That doesn't get said nearly enough.
You're a stupid person, viewing the world through the keyhole of your own limited experience, and rather than assuage your terror at the unknown by learning something about it, you try to valorize your unease into a defining characteristic and lash out at the ooo-scary thing that's so frightening you.
I just read "Biden’s Easter Day proclamation insults Christians while pandering to progressives" by Willie Wilson, the perennial mayoral candidate known for giving away free gasoline to poor Chicagoans. Like white right wingers, Wilson piles on President Joe Biden for issuing a proclamation recognizing International Transgender Day of Visibility, observed on March 31 for the past 15 years. Because this year, March 31 also happened to be Easter, and that day is owned by Christians and nobody else can do anything on it but observe their holiday.
"Easter is about the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and this day should be kept sacred," writes Wilson, adding: "Biden has a bully pulpit, and if he uses it to undercut Christianity, it could give citizens a license to move away from God. Any proclamation issued on Easter should be focused on strengthening the bond of our Judeo-Christian nation to God."
This is bigotry on its face, and shame on the Chicago Tribune, or rather, its shell, for disseminating it. Not that Alden Capital will care. A ghoul who digs up corpses and sells the zinc extracted from them hardly cares how the body looks when they've finished.
Just in case it isn't plain, let's examine why Wilson's column is the definition of bigotry, in two important ways:
First, his assumption that the loathed community is somehow corrupting the delicate sensibilities of regular normies. They are the spit that ruins the soup. They can't attend your school, live on your block. They wreck everything. You can't have a day acknowledging the existence of trans people fall on the Christian holy day because then the Christian holy day is ruined. It's an insult! The same reason gays couldn't marry — why, their doing it would destroy the very concept of marriage. Corruption by association. The notion Donald Trump is using to make political hay regarding the border: keep the animals out.
Second, his assumption that everyone views Christianity as he does — as a club to take upside the head of those who stray from his very narrow definitions of conduct. When of course there are people who view Christianity as an occasion for acts of kindness. Not to forget trans people who are themselves Christian.
The funny thing — funny ironic, not funny ha-ha — is the moment I read this, I thought of Willie Wilson walking into an Easter service at an all-white church in Montgomery, Alabama in 1959. The sudden silence. Those white Christian ladies gasping, then glowering under their bonnets, chattering harshly among themselves, regarding him with the same scorn and horror he unthinkingly extends towards the trans world, even as the men leap to give Willie the bum's rush to the street, perhaps delivering a quick beating with axe handles to remind him of his place in life: he didn't belong, not on this side of the tracks, not in this church. Because his presence ruined things. It's an insult.
The idea that Christian love requires the church ladies to welcome Wilson as a human being never occurs to them. Not with his skin color. Just as it doesn't occur to Wilson, whose sentence "if he uses it to undercut Christianity, it could give citizens a license to move away from God" simply assumes that anything suggesting tolerance toward a wider spectrum of humanity is by definition anti-Christian. Not a man in a skirt. God scorns the part of His creation that troubles Willie Wilson, who of course presents himself as the zenith of heavenly perfection, twirling in glory as the Lord applauds. As if God wants us all to be haters and fools.
The funny thing — funny ironic, not funny ha-ha — is the moment I read this, I thought of Willie Wilson walking into an Easter service at an all-white church in Montgomery, Alabama in 1959. The sudden silence. Those white Christian ladies gasping, then glowering under their bonnets, chattering harshly among themselves, regarding him with the same scorn and horror he unthinkingly extends towards the trans world, even as the men leap to give Willie the bum's rush to the street, perhaps delivering a quick beating with axe handles to remind him of his place in life: he didn't belong, not on this side of the tracks, not in this church. Because his presence ruined things. It's an insult.
The idea that Christian love requires the church ladies to welcome Wilson as a human being never occurs to them. Not with his skin color. Just as it doesn't occur to Wilson, whose sentence "if he uses it to undercut Christianity, it could give citizens a license to move away from God" simply assumes that anything suggesting tolerance toward a wider spectrum of humanity is by definition anti-Christian. Not a man in a skirt. God scorns the part of His creation that troubles Willie Wilson, who of course presents himself as the zenith of heavenly perfection, twirling in glory as the Lord applauds. As if God wants us all to be haters and fools.
The confluence of the two dates was the result of the true incompetence of the Catholics & Protestants. Unlike the Eastern Orthodox Christians, they refuse to make sure that Easter doesn't follow the first seder of Passover. So their Easter this year is May 5 which is 11 days after the start of Passover.
ReplyDeleteBut 2029, will be even better, because then Easter is on April Fool's Day!
I think you're kinda missing the mark on this one Neil . and then letting clark pile on. everyone is entitled to have an opinion. when expressed civilly. you're not doing that here and neither is clark . while I dont agree with mr. Wilson . I dont agree with you either. especially your tone.
ReplyDeleteyou've jumped down my throat often enough when my view dosent agree with yours. this reaction is unbecoming regardless of point of view. be nice
And yet you're here, Steve. Perhaps you can clarify — you'd prefer a more sympathetic tone when dealing with ignorant bigots? A bit of cooing perhaps? I find the older I get, the less nice I feel inclined to be toward people who are not themselves nice. As I've said many times, nobody cries like a bully, and if you take that as a personal indictment, well, tough.
DeleteBingo, Mr. S. When you reach your 60s and 70s, and your time is getting noticeably shorter, like an autumn day...and the sand is beginning to run down in the hourglass, like Dorothy "The Wizard of Oz"...you suddenly have a whole lot less patience and tolerance for bullies, jerks, and assholes. Or all three. They're called Republicans.
DeleteBe nice to the not-nice? Why? What the hell for? All they will do is continue to piss on you and call you names, and then tell you that you're also too stupid to come in out of the yellow rain.
At 76, I have no sympathy for the devils of ignorance, prejudice, and bigotry. Even in my geezerhood, I do my damnedest to continue to piss on the haters, until they're soaked and smelly, and then they can cry about it all the way home. Unfortunately, that attitude has made me become a hater as well. A hater of the haters. I am what I am. If somebody doesn't like it---too f'king bad.
Well that's the trick, isn't it? I do try to keep Nietzsche's edict in mind — "When battling monsters take care that one does not become a monster." So I have some sympathy for the fearful, the stupid, the credulous, the duped. I don't see the need to brutalize them, unless I can't help myself. They're truly victims. Isabel Wilkerson once said, in a speech at the Harold Washington Library, that we should never forget the damage that slavery caused to slaveholders. We see that today. Haters cause harm to others, without doubt. But their main victims are themselves.
DeleteThen you're a better man than I am, Mr. S. I've hated the fascists for well over fifty years now, ever since the Chicago debacle in '68. Turned 21 the week before, and suddenly, there I was...wild in the streets and chanting and throwing stuff. Would I do it again? Hell, yeah. And I might get the chance. But I probably won't, because I can't run anymore.
DeleteIt's nearly nearly impossible for me to think of the other side as victims. The insane unknowns who join the militias, the crazy Congresspersons, the Orange Monster, the fearmongers and the fearful, the xenophobes, the racists, the ordinary shmucks who've been flim-flammed and bamboozled by the charlatans...I don't see them as helpless, innocent sheeple. Quite the opposite.
They have all those real and imaginary grievances, grudges, and resentments. Their anger gives them the snarl and the fangs of hungry wolves. They're predators, not prey. They're victimizers, not victims. What do you do when faced with rabid wolves? Guess we'll just have to agree to disagree on this one, Mr. S.
well, steve, to paraphrase euclid, if willie wilson is a republican, and republicans are (largely) bigoted scumbags, wilson must therefor be a bigoted scumbag. see, it's not opinion, it's math
DeleteNo Mr. Steinberg, I do not take your animus personally. I'm just some random person who reads and occasionally comments on your posts. The human condition is fraught and perilous . You generally are on the positive side of my ledger for what's thats worth. I think objecting to the views of others is acceptable behavior. Angrily lashing out at those you disagree with less so. Today in my opinion you failed yourself in your attempt to remember Nietzsche's edict. This happens to the best of us.
DeleteIf you only wish to have readers who coo to you tough. I wish you well
Again, no animus toward you, Steve. That's just the typical collapse-in-a-heap, you-hate-me reaction of bigots who are called out and don't like it. Just as Willie Wilson errs in thinking God approves only him, you err in assuming I WANT some passive-aggressive my-biases-are-just-God's-truth asshat to think well of me. Nobody cries like a bully, as your comment reminds us. Now dry your eyes and give it a rest. It's tiresome.
DeleteI always enjoyed listening to Big. John Howell on WLS radio. He seemed to be able to get his point across without being a jerk he didn't seem to need to lambast the people who didn't agree with. I miss him. I know you're not him. I'm not either
DeleteReligion, just another exclusive, private club.
ReplyDeleteThank you. Willie Wilson and the Tribune were made for each other.
ReplyDeleteWillie's column required an answer. Thank you for your forceful response
ReplyDeleteI just skip reading anything that Willie writes in the Trib
ReplyDeleteI just skip reading the Trib.
DeleteFixed it for you.
I'm with you — I subscribe, and sometimes glance at the front page, and that's usually enough. Which is why I so resent — whoops, VALUE — Eric Zorn for pointing out stuff like this.
Deletei started subscribing when the staff joined the guild, but didn't really expect much. starting to think about dropping them though, simply because they've become a largely suburban tribune. no offense to you neil, and others outside the city limits, i'd just like to see more chicago coverage.
DeleteThe Tribune has seen much better days, that's for sure, and your line in this post about Alden Capital harvesting the zinc is cherce, indeed.
DeleteTo suggest that it's basically worthless, however, is significantly overstating the case. There are enough people dumping on journalism, in general, and I don't like to see it, myself. I would much prefer that this remain a rare two-newspaper town, despite the unfortunate reality with regard to the Trib's ownership.
Rick Kogan, Heidi Stevens, Christopher Borelli, A. D. Quig, Michael Phillips, Steve Chapman -- among many others, of course -- are still to be found in the Trib, despite what's transpired since Alden took over. Plus, what about the cartoons "Bliss" and "Mr. Boffo"? ; ) Why, your favorite sculpture, "Snoopy in a Blender" is on the front page today!
It's quite irksome to subscribe in order to support the work of the fine journalists there and know that the money goes to the fricking hedge fund, but wishing the Trib would just go away altogether is not a valid solution to that problem, IMHO.
Honoring the God of compassion by withholding compassion. The right always needs someone to demonize so they pick the most vulnerable people and spew their hate. I fantasize about someone like Wilson or Trump at the pearly gates and being turned away with knowing laughter.
ReplyDeleteNeil, did part of the column not get linked? There's no "continue reading" icon to press. You state that there are two important ways his statement defines bigotry, clearly label the first, then there is no "second." I expected the second to be his assumption that this is a Judeo-Christian nation with a bond to God, surprised that I didn't see that.
ReplyDeleteRight, because this isn't in the paper. I just cobbled it together, last night, reacting to Wilson's column, which Eric Zorn pointed out on X the way you urge your companion to avoid dog shit on the sidewalk (although, in this case, I strode over and stepped in it). You're right, I did fly past my second point, which I've added. Between this, and all the typos in "Traveling Where Monsters Dwell" I might be stumbling a bit. I don't want to say I've lost a step. But when it's every goddamn day, well, some goddamn days you get the bear, some days the bear gets you.
DeletePlease undercut Christianity. And while you're at it, Judaism, Islam, Hindu- and Buddhism, and the rest of the misguided, murderous belief systems humanity has devised to divide us. Religion, in all its many shapes and flavors, is a leading cause of death and misery, preferably inflicted on others at a distance.
ReplyDeleteOne thought today. This column should get much more dissemination than it ever will.
ReplyDeleteStory of my life.
DeleteWhatever you think of TDOV, it was DUMB, DUMB, DUMB on Biden's part to put out a proclamation this year. It gave Trump another way of stoking up his base and raising concerns among voters who may not like Trump but aren't quite sure how they feel about transgender persons. It was even DUMBER politically that Biden's TDOV proclamation was so much longer and passionate than the one for Easter. It made it appear that he was far more concerned about TDOV than the holiest day in his religion. Given the stakes in this election, I think that we sometimes forget that discretion is the better part of valor. If you think that things were bad now for transgender persons, just wait until the religious right crowd is back in the White House.
ReplyDeletePerhaps you should try reading the post again, for comprehension this time. I have few rules, but one is: don't write for people who hate you. Ditto for politcs. Why on earth would President Biden try to appeal to Trumpies? They're a lost cause. It's touching that you think he could. Biden needs to fire up his base, not futilely try to lure those upon whom it is dimly dawning that something might be amiss with their Cheeto Christ.
DeleteThis! I'm getting tired of NYT "balanced" coverage and the squawking about being civil. Why shouldn't you call out Wilson on his stupid piece? Now that my kids are grown, I ignore Easter completely, and I would never have known Trans Day existed if the right didn't have such a huge bug up its butt.
DeleteReading comprehension? Where did I say anything in my comment about Biden appealing to Trumpers? Of course, they won't vote for him but you don't give your opponent something to use to energize their base and to raise doubt about voting for Biden in the minds of Americans who aren't quite sure what to think about transgender persons. (https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2022/09/15/how-americans-view-policy-proposals-on-transgender-and-gender-identity-issues-and-where-such-policies-exist/)
DeleteAnd, as long as Biden is boring and far too old to serve another term as President, you're never going to have to worry about his base being fired up. https://apnews.com/article/biden-state-of-union-mental-capacity-trump-reelection-66d8784586d21f30885d8153f949510c
I may vote for Biden because the alternative of Trump is too horrible to contemplate but let's not fool ourselves. The TDOV proclamation was a DUMB thing to do on Biden's part.
See? You think you're refuting my point, when in fact you're underscoring it. "I may vote for Biden...."? Really, stilling trying to sort that one out in your mind, are ya? Well, I'm glad you're here — keep reading, Maybe something will dawn on you.
DeleteThis was a fire-y one! Both the original piece and the commentary. Now I’m fired up! Thank you for that!
ReplyDeleteEven if you only have half a bear in you today , you still got bite baby!
ReplyDeleteGet ‘em Neil and call out the ignoramuses!
Bravo!
ReplyDeleteOh hell yes, love it when the room gets feisty!
ReplyDeleteYour response to Wilson’s column is a wild overreaction. One of the unfortunate aspects of our state of culture is that everyone seems to always have to take grievous offence at anything that even slightly rubs them the wrong way, and their outrage-ometer always goes right to 10. Wilson’s commentary might have been a bit backward, but it was hardly the ravings of a hate filled monster.
ReplyDeleteAn accompaniment of this hypersensitive trait is a tendency to take any example of someone saying or doing something that is merely foolish, and assigning sinister motives to it. It’s not enough to remember Disco Demolition Night as, at worst, the idiotic slice of juvenalia that it was. No, we have to recast it as some sort of latent white supremacy rally, which is far more idiotic than the event itself ever was.
I posted your comment, thick as it is, to show people how hard it is for some people to wrap their heads around their own hatred, which feels natural. Wilson's essay WAS sinister. Maybe it would help you to flip it around — imagine Wilson wrote that they really shouldn't have held Easter this year, not on International Trans Awareness Day. Pretend it was your ox being gored. Would that too be "a bit backward"? Not sure how Disco Demolition fits in — you're the first person I've ever heard suggest it was a white supremacy rally. I have heard people suggest it was anti-gay, but I guess to you, that's potato/po-tah-to.
DeleteIf Wilson had posited his argument with the juxtaposition that you describe I would not consider it backward, would not have been offended, and would have laughed at it and admired his moxy. This is partly because I’m not very religious, partly because I have nothing against trans people, but mostly because I’m not an emotional hemophiliac.
DeleteThe idea that Disco Demolition was a simmering cauldron of white hetero resentment is a notion that’s become popular in recent years in your more malleable progressives sectors, even if the words “white supremacy rally” are not invoked verbatim. The PBS documentary series American Experience did an edition a few months ago called “The War on Disco” that pummelled home this idea thoroughly and unconvincingly. Just as Wilson’s column expressed a foolish set of ideas that some mistook for unmitigated evil, so too DDN involved a bit of buffoonish jackassery that has been mistakenly characterised as something darker.