Government Class

In my Government class there are 4 middle aged white men. They fit the stereotype of conservative, middle class, white men. They are also convinced that their opinions are 100% correct and they will not listen to dissenting opinions. They argue amongst one another about whose opinion is correct.

Here’s an example of an argument (this is not verbatim):

Man 1: …and then these people get off of the bus with bull horns and block out these other people who actually have questions!

Man 2: Well all we need to ask ourselves is who do we know that has done this before, who supported Mr. Obama to the tune of 4 BILLION dollars? Who would bus those people over? The trade unions. –

Man 3: (To the professor) You’re gonna have to take me out of this class. I can’t keep my mouth shut! (To the class in general) What I don’t understand is why people think the president is such a big deal. The President in nobody! We hire people every 2 and 6 years to do what WE want. If the President does something we don’t like, they can change it.

Man 1: Maybe, but I heard an interview with a congressman who said he didn’t care what his constituents said, he would vote for what he wanted and what he thought would be best.

Man 3: Then he shouldn’t be re-elected!

Rest of the class: …(silence)

That’s just a sample of what takes place. They are basically unnecessary conversations that quickly spiral away from the original topic. I don’t have a problem hearing other people’s opinions that are different from mine. In fact, I welcome it. But when you take half an hour of my class time and don’t allow anyone else to join the conversation, I’m going to get mad.

People who are so ignorant and intolerant of other people’s viewpoints rub me the wrong way. That’s one of the reasons I no longer attend church. People there are so intolerant of people with different opinions, and they use God and their Christian religion as a reason for their intolerance. I don’t want to go to Sunday School and hear that Obama is a terrible President. That’s not what Sunday School is for.

I don’t want to go to Government class and hear these men speak. I want the professor to teach what he is supposed to, and tell these men to do their political debates outside of class. I know if he doesn’t tell them, one of these days I’ll make a scene in class and tell them myself.

Give it up already!

The Sapulpa Daily Herald has been under scrutiny far too long.
I’m not necessarily a huge fan of the paper or the editor, however people who are STILL complaining about the fact that the Herald didn’t put Barack Obama on the front page on November 5th.
Here’s the thing: most people don’t get the paper until around 2 or 3 in the afternoon. If these people didn’t know by then that Obama had won the presidency, then I would love to know what rock the were under. The Herald simply covered the local county elections. The elections that the T.V. stations didn’t cover! Why put it in the paper if it isn’t county news and everyone already knows? What’s the point? I’d rather know who the sheriff is than reread that Barack Obama won. That doesn’t make me a racist. If it does, I am a very bad racist, since I supported Obama in the election.

This guy from Muncie, Indiana wrote a letter to the Herald a couple of weeks ago. TWO MONTHS after the election. Here is his letter:

“Editor:

I found out via the Olberman show that this  paper is one of only two not to have the Obama election story on the front page. I can only conclude that this action was a covert racist reaction to Obama’s victory.

My mother came from your area of Oklahoma, so I’ve visited often and I’m well aware of the depth that racism runs in this state! The fact that Obama carried not one county says to me that bigotary is alive and well in the Sooner state.

Keep up the good work kiddies, maybe we can maintain the racial gap into the next century.”

After I read this guy’s letter I was angry. He basically called all of us racists in Oklahoma! He called me a racist, my family, and my friends too. I don’t really appreciate that. What bothered me more is that people in Sapulpa aren’t standing up for themselves. I wrote a letter to the newspaper in this guy’s hometown, though I’m pretty sure they didn’t publish it. Which is disrespectful, at least the Herald had the guts to publish all of the letters that both admonished and praised them.

Let’s pick apart the letter: For one, he was watching the show “Countdown with Keith Olberman” which doesn’t always present the facts clearly. The Herald editor wrote back to this man pointing out that there were at least 9 newspapers, if not more, that didn’t publish Obama’s victory. That is significantly more than two papers. All of the papers mentioned are county newspapers. Secondly, a “covert racist reaction”? Really? I didn’t know Oklahomans were good at being covert racists. I’ll have to work on my technique… Thirdly, Racism in this state runs deep… I haven’t ever witnessed anyone being a racist. People here always pull together in times of trouble. If someone had acted as a racist, it must have been a covert operation… Fourthly, the fact that Obama carried not one county doesn’t mean we’re racists. It means this state always votes Republican. And Obama never visited this state during his presidential campaign. And lastly, “kiddies”? I’m sure talking down to us will make everything better and will help you feel more confident in your manhood. And if we’re going to maintain the racial gap into the next century, it will be up to MY children and grandchildren to do so in a covert way… I had better start working on my “Covert Racism Training Manual”.