Congressman: only WHITE people have ever contributed to civilization

[Blue3]

Congressman during Live TV interview:

only white people have contributed to civilization, not these other subgroups




https://twitter.com/paulonabike/status/755169257386717184

[IceSpear]

Looks like this is rapidly becoming the KKKNC.

[SATW]

why does steve king keep getting attention? he's a clown, just ignore him.

[Kingpoleon]

"Where did any other subgroup contribute MORE to civilization?"

It's still at least a little racist, but it's not what the OP quote implies.

[RINO Tom]

Good Lord.  In before Classic Conservative defends this piece of garbage.  If I lived in his district, I'd vote Democrat for the first time in my life in a major election.

Forget my shame he's in my party, he's a disgrace to Americans.

[user12345]

How the hell does this asshat keep winning in an R+4 district?

[Santander]

I don't have the full quote's context, so I won't make any judgments. "Western civilization" is not a proxy word for "whites". Defending the honor and the unique accomplishments of Western civilization is something that we don't do enough of.

Steve King does plenty of crazy things, but I didn't really bat an eye when I heard him say this.

[Ebsy]

I would merely note that Congressman Steve King said this in response to questions about the lack of diversity at the RNC. So basically he said there were hardly any black delegates because other races have not contributed as much (anything) to the United States/Western civilization.

[Santander]

I would merely note that Congressman Steve King said this in response to questions about the lack of diversity at the RNC. So basically he said there were hardly any black delegates because other races have not contributed as much (anything) to the United States/Western civilization.

Thank you for the context. In that case, it looks like a desperate attempt to claw himself out of a hole he dug himself. To suggest that blacks, who have been a central part of the American experience since its founding, are not part of Western civilization is inaccurate and thinly-veiled racism.

[Ebsy]

This is a transcription I found on reddit that lines up with a the video clip:

Charlie Pierce: "I tell you what. If you're really optimistic, you could say that this is the last time that old white people will command the Republican party's platform, attention, and respect. Of course I thought that was going to happen after 2012. In that hall today, that hall is wired by loud, unhappy dissatisfied white people. Any sign of rebellion is going to get shouted down."

Congressman Steve King: "This singling out 'old white people' business does get a little tired, Charlie. I'd ask you to go back through history and figure out where are these contributions made by these other categories of people that you're talking about? Where did any other subgroup of people contribute more to civilization?"

Chris Hayes: "...than white people?"

Steve King: "Than Western Civilization itself that's rooted in Western Europe, Eastern Europe, the USA and every place where Christianity settled the world? That's all of Western Civilization."

Chris Hayes: "wait a minute, we're not going to argue the history of civilization here."

[Joe Republic]

why does steve king keep getting attention? he's a clown, just ignore him.

He's an elected member of Congress.

[RI]

Apparently China doesn't exist. Along with many others.

[IceSpear]

why does steve king keep getting attention? he's a clown, just ignore him.

He'd be a lot easier to ignore if the idiots of his district would, you know, stop voting for him.

Nobody even said they had to vote Democratic. He had a legitimate primary challenger this year, and still won by nearly 2:1.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Just... wow.

[ElectionsGuy]

This is a transcription I found on reddit that lines up with a the video clip:

Charlie Pierce: "I tell you what. If you're really optimistic, you could say that this is the last time that old white people will command the Republican party's platform, attention, and respect. Of course I thought that was going to happen after 2012. In that hall today, that hall is wired by loud, unhappy dissatisfied white people. Any sign of rebellion is going to get shouted down."

Congressman Steve King: "This singling out 'old white people' business does get a little tired, Charlie. I'd ask you to go back through history and figure out where are these contributions made by these other categories of people that you're talking about? Where did any other subgroup of people contribute more to civilization?"

Chris Hayes: "...than white people?"

Steve King: "Than Western Civilization itself that's rooted in Western Europe, Eastern Europe, the USA and every place where Christianity settled the world? That's all of Western Civilization."

Chris Hayes: "wait a minute, we're not going to argue the history of civilization here."

It appears he just took up the issue out of nowhere, they were talking about the platform and then he talks about contributions to civilization? WTF

 Also I think the title is misleading, nowhere did he say only white people, just apparently more so than any other people. Not that the statement isn't disgusting, just the thread title is wrong.

[Torie]

This is a transcription I found on reddit that lines up with a the video clip:

Charlie Pierce: "I tell you what. If you're really optimistic, you could say that this is the last time that old white people will command the Republican party's platform, attention, and respect. Of course I thought that was going to happen after 2012. In that hall today, that hall is wired by loud, unhappy dissatisfied white people. Any sign of rebellion is going to get shouted down."

Congressman Steve King: "This singling out 'old white people' business does get a little tired, Charlie. I'd ask you to go back through history and figure out where are these contributions made by these other categories of people that you're talking about? Where did any other subgroup of people contribute more to civilization?"

Chris Hayes: "...than white people?"

Steve King: "Than Western Civilization itself that's rooted in Western Europe, Eastern Europe, the USA and every place where Christianity settled the world? That's all of Western Civilization."

Chris Hayes: "wait a minute, we're not going to argue the history of civilization here."

It appears he just took up the issue out of nowhere, they were talking about the platform and then he talks about contributions to civilization? WTF

 Also I think the title is misleading, nowhere did he say only white people, just apparently more so than any other people. Not that the statement isn't disgusting, just the thread title is wrong.

The comment may be technically true (I emphasize "may"), but it has nothing to do with white people being white, nor with Christianity. It might have something to do with Europe having so many small countries over the centuries warring with each other for advantage, and thus there was an incentive to embrace technology to gain an advantage over their immediate and hostile neighbors. Or so I have read.

[rob in cal]

    Well, he didn't go into the IQ test, or school test results breakdown by ethnicity.  That would have hurt his overall pro-White argument to an extent, but also brought up the whole issue of different outcomes by ethnicity.

[Classic Conservative]

Yeah, the title is misleading. Western Civilization has done the most in my opinion for world civilization starting with The Greeks and Romans and ending with The United States and Britian. Eastern Civilization, specifically in The Middle East and China, has also done a lot for world civilization. I still like Steve King a lot.

[RINO Tom]

Yeah, the title is misleading. Western Civilization has done the most in my opinion for world civilization starting with The Greeks and Romans and ending with The United States and Britian. Eastern Civilization, specifically in The Middle East and China, has also done a lot for world civilization. I still like Steve King a lot.

What are your favorite things about him?

You should be more true to the tradition of MA Republicans, who have been some of the best throughout history.

[rob in cal]

   King could also have gone down the whole slippery slope of Nobel prize winners for science, math, medicine etc. which has a distinctive pattern of who the winners are, although much of that could be a result of white privilege rearing its ugly head yet again.

[dead0man]

The comment may be technically true (I emphasize "may"), but it has nothing to do with white people being white, nor with Christianity. It might have something to do with Europe having so many small countries over the centuries warring with each other for advantage, and thus there was an incentive to embrace technology to gain an advantage over their immediate and hostile neighbors. Or so I have read.

You say that as if it wasn't true all over the entire world for millennia.  Civilizations in Africa fighting each other had no incentives to embrace technology?  I think the "Eurasia is wide, the Americas and Africa are narrow but tall so plants good at one latitude were not able to spread very far in any direction" excuse for white  tribes being the most successful makes the most sense,

[Classic Conservative]

Yeah, the title is misleading. Western Civilization has done the most in my opinion for world civilization starting with The Greeks and Romans and ending with The United States and Britian. Eastern Civilization, specifically in The Middle East and China, has also done a lot for world civilization. I still like Steve King a lot.

What are your favorite things about him?

You should be more true to the tradition of MA Republicans, who have been some of the best throughout history.

My favorite things include his strong and passionate defense of our borders and deporting illegal aliens. His stances on social issues and farm subsidies amongst others. He's definitely in the top 10 in The House.

And who are you to tell me what to believe. Your version of the party being the good old boys which my family has also been part of since the 1860's is dead and won't be coming back.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Yeah, the title is misleading. Western Civilization has done the most in my opinion for world civilization starting with The Greeks and Romans and ending with The United States and Britian. Eastern Civilization, specifically in The Middle East and China, has also done a lot for world civilization. I still like Steve King a lot.

How the f**k do you quantify these things?

Hint: you can't.

[Bismarck]

King is not known for his tact.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

The funny thing is, King had a chance to really go after Hayes and company for playing identity politics and instead chose to do the exact inverse of what they are doing.

Of course, King isn't the brightest crayon in the box, so he wouldn't have smelt the blood in the water anyway.