Is it OK for a congressman to support an antisemetic homophobic preacher?

[FrodosPet]

Particularly one who calls for a parallel justice system specifically based on race and religion?

So which right wing teabagger fundy am I talking about? Which Bible thumping southerner from a district where the necks are redder than the election results would repeatedly stand (or at least sit) behind such a bigot?

This may shock some, but it is Rep John Conyers (D-Detroit).

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Farrakhan: African-Americans Deserve Own Court System In Response to Failed Judicial System

February 24, 2014

http://atlantablackstar.com/2014/02/24/farrakhan-african-americans-deserve-own-court-system-in-response-to-failed-u-s-judicial-system/

Nation of Islam leader Minister Louis Farrakhan raised eyebrows yesterday with his suggestion that the African-American community set up its own court system because the U.S. judicial system is biased.

~ snip ~

Farrakhan said the African-American legal system should be based on the tenets in the Quran and the Bible.

~ snip ~

Congressman John Conyers sat behind Farrakhan for his nearly three-hour speech, as did Detroit City Council President Brenda Jones.

~ snip ~


Farrakhan also attacked Christian pastors who endorse gay marriage, saying, “God has never sanctioned that kind of behavior.”

~ snip ~

Before his speech, Farrakhan spokeswoman Ava Muhammad had said that African-Americans needed to separate because eventually “planes are going to destroy every area that is not dominated by Islam.” She added that Detroit—the city where the Nation started 84 years ago— might be where Nation of Islam members choose to migrate in order to form their own community.

~ snip ~

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Is Rep Conyers a bigot, a hypocrite, or just profoundly forgetful to keep appearing with the Minister, particularly after last year when Farrakhan said Jews were satanic?

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John Conyers apologizes for Louis Farrakhan's anti-Semitic remarks

http://www.freep.com/article/20130523/NEWS01/305230119/John-Conyers-apologizes-for-Farrakhan-s-anti-Semitic-remarks

U.S. Rep. John Conyers, a Detroit Democrat, apologized today for Louis Farrakhan’s anti-Semitic comments during a talk he gave in a Detroit church last week.

Conyers, who attended Farrakhan’s speech Friday night at Fellowship Chapel, issued a strong statement that distanced himself from the Nation of Islam leader’s remarks, which were blasted earlier this week by a Jewish civil rights group and others.

~ snip ~

As the Free Press reported exclusively, Farrakhan attacked what he called “Satanic Jews” and the “Synagogue of Satan,” claiming Jewish people control major institutions in the U.S., such as the news media. Farrakhan also alleged that President Barack Obama “surrounded himself with Satan ... members of the Jewish community.”

~ snip ~

[arcane1]

1. How is he supporting him by apologizing for him?

[FrodosPet]

2. By going back for more

In 2013 the argument that Rep Conyers would not know the Minister would say such things was tenuous. And totally ridiculous to most people from Southeast Michigan.

Going back, SITTING BEHIND HIM, a year later, as Farrakhan says we need a separate justice system with ZERO separation of church and state...

If Conyers does not support what he says, why does he keep making appearances with him?

Oh, yeah...VOTES!!! Detroit is the birthplace of the Nation Of Islam, and Farrakhan is very popular in parts of the city.

If he were almost anyone else, people would be glad he might not get another term. But since he is John Conyers - he is above criticism, and should not be subject to the same laws and scrutiny as everyone else.

[BainsBane]

3. That is not all Farrakhan does

He is also a civil rights figure and the Nation of Islam helps black men in urban areas get away from a life of crime. That is why Conyers appears with Farrakhan. Additionally, the Nation of Islam is far less influential than it once was. Elijah Muhhamed's own son disbanded the original Nation of Islam and transformed it into a more traditional, orthodox group now known as the American Society of Muslims. One aspect of forcing Africans across the Atlantic into bondage is that generations later some would seek to reclaim the original religion they associated with their homeland, which for many was Senegambia, part of which became Muslim in the centuries before the transatlantic slave trade as a result of trading routes across the Sahara.

Additionally, that you feel it necessary to call out Conyers and the Nation of Islam in the midst of all this opposition to the mere mention of white privilege is unfortunate. Earlier today we had a thread denouncing bell hooks. Now it's Conyers and Farrakhan. Suddenly the entire city of Detroit is at fault too. They are supposed to worry about what white people think, not the incredible poverty and lack of employment opportunities. So what exactly is your goal: To get Conyers out of office? Denounce some of the most impoverished and oppressed people in America because you don't like a movement that originated in that overwhelmingly African American city?

The idea that someone owns everything another person says is absurd. What if I were to conclude you opposed education and jobs for African American men because you speak out here against the Nation of Islam? I donate money to DU, but I am not responsible for every view articulated here. Farrakhan is indeed an anti-Semite, but that is not all he or the Nation of Islam is. To conclude Conyers has some hand in destroying the separation of church and state because he appears alongside Farrahkan is ridiculous. Whatever this is you have against John Conyers, get over it. The man is a good, very progressive Democrat.

[FrodosPet]

4. There are some parts of Farrakhan's message I TOTALLY support as well

Many more of the homes and businesses in urban areas should be black owned and staffed. I appreciate his message of local empowerment and personal responsibility. Quit drinking and drugging. More black business owners, professionals, carpenters, plumbers, electricians, etc.

But are you going to deny that he is a homophobe? That he is antisemitic? That he opposes race mixing and he calls for racial separatism and civil courts based on religious law? Are you going to willfully ignore decades of history about Farrakhan's views because it is inconvenient to acknowledge it?

As for Conyers - what it seems you are saying is "He is on our team! He gets a free pass to do things that would get others denounced in every other post. Election rules? Pshaw! He should be automatically eligible for the ballot just for being John Conyers."

He is an 84 year old man who has served 50 years. Biology is biology. The body and mind slow down. He deserves a rest, and his constituents deserve the chance to elect someone who has the strength and mental clarity to properly serve them.

I care deeply about the people of the City of Detroit. I want them to be free and happy and prosperous. I want black parents to go to their children's graduations and house openings, not their trials and funerals. I want them to have full access to the opportunities of this modern world.

Feeling this way does not require me to be naive about Detroit, nor to accept hypocrisy just because "he's on our side".

[BainsBane]

5. No, I don't deny it

In fact I said so in my post.

I am saying judge Conyers on his voting record, not because you don't like the fact he has been seen in Farrahkan's presence twice.
As for his age and competency, that is for the voters of his district to decide.

[Starry Messenger]

6. You seem concerned.

[FrodosPet]

7. Yes, I am concerned about Detroit

I want to be proud of my closest big city. A city with a rich history of art and innovation. I hate seeing Detroit dragged through the mud of world opinion. I am concerned about all the parents and brothers and sisters and cousins and friends going to funeral after funeral for young people who should have decades of life and love ahead of them.

I hate driving down the streets of Detroit and seeing trash, decay, hopelessness, and hostility. I am concerned about whether people will want to invest money, time and love to rebuild the city and help it once again be a shining jewel of the nation, instead of a nervous joke for bigots.

Am I concerned about Detroit? Damn skippy I am!