Sometimes the headlines just write themselves, don't they?
The Tulsa World news reports on an Oklahoma state legislature vote on the fate of Affirmative Action there:
Rep. Sally Kern, R-Oklahoma City, said minorities earn less than white people because they don’t work as hard and have less initiative.
“We have a high percentage of blacks in prison, and that’s tragic, but are they in prison just because they are black or because they don’t want to study as hard in school? I’ve taught school, and I saw a lot of people of color who didn’t study hard because they said the government would take care of them.”
Kern said women earn less than men because “they tend to spend more time at home with their families.”
The proposal for a constitutional amendment to end Affirmative Action in Oklahoma state passed that state's House of Representatives by an overwhelming majority on Wednesday night. The vote was 59-14, with another 28 either absent or not voting.
The proposed amendment has already passed the Senate, and will now appear on the ballot in 2012.
Democratic Rep. Mike Shelton of Oklahoma City had this to say about Wednesday's vote:
“This body will quote the Bill of Rights and then talk about Muslims every day. They’ll talk about illegal immigrants every day. They’ll talk about homosexuals.
“Oklahoma is a great state — as long as you fit the profile.”
But Kerns doesn't reserve her ignorant comments for just the black community.
In 2008:
Just a partial transcript here, she had much more to say, even something about gays are trying to get 2-year-olds into public schools so they can be indoctrinated by the evil gay agenda.
"Studies show that no society that has totally embraced homosexuality has lasted more than, you know, a few decades. So it’s the death knell of this country. I honestly think it’s the biggest threat our nation has, even more so than terrorism or Islam, which I think is a big threat... If you got cancer or something in your little toe, do you say, well, you know, I’m just going to forget about it because the rest of me is fine? It spreads. OK? And this stuff is deadly, and it’s spreading, and it will destroy our young people, it will destroy this nation."
Kerns refused to apologize for her comments. The Oklahoma GOP lawmakers gave her a standing ovation.
I find it incredibly sad that such an ignorant person was able to work in the public school system.
I find it inexcusable that she hides behind her First Amendment rights to espouse fear-mongering, hate speech and misinformation, especially so as she is an elected official.
And while no doubt all our states have their own history of poor race relations, I find it intolerable that an elected official in the state where the worst violence against blacks in the history of America occurred since slavery speaks publicly in 2011 with such ignorance about black Americans.
I don't live in Oklahoma, but those of you who do...recalls are really catching on right now. Maybe it's time to rid yourselves of a lemon.
