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Did that get your attention? Probably exponentially more dander is brushed up by such titles (or those targeting Jews, blacks, etc.) than by any of the bigotry being flamed at Mormons during this presidential primary season.
In his post “Tsantorum Tsurge and anti-Mormon Prejudice,” Gil Troy makes a great case for the unfair treatment Romney receives compared to other candidates…from both sides of the aisle.
While the bigotry from the Right against Mormonism has attracted attention, this bigotry is also being reinforced from the Left. The unfair obstacle Mitt Romney faces due to prejudice against his community of faith has not stirred enough indignation from the Left or the Right. On the Right, the passivity reflects the deep prejudice among the bigots who view Mormonism as an abomination, not a Christian denomination. On the Left, it reflects a pro-Obama protectiveness laced with an instinctive anti-Mormonism, based on its conservatism and strangeness. It is definitely a red-state religion.
Of course, I've been astounded at how self-professed “Christians” would rather vote for a serial-adultering skanky excuse for a man—who, no, has not been remotely consistent on so-called “conservative principles—than an honest, decent Mormon. But I guess I shouldn't have been. I've seen it first hand, over and over and over.
Still, I keep expecting better of fellow Americans…and particularly fellow Christians.
Alison Moore Smith is a 61-year-old entrepreneur who graduated from BYU in 1987. She has been (very happily) married to Samuel M. Smith for 40 years. They are parents of six incredible children and grandparents to two astounding grandsons. She is the author of The 7 Success Habits of Homeschoolers.
Having lived in the Bible Belt, I can tell you the discrimination against Mormons is alive and well–and it gets old really fast.
No one cares how Mormons are treated. We’re too nice. :p I’m really sick of it.
Yeah, but he has all those anonymous millions to carry him through. Don’t cry for Mitt, Argentina!
I agree that the prejudice against Romney seems quite unfair. However, my overall feeling about this situation is that it is simply amazing that he is a serious candidate at all. I grew up in a Michigan suburb not every having heard of the Church. There was not a single Mormon in my entire high school of 1400 students. There are a lot of people out there that really know nothing about Mormons, or have only heard of stereotypes. I am really grateful that Mitt Romney is willing to spend his time and money facing all of the stereotypes and bigotry. I think that we really need to focus our efforts on seeing the silver lining in all of this rather than letting ourselves get discouraged by the seemingly enormous obstacles that we face as members of the Church.
It is a little discouraging, isn’t it? I like Tracy’s remark; but still, I will be leery of the day when LDS are largely esteemed or held high- will that be the beginning of our “fall?” Will we let pride take over? Can we remain humble in such circumstances? I honestly hope ( and support the opportunity ) that Brother Romney becomes president of this great country of ours. Many, many things can be “fixed” with this kind of leadership and maybe it could be the beginning of some truly great things, but I wonder…….
Ok – I actually don’t find any of the questions or outright bigotry discouraging. It’s progress. We can’t answer the questions or overcome bigotry without going through this. That being said, I think it’s important to stand up to it, and to meet bigotry with calm facts. I am thrilled that there is a viable Mormon candidate, particularly seeing what it did for John F. Kennedy, who was questioned for his Catholicism (which no longer raises eyebrows). I would be more excited if we could *just* discuss issues and plans. I’ll be exponentially *more* excited when a woman candidate is treated equally and respectfully without any attacks on her intelligence, wardrobe, emotions, or attractiveness.
“I’ve been astounded at how self-professed “Christians†would rather vote for a serial-adultering skanky excuse for a man — who, no, has not been remotely consistent on so-called “conservative principles†— than an honest, decent Mormon.”
I completely agree. Then again, we’ve had many, many serial-adultering skanky men in positions of power. As a country, we’ve accepted that behavior. We haven’t accepted this weird religious stuff yet.
So-called Christians who are guilty of Mormon-bigotry believe they are doing us a favor by opening our eyes to our own folly, and doing the world a favor by protecting them from us. Like Tracy Polyak, I am pretty astounded that a Mormon has got the attention of the political world. I do believe, though, that if Romney becomes president, that is when the poop will hit the fan–the devil and his dorks will be out in full force to open the floodgates of bigotry. I hope I am Mormon enough to endure the poop well.