The Last Prejudice
There is just one religious/ethnic prejudice that is still socially acceptable in Liberal America (including especially the media), and that is prejudice against socially conservative Christians — especially Mormons.
What else can account for this Reuters article about Hurricane Katrina refugees in Utah, which states openly that “the local community has welcomed the refugees with open arms,” but prefaces that statement with the qualifier “So far,” and even headlines the article “Black refugees ask if Utah will really accept them”?
Every single fact in the article indicates that the local community has welcomed them with open arms, provind food, housing, and jobs for those who want to stay — and every subjective, non-factual statement in the article implies that everyone in Utah is a racist because of the Mormons. After all, not too many Blacks live in Utah, so they must be racist, right? (How come nobody asked that about Howard Dean? It’s not like Vermont has all that many Blacks.)
The fact is, this is open anti-Mormon bigotry on the part of Reuters, and it should not go unanswered.
September 12th, 2005 at 8:24 pm
Anyone knowledgeable about the history of Mormonism would have to admit this is, at least slightly, a valid concern. Blacks were forbidden from ordained positions within the church until 1978. The book of Nephi has a number of comments about skin color which imply that white-skinned peoples are superior. In fact, one passage describes the conversion of native americans to mormonism; the spiritual transformation is accompanied by the individual’s brown skin becoming white.
It’s also a plain fact that Mormonism has a particular hold on Utah public policy. Utah’s liquor laws are this country’s most restrictive, a direct result of Mormon influence.
So it is reasonable to consider that blacks from the south who carry with them a particular consciousness of America’s past racism may be skeptical of new homes and new lives in predominantly white, Mormon areas.
And the article in question barely mentions Mormonism in the first place. The focus is on Utah’s social conservatism and predominantly white population. The complaint of anti-religious bigotry is somewhat of a straw man.
September 12th, 2005 at 11:47 pm
It’s ridiculous for someone from Louisiana, of all places, to consider this a “valid concern.” Louisiana segregated its schools; Utah never did. (And since until 1954 no city in Utah except Salt Lake City had more than one high school, there was no “de facto” segregation by neighborhood, either.) Utah banned discrimination in public accomodations legislatively in the 1940s; Louisiana had to be forced by the courts two and three decades later. The “concern” about Mormons applies only if they want to join the Mormon church, which has been possible for the last 27 years — and in New Orleans, please tell me, how many Protestant churches are integrated?
It is simply preposterous to believe that “blacks from the south who carry with them a particular consciousness of America’s past racism” but were willing to live in the Deep South — the veritable “ground zero” of “America’s past racism” should have such concerns in a state and a region with a history far more benign. In fact, it is clear if you read the article carefully that most of the subjects interviews had no such concerns; those “concerns” were all applied by the reporter.
September 14th, 2005 at 6:33 am
Actually, the African Americans might be acting reasonably (given their current situation) for a couple of reasons: the fist posteri s correct.
Yes, regular churches tend to be segregated, by choice. But the LDS religion does teach that a darker
skin is a devinely ordained curse; prior to getting the dark skin, the people were “while and delight
to behold”. That is a rather extreme, and it is the opinion of their God!!!
As far as living in the deep south where civil segregation was widely practiced: this is sort of like
“the devil you know” thing; those folks have family roots there. In Utah, they would feel a bit
like aliens, even if the people around them were warm and friendly. Imagine, say, your being taken
in by, say, a Chinese city and imagine that you really didn’t have much exposure to other cultures.
It is tough to see things as others see them, but it is a worthwhile exercise to try.
By the way, we were due to get 500 (Peoria has a large African American community) but it looks as if
we aren’t going to; evidently we are simply too far away.
September 18th, 2005 at 11:32 pm
In response to Marc’s comment “Utah’s liquor laws are this countrie’s most
restrictive.” Obviously Marc has not recently traveled to Utah. Restaurants and bars can be licensed to serve all forms of alcohol. Laws have generally been liberalized (hate to use that word) over the past several years and there were few compaints during the Olympics.
There are few blacks in Utah but my black friends seem to like it just fine.