State Rep. Forwards Racist E-mail

August 22, 2001 7:17 AM

State Rep. Forwards Racist E-mail A state representative forwarded an e-mail to fellow lawmakers this week that claimed, "Two things made this country great: White men & Christianity....There's a lot of it that's truth, the way I see it," Davis said. "Who came to this country first -- the white man, didn't he? That's who made this country great."

i don't know about you, but i feel dumber for having just read that story.
posted by adampsyche (26 comments total)

"Listen, there's nothing racist about it. And don't give me that mess," Davis said.

jesus christ.

this, from an atheist.
posted by will at 7:34 AM on August 22, 2001

"Two things made this country great: White men & Christianity," the letter says. "Every problem that has arrisen (sic) can be directly traced back to our departure from God's Law and the disenfranchisement of White men."

my favorite quote.

whooo--weeee!!!. i haves arrisen to rescue the white man and return him to Gawd's Law!!!
posted by adampsyche at 7:39 AM on August 22, 2001

yeah...the "don't give me that mess" cracked me up, what an articulate rebuttal.

A google search on God's Order Affirmed in Love pulls up some nice bits. They are Christian Identity. Mr. Davis should think a bit more before he forwards email from a group that makes it onto anti-fascism and extremist group lists.

what a jerk. (my own articulate little snippet.)
posted by th3ph17 at 7:40 AM on August 22, 2001

The implication being that everything bad about this country is the fault of women, minorities, and non-Christians. And Davis wants to claim he's not racist?

It would be just as easy to say everything that made this country terrible came from white men and Christianity--that's just as much a ridiculous exaggeration that can be defended with anecdotal evidence. To emphasize only one side of the coin without considering the other demonstrates a prejudice in thinking. So yes, Rep. Davis, it's racist.

Oh, and this: "Who came to the country first? The white man." Yeah, native americans must be loving that one.
posted by turaho at 7:57 AM on August 22, 2001

Well then I guess it's a good thing we've returned back to putting a white Christian man into power to restore all that is right in America.
posted by PWA_BadBoy at 7:59 AM on August 22, 2001

doh.. my <sarcasm> tags didn't show up :(
posted by PWA_BadBoy at 7:59 AM on August 22, 2001

When I was younger, I used to lampoon racism by taking it to extremes. How ridiculously racist can I be before people will realize I'm joking? I used to dream of rising to high office or stardom so I could spread the gift of my humor to everyone.

Whenever I see someone say something just terrible like this, a little part of me hopes that's what they're doing. Pointing out how dumb racism is by taking it to the extreme. Unfortunately, that's probably never the case.
posted by RustyBrooks at 8:00 AM on August 22, 2001

Still, why did the American Indian representative Sutton have to refer call the mentaility of Davis, "..white-supremacist, Gestapo..".

Nazis weren't that Christian as I recall.

Why does no one remember that Stalin was a bastard too?
posted by Dagobert at 8:04 AM on August 22, 2001

Move along. Nothing to see here. Just another "Dixiecrat" Republican from the Jim Crow South.
Isn't it just wonderful to have the ideological soulmates of those who currently control politics in America being so brazen about their racism?
Damned Liberals! I ain't no progressive, I'm a regressive, by gawd!
I bet Trent Lott, Tom Delay, Jesse Helms, Bob Barr, Dick Armey, Phil Gramm, Dubya, Dan Burton, Strom Thurmond and others of their ilk are just bustin' their buttons with pride right now!
Save yer' Dixie cups folks 'cause the South's gonna rise agin'!!
I'm gonna go puke now.....
posted by nofundy at 8:13 AM on August 22, 2001

"Who came to this country first -- the white man, didn't he? That's who made this country great"

Uh - Native Americans? I'm pretty sure they were already here, bub. And, as the classic story goes, the pilgrims would've starved without the "Indians" - I'll bet American Indians are kicking themselves today on that. Then again, this might've wound up as South Canada.. but i digress
posted by Zebulun at 8:25 AM on August 22, 2001

What is most upsetting to me is the growing realization that this is how much of (white) Americs thinks - he is not the exception, but the rule. Notwithstanding nofundy's comment - it ain't a Southern thing...it's the American Way, in its most true and ugly guise.
posted by mapalm at 8:48 AM on August 22, 2001

"Who came to this country first -- the white man, didn't he? That's who made this country great"

It might be the Japanese

I wonder how long it'll be before the slavery bill gets put forward?
posted by bregdan at 8:50 AM on August 22, 2001

Actually, neo-Nazi-ism is often associated with Protestant-ism.
posted by bob bisquick at 9:13 AM on August 22, 2001

Davis begins to backpedal, but then decides to keep going:

"I don't know that I agree altogether, but it makes you think.. There is a lot of factual information. ... I don't see a thing in there that should offend anybody."
posted by idiolect at 9:54 AM on August 22, 2001

Oops. Should've kept looking. He's in full backpedal mode now. (Link also has full text of offending e-mail.)
posted by idiolect at 10:00 AM on August 22, 2001

"Is you is or is you ain't my constituancy?"

"These boys ain't old-timey, they ain't even white. They used the Confederate flag as a missile!"
posted by shinji_ikari at 10:11 AM on August 22, 2001

“If I were a racist, I wouldn’t have sent it (the e-mail) to every member of the General Assembly,” Rep. Davis said. “I have been to many black churches and I get just as much spiritual good going to black churches as I do going to white churches.”

wow - now there's some solid logic for you. hey i hung out with a black once - i'm not racist!!!

this whole thing is just really sad
posted by skinjob at 10:44 AM on August 22, 2001

i would assume that from the perspective of the native american, white men and christianity are precisely the problem. huh? what? oh - they're savages? never mind...
posted by quonsar at 10:47 AM on August 22, 2001

And, you know, maybe this guy was sleeping with his office intern, too
posted by matteo at 11:10 AM on August 22, 2001

I don't know whether to laugh or cry that this man is one of our lawmakers. Maybe I'll just take the middle ground and vomit. ;)
posted by witchstone at 11:51 AM on August 22, 2001

What is most upsetting to me is the growing realization that this is how much of (white) Americs thinks

What worse, that email or reactionary statements like this? I've found that most people in the US I run into do not have this attitude and would find it insulting. Then again I don't live in a southern baptist parking lot.
posted by skallas at 3:34 PM on August 22, 2001

Thank you, skallas!
From now on, when things seem at their worst, I will remember that I don't live in a southern baptist parking lot.
too damned funny. . .
posted by BoyWithFez at 3:47 PM on August 22, 2001

this is news? why not just *ignore* this man and do something a little more useful than badgering him. who cares what he thinks. he's obviously completely, hideously wrong, so move on. there are people to help.
posted by sixandone at 5:47 PM on August 22, 2001

What is most upsetting to me is the growing realization that this is how much of (white) Americs thinks

if this weren't true, then Dubya would not hold the position he does. liberals (like myself and, obviously, most of the people who post here) tend to surround themselves with other liberals and, in our optimistic ignorance, tend to believe that we are the majority and that "right" will eventually prevail. it disturbs us to find out that people still hold the stereotypical "southern baptist" mentality because it proves that 99.9% of people are complete morons, most of whom "run" the country.
posted by tewedle at 8:58 PM on August 22, 2001