New York Times columnist Charles M. Blow is one of those "right-thinking" liberals who is always quick to find racism hiding behind every statement of any conservative politician.
When Newt Gingrich points out that some poor children are never exposed to work, his statement is immediately twisted by people like Blow to suggest that Gingrich had claimed that NO poor people worked. In doing so, he demonstrated his intellectual dishonesty.
To hear Blow tell it, there is only one person in America standing against religious and racial bigotry, and that person is Charles M. Blow. If you don't believe him, just visit the New York Times website and
look at his column archive.
Of course, there's not much explaining Blow's most recent comments (and, in fact, he has now apologized). During the most recent Republican debate, he sent out a Twitter "Tweet:" "Let me just tell you this Mitt "Muddle Mouth": I'm a single parent and my kids are *amazing*! Stick that in your magic underwear."
Before we get to the bigotry in Blow's Tweet, let's look at the content. Romney obviously said something about the problem presented by the increasing numbers of single parents. It is a demonstrably proven fact that no matter the income, no matter the quality of parent, all other things being equal children fare much better in a two-parent family.
Note what Blow does. Romney brings attention to one of the most important problems that our country faces, namely the fact that children reared by single parents have a higher risk of bad outcomes than children reared by two parents. No rational person can dispute this!
But Blow twists it. He turns Romney's comments into an attack on all single parents, including himself.
And so we come to the bigoted Tweet, which reference Romney's "magic underwear." So-called "magic underwear" are worn by Mormons after their first visit to the temple, as a constant reminder of their covenant with God. They are properly called a "temple garment," and they are really no different from religious items worn by people of other faiths. Jewish men wear the little hats, yarmulke, for example, and have other dress codes. Sikhs wear turbans and a special undergarment. In years past, men is some Christian denominations dressed in leisure suits, although this practice seems to have waned. There are other examples, but the fact is that it just isn't that uncommon for members of various faiths to have beliefs that might strike the rest of us as a bit odd. If their "odd" practice doesn't affect me, then why should I care?
With all of this said, I'm glad Mr. Blow let go with his reprehensible Tweet. It helps remind the rest of us of the type of people we're dealing with: uninformed, hypocritical bigots.