A diary currently in the Community Spotlight says:
As a Mormon, I think that I have an accurate take on what type of man Mr. Romney is. Being raised in Utah, I know that Mormonism (as with other very conservative Christian religions) put heavy (although not exclusive) emphasis on familial – especially sexual – fidelity. I have no doubt that Mr. Romney is a man of personal, religious consciousness who is completely dedicated to his religion and family. I certainly think this is admirable. However it has been noted that Mormonism places little emphasis upon general, social consciousness and business integrity.
A commenter in this same diary writes:
I had a college buddy who went to law school, then, because of the excellent skiing nearby, studied for and passed the Utah bar, and eventually established a practice in Salt Lake.
Many Mormons, he told me, are driven to achieve professional and business success to such an extent that they often ignore the usual ethical and even legal standards. Their single mindedness and ethical blindness is born of their desire to provide security for their families and establish a place for themselves in the community. Any action can be overlooked or forgiven, if the reason is family, church and community.
The result is that too many Mormon business people end up in court, either suing or defending themselves from other Mormons in deals that have gone bad, or defending themselves against the government for more egregious errors.
And Mormons, my Catholic college buddy likes to say, don't want Mormons representing them in court. For that they turn to auslanders. Which is why my buddy with the Irish name was able to retire early and rich, with a house up at Alta, a place down in Mexico, and a fine appreciation for the people of Moroni.
I concur that Mitt Romney is a jerk. And I know there are many jerks on the right who share his religious faith.
Now, I happen to be Jewish, and I happen to think Joe Lieberman is a jerk, and I acknowledge (sadly) that there are many other jerks (further on the right than Lieberman) who are also Jewish, but surely it would be recognized as bigotry if I posted a diary that contained this:
As a Jew, I think that I have an accurate take on what type of man Mr. Lieberman is. Being raised in New York City, I know that Orthodox Judaism (as with other very conservative religions) put heavy (although not exclusive) emphasis on familial – especially sexual – fidelity. I have no doubt that Mr. Lieberman is a man of personal, religious consciousness who is completely dedicated to his religion and family. I certainly think this is admirable. However it has been noted that Judaism places little emphasis upon general, social consciousness and business integrity.
Similarly, we would recogize a comment like the following as bigotry:
I had a college buddy who went to law school and eventually established a practice in New York City.
Many Jews, he told me, are driven to achieve professional and business success to such an extent that they often ignore the usual ethical and even legal standards. Their single mindedness and ethical blindness is born of their desire to provide security for their families and establish a place for themselves in the community. Any action can be overlooked or forgiven, if the reason is family, church and community.
The result is that too many Jewish business people end up in court, either suing or defending themselves from other Jews in deals that have gone bad, or defending themselves against the government for more egregious errors.
And Jews, my Catholic college buddy likes to say, don't want Jews representing them in court. For that they turn to auslanders. Which is why my buddy with the Irish name was able to retire early and rich, with a house up in the Hamptons, a place down in Mexico, and a fine appreciation for the Children of Israel.