like Loewen, Zimmerman is a "Progressive" liberal. --- a socialist
On Apr 19, 1:49 pm, Keith In Tampa <[email protected]> wrote: > What's so ironic and telling about this article from James Loewen, is that > like Loewen, Zimmerman is a "Progressive" liberal. Zimmerman supported > Obama in the 2008 election. Zimmerman, up until this whole shooting > debacle, along with his wife, tutored minority children in their school > work. > > But because of the lies, hateful spew and race baiting from the likes of > Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, TommyTomTomForNews and others, "White > Hispanic" Zimmerman is now portrayed by idiots like James Loewen as a > "Racist". As stated, "Ironic" and "Telling". > > > > > > > > On Thu, Apr 19, 2012 at 2:23 PM, Tommy News <[email protected]> wrote: > > George Zimmerman, Trayvon Martin, and Me > > > hnns blog JAMES LOEWEN > > > I write late in the evening on Tuesday, April 10. This morning I woke > > up famous, at least in certain circles. George Zimmerman, famous for > > killing Trayvon Martin in Florida, had cited me on his new website. > > Correspondents rushed to tell me. His site was receiving so much > > traffic that it took seven minutes to log on to his home page. I could > > not reach any subsidiary page, specifically the page titled "The > > Facts," where I had been told Zimmerman prominently displayed my > > words, until late in the morning. > > > Many other websites had picked up my quote, however. According to > > "George Zimmerman Launches Website to Fund Legal Costs," an unsigned > > article at JD Journal, a site whose motto reads "Nothing but the > > Truth," > > > The site carries a quote from sociologist James W. Loewen: "People > > have a right to their own opinions, but not to their own facts. > > Evidence must be located, not created, and opinions not backed by > > evidence cannot be given much weight." > > > At their websites, MSNBC, CBS, and many other news services also > > included the quote. CBS termed it "a philosophy attributed to > > sociologist James W. Loewen." By mid-afternoon at least 427 sites, > > from the New York Times to the "Brother Of Yeshua Blogspot," included > > the quotation. > > > I'm not the only person Zimmerman quoted, but I'm the only living > > person. He also included a famous sentence by Edmund Burke: "The only > > thing necessary for the triumph of evil, is that good men do nothing." > > A jury might take this quote to be a rationale for his vigilante > > activism toward "evil." Hence Zimmerman's attorneys might well have > > been unhappy with this posted quote, even before they resigned as his > > counsel later in the day. However, the Burke sentence pales compared > > to the macabre connotation of his second quotation, by Henrik Ibsen: > > "A thousand words will not leave so deep an impression as one deed." > > Again, his lawyers could not have been happy that Zimmerman posted > > this sentence, since a jury might infer that he wanted to make a "deep > > impression" by committing a dastardly deed. Lastly, Zimmerman quoted > > Thomas Paine: "The world is my country, all mankind are my brethren, > > and to do good is my religion." > > > I'm happy to be in the company of Burke, Ibsen, and Paine. Who knows? > > Maybe Zimmerman will get me into Familiar Quotations. (I had hoped > > that my one-liner, "Those who don't remember the past are condemned to > > repeat the eleventh grade," which I used at the beginning of Lies My > > Teacher Told Me, might make the grade, but so far, only three websites > > use it.) However, the first of my two sentences was said in essence > > by Bernard Baruch in 1950, by various folks since then, and probably > > by others long before. So I think I must search elsewhere for my > > fifteen minutes of fame. > > > Still, it was jarring to see my name and quotation behind the talking > > heads Tuesday as they told the story of Zimmerman's lawyers' > > resignations on the evening news. I'm not happy with being used as a > > resource by George Zimmerman, and I disclaim any relationship with him > > and his cause. Of course, once they have unleashed words upon the > > world—in particular, upon the World Wide Web—authors have no control > > over their use, for good or ill. Moreover, one reason why I have not > > written a thing about the death of Trayvon Martin is my lack of facts. > > I know only what I have learned from the newspapers (yes, I subscribe) > > and other media. Anyone likely to read anything I might write about > > the matter has already read the same sources. > > > I would like to know how George Zimmerman learned of my words that he > > used. They appear on page 358 of Lies My Teacher Told Me. While I > > would like to believe he read the entire book, if he did, he seems to > > have missed its anti-racist central message. > > > When it comes to “Brother Of Yeshua,” who actually emailed me Tuesday > > morning to tell me he had used the quotation, I think it's safe to > > infer that he first encountered my words at Zimmerman's website or > > news sites that quoted it. Again, he has a (Constitutional) right to > > use my words to support any position he wants, and here is what he > > used them for: > > > When rightly understood, what we are presented with is the > > manifestation of the statement by James W. Loewen that while "People > > have a right to their own opinions, but not to their own facts. > > Evidence must be located, not created, and opinions not backed by > > evidence cannot be given much weight"—and while the facts demonstrate > > that Mormonism is actually closer to the original Gospel teachings and > > objectives, mainstream Christianity has been in denial of the very > > facts that they have long censored and remain in denial of, to the > > degree that those who believe they are Christian, have been > > spiritually disenfranchised by the very Church they look to for truth. > > > So now my words are invoked to support belief in Mormonism as well as > > George Zimmerman's innocence! > > > "Brother Of Yeshua" writes further, "2000 years ago I lived as Jacob > > who people call James, and was known as the Brother of Yeshua/Jesus." > > Such a statement does not carry the weight of fact. Elsewhere on his > > site, he states that he holds to "Religion As The True System Of > > Education"—again at odds with education based on fact. > > > At some point, I should relate all this to the study of history as > > taught in our K-12 schools—on which I've spent much of the past twenty > > years—so let's do so now. One reason why many Americans are not > > critical readers and do not insist upon facts stems from their history > > textbooks. Bear in mind that five-sixths of all Americans never take a > > history course after leaving high school. High school history > > textbooks include no footnotes or other system of references. > > Moreover, even when issues remain contested, such as when and how did > > people first get to the Americas, textbooks cite no evidence—in this > > case, from archaeology, human biology, or anthropology. They just go > > on blandly relating certainties, even on topics still ruled by > > uncertainty. > > > Moreover, if Allan Cronshaw in Graham, North Carolina, writes as > > "Brother Of Yeshua," that's not so different from what happens in the > > K-12 textbook world. There, unnamed gnomes deep in the bowels of the > > publishers write in the names of Daniel Boorstin, Alan Winkler, and > > many other famous historians whose names grace the covers of books > > they didn't write. > > > Nor does the style of history textbooks—written in a monotone, > > presenting "information" to be memorized—promote critical thinking > > skills or prompt students to question sources. Such skills might have > > induced Mr. Zimmerman and others not to profile young African American > > males, which—this much seems factual—he seems to have done. > > > Then there is Zimmerman's use of the American flag on his website. He > > wraps himself in the flag to stop thought, not to start it. All six of > > the twenty-first-century textbooks that I analyzed for the new edition > > of Lies My Teacher Told Me similarly wave the American flag on their > > covers, and for the same reason: to quell critical thinking. > > Publishers wave it so prospective purchasers will not question them or > > doubt that they are "good Americans." If instead these books would > > distinguish between patriotism and nationalism, their flag-waving > > might be different. I take my definition of a patriot from Frederick > > Douglass, who said, "For he is a lover of his country who rebukes and > > does not excuse its sins." Surely textbooks need to help students to > > develop informed reasons to criticize as well as to take pride in > > their country. Nationalists, on the other hand, take pride in their > > nation no matter what—and do not care to think about its sins. If > > textbooks made that useful distinction, then Americans might not > > "follow the flag" even when our leaders take it into dangerous places > > on behalf of foolish and even immoral purposes. If the flag connoted > > "do your best critical thinking about the U.S.," then when > > politicians, vigilantes, and textbook authors waved it to garner > > unthinking approval, the rest of us would simply laugh at them. > > > I believe—at least I hope—that the millions of people who came upon my > > statement comparing facts and opinions Tuesday do not infer that I am > > George Zimmerman's ally. I am not. Rather, I hope that Americans will > > ground their opinions about this case on the facts. We all surely hope > > that a process has finally been set in place that will allow the facts > > to emerge. Meanwhile, those of us far from Sanford, even far from > > Florida, must set processes in place that will transform how we teach > > about the American past in grades K-12. When we allow facts to > > emerge—even awkward and untoward facts—when we encourage students to > > question national and local policies—and yes, when we insist that > > "opinions not backed by evidence cannot be given much weight"—then we > > are educating. Then we are producing Americans who are unlikely to > > profile. Then we are patriots. > > > More: > >http://hnn.us/blogs/george-zimmerman-trayvon-martin-and-me > > > -- > > Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time. > > Have a great day, > > Tommy > > > -- > > Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time. > > Have a great day, > > Tommy > > > -- > > Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. > > For options & help seehttp://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum > > > * Visit our other community athttp://www.PoliticalForum.com/ > > * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. > > * Read the latest breaking news, and more. > > > > White.Hispanic.George.Zimmerman.jpg > 47KViewDownload -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more.
