If it were being done to you, you'd understand in a heartbeat

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.suntimes.com/news/steinberg/2598876,CST-NWS-stein15.article

So many of us are blind to anti-Muslim bigotry

August 14, 2010

Last spring, I spoke at the Dante luncheon of the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans.

It was fun, to talk about the Divine Comedy. I concluded by pointing out how Dante, describing his elaborate paradise, pauses to mention that half of heaven is occupied by Jews.

"Not only that," I said. "But it's the better half."

I explained that, being Jewish myself and having soldiered through thousands of lines of Dante's often-abstruse terza rima verse, I felt rewarded by this gesture, an extraordinarily generous act for an Italian poet in 1300 -- an unexpected nod to a widely despised minority -- and how today it represents a challenge to us all. snip

Yes, and if only that were the end of it. But it isn't -- it's just the beginning of what is going to be a painful process in this country, particularly between now and November, as Republicans gleefully fall upon another tiny minority they can demonize to whip up their eager base.

[JoeyT]

1. And Republican racists love to point out how Democrats always get the minority vote.

I can't imagine why no minority would want to vote for a Republican.
Is there a single minority they haven't demonized for short term political gain?
Off the top of my head I can't think of any.

[sabrina 1]

3. Is the KKK a minority? If so, I guess there is one.

[Odin2005]

2. Wow, that really increases my appreciation for Dante!

The Divine Comedy is a wonderful work of literature.