Unless you live in the state of Oklahoma or are a U.S. Senate junkie, you’ve probably never heard of Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), but after today, you may never forget his name or the ridiculous things he said at a hearing on the banning of children’s books.
During a hearing of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, Mullin asked a witness if she thought a children’s book about race entitled Our Skin contained a better lesson on race than the well-known Christian church tune for kids, “Jesus Loves Me.”
Mullin began by reading a section of Our Skin which states that white people created a thing called “race” and then sorted humans based on their color.
“If you don’t want to answer my question, that’s fine. Let’s move on down the panel. Which one is better to be taught? This book or the ‘Jesus Loves Me’ lyrics, that say everybody’s skin doesn’t matter. They’re all precious in his sight,” Mullin angrily demanded.
Cheryl Morman, president of the Virginia Alliance for Family Child Care Associations said she agreed that Jesus was important, but Mullin cut her off to continue his ranting.
“So, which one is better?” he asked.
“But the reality is —” Morman began to respond, only to be interrupted by Mullin yet again.
After being admonished by committee chair Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) to let the witness answer, Mullin started up again: “That doesn’t answer my question. You’re not answering my question. If you don’t want to answer my question, that’s fine,” he said in a shout.
Morman: “The reality is —”
“I don’t want reality! I’m asking the question! Which one is better? That’s exactly what it is,” Mullin thundered.
Committee members began laughing and one could be heard to say, “Got it on tape.”
Backing down from the reality statement, Mullin suggested he had misspoken, but added, “Jesus is always first.”
Jesus is always first, Senator Mullin? But what if the child was raised in an agnostic or atheist household? What if the child is Muslin, or Jewish, or another denomination that doesn’t accept Jesus as savior? Are we supposed to force-feed Jesus to them? And if so, does that mean that next week we can require the Koran be read by all students? What about the Book of Satan? Will we also put that on school reading lists?
Religion has it’s place. But that place is NOT in a public school, no matter what Jesus freaks like Sen. Mullin say.
Mullin was also mocked on Twitter:
