Seems to me that the argument we may end up having in courts Is “what exactly is religion?” The idea that you can discriminate against people based on professing some spurious religious ideology is so far reaching as to becoming absurd. Does the discriminator need to “prove” they are religious ? What is the definition of “religious”? Can atheists and agnostics organizations include themselves as a “religion” . Can christians argue that Muslims, Buddhists ,Mormons, Confucianism etc. can be discriminated against because it is “ contrary to THEIR particular religion.? Then we have issues of discrimination against divorcees, unmarried couples, or any other biblical interpretation they can use.It appears to me that the Supreme Court has not consider the interpretation of “religion” and thus have opened the flood gates of controversy. We are subsidizing “religion”, and historically, religions have discriminated against each other notwithstanding their protection under the constitution, but it does not suggest that out taxes should assist religions, and thus religions can now discriminate against the hands that support them.
I want to bring up what may very likely be a controversial issue but one which I don’t think is discussed nearly enough. I have been a long time listener to your show and to other progressive shows. I heard Zerlina Maxwell again this week and she continues to disappoint me on one key item: her almost vitriolic dislike of Pete Buttigeg. Whenever she speaks of her dislike for him she reinforces, to me, much of the historic tension between the African American community and the LGBTQ community. Living in California, many people in the LGBTQ community still feel the pain of Prop 8 when the AA community, who had huge turn out for Obama, also voted in favor of Prop 8 by a 2-1 margin (see LA Times reporting on this from that time). Zerlina’s continued disdain for Mayor Pete also echoes the perception—right or wrong but she herself repeated these sentiments—that the LGBTQ community is basically composed of primarily entitled white men who don’t really quite understand discrimination. Here is a quote that was given to the LA Times shortly after Prop 8 passed:
“Ron Buckmire, who heads the Barbara Jordan/Bayard Rustin Coalition, a black gay-rights group in Los Angeles, said the vote shows that “there is a lot of work to be done in the black community.”
Buckmire said the campaign (to defeat Prop 8) should also have emphasized that, at its core, the proposition was about stripping a minority of a right that they had enjoyed. “The civil rights of people should not be put to a vote,” he said. “Period. I would have thought that that message would have gotten through.”
At any rate, I remain disappointed listening to Zerlina continue to blast Mayor Pete. Yes, there are very qualified women and POC who will make good VP candidates and made great Presidential candidates, some were even my first choices, but ANYONE, including Mayor Pete, are far more qualified than the idiot in the White House right now to be either President or Vice President and who will be far better qualified than Trump to pick appropriate judges. Further, religious exemptions could well pervade in many different communities, not just white communities. Mark Thompson did discuss these issues on his show once and acknowledged it was important for these problems to be called out, and he was as pastor and Maxwell’s parents are both pastors. So it seems as if there is still work to be done, and when I hear Zerlina rake Mayor Pete it’s just hurtful because she basically says he’s an entitled white guy who doesn’t really get discrimination and I just do not believe that to be true. My likely controversial 2 cents.
Seems to me that the argument we may end up having in courts Is “what exactly is religion?” The idea that you can discriminate against people based on professing some spurious religious ideology is so far reaching as to becoming absurd. Does the discriminator need to “prove” they are religious ? What is the definition of “religious”? Can atheists and agnostics organizations include themselves as a “religion” . Can christians argue that Muslims, Buddhists ,Mormons, Confucianism etc. can be discriminated against because it is “ contrary to THEIR particular religion.? Then we have issues of discrimination against divorcees, unmarried couples, or any other biblical interpretation they can use.It appears to me that the Supreme Court has not consider the interpretation of “religion” and thus have opened the flood gates of controversy. We are subsidizing “religion”, and historically, religions have discriminated against each other notwithstanding their protection under the constitution, but it does not suggest that out taxes should assist religions, and thus religions can now discriminate against the hands that support them.
I want to bring up what may very likely be a controversial issue but one which I don’t think is discussed nearly enough. I have been a long time listener to your show and to other progressive shows. I heard Zerlina Maxwell again this week and she continues to disappoint me on one key item: her almost vitriolic dislike of Pete Buttigeg. Whenever she speaks of her dislike for him she reinforces, to me, much of the historic tension between the African American community and the LGBTQ community. Living in California, many people in the LGBTQ community still feel the pain of Prop 8 when the AA community, who had huge turn out for Obama, also voted in favor of Prop 8 by a 2-1 margin (see LA Times reporting on this from that time). Zerlina’s continued disdain for Mayor Pete also echoes the perception—right or wrong but she herself repeated these sentiments—that the LGBTQ community is basically composed of primarily entitled white men who don’t really quite understand discrimination. Here is a quote that was given to the LA Times shortly after Prop 8 passed:
“Ron Buckmire, who heads the Barbara Jordan/Bayard Rustin Coalition, a black gay-rights group in Los Angeles, said the vote shows that “there is a lot of work to be done in the black community.”
Buckmire said the campaign (to defeat Prop 8) should also have emphasized that, at its core, the proposition was about stripping a minority of a right that they had enjoyed. “The civil rights of people should not be put to a vote,” he said. “Period. I would have thought that that message would have gotten through.”
At any rate, I remain disappointed listening to Zerlina continue to blast Mayor Pete. Yes, there are very qualified women and POC who will make good VP candidates and made great Presidential candidates, some were even my first choices, but ANYONE, including Mayor Pete, are far more qualified than the idiot in the White House right now to be either President or Vice President and who will be far better qualified than Trump to pick appropriate judges. Further, religious exemptions could well pervade in many different communities, not just white communities. Mark Thompson did discuss these issues on his show once and acknowledged it was important for these problems to be called out, and he was as pastor and Maxwell’s parents are both pastors. So it seems as if there is still work to be done, and when I hear Zerlina rake Mayor Pete it’s just hurtful because she basically says he’s an entitled white guy who doesn’t really get discrimination and I just do not believe that to be true. My likely controversial 2 cents.