http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/07/jon-hubbard-slavery_n_1946890.html
Terrifying. Terrifying is the only word that comes to my mind when I read this article. Few things cause me as much frustration as intolerance and ridiculous radicalism do. In this piece, both are discussed. Two candidates for office in the state of Arkansas discuss in this article from the Huffington Post their beliefs on immigration, religious freedom, and slavery. State Representative Jon Hubbard of Jonesboro, Arkansas writes in his self-published book, Letters To The Editor: Confessions of A Frustrated Conservative that "the institution of slavery that the black race has long believed to be an abomination upon its people may actually have been a blessing in disguise." He goes on to say that those brought over in slave ships to the Americas were better off than they would have been if they had remained on the continent. Another Arkansas politician, Charlie Fuqua, in his book, "God's Law" wrote there is "no solution to the Muslim problem short of expelling all followers of the religion from the United States."
While the Muslim comment from Fuqua is not necessarily directly related to this class, both politicians and their comments infuriate me. My entire political life, I have thought about, discussed and defended against the stereotype of Republicans being backward, red-neck, intolerant, evangelists and these two men have done nothing but prove these stereotypes to be rooted in reality. I think it is ridiculous for members of the governing class, or those who strive to be in it, to be so clearly, unbelievably, intolerant. The Arkansas Republican party has distanced itself quickly from these men, but the fact that they published these books and still defend them as true saddens me.
This news story reminded me of our discussion in class of the progression of the historical analysis of slavery; how the stream of writings, research, and interviews created a sort of reckoning and understanding of the balance between the horrors of slavery and the culture of the time. I chuckled to myself when we discussed U.B. Phillips' American Negro Slavery and thought, "How could someone ever believe that nonsense?" I thought the American people had moved past this type of belief structure after the World Wars, the Civil Rights movement, and the election of a black president. But apparently, there are still some who believe chattel slavery was a blessing to the African-American population and that certain people are not protected by the first amendment. Not only are these men still believers in extremely inflammatory philosophies, they are distinguished members of the elite class who should be representing their constituents in government to the rest of the country and world!
As I was reviewing this article before I posted it, I found yet another example.
http://gawker.com/5950302/yet-another-arkansas-legislator-is-nuts-if-slavery-were-so-godawful-why-didnt-jesus-condemn-it?utm_campaign=socialflow_gawker_facebook&utm_source=gawker_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow
I saw that same news story, and ignorance was the first thing that came to my mind as well. I'm from Little Rock, Arkansas, so the fact that this story is about my home state made me feel so disgusted, because I know that these two men do not represent the views of the entire state. However, others will see this and continue to think of Arkansas as a back country, racist state. I understand that the men have a right to their opinions, and I'm pretty sure there are people who will purchase these books; but, the fact that these men are in a state position of power and chose to release these books is in poor taste and inconsiderate of the Arkansans they supposedly represent.
ReplyDeleteThe comment made by Fuqua that people who identify themselves as Muslim should be deported actually can be directly related to our class because it is analogous to the period in the late 19th and early 20th century when politicians considered moving all black people back to Africa. It is extremely important to draw connections like this between our past and our current society in order to have insight into current dilemmas and to avoid repeating our mistakes (Although in this situation, we are not likely to actually deport any one because these are the opinions of a very few radicals and not the majority). In class we are always discussing how we cannot say the views and beliefs of a few, albeit important, individuals represent the beliefs of an entire race. I believe this idea applies to these two men’s views and the views of the Republican Party as well. We must recognize that they do not stand for the majority of the party. Using them to define the Republican Party would be just as ridiculous as the offensive comments they made. It is sad though that even they believe most people would support their ridiculous notions.
ReplyDeleteTo this day I remember being a very young girl and telling my mother that I was “okay” with slavery because it lead to me being born and able to live in the United States. Today, after being given 15 years to grow out of my childish egocentrism, I see the enormous flaw in this logic- how can I be glad that hundreds of thousands of people suffered for hundreds of years just so that I could be here today? Hubbard however seems to share the same mentality as five year old me. How amazing (and unsettling) that someone with such an immature mindset could hold such a prestigious position in our government!