Is anyone here "anti-Nader" because he is an Arab?

[kentuck]

I have heard a lot of anti-Arab talk from right-wingers but it is not that common here at DU or left-wing sites. Is that something that Mr Nader would want to keep silent about if he is running for public office in this climate - they are all Arabs - kill 'em all! - of Arab animosities? For the record, I have heard that he is of Lebanese descent. So was Danny Thomas, the humanitarian for St Judes Hospital and television star of Make Room For Daddy....and father of the actress, Marlowe Thomas, wife of Phil Donahue...:)

[Journeyman]

1. Nader is an Arab?. . .

Damn. I'd make a terrible bigot.

[Vickers]

7. lol

I never knew he was, either, but your reply cracked me up.

:toast:

[DarkPhenyx]

8. I had the same question.

:)

I am anti-nader because, despite my agreeing with his POV and thinking the choke hold the two political parties has on the process sucks, I don't think a bid for the President is the place to start the revolution, adn we sure as hell can't afford it this year.

It has butt-kiss to do with his ethnicity.

[Paradise]

20. me too! :) nt

[spotbird]

55. That was my first thought.

Who knew?

[JohnLocke]

67. That was was I said!

[wtmusic]

2. If he wasn't so outspoken about it

j/k, his ancestry has less than nothing to do with his politics

[1monster]

3. I didn't know that he was...

I thought he was US American. (I'm not and never have voted for him.)

[FlashHarry]

4. Oh, please.

I'm anti-Nader because he's a self-absorbed, limelight-hogging asshole.

[Paradise]

16. lol. now, that's my kinda bigotry. :) nt

[FlashHarry]

37. Yep. I'm an anti-asshole bigot! N/T

[dedhed]

5. He is?!?

Huh... who'd have thunk it?

Frankly, I'm anti-Nader for one of the same reasons I'm anti-Bush... he's anti-Kerry.

:bounce:

[Paradise]

27. the people who are offended by our insulting nader

don't often understand that. thanks for clearing it up, dedhed. :)

[dedhed]

32. Cheers! n/t

:toast:

[Paradise]

i'll have one of those...

a :toast: to you. :)

[Lou_C]

6. I have never thought about his nationality

I hate Nader because he is a pompous ass.

[Solidarity]

11. He Is Arab

Nader is an Arab-American. And his running mate for Vice-President in 2000 is Native-American. Are we now going to launch personal attacks on her .... you know .... she's one of those Native-American right-wing fascists that we see so many of on native reservations.

With the nonsense and slanderous allegations I've read here about Nader, I would expect no less from those non-thinkers who love posting insults.

[Lou_C]

21. I use to like Nader

If he liked this country he would try to find a job as a senator first and then shoot for the Whitehouse but instead he wants to take votes away from the Democratic Party and he doesn't care about what Bush has done to this country.

He use to stand for something good but now he is a pompous ass in my book.

[Paradise]

23. i doubt many here hate nader

other than that his running could very well give the election to j.c. superstar, and that :hurts: !

[no_arbusto]

84. I'm a Native American and I think Nader is a jackass.

I'm Cherokee and Oto with a little bit of PA Dutch, Welsh, and Italian thrown in the mix. I wish all of you Europeans would go home and give me my country back. OK, I'm joking. But please, stop trying to speak for me!

[Paradise]

26. pompous ass... works. :) nt

[Lou_C]

41. I hate Bush

I dislike Nader because he is a pompous ass and I really don't hate him.

[Paradise]

44. we're on the same page. :) nt

[Lou_C]

45. Bush and he cronies have taught me the meaning of hate

I am happy that we are on the same page.

[amjsjc]

9. No...

In my experience it's hard to find a racist hardcore progressive environmentalist. Dosen't mean they absolutely don't exist, but in general the Republican party has a pretty strong lock on deranged redneck bigot vote (hey, they wanted the south and they got the south)...
No the thing most Dems hold against Nader is the 2000 election...

[kentuck]

10. Welcome amjsjc.....

Looks like this might be your place! :)

[union_maid]

12. Yup, that would be the thing

I'm not anti-Arab. I'm extremely anti-Nader, but he earned that all by himself.

[Paradise]

17. Welcome to DU, amjsjc! :) nt

[Warpy]

13. no, because he's an asswipe

He's just as ideologically rigid as the Bush gang are, and just as incapable of seeing what damage he's doing to the country by running against the only guy with a chance of unseating Bush.

[Paradise]

18. perhaps he'll pull out at the last minute. ;) rofl. nt

[indigobusiness]

34. Behave...

You are so bad... ;)

[Paradise]

43. they don't call me paradise fer nuthin'...

seriously, though, i was rofl and ;)ing at the futility of such foolish anticipation.
can you see, now, that i am, in reality, an O8).

[indigobusiness]

47. I wondered about that...

but I can't really see it...perhaps if you provided pictures?

[sandnsea]

14. Oooooh, I get it

I thought you were asking if anybody was anti-Nader because they, personally, were an Arab. You know, if *I* was an Arab. Then you started talking about racism and I got totally confused, like Nader was a "kill 'em all!" guy, which I know he's not.

I didn't know Nader was Arab either. Couldn't care less. I'm against him because what he says he believes and the actual policies he has written down don't correlate. You can't truly support democracy and an Iraqi security force, without acknowledging the likelihood that you'll need US troops to get there.

[Karenina]

28. Heh? The guy is

100% got-it-right-decades-ago-done-gone-plum-loco AMERICAN. Make no mistake about it.

[sandnsea]

30. Heh?

The friggin' poster said he's Arab, take it up with him. Unless that's what you meant to do and your post got in a weird place, that happens to me sometimes.

[Karenina]

51. Hallo!

He was born in Winsted, Connecticut !!!BORN ON AMERICAN SOIL... THAT MAKES HIM AMERICAN!!! to Lebanese immigrant parents, Nathra and Rose Nader. He graduated from Princeton in 1955 and Harvard Law School in 1958. !!!AMERICAN INSTITUTIONS! Albeit fancy schmancy ones!!! In 1965 he released Unsafe at Any Speed, a study showing many American automobiles, especially those of General Motors, to be structurally flawed. !!!Best thing he ever did!!! WHATEVER YOU THINK OF HIM, HE IS AN AMERICAN.

I'm VERY disappointed by Ralph, his actions of late have enraged me, however this RALPH IS AN ARAB bullshit is just that. Snarky, disingenuous, WILLFULLY IGNORANT and RACIST "spin." But if it "works" for you...

[sandnsea]

58. Don't tell me!!!

Tell the original fucking poster. I never said he wasn't an American, I just said, like every other poster in this goddamned thread, I didn't know he was Arab. What are you on my ass for? Besides, I already said, I DON'T CARE!!!!!!!

[Susang]

64. Yikes, chill out

The only person who seems to be posting snarky here is you. I think you may have misunderstood the intent of the original post just a bit.

And as far as Lebanese-Americans being solely American, just try telling that to my Lebanese-American friend who is regularly insulted, physically threatened, and in some cases has been spat upon by her fellow "Americans" for being a "fucking Arab".

Even though someone may be born in America, to parents who are American citizens, that doesn't guarantee that others will consider him an American. That was the point of the original post. Not bullshit at all.

[Karenina]

73. That was not the case

when I grew up in America, albeit that was a long time ago. Susang, you and Sandandsea have informed me of the quantum shift in the "American" mentality. I stand corrected and thank you both.

[Susang]

77. Things have changed pretty drastically

Things are very difficult for Arab-Americans right now in the United States. I grew up in Detroit, whose metro area has an Arabic & Middle Eastern population that is rivaled only by the Middle East. There is quite a lot of anger directed at them because of the terrorist attacks and because of this war. Many innocent people who were born and raised in this country are now finding out that a lot of their own countrymen do not consider them "Americans" after all. It's really frightening to witness.

[Karenina]

78. It's called "racism"

:cry:

[noiretextatique]

83. it sure as hell is...i didn't realize i was american

until i visited europe in the late seventies :shrug:

[Paradise]

15. think i heard that

but never thought about it again. that's me, a mind like a sieve. :silly:

[demnan]

19. I never knew that

I just assumed he was Jewish! (Hey who the fuck cares!)

Look, for many, many years Ralph Nader was one of my heros, he did a lot of good things for the average American consumer. We had much to thank him for.

That was before the 2000 election. Tragically every good thing the man did was negated in his stupid attempt to "teach the Democrats a lesson".

Ralph Nader is a bitter old man. He's trying to get attention. I pity him, I don't hate him.

[Solidarity]

22. What About Michael Moore?

Did you say and believe the same thing about Michael Moore in 2000?

I just can't believe that Ralph Nader experienced such an incredible transformation, from hero to villain, in just a few weeks back in 2000. Has Michael Moore gone from hero, to villain and now back to hero?

I think both Moore and Nader stand for the same basic values and beliefs today as they did 10 years ago. The thing people either like or hate is the evolution of their political attitude toward the Democratic party.

If they both support the Democratic candidate for President they are both heros and saviors. If they oppose the Democratic candidate they become worthless scum!

That's just nonsense!

[demnan]

25. Sure, I don't hate Michael Moore either

He's made some wrong decisions as has Nader. I think he's learned the more effective way to protest, and he's doing a great job of it.

I did think the Democrats made a mistake to disenfranchise Nader in the 2000 election - I would have had the man in the debates, I think that would have sufficed to ensure a Gore victory.

There's no black and white here about these two. Both have done incredible good, both have made mistakes - I'm just sorry that Nader doesn't see that the consequences of his actions might have a huge effect on the election.

[Paradise]

35. can he win, and get rid of *?

which part of "we MUST get rid of *" do you not agree with?
Solidarity, i do not have a sarcastic bone in my body O8), but c'mon...

[Killarney]

50. Here's the difference

Michael Moore has learned from his mistakes and changed his tune. He even publicly apologized to Al Gore on Air America for what he did in 2000.

Nader obviously either has not learned anything since 2000 or does not care. He's a Bush-enabler.

[BillZBubb]

24. I'm anti-Nader because he's an asshole.

I didn't know he was an Arab. That doesn't change my opinion one way or the other.

[Solidarity]

29. Thanks

That's what I like. Intelligent debate and democratic discussion.

The contributions of two posters who point out Ralph Nader is both an "asswipe" and a "asshole" are greatly appreciated.

Now that they have clearly explained and documented their views on why they dislike Nader we can move on to another subject. I think they pretty much covered it.

Let's hope they also post their analysis of the Iraq occupation, what is happening in Venezuela and opinions on other important issues. I'm sure we have a great deal to learn from them.

[demnan]

31. You aren't providing intelligent debate or democratic discuss

either . ..

You're just spoiling for a fight.

[Solidarity]

36. Hardly

Hardly. I don't engage in character assassination and slanders against political candidates. If I'm going to make a claim about anyone I'll back it up with some hard facts. I don't demand that people agree with me. And I don't engage in personal insults against other posters who I don't agree with. That's not my style.

But, go ahead with name calling if you must. I don't think most liberals and progressives who believe in democratic discussion will pay much attention to those who treat this like an insult board.

[The Stranger]

46. If asking for a substantive position is "spoiling for a fight,"

we're in real trouble. Posts that just refer to people as "assholes" are completely worthless. Might as well not even post.

[noiretextatique]

54. where have you been?

"nader is an asshole" IS considered a substantive post here. :7

[BillZBubb]

89. You're welcome!

Too bad you can't understand English. I answered the topic of the thread: I don't dislike Nader because he's an Arab.

There was no need to expound on why I detest Nader here. I've done it in detail in other posts. Pointing out that he is an asshole is an accurate summary, however.

You clearly do have a great deal to learn, but I'm sure you won't learn it here.

[Trajan]

33. I am Anti-Nader because ...

... he is egotistical ...

I couldn't care less about his ancestry ...

[lastknowngood]

38. I''m anti Nader because he's an ass

n/t

[kentuck]

39. Personally, I think Nader would be a better VP candidate than McCain

Because i think it would help the Democratic ticket more but few talk about that possibility. I do not like the direction Nader is going right now. I wish someone would sit him down and talk with him...which I think some people are doing right here. Politics ain't beanbag, you know...Ralph, if you are listening, take notice. I appreciate everything you have done in the last 40 years for the consumers of America but these times are too important for personal battles...

[robbedvoter]

49. My bunion would be a better VP than McCain - wait, better than Nader too

I completely forgot his ethnicity. Now that you reminded it to me I wonder even more: why didn't he speak up against the war from the start?

[noiretextatique]

40. most of the anti-nader sentiment falls into a few categories

1) fundamental ideological differences (yes, even some here think univeral health care is an evil socialist plot designed to destroy "our way of life")
2) he cost gore the 2000 election and may cost kerry the 2004 election
3) he unfairly criticizes democrats
4) his timing is bad
5) questions about his personal motivations and character

[fujiyama]

42. Nader is the son

of Lebenese immigrants.

I really don't see how that matters though. Nader is disliked by many here because he's an egotistical ass. He's serving no useful purpose other than syphoning votes away from Kerry.

[RetroLounge]

48. I hate Nader because he is an asshole

who cares about nothing but himself.

Oh, and I really like Corvairs, so screw him on that too...

RL

[mzmolly]

62. Heh.

:hi:

[tinanator]

52. no way. just because some opponents consistenly pointed that out

doesnt mean that a solid source of his phenomenal reputation bashing comes from pro-Israel interests.

[mzmolly]

53. No I'm anti-Nader because he's a hypocrite. Didn't know he was arab

and couldn't care less.

[kentuck]

56. As Karenina pointed out above, he is an Arab-American....

born in Connecticut and educated in American institutions. He is American as any of us. I apologize if I gave a different impression. However, the right wing would not hesitate to use that against him if they thought he was a threat to them, IM...

[mzmolly]

60. No you didn't give any other impression. It is interesting. I think I

heard this at one time. And, I agree, the RW would plant seeds of *bigotry* if need be. Though, as it is now, they love him. ;)

[kentuck]

61. True.

:)

[amandabeech]

57. Just out of curiosity,

is Nader from a Christian or Muslim background? I knew that he was Arab and thought he might be Lebanese, but I have no idea of his religious background. Also, might he be from the Detroit area?

[kentuck]

59. I wanna say "Episcopalian", but I may be wrong ??

:shrug:

[Name removed]

63. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[kentuck]

65. I can't understand why some people would get so upset....

with such a simple question?? Flames are in the eye of the beholder sometimes... The mods can lock, if they wish. :)

[Susang]

66. Don't feel bad

Around here any mention of the word "Nader" constitutes flamebait. I believe it is against the law to yell it in a crowded theatre. }(

[Name removed]

72. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Piperay]

68. No, it's his big ego &

self-centeredness. I had forgotton that he was an Arab, don't give a fuck about that. :shrug:

[Solidarity]

69. Do You Know Nader?

Do you know Nader? I generally discount any personal description of Nader, Gore, Clinton, Kerry, Moore, etc., made by people who really don't know them and probably have not worked closely with them.

That kind of talk just seems to be hearsay spread by people who can't discuss real politics or challenge and debate the views of those political figures they disagree with.

[noiretextatique]

71. memes

nader is an asshole
nader is egotistical
nader eats small children
lather, rinse, and repeat.

[jpgray]

80. For someone who supports unions, you are the one who seems ignorant

Nader owns stock in Raytheon, General Dynamics, Boeing, and Halliburton--he is currently profiting off of the weapons we are killing Iraqis with, while at the same time he is raking in money from idealistic kids who oppose the war and are too lazy to check out his portfolio. As far as labor, he has long denied his own workers the right to unionize, and invests in such slave-labor monsters as Gap and the Limited. This man supports some of the worst corporations in America with his money.

[Piperay]

82. Didn't realize I was

supposed to have a personal aquaintance with the man since the original post was asking if anti-nader people had a PERSONAL bias against a man who is an Arab. I repeat my reply...I am anti-Nader because he is self-centered. Discount it if you want I don't care because I only answered the original question as to my own personal reasons...which was never intended to sway anyone else that is why I never got into specifics involving more serious issues. Nader has a big ego and is self-centered...JMO.

[Zuni]

70. I had no idea he was Arabic

It never even occurred to me.

[Cleita]

74. Nope. This is the first time I have heard that he is Lebanese.

I have other bones to pick with Mr. Nader, but his ethnicity and religion aren't among them.

[NightTrain]

75. Fuck no!

In fact, I'm not even "anti-Nader." I'm "anti-Nader running for president in 2004."

[Aidoneus]

76. Yeah, that "suicide bomber" analogy was a fucking coincidence

please..

[jpgray]

79. I wouldn't be surprised--few people know (or care) that he is an Arab

Dick Gephardt was also dubbed a suicide bomber by cartoonists and a few pundits after Iowa--in political terms, it's been applied all over regardless of ethnicity.

[JanMichael]

81. I hope the hell not.

But ya' never know.

[regnaD kciN]

85. Of course I hate him for his ethnic background...

...after all, why should Joe Lieberman have all the fun?

;-)

Seriously, I didn't even know Nader was Lebanese until it came up just before the last election.

[TexasBushwhacker]

86. Nader's ethnicity never even occurred to me ......

and I don't hate him, but I do think he's a self-absorbed asshole. I have no problem with people running for President as something other than a Democrat or Republican. That's their right and their choice. However, the platform of the Green Party was essentially the same as the Democratic platform except that they insisted on the abolition of the death penalty. As we approached election day in 2000, and seeing that it was indeed going to be a very close election, Nader could have EASILY thrown his support to Gore. There would have still been some Green Party members that would have voted for him, but he could have acknowledged that taking a stand is one thing, but allowing the country to be lead by someone who is TOTALLY OPPOSITE your beliefs is unconscionable. By staying in the race in 2000, Nader allowed that to happen, and by running again this time, he is just rubbinig salt in the wound AND making it more possible for it to happen again.

To make matters worse, Nader has never even tried to run for any office other than President. Excuse me, but run for representative somewhere. At least Bush was governor of Texas! I'm sorry, but having NEVER served in ANY appointed or elected office brings simple COMPETENCY to mind.

[DaveSZ]

87. Hah

I too would probably make a poor Klan leader. I didn't know he was Arab either.

/Hick voice

Kill all A-Rabs!!!!

/Hick voice

;)

[arwalden]

88. Really? I Thought He Was Jewish... Go Figure

Shows how much he interests me, huh? I suppose I should know my political enemies better.

-- Allen