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fairyruneI'm sure you've all heard about the Louisiana Justice of the Peace who is in the habit of denying interracial couples marriage licenses.
To be clear, I'm going to start with a definition from Webster's.
rac·ism
Pronunciation: \ˈrā-ˌsi-zəm also -ˌshi-\
Function: noun
Date: 1933
1 : a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race
2 : racial prejudice or discrimination
rac·ist \-sist also -shist\ noun or adjective
For those of you who may not be familiar with what's going on, Mr. Keith Barwell is a Justice of the Peace in NOLA. He refuses to issue marriage licenses to interracial couples because he feels that their future children will not be accepted by society.
He says, "I'm not a racist. I just don't believe in mixing the races that way." By definition, that actually makes him a racist, doesn't it? That falls under "racial prejudice or discrimination," if I'm not mistaken.
As for the children, he says, "There is a problem with both groups accepting a child from such a marriage. I think those children suffer and I won't help put them through it." While this isn't quite eugenics, (a science that deals with the improvement [as by control of human mating] of hereditary qualities of a race or breed,) it does seem that he is trying to dictate who can breed with whom. Who is he to say who can have children, and who can't?
He also claims the "I have black friends, so I can't be racist!" excuse. He says, "I have piles and piles of black friends. They come to my home, I marry them, they use my bathroom. I treat them just like everyone else." Unless, of course, they want to marry a white person.
This is 2009. The US government declared interracial marriages legal forty-two years ago. Mr. Barwell has taken it upon himself to ignore the law, and do as he sees fit.
I think he should be asked to resign immediately. If he cannot perform his duties as the law states he should, then he can no longer serve as a Justice of the Peace.
To be clear, I'm going to start with a definition from Webster's.
rac·ism
Pronunciation: \ˈrā-ˌsi-zəm also -ˌshi-\
Function: noun
Date: 1933
1 : a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race
2 : racial prejudice or discrimination
rac·ist \-sist also -shist\ noun or adjective
For those of you who may not be familiar with what's going on, Mr. Keith Barwell is a Justice of the Peace in NOLA. He refuses to issue marriage licenses to interracial couples because he feels that their future children will not be accepted by society.
He says, "I'm not a racist. I just don't believe in mixing the races that way." By definition, that actually makes him a racist, doesn't it? That falls under "racial prejudice or discrimination," if I'm not mistaken.
As for the children, he says, "There is a problem with both groups accepting a child from such a marriage. I think those children suffer and I won't help put them through it." While this isn't quite eugenics, (a science that deals with the improvement [as by control of human mating] of hereditary qualities of a race or breed,) it does seem that he is trying to dictate who can breed with whom. Who is he to say who can have children, and who can't?
He also claims the "I have black friends, so I can't be racist!" excuse. He says, "I have piles and piles of black friends. They come to my home, I marry them, they use my bathroom. I treat them just like everyone else." Unless, of course, they want to marry a white person.
This is 2009. The US government declared interracial marriages legal forty-two years ago. Mr. Barwell has taken it upon himself to ignore the law, and do as he sees fit.
I think he should be asked to resign immediately. If he cannot perform his duties as the law states he should, then he can no longer serve as a Justice of the Peace.
