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Indiana Mayor threw out Sikh pamphlets from owner's store
It's interesting to read the comments of the people writing about this. First, the Sikh Huffington Post bloggers, Simran Jeet Singh and Savneet Singh, who look for a 'teachable moment':
Less than one month after of the massacre of Sikhs in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, Mayor Tonya Hoeffel of Garrett, Indiana has further offended the Sikh community. Mayor Hoeffel walked into a local convenience store, observed pamphlets about the Sikh religion on the store counter, and picked them up before throwing them in the trash bin.
When manager and part-owner of the store Kulwinder Singh Nagra asked Mayor Hoeffel why she threw out the informational pamphlets, she replied, "It's against my beliefs. This is against Christianity."
Although Mayor Tonya Hoeffel has since apologized, her behavior demands more thoughtful analysis and response. We must demand more from our elected officials and hold them accountable for their actions.
...
We request Mayor Hoeffel to turn her mistake into an educational opportunity. By reading the materials she threw away, meeting with the local Sikh community, and passing her new experiences on to her constituents, Ms. Hoeffel could set a positive example for all of us around the country. These simple actions would go a long way in furthering the American way of way of life.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/simran-jeet-singh/mayor-tonya-hoeffels-act-_b_1871646.html
When manager and part-owner of the store Kulwinder Singh Nagra asked Mayor Hoeffel why she threw out the informational pamphlets, she replied, "It's against my beliefs. This is against Christianity."
Although Mayor Tonya Hoeffel has since apologized, her behavior demands more thoughtful analysis and response. We must demand more from our elected officials and hold them accountable for their actions.
...
We request Mayor Hoeffel to turn her mistake into an educational opportunity. By reading the materials she threw away, meeting with the local Sikh community, and passing her new experiences on to her constituents, Ms. Hoeffel could set a positive example for all of us around the country. These simple actions would go a long way in furthering the American way of way of life.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/simran-jeet-singh/mayor-tonya-hoeffels-act-_b_1871646.html
Then, the atheist blogger, Ed Brayton, who picked it up:
No, I’m afraid it doesn’t. This one is very, very simple. Hoeffel is a moron and a bigot and she should be thrown out of office immediately. That’s far too inane to merely apologize for.
http://freethoughtblogs.com/dispatches/2012/07/09/ed-brayton-political-atheist/
http://freethoughtblogs.com/dispatches/2012/07/09/ed-brayton-political-atheist/
Then, the thoughtful liberal evangelical, Fred Clark, who rewords it to make a point (possibly aimed at the less liberal bloggers who share the Patheos site):
3 things you can do if you want to be a big jerk
1. Walk into a store owned by Christians, throw their religious literature into the trash and insult their faith.
Mayor Tonya Hoeffel of Garrett, Indiana, is a big jerk.
...
And if you’re a Christian and you’re not upset by her jerkery because it was directed at Sikhs instead of at Christians, then I’m afraid you may be well on your way to joining her in Big Jerkland.
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/slacktivist/2012/09/19/3-things-you-can-do-if-you-want-to-be-a-big-jerk/
1. Walk into a store owned by Christians, throw their religious literature into the trash and insult their faith.
Mayor Tonya Hoeffel of Garrett, Indiana, is a big jerk.
Mayor Hoeffel walked into a local convenience store, observed pamphlets about the owner’s Christian faith on the store counter, and picked them up before throwing them in the trash bin.
When the manager and part-owner of the store asked Mayor Hoeffel why she threw out the informational pamphlets, she replied, “It’s against my beliefs. This is against true religion.”
...
And if you’re a Christian and you’re not upset by her jerkery because it was directed at Sikhs instead of at Christians, then I’m afraid you may be well on your way to joining her in Big Jerkland.
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/slacktivist/2012/09/19/3-things-you-can-do-if-you-want-to-be-a-big-jerk/
The Sikhs, being a small minority who suffer from bigoted violence, are conciliatory, though clear about how wrong the mayor was. The atheist, who won't really have to worry about violent retribution, although in a minority, can be curt. And the liberal evangelical (in that combination, another minority, but, I hope, similarly not threatened) can be curt too, but also knows there are evangelicals who need a different message than just being told of the story, or they'd skip over it.
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