word! Let us all bow our heads and pray. Brothers and Sisters, can I get an AMEN? AMEN!!!!!!'"

For the complete article click here.

The articled reported that the speaker did issue an apology.

Franky, the language and cartoons used by this House Speaker are the types of rhetoric I see in my studies of hate groups.

Your thoughts/comments are welcome.

Mayor Orville Hubbard

In the news, 1978 (just 34 years ago): Orville Hubbard retired after 36 years as mayor of Dearborn, Michigan, a Detroit suburb. According to The Detroit Free Press, January 1, 2012,

Hubbard is best known for his racial bigotry. For example, he twice prevented the construction of large housing developments that would have allowed black residents into Dearborn. (p. 15A)

The article continued:

The city slogan was 'Keep Dearborn clean,' with clean understood to mean white.

The article reported that Dearborn was 0.001% African-American when Hubbard died in 1982. The paper indicated that in 1968 Hubbard told the New York Times:

If you have integration, first you have kids going to school together, then next thing you know, they're grab-assing around, then they're getting married and having half-breed kids. Then, you wind up with a mongrel race. And from what I know of history, that's the end of civilization.

For The Detroit Free Press article, click here.

Pacific Northwest Crime Spree Linked to White Supremacists

Fox News

Couple Admits to Deadly Northwest Crime Spree

Oct 10, 2011 8:44 PM EDT

An Oregon man and his girlfriend have admitted to killing the man's father and stepmother in a 5-day crime spree that authorities said ultimately left four dead across the Pacific Northwest.

David Joseph Pedersen, 31, told a California newspaper in a story published Monday that he killed his father and was responsible for the three other killings in Washington, Oregon and California. His 24-year-old girlfriend, Holly Grigsby, separately described to investigators in Washington state how she killed Pedersen's stepmother using two knives.

Pedersen and Grigsby have pleaded not guilty to charges of weapons possession and vehicle theft, and their bail was set at $1 million. They are expected in court Tuesday for an extradition hearing. They have not been charged in the killings.

Both share an interest in white supremacy ideology, with Pedersen prominently displaying a white supremacy tattoo on his neck. Grigsby's white supremacist leanings were made clear to fellow inmates at Oregon's women's prison.

UPDATE by ABC News

October 21, 2011

One of two suspects in a Northwest killing spree that left four people dead wrote in a letter to a newspaper that they killed the last victim, in California, because he was "non-white."

The Oregonian newspaper reports (http://bit.ly/owQtWB ) it received the letter discussing the killing from David "Joey" Pedersen.

Since their arrest the two white supremacists have given statements and interviews bragging about the crimes they are accused of committing.

In his letter to The Oregonian, Pedersen used white supremacist justifications for the death of Clark. Pedersen wrote he and Grigsby decided to kill a "non-white."

"We felt it'd be optimal if, in securing another vehicle, we could also take some riffraff off the street," Pedersen wrote.

He said the pair planned to travel to the "first large city" to give them some "breathing room to operate and in which we would have a number of options to choose from when it came to the selection of a target."

Grigsby and Pedersen have sought to portray themselves as warriors on a campaign to — as Grigsby put it in an interview with a California newspaper — keep "our race" from "being wiped out."

Grigsby told investigators they killed Myers because the teen's last name made them think he was Jewish. But in a later newspaper interview she said they didn't know his name until they had taken his wallet. Myers was a devout Christian.

In his letter to The Oregonian, Pedersen said he and Grigsby had set out to "strike out as often as possible at various members of the Jewish community here in America.

Winter Teaching Assignment: The Language of Oppresion

I am pleased to announce that in the Winter, 2012 semester I will be teaching a special topics class titled "The Language of Oppression" in the Communication, Media and Theatre Arts at Eastern Michigan University. This combined graduate/undergraduate class will focus on the language strategies used in promoting such ism's as racism, sexism, ageism, and others. A major part of the course will look at the strategies to move from the language of oppression to the language of liberation.

Center for the Study of Equality and Human Rights

I am pleased to have been involved in the establishment of the Center for the Study of Equality and Human Rights, housed in the Communication, Theatre and Media Arts Department at Eastern Michigan University. The Center was created by a wonderful gift from Dr. Timothy J. Dyer, a former Regent of Eastern Michigan University. The Center is directed by Dr. Dennis Patrick, a faculty member in the CMTA Department. Dr. Dyer's generous gift to EMU created the Dr. Timothy J. Dyer Distinguished Interdisciplinary Chair in Forensics/Debate and Human Rights.

The mission of the Center for the Study of Equality and Human Rights is "to advance and promote research on equality and human rights, with a primary focus on eliminating homophobia in our society. The Center supports faculty and student research on bias, bigotry, and heterosexism in the United States and is intended to one day be the regional hub for LGBT research."