Fred:
God forgive me forgetting football!!! It is surely the national sport of
the South.
Lately, the Southern Baptist Convention has been making major inroads among
black Baptist Churches. This isn't too surprising, since (if one abstracts
from the issue of racism) there's a tremendous similarity in all of
Baptists of the South. Elijah Muhammed, founding prophet of the Nation of
Islam, i.e., so-called "Black Muslims" came out of this same cultural milieu.
The fascinating question is why does this ultra conservative
political-religious ideology trump class consciousness?
In other words, why is it so difficult for a liberal in the SBC? Recently,
Jimmy Carter left the SBC. Similarly, Martin Luther King, Jr. (along with
Jesse Jackson, Andrew Young, and some others), had to leave the National
Baptist Convention, the largest non-governmental organization of people of
African descent anywhere in the world. Had MLK remained in the NBC his
contributions to the civil rights movement would have been substantially
less than what he was actually able to accomplish. Malcolm X was also
forced out of the Nation of Islam, whose politics is far to the right of
the National Baptist Convention, i.e., the complete racial separatism of
the Nation, adherence to capitalism, and other-worldly politics ("don't
participant in marches and protest, Allah will take care of them.").
Ironically, the really interesting contradiction here is the common
conservative political-cultural framework that is an element of each of
these organizations, that is, SBC, NBC, and NOI. Even the most progressive
leaders to come out of these organizations, e.g., Martin, Malcolm, Andrew
Young, Jesse Jackson, have struggled with the issue of sexism.
How does this issue of politico-religious identity fit into a class analysis?
I would argue that it requires a multi-dimensional theory of identity.
Either that, or Marxist are stuck with a class framework that relies
heavily on "false consciousness" and "religion is the opiate of the masses"
as factors that explain the poverty of class consciousness. I've always
thought that these arguments are less than useless, they actually harm
substantive understanding of the material motivations that guide individual
behavior, coalition formation, and social movements.
peace, patrick
At 12:53 AM 11/2/01 -0500, you wrote:
>Patrick, this is a very good description of the "Southern ideology"
>(except that you forgot to mention football!) and also the role of the
>Southern Baptist Church in maintaining that ideology. I know what you are
>talking about. My father was a Southern Baptist minister, a rare liberal
>one, who was almost fired by the First Baptist Church of Bogalusa, La. in
>1956 for supporting school integration. But I grew up in that awful
>culture. I left the South when I was 15, and I have hardly been back
>since.
>
>Comradely,
>Fred
>
>
>
>
>
>
>On Thu, 1 Nov 2001, Patrick L. Mason wrote:
>
> > Date: Thu, 01 Nov 2001 13:15:36 -0500
> > From: Patrick L. Mason <pmason@garnet.acns.fsu.edu>
> > Reply-To: ope-l@galaxy.csuchico.edu
> > To: ope-l@galaxy.csuchico.edu
> > Subject: [OPE-L:6134] Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: possible ways out of the
> > 'crisis'?
> >
> > Alejandro:
> >
> > The American South was the seat of slavery in the US. After the Civil War
> > (1861 - 1865), there was a brief period in some Southern states (1865 -
> > 1877) when it looked liked the former slave masters would not be
> allowed to
> > regain power. But, from 1877 - 1965 Jim Crow ruled in the South. Jim Crow
> > was the name for America's system of Apartheid.
> >
> > During slavery and Jim Crow, many white churches split. The Southern
> > Baptist Convention (which is today the largest Christian group in America)
> > came into existence to support slavery. After that, the SBC supported Jim
> > Crow. This is the Church of Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, and Billy
> Graham.
> > Each of these ministers were against every major piece of civil rights
> > legislation (including voting rights), all of the objectives of the civil
> > Rights movement. Robertson and Falwell vilified Martin Luther King.
> Each is
> > also staunchly anti-union. Falwell called Desmond Tutu a "phony." Each
> > is/was a staunch "anti-communist."
> >
> > The SBC, along with similar churches, taught that blacks should be
> > subjected to slavery and, later, denied voting rights because blacks are
> > being punished for the sins of Cain or the sins of Ham. Or, in direct
> > contradiction, blacks weren't being punished but were merely being
> properly
> > Christianized and civilized by whites.
> >
> > This same religious-political-economic formation strongly supported
> "states
> > rights" against the evil federal government. So, states rights and local
> > control became the code words for defending slavery and Jim Crow. When
> > Ronald Reagan ran for president in 1980 his first speech was in
> Mississippi
> > where he openly supported "states rights." The phrase "states rights" is
> > about as popular in the black community as "crusade" is in the Muslim
> > community.
> >
> > This is basically the oligarchy that has controlled and continues to
> > control the South. Low property taxes and no state income tax, along with
> > poor public services or non-existent public services are standard fare in
> > their public policy. They are not libertarians. They are stateist and
> > corporatist. They want forced prayer in schools, even then what this group
> > means by prayer is a Christian protestant prayer.
> >
> > They are against "mulit-culturalism" and any form of "secular humanism."
> > Socialism is considered absolutely satanic.
> >
> > They are also against equality for women. The most conservative Southern
> > Christians do not believe that a woman should have authority over men (in
> > any capacity). Women should voluntarily submit to their husbands. Just as
> > many Muslim women wear a vail, many Southern Christian women
> (regardless of
> > race) where a hat over the head or have their head covered in some fashion
> > as a symbol of voluntary submission to the male authority.
> >
> > Sexism, racism, and the dominance of the white elite have always been
> > intimately (pun intended) and intricately linked in the South, combined
> > with a large dose of xenophobia. All justified by the belief that God made
> > America special, i.e., superior, and thus America has an obligation to
> > export its way of life around the world. Note also that there is a deeply
> > militaristic streak in Southern culture.
> >
> > peace, patrick
> >
> > At 09:50 AM 11/1/01 -0700, you wrote:
> > >Hi, Patrick and Fred!
> > >
> > >Could you please clarify more what you mean for "Southerner" in your
> recent
> > >posts?
> > >
> > >For example, Patrick refers to "the political economic ideology and
> > >theology of the South".
> > >
> > >
> > >Abrazos,
> > >
> > >Alejandro
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > sotAt 09:42 1/11/01 -0500, you wrote:
> > > >
> > > >Fred:
> > > >
> > > >Thanks for your postings with actual data. The numbers help clarify
> things.
> > > >I'll respond in a bit.
> > > >
> > > >As a fellow Southerner, I, too, do not think that it is a good thing
> that
> > > >America has been Southernized!!!
> > > >
> > > >I was merely point out that the political economic ideology and
> theology of
> > > >the South has now become over-arching framework for all American
> political
> > > >rhetoric and public policy.
> > > >
> > > >peace, patrick
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >At 01:19 AM 11/1/01 -0500, you wrote:
> > > >
> > > >>On Tue, 30 Oct 2001, Patrick L. Mason wrote:
> > > >>
> > > >> > Jerry:
> > > >> >
> > > >> > Conservatives really aren't interested in whether tax cuts generate
> > > jobs.
> > > >> > The supply-side language accompanying these cuts is just political
> > >filler,
> > > >> > spin control, unadulterated garbage. Rather, the real objective
> is the
> > > >> > libertarian desire to reduce the size of government, to reduce
> > > government
> > > >> > spending and transfer payments purely for the sake of reducing
> > > government
> > > >> > spending and transfer payments. Lowering tax revenues creates a
> budget
> > > >> > deficit that conservatives then argue can only be solved by lowering
> > > >> > spending. The net impact is to redistribute income toward the
> wealthy.
> > > >> >
> > > >> > America has been Southernized.
> > > >>
> > > >>Which is really too bad, and I speak as one from the South, but with a
> > > >>different point of view.
> > > >
> > > >
> >
> >
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