Rogers’ hometown paper questions him on use of Arab stereotype

Last week I reported that the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee was upset with an anti-Arab cartoon that Republican congressman Mike Rogers of Brighton posted on his Web site as part of an “energy independence plan.”

A spokesman for that group said Roger’s image of a man dressed in Gulf attire and saying, “We need more money for jihad” was “fear-mongering hate speech.”Rogers’ office did not respond to calls from Michigan Messenger.

Kelster93 responded with a comment and possible explanation, writing, “In MI-08 I believe the number of Arab-American voters is virtually zero.“

But apparently the issue is a concern to some in Rogers’ district.

Today in “Group upset over Rogers‘ energy video,” The Livingston Daily Press & Argus took up the story of Rogers’ controversial Web material, and Rogers — maybe because the paper is in his district? — returned the call.

He told reporter Allison Bergsieker that no one had complained about his cartoon energy plan until this week and implied that the timing of the remarks, so near the primary election, could be politically motivated.

Rogers said that he interpreted the lack of complaints from “thousands and thousands of viewers from all over the country” as approval for his animated energy plan.

Imad Hamad, director of Michigan’s American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, told the Livingston paper that the image is a damaging stereotype and that Rogers has shown a pattern of disregard for Arab-Americans.

“For him to ignore our call to him to reassess the content of the video and adjust it to serve the purpose he claimed it served means he’s not providing listening ears,” Hamad said. “He’s insisted to keep the video to the dismay of his fellow Michigan [residents] and others.”