I've got a bit of a dilemma in my home life. I've got a very good relationship with my parents, who are pretty conservative, but I'm not sure how to tell my mother that I think she might be a little bit racist.
We were talking politics on the way home from work today, sparked by this craaaaazy article from today's Poughkeepsie Journal:
Dutchess County Republican Committee Chairwoman Corinne Weber has resigned over a chain e-mail she forwarded to party members, some of whom were offended by its content.
Weber forwarded an e-mail to more than two dozen Republicans on Friday night that makes a veiled reference to Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and suggests he is the Antichrist.
The note, a bit of Internet flotsam that has floated around for months, inaccurately summarizes passages from the Book of Revelation. In fact, it refers to Chapter 13 of the Book of Revelations (sic).
The e-mail contends the "anti-Christ" will be a man in his 40s who is of Muslim descent and has a massive Christ-like appeal, but will destroy everything when he is in power.
The e-mail asks the reader, "Do we recognize this description?"
It also asks readers to post the message as many times "as you can," including to media outlets.
"I refuse to take a chance on this unknown candidate who came out of nowhere," the e-mail said.
Though the version forwarded by Weber did not mention Obama by name, earlier incarnations do.
Obama is Christian. The Book of Revelation was written before the Prophet Muhammad founded the Islamic religion.
Weber deferred comment Monday to Vice Chairman Michael McCormack.
McCormack said he received a letter of resignation from Weber and he read it aloud at the Dutchess County GOP summit Saturday.
"Her resignation is based on Corinne's feeling that she is doing what is right for the Republican Party in Dutchess County," McCormack said. "The contents of the forwarded e-mail did not reflect the sentiment of the Dutchess County Republican Committee or Corinne Weber."
Thankfully, it was pretty easy to convince her that the email really had nothing at all to do with anything that's actually in the Bible, but she says she has an uneasy feeling about Obama. She says she feels like he's hiding something, and he's going to surprise us all after he's elected.
She says she doesn't know why she has that feeling, and I don't have the heart to tell her "I think it might be because he's black." I can't call my own mother a racist.
Tell me Kossacks, what is a boy to do?
Geek moment: I keep thinking of Luke talking to Ghost Obi-Wan.
"I can't kill my own father!"
"Then the Emperor has already won..."