Race, Sex, and Religion: A Personal Perspective

Just want us to address sin, that will take care of both.

Pagan what part of the word 'If' did you not fully comprehend or are you admitting that you choose your friends on the basis of race and sex?

Grammar police here. It appears a word usage violation might have taken place in the aforementioned opinion piece.

"Globally, I would argue that sexism is more prevalent, but in the United States, we’ve done a better job of vitiating the impact of sexism than racism."

Vitiating? This isn't the best word to use here... to vitiate is to make faulty, to debase, corrupt, or pervert, or to make legally defective. For example, an attorney may seek to vitiate a claim.

I believe Mr. Land intended to use "mitigate," which is to make less severe. After all, one would want to lessen the severity of the impact of sexism. But one cannot corrupt the impact of any -ism.

Although I suppose in extenuating circumstances it could be argued that a perversion of the impact of sexism or racism could exist, I don't think that's what was intended in this scenario.

I will let Mr. Land off with a warning: Put the thesaurus back on the shelf and next time, sir, just keep it simple. Consider your audience, most of whom are not lawyers -- or lexicographers.

"If your primary concern is the color or sex of your friends you are a racist or a sexist. Most people don't care about the color or sex of their friends and acquaintances."

Well, Gary, then I'm sure we'll just have to make it official. Just in case everyone's not sufficiently 'acquainted' for your oh-so-fair judgement.

K?

Richard Land will debate Holly Hollman of Brent Walker's Baptist Joint Committee tomorrow in Kentucky.
Have Newsweek interview Randall Balmer in conjunction with a story on Land and his influence. Balmer has recenty called for Land's resignation and called Land a "counterfeit" Baptist.
I continue to be frustrated in all the religion chat in re politics this year, Land has never exhaustively been called on the carpet about his 20 year relationship with Karl Rove; has been silent all this time about the SC 2000 Primary; Land has not answered the charges in Garry Wills Rove Era in Wills latest book; and with the exception of a short dialogue on this board not been pressed to give an account about the charges of Balmer in Thy Kingdom Come about the founding of the Religious Right; nor Land's equivocation on the SBC/s Breach with the Baptist World Alliance.
Consult the SBC's Ginny Brant on that one; Harry Dent's daughter.

Stan:

We know no two people are alike. When it comes to isms, seen one seen them all may well apply. Now put the two together and we find an ism per person thus no two isms are alike. Of course that leads to greed, people just loaded with isms, like a bad case of fleas.

We need to worry about compatible isms. Mental disease can be caused by conflicting ism no doubt. Once you got the isms they're hard to get rid of so I understand. That's why I'm real careful and try hard to avoid getting the isms, racism, sexism, baptism, you name it.

One ism per person I say and, Americanism is the only ism for me. That's not original of course, caught it from an ultra conservative, the late senator and unsuccessful candidate for president, Barry Goldwater. Some say his loss was due to racism or a lack there of as both cases can be argued. What we know for sure is racism was a big issue that election, (like this one?) and the fellow who won signed the civil rights act of 1965 that ended official racism.

What pray tell is regressive about that statement?

If your primary concern is the color or sex of your friends you are a racist or a sexist. Most people don't care about the color or sex of their friends and acquaintances.

Funny you should say that, JJ. You know who 'goes somewhere else' when you decide it's your right to personally-spam every thread with the same cut and pasted things over and over?

Almost everyone that doesn't think Christianity or whatever their religion is is just about 'looking for a fight.'

You spam. It doesn't help *anything* and it's all about *you.*

I don't care how crazy you think you are.

People are trying to talk, here.

"As a Caucasian male, I am reticent to wade into this deep end of the pool. "

Actually, that's a really apt metaphor, perhaps in unintentional ways.

Are you standing in the shallow end and wondering why those swimming or treading water aren't getting it when some say, "Just stand still! But stay out of *my* end!?" :)

Well, Gary, I guess you do the world a service by reminding us why it's not a good idea to try and be regressive, cause that kind of thinking sure isn't a good place to live. :)

Bgone:

Your observation of "Bapt-ism" is an enlightment.
I have always wondered why John the Baptist was preaching and "preaching repentance and baptism".

Since Mark starts with John the Baptist your observation means that the New Testament and Christianity started as an "ism" to replace the at first 'sexism' (Eve did it)and then'racism' (a race chosen by God) of the OT.

There must be something in "ism" that sets off a trigger the brain .

Racism is large a problem for racists sexism for sexists the rest of us the roughly 90 percent don't care about either your sex or your color unless one makes it necessary and then we care only long enough to condemn your for your overweening ignorance.

When you said, "Globally, I would argue that sexism is more prevalent, but in the United States, we’ve done a better job of vitiating the impact of sexism than racism" you mean to say that we're still racists while in the other countries their sexists?

Shouldn't we cure the rest of the world first? That's the old "divide and conquer" routine. We can concentrate all our anti-ism force on the two troubling isms one at a time. Southern Baptists working hard on ending isms abroad right now? We'll get around to racism later?

What are we going to do about baptism? There may be more than two isms that need to be ended, as peaceable as possible of course. What better place can there be than church to root baptism out.

Isms must be like dandelions in the lawn, got to root them clean out to get rid of them for good. But they just keep coming back, probably because the neighbors don't get rid of theirs.

Well not quite racism is largely a problem for those who wish to make it so. People like Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and the racial ambulance chasers at the NAACP whose livelihood largely depends on the perception of the existence of some sort of entrenched racism.

Shelby Steele's current book ought to be required reading on the subject.