When atop the social hierarchy, reaping the benefits of white privilege becomes a default mechanism. Sometimes, that means losing sight of what entails an insensitive comment.
American politician and congressman Steve King recently made light of China's mistreatment of Uyghur Muslims whilst criticizing the Asian country's detainment of the minority group. What a way to defend human rights.
In a failed and insensitive attempt at a joke, the Iowa Republican suggested force-feeding Muslims pork was a good idea because he thinks "everybody ought to eat pork." His comments came on Tuesday morning as he was reprimanding >China's crackdown on its Muslim population.
"They take out all of their religious artifacts out and then they want them to put on Chinese clothing and eat Chinese diet, which includes trying to force the Muslims to eat pork," King said.
"That's actually the only part of that that I agree with"
King continued by saying that the only part he agrees with is force-feeding Muslims pork because "everybody ought to eat pork." He was obviously attempting to make the audience giggle by highlighting the majority of Americans' love for pork. Under Islamic law, Muslims are forbidden from eating pork. King's comments were insensitive, to say the least, because since when is joking about a group's torturous state acceptable?
"If you have a shortage of bacon, you can't be happy," he added.
Soon after his comments were uttered, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) called on Republican House members to do something about it.
"Republican leaders need to make clear once and for all that Islamophobia will not be tolerated in their ranks," CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw said in a statement.
"If King had joked about any other religious minority in concentration camps suffering the same humiliation he would have been kicked out of the Republican Party."
Last year, officials from the United Nations said millions of Muslims were being >detained in camps across China. The U.S. has accused Beijing of holding Uyghur Muslims in "concentration camps" though the latter has repeatedly denied such claims. Instead, Beijing has said that these so-called "training centers" are designed to combat terrorism and Islamic extremism.
However, documentation of torture within the camps have refuted those claims on numerous occasions. Earlier this year, a report revealed that a mobile "tracking" application was being used by police officers and authorities to monitor Uyghur citizens.
In May, Human Rights Watch, in collaboration with Berlin-based security firm Cure53, reverse engineered the Integrated Joint Operations Platform (IJOP) app and found that authorities collect personal information of the Xinjiang population that are not just limited to name, height, and blood type. Information such as which apps the individual uses (including WhatsApp) and how much electricity the person consumes are some of the things collected via the "Big Brother" app, as >HRW calls it. The app also allows for the reporting of suspicious activities by alerting a nearby government official to look into the matter further. The official then decides whether the person involved should be investigated.
China's Xinjiang, home to the country's Uyghur Muslim population, has been faced with state-sponsored oppression for decades. Making light of a group's oppression is a hard pill to swallow. And Twitter users are not letting King's comments slide.
"Hey Siri, who is the walking embodiment of literal shit?"
"Why is this monster still in Congress"
"America's most racist congressman continues to be the worst"
This isn't an isolated incident for King. His racism and Islamophobia has been flaunted on numerous occasions. Last year, the congressman told Breitbart Radio (known for its far-right sentiments) that he didn't want Somali Muslims working in his home district's meat-packing plants. Why? Because Muslims don't eat pork and because they apparently believe consumers will "go to hell for eating pork chops."
Just because pork is forbidden in the Islamic faith doesn't mean Muslims are afraid of touching it nor does it mean we condemn those who consume it. Islamophobes have attacked Muslims with bacon, hid it in their food, and used it in a bid to offend them more often than the fingers you have on your hands. Because ignorance is bliss, right?