(no subject)

[dreamer_easy]

Update on that Louisiana JP who refused to marry an interracial couple - he's resigned. Plus, they're taking him to court. If there are other petty dictators in public office round the nation, I hope they're taking note.

(You always hope a story like this is a freak event. But something Aboriginal activist Sam Watson said recently got me thinking - he described racism in Australia as "endemic". That makes it like measles or something - it's always around, even when there's no visible rash.)

Comments

[hexacontium.livejournal.com]

That's good to hear. In the Netherlands some JPs refuse to marry gay couples without consequences. Which reminds me... my partner and me got married in Norway and our Norwegian was too poor, and likewise the poor man's English. He had a hard time reading the ceremonial text from a sheet of paper and continually said something that sounded a lot like 'loath' instead of 'love' :D

[pbristow.livejournal.com]

Wahoo! [GRABS A BEER]

[klgaffney.livejournal.com]

good to hear. and well, sadly, i think sam watson's right. i think some misplace their offense and their counterattacks and their methods are suspect and thus do more harm than good; at the same time i know that racism still shapes people's opinions and informs their actions here, and i can still get called names by the yokels and their yokel hellspawn if i go out by myself.

[kateorman.livejournal.com]

No you can't, not if I KILL THEM WITH MY BARE HANDS.

Well, not twice, anyway.

great news...and a great quote

[howlingquietly.livejournal.com]

though obviously not great in the same way

The wikipedia (yeah, yeah, I know) page on endemic from a epidemiological perspective is really interesting in terms of thinking about what Sam Watson said. "An infection is said to be endemic... in a population when that infection is maintained in the population without the need for external inputs." Like its always with us, and it doesn't need an event to bring it about.

And I really agree with the concept of an infection/racism being "in a steady state", which seems about right here in the US. Some people reacted to Obama being elected with "Racism is over" but what they meant was "See, a black man is president; black people should quit complaining." Likewise, because Obama has been elected, we've seen a lot more things we can easily identify as racist. But that doesn't mean racism is on the rise - just that we are only seeing what was there all along.

(Sorry this is sort of rambling...I should probably get my own blog...oh yeah, I have one)