There is one thing about Rush Limbaugh above all other things. He is intolerant of anyone that does not see the world the same way he does. I do not understand how anyone can be conservative about everything anymore than I can understand how someone is liberal about everything. It's a huge reason why the people we elect do not serve anyone but the narrow audience that thinks those with narrow minds are doing a good job then cannot solve problems because finding a pragmatic solution is something they can live with for their constituents or this country. While Rush is great entertainment, his recent rant against a bookstore that sells children's books was pretty stupid. Limbaugh is an author of quite a few books and he has quite a following. So why was he mad at a children's bookstore that sells products aimed at multi-cultural education giving viewpoints for students that are trying to find a place in this world? Because they will not carry his books. As the story below indicates, why anyone would shop at Home Depot for Ragu does not make business sense. The Teaching for Change bookstore is not Walmart, Barnes and Noble or a grocery store carrying best sellers. It has a very narrow focus as the story below describes and makes Limbaugh look like the narrow minded demagogue he is.
You wouldn’t expect a health food store to carry Pringles.
Nor would you tune in to the Cartoon Network in search of
episodes of
Mad Men or
Breaking Bad.
So we’re wondering why Rush Limbaugh thinks the Teaching for
Change Bookstore at Busboys and Poets in Washington, D.C., should carry his
Rush Revere line of books for young
readers?
If you don’t know about the
Teaching for Change Bookstore—and
it’s
well worth knowing—here’s the lowdown. It’s small and selective. Its
children’s section gives priority to books that feature children of
color. They
do not offer Mr. Limbaugh’s books.
That such a bookstore is rare and needed will come as no
surprise to teachers and librarians who struggle to find children’s books featuring
characters who reflect the diverse children of the United States. We wrote
about this problem recently in our
magazine.
Limbaugh, however,
takes issue with the bookstore’s
mission. It offends him. In fact, it seems to infuriate him. He used up a chunk
of radio time on his June 16 show to denounce the store’s selection criteria as
“racist and bigoted.”
And then he got personal. He decided to smear the folks who
run Teaching for Change—people we at Teaching Tolerance know and respect as
allies in the struggle for social justice. The character assassination poured forth
from Limbaugh’s mouth: He called Teaching for Change the “most bigoted, racist
people,” “loony” and “simply dumb.”
By the time Rush finished, he wasn’t simply vilifying the
good people who run the Teaching for Change Bookstore. In his telling, they
morphed from narrow-minded booksellers into powerful foes, who “happen to be
running the country … in Washington … in charge of the public school system …
running daycare …” and who “show up at Obama’s fundraisers.”
His war cry had the expected results:
Limbaugh’s followers inundated Teaching for Change with what TFC describes as
“vicious, hateful messages.”
I don’t doubt it. When one sows hate and anger, as Limbaugh does
so well, hate and anger are the harvest. We experienced it here at Teaching
Tolerance in 2012, when the
American Family Association attacked our
Mix
It Up at Lunch Day program.
That attack backfired. Despite the avalanche of ugly
messages, we were buoyed by the outpouring of support from teachers, friends
and allies, including Teaching for Change.
Today, we stand with them. You can too. Visit their
bookstore,
or
send a note of support, and we’ll forward it to them.
Costello is the
director of Teaching Tolerance.
Educationally speaking, the bridge from the days of yesteryear to now is a lesson all people should share. This is not just for the young people but for the adults that have never seen many of the tools or stores where the old days of trading are lessons for all who do not remember them. That is what Log Cabin Days are all about and in the picture album below that is in the Oakland Press, showcase those that are making the connections available for the public. Photos by Roy J. Akers www.soundandvisionentertainment.com The photo link is below VVV
