January 30, 2015      12:01 PM
Smith: It is the fear mongers we should fear most
From the Left: Quorum Report’s liberal columnist Glenn W. Smith argues that this week’s disruption at the Capitol is indicative of other underlying discrimination in Texas.
Last summer we learned that Houston had become the most
racially and ethnically diverse city in America, making Texas one of the most
diverse states. But among the diverse are some who hate the diversity, and two
dozen of the bigots came to the Texas Capitol on Thursday to snarl
and scream at some peaceful Muslims there to promote peace, tolerance and
understanding.
The bigoted idiocy became national news when freshman
state Rep. Molly White, R-Belton,
instructed her staff to disrespect any of the Islamic faithful who might stop
by her office on “Muslim Day.” White demanded her staff make them say the
pledge of allegiance. I like the pledge. But White’s demand wasn’t honoring
America. It was bullying and it dishonored Texas and America. As the late Molly Ivins might say (and I wish she
was here to say it!), “Beloveds, we gotta find more
flattering ways to make national news in Texas.”
House Speaker Joe
Straus was clearly embarrassed by White’s stunt. He said, pointedly,
“…legislators have a responsibility to treat all visitors just as we expect to
be treated.”
I’d like to remind readers in distant lands that not all
Texans are like Molly White or the ugly band of bigots screaming at the
Muslims. The protestors carried signs indicating they were Christian. Jesus
wept.
We are, generally, a tolerant bunch here in Texas. We
have to be to put up with ourselves.
The entire column
from Glenn W. Smith is in the R&D Department.
By Glenn W. Smith
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