Thank God my kids are so young, because I'm just not ready for the day I have to explain this to them.
When my husband and I decided to get married, my dad and I had a huge falling out over his ignorance and racism. I thought that he was going to no longer be a part of my life. The transformation that happened in his life after that was miraculous, but that's for another post. No one else gave me grief over being in a mixed race relationship, but my mother did express some concern over the adversity we might face, and more importantly, what life might be like for our kids. I remember almost laughing and telling her "Mom, it's not like we're going to be living back in Kentucky. We live in Los Angeles." I never imagined coming back here, raising kids here or being married to my husband here. For the most part, we have been pleasantly surprised at the open-mindedness here in Lexington. But, it is a University town, so more is to be expected. And here I am, only 6.5 miles from the University of Kentucky campus where Barack Obama was hung in effigy today. Did I mention that just a few weeks ago, my husband and I saw an old redneck man driving a truck with a bumper sticker that says "Obama is my n****r"? No kidding. My husband took a picture just to prove it. Like the shoe-shining photo, I refuse to reproduce it.
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6 comments:
In LA they just hang Sarah Palin in effigy. http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-palineffigy30-2008oct30,0,6475514.story
It's all disgusting. But what I don't understand is why this sort of display isn't illegal.
"The mannequin, outfitted with beehive wig, glasses and a red coat dress -- appeared to violate no law, said officials of the Secret Service, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and the West Hollywood city code enforcement division.
Peter Scheer, executive director of the California First Amendment Coalition and a free-speech expert, said the Palin display would fall under protected speech, as long as it was not made with the intent of inciting violence."
I guess hanging a black man in effigy is automatically seen as an attempt to incite violence? (which I don't disagree with) Just hanging a noose from a tree can be punished as a hate crime, but I guess it's different if a conservative white politician is hanging from it.
I should add that I am also terrified of the day when my AFRICAN nieces have to learn about the history of race in this country. As if they don't have enough to deal with ...
I do agree that it's all ridiculous and I'm disgusted by the Sarah Palin thing also. I think there are a few differences, though. First, conservative white politicians weren't ACTUALLY hung from trees on a regular basis not all that long ago. Second, the people who hung Sarah Palin in effigy did in their own front yard. Again, horrible and outrageous, but it wasn't a University campus. Third, frankly, it's in West Hollywood and hung by people who will be directly affected by a McCain/Palin administration. One can understand why a gay couple might have strong feelings toward Sarah Palin. I'm not implying that feelings of wanting to hang her are acceptable, of course, but I find the idea that they were just making a political point a lot more believable than I do from someone in Kentucky who hung Barack Obama in effigy.
Again, it's all appalling and I wish the couple in West Hollywood would have to take their display down, but for both intellectual reasons and admittedly biased personal reasons, I feel different about the episodes.
A man in Jeffersonville, IN also hung Barack in effigy in his front yard. Imagine being that guy's neighbor? I guess that's another distinction. Do you really think that if the gay couple who hung Sarah Palin in their yard has conservative neighbors that they feel physically threatened? On the other hand, if we lived near the man in Indiana, I'd be afraid for Carl to leave the house.
I don't disagree with what you're saying with respect to the differences and tensions that underly the two different displays. And I don't want to minimize the effect on the black community.
I just don't agree with the ease at which the Sarah Palin display was portrayed as free speech. Hate is ugly in all instances and if hanging a noose is considered a hate crime (which courts have ruled), the fact that a white person is hanging from it should not remove it from the category of hate speech.
I agree. Even though they aren't considering it a crime, I did read that the mayor of West Hollywood has expressed his disdain and has asked the couple to take it down. That doesn't solve the problem, but at least the political leader of that community has spoken out.
I agree that it is hate speech, though.
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