BlogJunkies

Colorado lawmaker defends calling immigrants ?illiterate peasants.?

April 22, 2008 on 11:26 pm |

Yesterday, Colorado state Rep. Douglas Bruce — known for kicking a photographer earlier this year — blasted a proposal to aid migrant farm workers, saying on the state House floor, “We don’t 5,000 more illiterate peasants in the state of Colorado.” Though his speaking privileges were stripped for the rest of the day, he defended his remarks:

“I looked up ‘illiterate’ in the dictionary and it means somebody who is lacking in formal education or is unable to read and write,” he said. “I don’t think these people who are planning to come over here and pick potatoes or peaches are likely to have much of a formal education. I looked up the word ‘peasant.’ The word ‘peasant’ means a person who works in agricultural fields. These people, most of them, don’t speak English. Most of them haven’t had any formal education, that’s why they’re coming over here. I don’t blame them for trying, but I don’t think we should pave the way for more aliens to come here.”

The Denver Post reports that Bruce’s remarks “could leave him with a second censure penalty or worse.