Racism is bad; or, "When Honkies Attack, Part 1"

I hereby pledge never to go back to Alabama again. I know, I have the shirt, and my uncle is a professor at the University of Alabama. But I cannot, in good conscience, visit a state where poll taxes and segregation are still enshrined in the state constitution.

I just read this article, which tells how Alabama voters narrowly rejected an amendment that would have removed Jim Crow-era language from the state constitution. Yes, the Civil Rights Act made this language unenforceable under federal law, but the fact that it still exists, and Alabamans apparently don't want to change it, says to me: they are all a bunch of honkies.

One argument against, espoused by local hero Roy Moore (he of the "Ten Commandments in the courthouse" fame) and other right-wing wackjobs, claims that removing the language would make it possible for "activist judges" (there they go with that phrase again) to "force" Alabama to spend more on education, and thus raise taxes (*gasp*). Never mind the fact that this argument has been widely ridiculed by legal experts and by Alabama newspapers-- if those who voted "no" to Amendment 2 buy that argument, then they oppose spending more of their precious dollars on education. Alabamans recently rejected their conservative Republican governor's $1.2 billion tax raise to help improve Alabama's education system. Perhaps they should rethink their priorities: Alabama was ranked 44th out of the 50 states in "smartness" by the Morgan Quitno Press.

So, Alabamans don't value education as much as we might here in Minnesota (#7, thank you very much). That's all well and good, right? Let's dig a little deeper. Perhaps the reason they rejected the amendment was that many whites can afford to send their kids to private, Christian schools, while the majority of blacks cannot. Why should whites pay for those lazy, shiftless negroes to go to public schools? (Please note the sarcasm.) The moral of the story is: racism disguised as "states' rights" is still racism. Please, Alabama. The Civil War is over.

Wow, that was a pretty good rant, wadn't it? To top it all off, go watch some Dave Chappelle. Click on "The Time Haters." It's funny stuff. OK, signing off, love ya! --Pat