Love the language being used in the media like “perceived” and “possible” and “potential”. Utah still has it’s collective head stuck in 1949. There seems to be an awful lot of apologists for Mr. Buttars. I wonder if they’ve gotten any calls or emails about this? o

© 2008 Armstrong Media, LLC. All rights reserved. No republishing without permision. This post was originally written by Jon Armstrong for blurbomat.com.
Permalink | 8 comments Add to del.icio.us
Posted in: chris buttars, culture, ignorance, scandal, utah, utah racism

From awesome photographer and writer, Aaryn b. (she’s posted it there as well) Thanks for the link and the mention. It was strange to go a day without Buttars being mentioned in the local news. o

© 2008 Armstrong Media, LLC. All rights reserved. No republishing without permision. This post was originally written by Jon Armstrong for blurbomat.com.
Permalink | 11 comments Add to del.icio.us
Posted in: chris buttars, culture, ignorance, utah racism

Also from the Mormon-owned station.

Salt Lake Tribune story here.

Touchy Mormons have wondered why I’m including Mr. Buttars religion at all in my writings about this issue. I believe we’ll see more of this kind of ignorance in the future not less if the church remains silent. I believe that is what can be expected when a dominate culture is fed ignorance for decades. Racism is ignorance. Bigotry is ignorance. That more people aren’t clamoring publicly, that the media outlets are standing back and choosing their language far more carefully than Mr. Buttars has (twice now!) says so much about a culture that has been shaped with a heavy pair of hands by one party and one church. I call out the church because here is a brilliant chance to take a stand. I know the church will probably not comment, but how great would it be if it did? Wouldn’t you want whatever organization you belong to to stand up against hate speech?

The irony is that Mr. Buttars and his supporters are now trying to make Buttars the victim. Typical conservative tactics. o

UPDATE: From the Mormon owned paper. Best bit from the candy ass GOP Salt Lake County chair:

“Salt Lake County Republican Party Chairman James Evans said that Buttars’ comments, including his recent reference to lynching, were not racist.

“‘It is a ‘hate lynch mob,’ Evans said, echoing Buttars’ words.

“‘People decide who’s a racist and who’s not based on their agenda,’ Evans said. ‘This is a political agenda to silence a white, conservative male … race is being used as a weapon to undermine Sen. Buttars’ effectiveness.’”

The poor, white conservative male defense. Give me a break.

© 2008 Armstrong Media, LLC. All rights reserved. No republishing without permision. This post was originally written by Jon Armstrong for blurbomat.com.
Permalink | 14 comments Add to del.icio.us
Posted in: chris buttars, ignorance, politics, utah, utah racism

Buttars strikes back: Senator says critics have become a ‘hate lynch mob’

He keeps it up with the racially charged language. Here’s his justification:

“It was a bad statement, but the statement as I used it had nothing to do with human beings, certainly not a black human being.”

Right. Not a black baby human at all. So what kind of black baby are you referring to, Senator?

Utah doesn’t know how to deal with something like this because of the hegemony of the Republican party, the legitimization of hate speech and thought by the predominant religion and lack of strong moral leadership from elected officials. And this from the party who claims to support “family values”.

P.S. Mormons who defend this guy: you aren’t making a very good case for yourself or your religion. This has nothing to do with political correctness. It has to do with political hate. I don’t hate Mr. Buttars. But a guy with such outdated views should at the very least be censured and voted out. 10th District, you don’t look so good, either. o

UPDATE: Video interview with KUTV news:

© 2008 Armstrong Media, LLC. All rights reserved. No republishing without permision. This post was originally written by Jon Armstrong for blurbomat.com.
Permalink | 28 comments Add to del.icio.us
Posted in: chris buttars, mormon racism, politics, racism, utah, utah racism