Speaking of tactics, I want to thank Rosanne
One of the harder lines of bullshit to refute is when someone defends racism by saying, "Islam isn't a race." Because it's not.
The reality, of course, is that most of the people wanting to ban Muslims are perfectly happy to catch Sikhs in the same net ... and pretty much all those swarthy folks.
But by putting "Muslim" and "ape" in the same insult, Rosanne has exposed the correct frame: Bill Maher gets a pass on the orangutan jokes because that's an insult that's thrown at people of color in general. He's not saying it about Trump because of his race but on his own personal "merits".
In the same way, no one "accuses" white people of being Muslims. White Democrats "hate America" because ... well, just because, apparently. But black Democrats are "secret Muslims".
So yes, I know Islam isn't a race. But I also know that people who think it's an insult use it interchangeably with racial slurs.
The reality, of course, is that most of the people wanting to ban Muslims are perfectly happy to catch Sikhs in the same net ... and pretty much all those swarthy folks.
But by putting "Muslim" and "ape" in the same insult, Rosanne has exposed the correct frame: Bill Maher gets a pass on the orangutan jokes because that's an insult that's thrown at people of color in general. He's not saying it about Trump because of his race but on his own personal "merits".
In the same way, no one "accuses" white people of being Muslims. White Democrats "hate America" because ... well, just because, apparently. But black Democrats are "secret Muslims".
So yes, I know Islam isn't a race. But I also know that people who think it's an insult use it interchangeably with racial slurs.
