Racial Discrimination

Mississippi And Alabama Continue Their Bad Reputation From The 1960s

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Mississippi and Alabama vote tomorrow in the Republican Presidential primaries, and as we focus on the two states with the worst reputation possible fifty years ago, one has to wonder has anything changed?

The answer is NO, although now the majority of citizens of those two states vote Republican, rather than for the Democratic Party.

But all that happened is that the whites of those states switched, based on the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 under President Lyndon B. Johnson, from the Democrats to the Republicans, as the Republicans gave up their Reconstruction image of being pro African American rights, and therefore, inherited the segregationists of the 1960s.

Sure, African American involvement in the politics of those two Deep South states has multiplied, but still those states are dominated by the old racism and segregationist mentality of the 1960s! They remain among the poorest states of the union, both black and white citizens.

Now, those states are working to make it harder for minorities to vote, leading to court cases. Also, discrimination against immigrants of Hispanic ancestry is in full swing, particularly so in Alabama.

And a majority in a poll believe that Barack Obama is a Muslim, while at the same time, NOT believing in evolution, but instead the Bible creationist theory. So they do not believe in science, but believe in a Lord who discriminates based on race and nationality!

What can one say except throw their hands up in frustration and exasperation at the ignorance and narrow mindedness of these two states, whose reputation remains in the bottom ten of our 50 states, and very close to the bottom, if not the bottom!

The Mississippi “Personhood” Ballot Initiative: A Threat To Women And Common Sense!

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The state of Mississippi, infamous for its long history of extreme racial violence and discrimination, is now attempting by ballot initiative to take down Roe V. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision which allows women the right to control their own reproductive lives.

It is one thing to claim that a five month fetus is seen as a “person” which might be able to live outside the womb. It is another thing to claim that a fertilized egg is to be seen as a “person”, and to declare that using an IUD, birth control pills, or the morning after pill (RU 486), all contraception methods is murder. It is outrageous that doctors, nurses, and the women themselves could be brought up on murder charges if an abortion is used to save the life of the mother in a situation where the pregnancy endangers her existence.

It is ironic that Mississippi, the state judged the MOST RELIGIOUS, would be the state that has no concern for women’s rights, and treats women as being controlled by men, who have no concept of what a pregnancy does to a woman, and to take the sexist view that every act of sexual intercourse should lead to a potential child.

It is also par for the course that Mississippi has the most violent record of mistreatment of African Americans of any state, and should hold its head in shame collectively for having the gall to promote such an initiative! Also, Mississippi is infamous for having many more capital punishment cases than most states.

Mississippi, close to the cheapest state in its attitude toward the poor, is also demonstrating yet again that it only is concerned about the birth of a fetus, rather than the health and welfare of its women and its poor population!

What hypocrisy, but it demonstrates just how significant the issue of the Supreme Court is in the upcoming Presidential Election of 2012, as if the Republican nominee wins, the rights of women will be curtailed by right wing Court appointments over time, and we will be back to the level of back alley abortions and unnecessary deaths of women who will not allow their personal lives to be controlled by religious zealots and theocratic fanatics

Alabama’s Harsh Immigration Law: Worse Than Arizona And Revives Old Memories Of Alabama’s Horrid Racial History!

Ronald 1 Comment

Alabama has managed to take some attention off Arizona’s disgraceful immigration law, as its own legislation, put into effect on October 1, although being contested in the courts by the federal government, has already undermined its image to anyone who has a sense of justice and decency and fairness!

Reports of Hispanic immigrants fleeing, leaving their homes and possessions behind, and of children suddenly withdrawing from school , paint a picture that reminds us of Alabama’s past history of racial discrimination and violence, only possibly matched or surpassed in the South by Mississippi!

Only about 4.2 percent of Alabama’s population are undocumented immigrants, and there is no indication that there has been a problem of crime due to them being present in the state.

There are reports of pregnant women afraid to go to the hospital and of crime victims fearful of going to the police.

At the same time, harvest of agricultural crops in the state has declined dramatically, and much of the produce will rot for lack of people willing to do the work, so the economy of one of the poorest states will become worse, because of this draconian law!

The legislation makes illegal immigrants unable to enter contracts; be employed; rent housing; or gain government services. It makes these unfortunate victims unable to work, unable to gain education, unable to protect themselves from being victimized, and puts them in poverty with a sense of no ability to relate to their neighbors or any social institutions.

Fortunately, many church leaders have protested, and the federal government is actively pursuing action, but what is needed now is a court injunction to prevent further enforcement until the case comes to court! This legislation is inhumane, and a violation of human rights on a grand scale!

Rick Perry Family Hunting Camp Racial Slurs Disqualify Him To Be President!

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Texas Governor Rick Perry is now in the midst of a controversy regarding his family’s hunting camp, which had a racial slur on a rock at the entrance for many years, the most despicable slur possible–the N word–, and it has caused Herman Cain, the only African American candidate in the Republican race, to denounce him as insensitive on the race issue. That is a mild reaction, to say the least, but still telling!

In 2012, despite the reality that there are Americans who are racist and promote the race issue, particularly on President Obama, it is NOT acceptable to have such a candidate represent a major political party in a national campaign!

All it does is promote the “Old South” mentality that must be rooted out completely from national politics, as that is not the road to progress in the future, particularly in a nation becoming rapidly more racially diverse, and by 2040-2050 will see the white population as a minority in America!

It will be interesting to see if other Republican candidates, other than Herman Cain, will speak up and criticize Rick Perry on this. If they do not, then they lose all credibility as legitimate candidates for the Presidency of the United States!

This nation cannot afford to go backward on racial progress, and Rick Perry would be a reflection of the past on racial matters, and in many ways, the present in Texas for minorities who have faced discrimination despite their growing numbers.

Nostalgia For The 19th Century: The “Good Old Days” Of The Gilded Age?

Ronald 2 Comments

Here we are in the second decade of the 21st century, and yet the Tea Party Movement and the Republican Party contains within itself a great nostalgia for the past–the 19th century Gilded Age!

Why is the Gilded Age seen in such a positive light by the Right Wing of the Republican Party? Let us count the ways in no special order!

1. Labor unions were struggling to survive, and workers were working long hours under horrible work conditions with no protection and no basic rights for the working men, women and children. Yes, children as young as 6 were working for menial pay, as well as women being paid less than men.

2. Immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe and Asia were being discriminated against, and paid less than “native born” workers, and living in slums in the big cities.

3. Women had no rights legally and were not allowed to vote or control their work conditions.

4. No one had any health care, pension, minimum wage protection or sick leave or vacation leave, and could be fired on a whim of the employer.

5. African Americans mostly lived in the South and faced segregation, lynchings, and sharecropper poverty, and civil rights of any kind did not exist.

6. Corporations ruled in America, major monopolies which corrupted the political system on all levels–national, state and local.

7. State and local governments controlled just about every aspect of their population’s lives in a very inadequate manner, and the federal government was extremely minimal in its impact upon the people.

8. There was no social safety net of any kind, other than churches and other organizations which were unable to do much for those less fortunate, in poverty, or having serious medical ills.

9. Racial supremacy was a widely held belief, along with Laissez Faire Economics and Social Darwinism.

10. Education was minimal for the vast majority of the population, and therefore allowed little social mobility for the average American.

11. If natural disasters occurred, little assistance or aid was available, except to pray to God for divine guidance.

This nostalgia today is VERY SIMILAR to the above reality of the Gilded Age, but we have had a century of reform, including the Progressive Era, the New Deal, the Great Society and other reforms on specific issues at other times!

We have had reform oriented Presidents Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon and Barack Obama promote major changes that have made America a better nation!

Now the proposal of the Right Wing in the GOP is to reverse the reforms and changes that have made America an improved nation over the past century. The desire is to negate, to veto, to wipe out the social safety net, labor reforms, and so many other hard earned reforms. This is being offered as the GOP answer to the economic crisis we are in, as if making things worse and protecting the corporations and the extremely wealthy is the answer to our difficulties!

Returning to the Gilded Age is precisely the wrong thing to do! We cannot allow such a disaster to occur in 2011, or EVER!

Mixed Race Couples And A Louisiana Judge: Is This 2009 Or Fifty Years Ago?

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It is hard to believe that a Justice of the Peace in Southeastern Louisiana refused this past week to perform a marriage ceremony for a mixed race couple, a white female and an African American male.

Are we back in the years before the civil rights movement? Is this refusal another commentary on the fact that our President was the product of a mixed race couple?

Is this another sign of the Old South continuing to rear its ugly head, one of not just anti black, but also anti Jewish, anti Catholic, anti immigrant discrimination?

One has to wonder why this issue has arisen now, when interracial marriages were declared constitutional by the Supreme Court in 1967.

Thank goodness for one fact: No one in today’s political climate is going to remain silent and cover the reputation of a racist bigot. At least, such vermin are fully exposed, but it is a sad day that in the year 2009, we can have such a demonstration of racism and bigotry by an elected official, a part of the court system.

What is necessary now is prompt, swift action to remove this disgrace of a judge from public office! Democratic Senator Mary Landrieu has called for his removal, but we have not yet heard from Republican Senator David Vitter. Hmm, one wonders why?