Republican rep says white men and chrisianity make America great.

[Guest]

Aug. 22, 2001 | RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) --

A state representative forwarded an e-mail to fellow lawmakers this week that claimed, "Two things made this country great: White men & Christianity."

Rep. Don Davis, a white Republican, said he received the letter Friday and forwarded it to every member of the state House and Senate. He said he didn't consider the letter racist.

"I just put it out for information. People can read into it whatever they want to," Davis said.

"There's a lot of it that's truth, the way I see it," Davis said. "Who came to this country first -- the white man, didn't he? That's who made this country great."

The letter angered other lawmakers who considered it offensive and racist.

"Two things made this country great: White men & Christianity," the letter says. "Every problem that has arrisen (sic) can be directly traced back to our departure from God's Law and the disenfranchisement of White men."

http://www.salon.com/politics/wire/2001/08/22/email/index.html

 

[lavender]

 

[Pokerman]

I did a search on "God's Order Affirmed in Love" in Yahoo, and they were listed here with other extremist groups such as the KKK.

Just what we want out lawmakers associated with.

 

[Closet Desire]

myths and truths

White men huh? Funny, I thought the Spanish were among the first and they certainly weren't "white" by American standards. A quick check on a map will explain this one.

Americans love the idea of capitalism, but much of early America was built on the backs of black men, women, and children. Except for food and chains there wasn't much paid for their labours.

That's about all I can say on this one without getting really angry at the ignorance...

 

[YoungGun69]

I just hope people like that breed themselves out of the gene pool soon.

 

[Johnny Cool]

I did a search on "God's Order Affirmed in Love"

I've always wondered the wisdom behind Acronyms. Why would they choose such a stupid name? Just so it would spell out GOAL? Yeesh.

 

[Guest]

Just what Rush ordered

Yep....white men are what made this country great.

They just had to kill off a few indigenous tribes and haul some cheap black labor over here and they were all set.

Christianity? As in the Crusades and the murder of thousands (if not millions) of "heretics and blasphemers" through the ages.

If that is the definition of great I will have no part of it.

Why is it that only Americans call themselves great. If we truly were great wouldn't all the other nationalities proclaim it? Everytime I hear the phrase "greatest nation ever brought forth" it is by some politico or right wing pundit.

Tomorrow somewhere in the world a child will die for want of a few ounces of grain and some water. We could do something about it but we don't...or worse...WON'T

 

[lobito]

as far as I'm concerned, White Men & Christianity are what made this country the fucked up place that it is today!

Alwasy saying the Whites are betteer than others, Some, NOT ALL, christians saying that we ALL must live our lives a certain way. Well, to them I say proudly FUCK YOU!

 

[WriterDom]

Why is it that only Americans call themselves great. If we truly were great wouldn't all the other nationalities proclaim it? Everytime I hear the phrase "greatest nation ever brought forth" it is by some politico or right wing pundit.

Something should be done about the hundreds, no thousands, of people in this God awful country that are fleeing everyday to find a better life in other countries. Perhaps Mexico should deploy their army to stop the flood of American immigrants. Not to mention all the American boat people hoping to steer rudderless to any shore escaping the tyrannical United States.

America- Land of the Fee Home of the slave

 

[Guest]

Reading between the lines

Hmmmm

I think you read more into that post than was actually written.

If you think the tax system is oppressive here why don't you try elsewhere?

I am merely suggesting a little humility on our part would go a long way. I have a problem with those who blow their own horns loudly, be it individuals or nations. Very unseemly and rude.

If we are truly great do we need to say it?

Or are we just trying to convince ourselves of it?

 

[lobito]

NO! if the U.S. was truely a GREAT country, every other country would know it without our saying so. You are right on that point.

I have to say, I'm from Central America, WE as a people take great offense to the idea that the U.S. is called America, when in reality there are 3 Amrericas, North, Central & South. We ALL consider ourselves, even outside the U.S. to be "Americans".

Personally since I've lived here many years can accept this thinking better then those left in my homeland.

Just more thoughts....

 

[WriterDom]

I have to say, I'm from Central America, WE as a people take great offense to the idea that the U.S. is called America, when in reality there are 3 Amrericas, North, Central & South. We ALL consider ourselves, even outside the U.S. to be "Americans".

Sorry, I guess you'll have to settle with Honduran or Panamanian. The liberals haven't outlawed American yet for someone in the United States of America. But I'm sure it's in the works.

Usican? United Statican?

 

[lobito]

UGH! no way!

Actually since you didn't know already, no biggie, but I'm from Guatemala, so Guatelaman.

The fact remains that nearly EVERYONE else on the other continents calls the U.S., America. So it'll never go by the wayside as they say. Sad but true.

 

[Closet Desire]

It might come...

...as a big surprise, but the US isn't the only place people are trying to go.

Every European country and England has a flood of immigrants and refugees flooding in from all parts of the world. Believe it or not even those who have made it as far as France are trying to make it into England by hiding in tool lockers beneath the Eurostar or stealing into a car or truck bound for ferries at Calais.

Shattering another myth is the idea that nobody is trying to leave the US. Perhaps one should visit the British Consulate in Houston. It's often standing room only for those waiting and hoping that their visas will be approved so they can settle in the UK. I know because it was packed when I got mine.

People seeking a life better than what they perceive in their own homeland will often try to escape it. If they are in Mexico they might try for Texas or California. If they are in Bosnia they might try for Western Europe. No matter how you look at it, it's certainly not something unique to the US.

 

[p_p_man]

Copied from Unregistered's Post:

"If we are truly great do we need to say it?

Or are we just trying to convince ourselves of it?"



I like this guy/gal.

Humility ahhh...humility...

 

[tmuyo]

as far as I'm concerned, White Men & Christianity are what made this country the fucked up place that it is today!

Alwasy saying the Whites are betteer than others, Some, NOT ALL, christians saying that we ALL must live our lives a certain way. Well, to them I say proudly FUCK YOU!

yeouch! i'm a white male and an atheist, but ur comment stung because you didn't say some whites. you left it in an every white male situation.

fuck, i'm the last white guy in the world that would ever be racist. shit, i feel bad for what the european ancestry did in america, and it makes me ashamed of american history as well. don't blame everyone for the bigots that are still out there.

my fiancee is taiwanese, i've had girlfriends of every race, and am a firm standing minority rights activist. i participate in clubs that help races that are not my own. i'm a continuing member of apilc which is the board for the asian pacific islander leadership conference. i've been the only non-asian to ever be on the board and am continuing to do so. we organize a 3-day retreat for api university students (usually about 80 a year, we are trying to get more funding and grants to fte more students) and help them through api issues.

also, someone mentioned that america was built on the backs of african americans and women, it was many minorites that founded this country. african americans, asian americans, hispanic/spanish american, etc. white men created much ill in this world, but i plan to do my best in life to fix what i can, even though i am not part of the problem. i'm an international relations major and i hope to be an ambassador one day. my goal is to set the foundations for better chinese and american relations.

america has done many atrocities through it's short history. we have killed, cheated and stole land from native americans. we have enslaved africans, abducting and buying them from african tribes. we put japanese americans (yes, they did have citizenship at that time) in concentration camps during world war 2; we sold their property and put them in camps with barbed wire and guns on towers pointed inward.

don't blame ALL white men for america's problems because even from the beginning their were men like myself who knew what was going on was wrong and tried to fix it. tried to prevent it at all costs.

being an atheist i will not step into the religious ring. i do not need to be stomped to death by christians here as well.

i have been persecuted all my life as well. no where near what the groups i mentioned above went through. friends parents would not allow them to play with me when i was younger because i was white. parents wouldn't let me date their daughters because i was white. i've been called cracker and gringo and every slur about white people, then i've ever heard the word caucasian. i've been attacked, jumped, stabbed and shot at because of the color of my skin, and yes, i know that to be the reason because these were people from my school. i fight for equal rights and go to marches eventhough many times i am spit on because i am not black, asian, hispanic, native american and i continue to march. i have been beaten while participating in rallys and sit ins because my skin is white. i continued to march while being spat on, and i still do. i continued to help the groups i believe needed support eventhough i was attacked. i have suffered what every single minority has to live through and then some.

white men didn't make this country great. people did. not women or men, not black, white asian or hispanic....just PEOPLE.

 

[lobito]

sorry tmuyo, I didn't mean to generalize so bad.

I'm Latin-American, for me to say that would in fact sound racist I guess. I do appologize to "whites" in general. I also don't mean ALL christians either. What I am tired of however is religous people in general thinking you have to think their way, or you will without shadow of a doubt go to HELL.

The U.S. was ruined by the WHITE MEN who "stole" it from the indigenous peoples that were here before them.

I could go on an on, but my main response here was to appoligize for generalizing. So again, I'm sorry.

 

[Guest]

He seems to have forgotten all the people who built the country free of charge and/or for cut rate "wages"--namely blacks, Indians and Chinese.

And that slavery thing was oh so very moral and Christian. Ahahahahahahahahahahaha!

 

[Weevil]

So what's the problem? Damned if I know who makes American Grapes. For all I know it could very well be White men who pick them from the vines. Why all the fuss over who makes America Grapes anyway?

 

[TWB]

Typical Republican Fare

Once again, the true colors of the facist right wing republicans dribble upon us. White White White, male male male, pig pig pig.

twb

 

[Dixon Carter Lee]

White men huh? Funny, I thought the Spanish were among the first and they certainly weren't "white" by American standards.

Uh, you're s-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g here.

If you're going to ingore the "Starting America" thing in the first place (started, of course by the white English) and fudge the converation down to "Who got on the continent first" we're going to have start working with a coloring book that includes Vikings, Asians, Native American, and an Italian (not Spanish) named Columbus (who, by the way, never set foot on the mainland).

But obviously the memo refers to the United States and, before it, the English colonies. We can leave the Spanish out of that. (And, yes, the Spanish were generally considered to be "White", at the time when men were defined as basically four or five types. Today, of course, as we each have discovered our own cultural and ehtnic roots, the word "White" has lost all meaning.)

The "Whites" who forward the white-man/Christian argument, and it's an old one, engage in a pathetic attempt to bridge the centuries and hold hands with Jefferson and Madison and claim their endorsement. ("See! I look them them! So they're for me! Rah-Rah!)

They forget of course that the America they created was designed to accomodate a whole host of changes' political, economic, geographical -- AND sociological. The "no state religion" and "all men are created equal" stuff applied to everyone (INLCUDING blacks, despite the idiotic "part human" references to slaves which were put in by the South for legal definition reasons -- Madison and Jefferson, I'm convinced, were convinced that the country would one day of a need abandon slavery. As Franklin said, and I'm paraphrasing, "Slavery sucks, but lose it and we lose the South. Lose the South and we lose Independence. Get the country started first. Posterity may damn us, but we'll be long gone.")

What was the topic again? Oh yeah. White Christian men started this country so (the inference being) we should keep it white and Christian.

Yeah. And when a baby is born he's a perfect gift from God, therefore as he grows and matures into adulthood it's imperative that you keep him in diapers and booties.

 

[WriterDom]

Jefferson did manage to free 6 of the 170 or so slaves that he owned.

 

[Dixon Carter Lee]

See! There you go. A man of vision.

 

[dza]

spanish people are most certainly VERY white. ever been to Spain? In fact, a great many Southern Americans are also VERY white. Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Ura..... are all populated by lots and lots of WHITE people. In fact, a good bit of western South American, has a large population of ASIANs as well. In fact, a good chunk of Hispanic-American are extremely WHITE. Not all, and i'm not sure if even most of Hispanic people in the world are brown or black. What are crazy notion. Color and ethnicity not linked.

I'm just a ruffled as the next non-christain, non-"white" guy out there by deranged right-wing racist Republican southerners as the next, but lets not get too carried away.

And as a footnote, the Spainards did indeed settle well into the present day USofA, florida (settled before plymouth), a huge chunk of the western states, etc..etc...

 

[Doulton]

What we need is for someone to take the side of the stupid Republican so we can all jump on him and kick the shit out of him. It's not as much fun arguing when we don't have anyone to retaliate against us

Only point I want to make that hasn't already been said pretty much is that I think perhaps it would help if we looked at it like there are two parts to a country being great. Some people are arguing America's...Sorry, the USA's greatness based on the fact that alot of people want to live there. I'd like to live in the US over most other places in the world, but only cause it's richer and more familiar to my way of life. I think a factor that is hugely overlooked is the effect "the American way of life" has on the rest of the world. I doubt many people would argue that it is a better life living in the US than in most countires which are poorer, but at what cost does that quality of living come? One country can only be rich compared to others, it's a relative term. And that's not just some hollow play on words, people cannot be rich without the poor to support them. I won't go into any more details cause I could spend hours USA-bashing, so I'll just leave it like that as an open premise