posted on November 30, 2004 01:57:55 PM new
Separate but equal is apparently alive and well in Alabama. Maybe I was naive. I thought requiring separate schools for blacks and whites was universally viewed as an American historical pock, one of those twisted, grainy, embarrassing flashbacks that are now hard to believe for those of us who were not of age or alive at the time.
Well in Alabama, the ugly events in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s remain enshrined in its constitution thanks to a narrow victory for those seemingly still fighting the Civil War. An effort to remove language from the Alabama constitution that requires separate schools for “white and colored children” failed by a narrow margin. At least it seems that Monday’s recount will not change the outcome.
This constitutional amendment also included highly controversial provisions like ensuring all children have a right to an education and it would have eliminated poll taxes, instituted to keep blacks away from the polls. Come on. It would have been an easy way to say we’re sorry for the hardships many of our ancestors and us inflicted upon African Americans.
We’re sorry that we fought tooth and nail to keep blacks out of our schools. You would think it would be a shameful memory rather than a seemingly proud reminder of a racist past -- the site of the infamous showdown between Governor George Wallace, who refused to allow integration, and federal authorities trying to enforce U.S. law requiring Alabama to desegregate.
The Washington Post suggests the amendment failed for one of three reasons: racism, reluctance to amend the constitution, or fear of taxes. Of course, there‘s only one honest answer. There were other mundane amendments that passed on November 2 and fear that giving blacks equal education will cost taxpayers really relates to issue number one, racism.
What next, will the people of Alabama want to bring back slavery?
Q. What's the difference between the Vietnam War and the Iraq War?
A. George W. Bush had a plan to get out of the Vietnam War.
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There's an old saying in Tennessee — I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again." —George W. Bush, Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 17, 2002
---------------------------------- "Give it up for George W. Bush, the best friend international jihad ever had."
posted on November 30, 2004 03:17:59 PM new
Alabama is a very southern state. I think they still fly the Confederate Flag. Remember George Wallace was from there. He was tough on segregation.
Segregation is still alive but not as prevelant as it was. I think the schools are bending the rules because of busing and the cost of busing. If your from an all white neighborhood some will have to be bused into a black neighborhood and vise versa and is it right to do that? According to the law they have to but displacing a person because of color is wrong. Now the school districts have to pick and choose who goes to what school. It is a no win situation for either blacks or whites. or any other nationality. Segregation also now includes languages and with all the different nationalities schools must provide translators/and or/ teachers and now that is getting expensive. There is no end to school spending and the tax payer is being taxed out of their brackets.
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To Quote John Kerry in his concession speech. "But in an american election, there are no losers, because whether or not our candidates are successful, the next morning we all wake up as Americans
posted on November 30, 2004 04:19:11 PM new
"Segregation also now includes languages and with all the different nationalities schools must provide translators/and or/ teachers and now that is getting expensive."
If ya cant speak the language, get the f*uck outta the country.....I think someone famous said that.
posted on November 30, 2004 06:14:56 PM new
Parents should start learning English and teaching their children English from the moment their feet hit this land.
Unfortunately they want to "retain their culture" which , to some, means not learning English and forbidding their children to use it in their homes. YES, this IS true of some people and not of others but pretty stupid all the same.
posted on November 30, 2004 08:17:10 PM new
I don't disagree that people should be working to learn the language when they arrive here but what I am curious about is how long classic here thinks that kids should not be going to school in the meantime.
Your child may have known the language before he started school but what if the child comes here at age 8? Do they suggest they not go to school until they are proficient in english?
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If it's really "common" sense, why do so few people actually have it?
posted on December 1, 2004 02:21:38 AM new
Fenix-I guess my point here is that if you plan to move to a different country with a different language,you should learn that language BEFORE you move there.I.E.-If I was going to move to Spain,I would learn their langauge even before I moved there.If you are just visiting,thats a different story.
[ edited by classicrock000 on Dec 1, 2004 03:45 AM ]
posted on December 1, 2004 03:51:25 AM new
I agree with Classic.
I think it is an interesting development in immigrants, and fairly recent too (maybe within the last 15-20 years?).
Used to be, when people immigrated to America, they did their best to become assimilated with their new country...learn the language, the customs, work hard to become a citizen, etc. Lately, the trend seems to have shifted to maintaining their own culture at the EXPENSE of assuming their new identity as an American citizen.
Am I saying that they should keep their heritage and culture hidden at home? Not at all. The experiences and culture they bring to the table are very important and valuable. However, I feel it is also their responsibility to learn about and assume "American" traits, customs, and language. Especially since so many work so hard to come here.
I think there is a misguided and/or undeserved sense of entitlement among many of the new immigrants to the US.
"Who's tending the bar? Sniping works up a thirst"
[ edited by koto1 on Dec 1, 2004 03:53 AM ]
posted on December 1, 2004 10:12:27 AM new
According to the Washington Post.....
The amendment had two main parts: the removal of the separate-schools language and the removal of a passage -- inserted in the 1950s in an attempt to counter the Brown v. Board of Education ruling against segregated public schools -- that said Alabama's constitution does not guarantee a right to a public education. Leading opponents, such as Alabama Christian Coalition President John Giles, said they did not object to removing the passage about separate schools for "white and colored children." But, employing an argument that was ridiculed by most of the state's newspapers and by legions of legal experts, Giles and others said guaranteeing a right to a public education would have opened a door for "rogue" federal judges to order the state to raise taxes to pay for improvements in its public school system.
The argument plays to Alabama's primal fear of federal control, a fear born of years of resentment over U.S. courts' ordering the desegregation of schools and the creation of black-majority legislative districts.
"Activists on the bench know no bounds," Giles said. "It's a trial lawyer's dream."
Giles was aided by a virtually unparalleled Alabama celebrity in his battle against the amendment, distributing testimonials from former chief justice Roy Moore, whose fame was sealed in 2003 when he defied a federal court order to remove a two-ton granite Ten Commandments monument from the rotunda of the Alabama Supreme Court. They were joined by former Moore aide Tom Parker, who handed out miniature Confederate flags this fall during his successful campaign for a seat on the Alabama Supreme Court.
Arguing that the amendment could lead to higher taxes is a potent strategy in Alabama, which is one of the nation's most lightly taxed states and which resoundingly rejected a record $1.2 billion tax increase proposed last year by Gov. Bob Riley (R), a conservative, to pay for school improvements and lessen the tax burden on the poor. But many blacks view the Amendment 2 opponents' tax pitch as a smoke screen.
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posted on December 1, 2004 03:43:24 PM new
Well, so long conversations and hello C&P's. Too bad, it was kinda interesting to hear what actual people had to say.
posted on December 2, 2004 07:37:04 AM new
Now, book burning or rather book burying is being advocated by an Alabama Rep.
Gay book ban goal of state lawmaker
MONTGOMERY - An Alabama lawmaker who sought to ban gay marriages now wants to ban novels with gay characters from public libraries, including university libraries.
A bill by Rep. Gerald Allen, R-Cottondale, would prohibit the use of public funds for "the purchase of textbooks or library materials that recognize or promote homosexuality as an acceptable lifestyle." Allen said he filed the bill to protect children from the "homosexual agenda."
Allen said that if his bill passes, novels with gay protagonists and college textbooks that suggest homosexuality is natural would have to be removed from library shelves and destroyed.
"I guess we dig a big hole and dump them in and bury them," he said.
posted on December 2, 2004 08:51:54 AM new
Segregation and racism is still alive and well here in Mississippi.
Alabama isn't the only state that flies the Confederate flag, and it was only a couple of years ago that schools held integrated proms for the first time here.. we have distinct white and black districts, churches, etc.. Equal but separate still.
Sniping works up a thirst"