Tolerance in action in Tennessee

[yendi]

Ken Cherry, a man clearly dedicated to reinvigorating the "hick" stereotype, hates illegal immigrants with the such a passion that he's pretty much willing to let it spread to all Hispanics. Or, to call things as they really are, he's a racist little fuck.

This town alderman in Springfield, TN wants all illegal immigrants banned from using the parks. Of course, it's not exactly easy to tell who's illegal amongst the many Latino folks who frequent the park, but our enlightened buddy's got a good idea: "If they are speaking Spanish, I tend to think they are illegal."

Last I checked, even the most adamant advocates of English as our national language aren't trying to make speaking in foreign tongues an actual crime. Let's hear it for this genius, taking intolerance to the next level.

ETA: Alderman Cherry also refers to the town's "growing Hispanic problem." Lovely.

Comments

[heathrow.livejournal.com]

That fucknut.

[terracinque.livejournal.com]

The city manager's name is "Nutting."

[celticfeministw.livejournal.com]

*head explodes*

[darth-spacey.livejournal.com]

That is, on the face of it, quite insane. However, I tend to enjoy seeing both sides of any argument rationally. I'm going to play Devil's Advocate for a second and provide one possible rational excuse for the term "growing Hispanic problem".

Statistically, undocumented entry into and residence in the USA is rising. Statistically, the vast majority of people taking part are from Central and South America.

I haven't RTFA yet, and I haven't done any sleuthing to find out more about the guy himself, but he may have been using a terminological shortcut (albeit one not created with forethought to what is a sensitive issue), rather than an essentially race-based slur. I'll RTFA before passing any actual judgement.

[curt-holman.livejournal.com]

There's a crazy letter (I think an email, actually) in this week's Creative Loafing that claims immigration will destroy "the White Christian heritage of Georgia and America."

Um, aren't the Latino immigrants, legal or otherwise, pretty much all Christian, too?

[themaskmaker.livejournal.com]

No, you can only be a real Christian if you're white. After all, the Bible is written in King James English, isn't it?

[litch.livejournal.com]

they're also considered part of the white race last I checked

[amokk]

One idiot has to go and screw it up for everyone else...

[darth-spacey.livejournal.com]

Census and employment forms often list "White (Non-Hispanic)" separately from "Hispanic".

That says nothing whatsoever about the preferred self-designation of individual group members, of course, but it's the closest thing I can come up with to a standard.