Richard Land, if you don’t know him, is the head of the Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission. And at a meeting in January he reportedly
… referred to Democratic Senator Charles Schumer as “the schmuck from New York.”
This can’t be allowed to stand. This sort of anti-Semitic idiocy doesn’t represent Southern Baptists and Land must resign or be removed from office.
I agree with the editors of Ethics Daily. By his behavior Land has proven once and for all that he knows nothing of Ethics and has scant knowledge of the application of religious liberty. I’m going to write the SBC Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission and urge them to remove Land. I hope everyone else does as well. And you can. Fill out their ‘contact‘ form and let them know what you think of what Land has said. And demand his removal.
Chris said,
March 4, 2008 at 9:12 am
I am not going to defend Land here, but how on earth is that anti-Semitic? It is rude and clearly shows he doesn’t know Yiddish, but I don’t think it is anymore anti-Semitic that calling Bush and idiotic is anti-Christian.
Jim said,
March 4, 2008 at 10:40 am
The use of the word ’schmuck’ says it all.
Mark said,
March 4, 2008 at 10:59 am
I think schmuck is a perfectly appropriate insult. I fail to see how it demeans all speakers of Yiddish, any more than calling someone a jerk defames all speakers of English. Only the jerks and schmucks indicted are defamed.
All these years, Richard Land has been a cheerleader for the preemptive war and occupation of Iraq, and no one
“Monger” as in fish or war monger goes all the way back through Old English to Latin and Ultimately to Greek. Would the Greeks, Italians, and English be insulted if we called Land or his president war mongers?
I am surprised that you have joined the language police. Watch out, they might turn against you. You have used some unkind language with regard to persons who commit murder.
Mark said,
March 4, 2008 at 11:03 am
woops–I didn’t finish a sentence (by the way no offense to the Finns intended by my use of the word finish).
“. . . and no one raised an eyebrow.”
By the way, my sarcastic muse sometimes leads me into saying things that sound harsher than I mean. I like your blog, and I appreciate what you are doing. You seem not to mind vigorous argument, so I am trying to respond in kind.
Keep up the good work, glad you are back on the web.
By the way, it looks like this is going to be a great year for politics and basketball. There are no undefeated teams left–let the madness begin!
Chris said,
March 4, 2008 at 2:15 pm
The use of schmuck is not like using the “n word,” for example. It is not a racial or ethnic slur it is just a rude epithet. You still have to convince me that this is “anti-Semitic.”
(Well, you don’t have to, that is your choice. I am simply saying that as someone very sensitive to these matters this doesn’t pass the “test” to be anti-Semitic.)
Mark said,
March 5, 2008 at 9:25 pm
Ah, I finally get it . . . boy was I naive . . . “the satirical rogue says that old men have grey beards . . .”
You were writing satire . . . you were pointing out the ridiculous extremes to which the PC language police have gone.
By the way, while I was waiting to see the doctor today, I noticed in Time a reporter admitted to schmoozing with Hilary Clinton. I haven’t heard anyone complain about antisemitism for the use of this yiddish word.
I do agree that it would be going too far to refer to Mrs. Clinton as a schicksa who pimped out her daughter.