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When someone plagiarizes content that isn't theirs, it's wrong. When that person is a religious leader, who claims the moral high ground on "ethics" while routinely condemning others for their sins, it's worse.
And that person is a religious leader in a denomination with an unfortunate racial history, and he's plagiarized racially charged content, well, that's just adding insult to injury (thanks to reader R.B. for the tip).
Southern Baptist leaders will investigate whether their top ethicist and public policy director plagiarized racially charged remarks about the Trayvon Martin case that many say set back the denomination's efforts on racial reconciliation.
Richard Land, who leads the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission for the Southern Baptist Convention, was accused of lifting remarks for his radio show that accused Democrats and civil rights leaders of exploiting the case of the unarmed Florida teenager who was shot and killed by a volunteer neighborhood watchman.
Even though Land has apologized for both the remarks and not attributing their source, the commission's executive committee said it was obligated "to ensure no stone is left unturned." An investigatory committee will "recommend appropriate action" to church leaders.
Jeffrey Kuhner, a right-wing columnist for the Washington Times recently wrote about civil-rights activists, "They need the Travyon Martins to continue perpetuating their central myth: America is a racist and an evil nation. For them it's always Selma Alabama circa 1965."
Richard Land, on his radio program, told listeners, "They need the Travyon Martins to continue perpetuating their central myth: America is a racist and an evil nation. For them it's always Selma Alabama circa 1965."
The sentiment itself is obviously offensive, and though Land apologized for presenting someone else's words as his own, he didn't express regret for his smear against civil-rights activists.
There's also the historical context -- Land helps lead the Southern Baptist Convention, which has not always played a positive role in the nation's racial debates.
Religion News Service noted this report from Ed Stetzer, a Southern Baptist researcher, who wrote, "The Southern Baptist Convention still must earn a better reputation for racial inclusion and justice. As such, perhaps SBC denominational leaders are not the best persons to speak into racially charged situations, critiquing the actions of African Americans or African American leaders."
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How thoughtful of scared white men to keep providing civil rights activists with a steady stream of "Trayvon Martins" to perpetuate our issues.
Ignorant scumbags.
Myth regarding racism ? All one needs to do is go into a mens room and read the writing on the walls. Some states seem to have more than others.
Gosh and he looks so friendly.
I believe the right denies racism simply because the perceptions of misinformed people are more easily manipulated. As long as they can keep their racism veiled, they can continue to oppress non-white America and cry foul when anyone paying attention dares to cry foul. What bothers me the most is the flag of patriotism they proudly wave while wailing of constitutional honor and democracy; all the while supporting legislation that serve only to suppress the vote of those who disagree. Is it just me, or does the right act as though what they really want is a Republican run dictatorship where liberal ideas can only be whispered in fear? And they have the gull to call liberals communists.
Do not listen to "Religious Leaders"- they are not "for" anything other than power over you. They lie- and keep repeating the lie- till sheeple believe the lie. Sounds like politiciians? That's because they are! Self appointed power mongers who prey on the weak minded and faint hearted. They suck the will and the money out of people they've instilled fear into. All these groups of fake fanatics need to have their power taken away- Stop tax deductions for ALL religious groups.
This hateful man passes himself off as a man of God? I feel so much sympathy for his congreation and followers.. Folks we are in trouble if these are the types of peoples walking this earth. They display all this hate in the name of GOD. god , PLEASE HELP US ALL.
Please don't hate me for what I am about to say. I was born and raised baptist, so there's one reason that I fear retribution. I would like to say that the little chuch that I attended was full of some really wonderful people, and the greatest man I ever knew- really, was the pastor of that little church in Ohio.
The second thing I am going to say is also going to make you hate me more... but just this morning I was thinking about this case and how much it is being played up in the media and speculating on the why of it all... Do they want to distract you from something else? Do they want to stir up race relations, to get you to not pay attention to the bigger picture- gun laws? I am sorry if I honestly believe that the national media is not this concerned about this case- really, do you know other kids that have been killed? Did they care? What I do think they care about is getting you to say that "guns should be outlawed" and that scares me.
Here in Michigan, the republican governor has taken over several cities (those which have the highest minority population, I might add) and the national media ignored it. Have you heard yet, that the budget cuts in Detroit may actually keep the city's entire population from being able to cast a vote in the presidential elections? I doubt if you have. I am sorry for this loss. I know that people want to jump on the bandwagon and pass any anti-gun legislation that they push through right now. I am just worried about the long term effects of that reaction. I am also very skeptical of the fact that the media has no other motives here.
No one is going to hate you for what you say. People like me, however, will challenge your statements on their intellectual merit. Remember that when someone attacks your argument this is NOT the same as attacking you personally.
This argument is a red herring. It's like asking why a police officer pulled you over for speeding when there were other motorists speeding as well. This does not negate the fact that you were- indeed- speeding. The Martin/Zimmerman case is a case in which the local police clearly did not investigate the crime thoroughly and a case in which a stupid law was used to justify what quite possibly will end up being homicide. Does this mean that if the media doesn't pick up every case in which this happens that the media is biased? No. Does this mean that the media is incorrect for reporting on the case? No. Does this make the Martin/Zimmerman case any less severe morally and ethically? No. Does this justify what happened in the Martin/Zimmerman case or the statements of the bishop in question (since that is, afterall, the topic of the thread)? No.
You're assigning false motives on the basis of a false premise.
Yeah TRMS has done extensive coverage of the manager laws in Michigan and apparently the more Dr. Maddow covers it the more she gets harassed by elected officials in Michigan and the local Michigan state press. Which- especially given the history of the Detroit Free Press- is absolutely astounding to me. Why it doesn't get more national attention I have no idea.
There may have been regulation legislation put forward in MI state. I am unaware of this personally, but usually speaking there is routinely some ballot measure either to expand or constrict gun rights (just as there is w/ abortion, contraception, and gay rights). W/ that said there has been no national push to outlaw guns. So your accusation here does not make sense. The media is distracting from the issue of gun rights....so that it can advocate anti-gun legislation? Well OK that'd be fine to accuse the media of doing, but when you make that accusation that then relies that there actually be a push to outlaw guns. No one has advocated that guns be outlawed (at least on the national level). In fact gun laws have became less restrictive under the Obama Administration, not more. So I'm not exactly sure where you're getting that the national media is pushing to outlaw guns.
Secondly it is absolutely silly to argue that race relations and gun rights do not have anything to do w/ one another. The NRA as a lobbying organization takes the position that we should live in a straight, white, Protestant Christian nation and has a vehement anti-immigrant and anti-minority stance. The NRA has historically lobbied against things like hate crimes legislation, expanded immigration legislation, and of course The Civil Rights Act. The organizations which attempt to expand gun rights on a regular basis are more often than not organizations that also have a strong history of being against blacks and Hispanics (as well as other racial minorities depending on how far back you go in US history).
Thirdly what is happening in Michigan is absolutely tragic, but this does not give citizens the right to start arming themselves to kill local officials, police officers, etc. Remember that the US Constitution does not give you the right to execute public officials. I do not know that this is necessarily what you're stating and I certainly don't want to impose an insinuation on you that you did not mean to convey, but I have heard that line so many times by certain elements of the pro-gun movement that I feel it should be stated.
The main motivation of the media is that of sensationalism. The media makes a profit based on how over the top their news broadcasts can be and on how much conflict news broadcasts contain. The media does not typically have a political motivation in favor of or against a cause. Certainly there are exceptions- Fox News comes to mind- but the general news media does not operate like Fox News. What I will also say is that since you are posting on TRMS' blog it should be noted that Rachel Maddow is not anti-gun. Again this is not meant to insinuate that you personally are accusing her of being anti-gun, but again I've heard that accusation made of her so many times I feel it should be countered pre-emptively.
I was brought up Baptist too, in Nashville, and there were certain fine people in my congregation, but the Southern Baptist Convention has turned more and more toward evil.
I don't believe gun laws are a bigger issue than race relations. I think the main issue in the Trayvon Martin case is not that Zimmerman had easy access to a gun but that Florida (and many other Republican states under the influence of ALEC) passed a law that Zimmerman thought gave him permission to shoot a young man he thought represented a threat, even if only because of the color of his skin.
They had better pay attention!
That would be perfectly acceptable to the billionaires writing the laws in all those states.
I think the media have the same concerns the people have--racism, gun laws, voter suppression. I hope their concerns ultimately extend to understanding that the people need to know.
I just want to reinforce something David only said implicitly: not all Baptists are Southern Baptists. Not all Baptists are like Southern Baptists. The SBC is a 'special' breed of Baptist. Their failings are very much their own and should not be used to tar other Baptists.
(And, no, I'm not a Baptist of any stripe. I just like to keep things complicated.)
I do agree with you, and then some. I appreciate your points. I hope that you can appreciate mine. My concern right now is that while we are focused on this case, how many thousands of black voters are losing their rights in Michigan under the dictatorship of a white government? I realize that the media is going to print whatever stories get the attention of the public. I am asking that you care what happens in this state as much as you care about this one case. Thanks for not hating me. I care very much about every human being on this earth. I care very much about the rights of all Americans, especially those in our inner cities. They do matter. What I don't understand is how what happens to thousands of black citizens in Detroit, benton Harbor, Flint and other areas of Michigan does not get the attention of mainstream media. I am trying to tell you that they are distracting us all from some very important issues that are going to affect all of us. I an not trying to say that the travyon issue is not important- it is vitally important. Please understand that I have family who are African American, a beautiful little neice who I love with all my heart. I want her to have the same rights that I have in a year. I also want her to have the right to bear arms in the future, should this fascist government try to take away her rights, her right to vote, her right to work, her right to live as she believes she should live.
But what I believe in my heart is that divided we shall fall and together "We shall overcome." I am not a right wing person. I literally dispise the GOP and everything they stand for. My neice is less than 6 months old and I am worried for her future as an American citizen. I am sorry to say, even more as a black citizen. Please read up on what is happening in Michigan, in Detroit (where my neice and her mom and dad live) Benton Harbor, Flint, Pontiac, all of Michigan's city's with a large minority population. If you want to help your culture and your country, I wish and hope and pray that you will work to help these brothers and sisters of yours and of mine too. Please. For the sake of America, for the sake of liberty and democracy, could you please not let the media ignore those of us in this state who need help? We are like America's forgotten people here... I sat down and cried today over what my state has become. Because the prisons here will be privatized, and prison labor here will be easy to come by and bought at 93 cents an hour, and I don't care if you are black or white, I don't care if you smoked a joint and got caught when you when you were 18 years old like MY TWO sons who are now convicted criminals, I care that you are a person, and I am a christain and my job is not to enslave or condemn, but to care and act on your behalf. Travyon Martin never should have died. I absolutely feel that. I am mad that he died too. I am madder that the media never cares about the nameless, faceless kids that die every single day. I am mad that the media only cares about their interests, or the interests of the corporations that run them. I am mad that the media is using this senseless death as a way to get ratings, when I can see for myself that they don't care about other issues that affect people deeply. Like this one which came out today
:http://michiganradio.org/post/commentary-push-privatize-some-prison-services#.T5F-FgPflio.facebook
which may not sound like such a big whoop until you read this:
http://www.nationofchange.org/locking-down-american-workforce-1334928135
http://www.thenation.com/article/162478/hidden-history-alec-and-prison-labor
Mouzer, since I very much appreciated your thoughtful commentary on my views, I have really high hopes that you will take the time to read all of this- and I know that it is a lot, but I also know that it is when thoughtful and intelligent people take the time to consider each other views that something good can result from that. I believe that everything in this life happens for a reason. I have already told you that I was born and raised a baptist, and that means that I believe in the power of God to take a tragedy and a travestry and work a great and awesome miracle. I realize that Rachel Maddow is not anti-gun. Her blogs are pretty much the best thing that has happened to this state in the past year. I do not claim to know what the mainstream media's agenda is either, but my gut tells me it isn't good- and that is because I know most of it is bought and paid for. By who and for what intention I don't know, but I am definately worried about which way they are going to try sway the crowd, and what the motives behind that are. I don't mean to disrespect anyone, but too many other African American citizens have died without a word from them, too many other travesties of justice have gone without notice... I do not trust their motives.
This is no joke-this is no science fiction movie; This is what it looks when your governor tells you you have no rights anymore.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwxhkbbSNVA&feature=related
Like I stated I am w/ you as to why the MSM hasn't picked it up. Maddow has done her part to bring the issue up and my hope is she'll continue to bring the issue up more and more despite how often she's ridiculed for doing so. I do not understand why it's OK for people to just take democracy from others. I guess the attitude is "well since it's happening to black people..." siiigh. For the record I sometimes wonder if that very same attitude is the reason why we're so resilient towards getting involved in Darfur. OK now I'm being overtly cynical.
I was not trying to imply that you were. Apologies if I made it seem like I was stating as much. I was not accusing you of being an NRA member or belonging to the right-wing nutjob gun lobby. I, too, am a gun enthusiast. The problem is the right wing gun atmosphere is centered around the idea of the apocalypse (if you don't believe me attend your next NRA convention when it comes there- it will blow your mind (and not in a good way)). They emphasize the idea of a straight, white, Protestant Christian nation that is socially theocratic and economically libertarian. In fact that attitude is so prevalent on the right wing that you see that very same underlying attitude permeate into the general Republican political atmosphere. My point was it sounded like you were stating that there is a segregation between black rights and gun rights. Historically 'gun rights' have been used as a means of usurping black rights. Now I put them in quotes because, really, there's a huge difference between wanting to be able to own a gun for self-defense or hunting and wanting to be able to horde AK-47's for the impending apocalypse and race wars. I wouldn't call the latter a right by any stretch of the imagination.
Yeah I agree that this @!$%# is scary. Take away your democratic rights so that you can't vote out your representatives then privatize the prison system so that anyone found engaging in "illegal" behavior can be put away to make a company a profit.
The sad thing is Arizona and Nevada are already doing this. California is in the process of transitioning to an all privatized system as we speak. It's very scary. It's like something out of a novel and you'd think just in saying that, that it'd be a hyperbolic accusation based on delusions of oppression....
Sigh...like I've said before- it's amazing how what the right wing engages in the very same behavior it supposedly spends all it's time fighting against
The MSM cares about sensationalism because it gets ratings. This can be both good and bad. On the one hand it gives an incentive to the MSM to present information about worldly events that will evoke emotional outrage from the viewer (because that emotional outrage will keep the viewer's interest). On the other hand it means that the media will pay attention to an issue in the short term until it's been talked to death (and always, oddly enough, w/ very little in-depth analysis) and then the media will move on. Kind've like a child w/ ADD (although I don't mean that to offend anyone who happens to have ADD). I worry that the short attention span aspect of our media is what's killing our collective political knowledge. Our election cycles seem to be progressively more reactionary and this scares me. Like, for instance, in this election people aren't even voting on the basis of whether or not they like the candidates. They are either voting to keep Republicans out of office (I'm in this category) or they are voting to kick Barack Hussein Obama out of office (this would be your Republican/right winger).
Yes because what could possibly go wrong w/ that?
http://www.democracynow.org/2011/2/22/judge_convicted_in_pennsylvania_kids_for
http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2011/07/06/261319/scott-walker-prison-labor/
http://www.datalounge.com/cgi-bin/iowa/ajax.html?t=11415896#page:showThread,11415896
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/02/11/1063670/-Senate-Republicans-seek-to-make-joblessness-worse-with-forced-volunteer-nbsp-work
It's not just Detroit that is having this problem- this is a national movement. It's radical and scary beyond belief.
I suggest you listen to Randy Rhodes or Thom Hartman if you ever get the chance to listen to talk radio. They will tell you that Republicans- behind closed doors, that is- openly admit that they want to make working conditions in the US on par w/ those of China. In the Republican mind this means "competing" on the free market (I.E. labor is similar in cost therefore employers can choose to operate here in the US instead of China to produce their products). They see the side effect of people committing suicide and making less than a liveable wage as something that will "balance itself out." What they will tell you is that if US workers start working on products for cheap then the products will become cheaper to buy and then US workers will balance out. It is- essentially- a race to the bottom. Both Randy and Thom take calls in and you can talk about this w/ them and they'll go over it in detail for you. It's absolutely disturbing.
Say anything you like as many times as you like. If you get caught lying or plagiarizing, blame it on someone else, deny it if you can, or simply apologize for it. This formula has been working for the GOP since the Nixon era Southern Strategy. Half of Americans are thick enough to believe it.
My parents grew up in a very conservative church that banned just about everything that was fun. In an open air revival in Alabama, when my mother was a child, the Ku Klux Klan once stopped by to make a donation. Away from parental influence, my mother took her children to the church down the street to provide a more liberal influence in our religion.
My parents grew up in the Nazarene church. My mother took us to the (Southern) Baptist church. If we had lived a mile down the street we would have been brought up as Methodists. I became an atheist.
I visited a Nazarene church recently and I came away with the impression that the Southern Baptist Church was now the more conservative. People familiar with those two churches can confirm or disconfirm that impression.
I think I would have become an atheist anyway for philosophical reasons, but people like Land make me even more proud to be an atheist. My moral compass is certainly superior to that of anyone who cannot see racism when it is staring him in the face.
(The Baptists split over slavery in the 1840's as did the Methodists)
While the Southern Baptists apologized in 1995 for their past racist positions, how they handle the current situation will be the true test of the sincerity of that apology. In their defense I will mention Southern Baptist Disaster Relief - my family in the South confirms that the Southern Baptists are some of the first to provide help in emergencies.
America is and always has been a racist nation - seriously people think they are not racists when they say "I'm not prejudiced - but ..." (I call these people - "but bigots".) Please note that inter-racial marriage has only been legal in all states for 45 years. People are still alive today who grew up with Jim Crow laws. The "but bigots" will be with us always - just dust off an old joke - and change the "object" - Jew, Irishman, Indian, Mexican, Arab ,,,
An "Evil" nation - no - but we have sinned mightily and repeatedly and in general failed to seriously repent. (Telling Native Americans and African Americans "that was a long time ago - get over it" doesn't quite cut it.)
Still, here and there, like David of old, we have also done some noble things. One of those was the Preamble to the Constitution. No one seems to read it any more - people are too busy parsing the Bill of Rights and arguing over whether the founding fathers went to church on Sunday. But the Preamble is the founding fathers' "vision statement" for the nation - it's not what we were at the time of the signing - but what they hoped we would become. They hoped for a more perfect union, with justice for all. They hoped for internal and external security, and they hoped for the prosperity and freedom of all of the nation's people.
That's our check list for our nation's progress. Every politician should have a bumper sticker with a copy of the Preamble on in and the words "How's my governing?"
For what it's worth, I would rather be governed by a competent atheist ...
Adam_Selene
The Republican Party’s mixing with religious extremist propaganda over such a controversial case as Martin vs. Zimmerman in claiming that the Democratic Party is just trying to political score over ‘any’ alleged racism only shows how desperate these Republican co-sponsors are to make, and win, a Republican political argument for their religious followers, media viewers or NRA supporters.
GOP leaders are not currently giving their constituents any other agenda to be proud of with political argument, so they mix with the most minority-exploited agenda’s they can find, which is about all they could possibly have a chance to win ‘something’ with. Remember, the GOP cannot only run on a ‘more’ Bush-tax cuts agenda without taking their constituents minds off it with other things, including with criticism of President Obama. Republican leadership bought off their party’s Bush failures with their constituents and they are hoping to do it again, where they have no political or business policy risk.
Most of America will not support or tolerate any State law de-powering law enforcement in automatically assuming any shooter of someone claiming self-defense as automatically innocent, where any victim, is then, assumed guilty until proven innocent.
I was a student at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (SWBTS) from 1991 to 1995. I never graduated. My marriage fell apart before I could finish, and my program included 72 hours.
While I was there, however, the seminary fired its president, Russell Dilday. They've had plenty of time to polish up their story since then, I believe the news broke on March 9, 1994. The story we were told at the time was that Dr. Dilday was too liberal.
I forget the name of the man who came after Dr. Dilday, but I left shortly after he was installed. Honestly, I can't say I regret having left. About a decade after I left Paige Patterson moved in and transformed SWBTS into a fundamentalist school. Sometime later, they refused to grant tenure to a Hebrew professor, because she was a woman. Her name was Sheri Klouda.
On a seemingly unrelated note, my ex-brother-in-law, who also attended SWBTS and graduated, became a pastor of a Southern Baptist church in Mississippi. When an African American family began to attend the church, the deacons told to ask them to leave. Instead, my ex-brother-in-law gave them rides to church. Consequently, his church fired him.
With people like Richard Land being in the leadership of the Southern Baptist Convention and making plagiarizing the incendiary remarks of a bigot, I look back to my decision to leave SWBTS with joy.
Sure, I miss the music and some of the delightful people who taught there, but many of them have left and the one that remain have kept a low profile. I will never forget James McKinney, Dean of the School of Music standing up in front of us and encouraging us to discourage potential students from coming to SWBTS because of what they did to Russell Dilday.
In my church they started firing priests for raping young boys. Unfortunately, I didn't know this and I allowed a priest to have mass for my 17 year old son who committed suicide. I believed he was so full of the Holy Spirit. I still believe he is, but, I no longer trust The Catholic church.
The Republican Party’s mixing with religious extremist propaganda over such a controversial case as Martin vs. Zimmerman in claiming that the Democratic Party is just trying to political score over ‘any’ alleged racism only shows how desperate these Republican co-sponsors are to make, and win, a Republican political argument for their religious followers, media viewers or NRA supporters.
GOP leaders are not currently giving their constituents any other agenda to be proud of with political argument, so they mix with the most minority-exploited agenda’s they can find, which is about all they could possibly have a chance to win ‘something’ with. Remember, the GOP cannot only run on a ‘more’ Bush-tax cuts agenda without taking their constituents minds off it with other things, including with criticism of President Obama. Republican leadership bought off their party’s Bush failures with their constituents and they are hoping to do it again, where they have no political or business policy risk.
Most of America will not support or tolerate any State law de-powering law enforcement in automatically assuming any shooter of someone claiming self-defense as automatically innocent, where any victim, is then, assumed guilty until proven innocent.
He killed, he apologized and he will probably be behind bars for a very long time. End of Story. Now, we just have to wait and see if anyone has learned anything from this horrible, horrible, event that keeps happening every single day.
Please do not judge the entire religious and moral group by satan'n insertion of a radical few.