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1. maysie » Blog Archive » Interracial couple denied marriage license in Louisiana on 16 Oct 2009 at 2:10 pm

   [...] See the article and comments on Racialicious. [...]

2. Interracial Couple is Denied a Marriage License « La Femminista on 17 Oct 2009 at 5:27 pm

   [...] blogs such as Racialicious, Feministing and angry asian man have written about this in order to highlight the ridiculousness [...]

Comments

1. Thea Lim wrote:

   I actually think we need to file this under “I let black people use my bathroom.”

   Posted 16 Oct 2009 at 9:33 am ¶

2. CEdwards wrote:

   Oh wait, more insanity:

   http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20091015/pl_politico/28175

   I’m not sure what’s in the water today but it appears time is actually moving backwards…

   Posted 16 Oct 2009 at 9:37 am ¶

3. Kris wrote:

   This man’s statements are so idiotic that I actually laughed out loud when I read them. My mother was waiting with this story when I dropped my daughter off this morning and we both were laughing about it and “the bathroom” comment.

   So also file it in the it’s so sad it’s funny category.

   Yet, we are being told that we live in a post-racial society.

   Posted 16 Oct 2009 at 9:45 am ¶

4. atlasien wrote:

   Or perhaps file it under “creative uses of the word ‘not’ and /or ‘but’”.

   Hearing people say, over and over again, “I’m not a racist, but I’m a racist” is an assault against human decency… it’s also an assault against logic and grammar.

   Posted 16 Oct 2009 at 9:47 am ¶

5. Irene M. wrote:

   “I let black people use my bathroom,” is the new, “I have a black friend.” Nice.

   Although, I shouldn’t laugh. God, what an asshole.

   Posted 16 Oct 2009 at 9:54 am ¶

6. EMP wrote:

   Maybe because I am not familiar with these terms, but is a Pastor the same as a Justice of the Peace? The headline seems to imply this a religious bigot type story, but Keith Bardwell is a Justice of the Peace in Tangipahoa Parish, in Lousiana. Counties are called Parishes in Louisiana. The SF Chronicle news story does not mention any religious organization affiliation. A much more accurate headline would be “”I’m not Racist” Says Justice of the Peace who refuses to marry interracial couples”

   Which is a much worse situation, considering that a Justice of the Peace is a civil servant and the Government can’t dictate who anyone can marry, well almost anyone.

   Posted 16 Oct 2009 at 9:57 am ¶

7. Prophetik Soul wrote:

   Is that legal? Can he actually do that?

   I also think that his thoughts about the success of interracial marriage are based on his perceptions and not hard evidence.

   I have found the opposite to be true.

   Posted 16 Oct 2009 at 10:00 am ¶

8. Phil Deeze wrote:

   Sorry to repeat this, but did this piece of rat filth try to claim he’s not a racist by saying he let’s black people use his bathroom?

   Honestly, folks, this racist piece of crap is a major problem, but ANY self-respecting black person that reads this and remains friends with this “man?”

   He’s a disgrace to humanity with those attitudes. And I pity any black person stupid enough to continue to be his friend after reading his statements.

   Posted 16 Oct 2009 at 10:11 am ¶

9. Cindy wrote:

   When I first saw this, I thought…I hoped it was a joke. No, in 2009 it’s true and is yet one more thing filed under “Holy Crap” and “Stupid People”.

   It never fails to amaze me when people claim to not be racist as if the statement negates their racist behavior/beliefs. So gracious of him to open his toilet to everyone.

   Posted 16 Oct 2009 at 10:26 am ¶

10. Latoya Peterson wrote:

    @EMP – You are correct, fixed the post.

    Posted 16 Oct 2009 at 10:26 am ¶

11. jmn wrote:

    On grounds of my own principles, I would refuse to use his bathroom, preferring to leave a big steaming pile on his front porch. :p

    Posted 16 Oct 2009 at 10:35 am ¶

12. Sarah T wrote:

    In this case, Parish is indeed referring to what would be called a County everywhere else in the U.S. This is a public official. As a resident of New Orleans, when I saw this story 2 days ago I just had that sinking feeling it would get picked up by the national media and everyone would exclaim anew over how backward the state is. (I kind of try never to leave the boundaries of New Orleans.)

    Some more fun info on Tangipahoa Parish is that it’s been sued 7 times by the ACLU, like every year or so, for having school prayer. And they keep doing it despite losing every time and being ordered repeatedly by the courts to stop.

    Posted 16 Oct 2009 at 10:52 am ¶

13. Deaf Indian Muslim Anarchist wrote:

    That man is entitled to his opinion and he’s allowed to be against interracial marriages… BUT he is NOT allowed to deny a couple their RIGHT to get married under the state !!!!

    Posted 16 Oct 2009 at 10:57 am ¶

14. little mixed girl wrote:

    ha! i just finished reading this article on a different forum.

    the article sticks with the black/white aspect.
    but i wonder if, say, a couple outside of the black/white realm would get a marriage pass?
    or if one person was black, but the other was not white?

    i doubt that he’d feel as inclined to voice his opinion if it were a black/asian, “mexican”/black or other interracial pairing that didn’t involve white people.

    but, i am happy to know that if i am ever in his area with my black friends that all of us will be able to take advantage of his bathroom facilities.

    Posted 16 Oct 2009 at 11:09 am ¶

15. Eh wrote:

    My dad read this out loud to me, especially the bathroom part and I laughed for a good five minutes, till I realised he wasn’t reading from The Onion, wow.

    Posted 16 Oct 2009 at 11:11 am ¶

16. MATTS wrote:

    I think th justice has a valid point. Biracial children have horrible lives ahead of them.

    They can’t do things like play in a professional golf tournoment, or star in movies, or become president or anything…

    Posted 16 Oct 2009 at 11:28 am ¶

17. Alston Adams wrote:

    If he is a public official, then isn’t he refusing to do his job by deciding who gets to marry and who doesn’t? As a public official, it’s not his job to decide these things; if two people are lawfully allowed to marry, then he is duty bound to do so regardless of his beliefs, isn’t he? Or do JotPs have that discretion in their job description?

    Posted 16 Oct 2009 at 11:30 am ¶

18. GüeraLola wrote:

    @ jmn Can I set on FIRE?
    Oh no wait that be ILLEGAL and IMMORAL. Like his policies on interracial marriage! Oh by the way, it is people like HIM that make bi-racial or multiracial children suffer.

    Posted 16 Oct 2009 at 11:31 am ¶

19. me2 wrote:

    I’m from Hammond, La. – here’s the local paper’s article if you want to check out the comments.

    http://www.hammondstar.com/articles/2009/10/15/top_stories/8847.txt

    Posted 16 Oct 2009 at 12:02 pm ¶

20. Seattle Slim wrote:

    Someone report me to CPS. I’ve screwed my kids because they are multi-racial! Woe is me!

    All jokes aside, I also wonder if he has issues with a WM/WoC pairing. I often find these people are against IR when it’s BM/WW.

    This reminds me about this post at Sociological Images about eugenics and miscegenation:

    http://contexts.org/socimages/2009/10/15/american-eugenics-images/

    Posted 16 Oct 2009 at 12:06 pm ¶

21. Mahdear Dixie wrote:

    I’ve been discussing this issue on a political forum this morning. This is outrageous, egregious behavior for 2009.

    Somebody should show this guy some stats for marriages in general. Btw, does anybody truly believe a biracial child would be teased any more than one with bright red hair and a body covered with freckles?

    This idiot should follow the law or find another professional endeavor.

    I like this blog and will post a link to it on my own forum at http://dixiespoliticalblog.blogspot.com

    I don’t focus on race there…I cover political issues in general, so I think some of my readers may be interested in your site as well.

    I did write one article there, called (I think) “A Post-racial America.” Wrote it last month, so it’s in the archives. You may be interested in checking out that entry.

    Posted 16 Oct 2009 at 12:15 pm ¶

22. Nate wrote:

    Sheesh. Can he actually do that?! Well there, goes my marriage. When I did get hooked up (in la france profonde) our priest was the complete opposite of this gob-sh*te. As long as we promised to a) not divorce) and b) raise our intended kids catholic, it was all good. More folk at mass and spreading the faith etc.

    Posted 16 Oct 2009 at 12:17 pm ¶

23. Lisa J wrote:

    The bathroom line is just so over the top. What a moron. And as for his the black community don’t except these children, hello, most black people in this country are mixed with white people even though often it goes back one, two, three hundred years. Generally we didn’t have a choice to accept the kids and though this may be changing I’ve heard more stories about white families rejecting mixed race kids than black families.

    Posted 16 Oct 2009 at 12:31 pm ¶

24. Azizi wrote:

    Regarding the comment from the “judge” about about letting Black people use his bathroom, for those people who have been socialized to believe that Black people (and probably other People of Color) are genetically inferior, and for those who have been socialized to believe that Black people (and probably other People of Color) naturally have all kinds of nasty germs, and are so unclean and have such poor hygiene practices that we don’t even wipe our behinds with toilet paper after doing “number two”, and we don’t even wash our hands after going to the bathroom, it’s one thing to stand and talk with those kind of people. But it’s a whole ‘nuther thing to let them use your bathroom.

    People who been raised to believe in Black inferiority and haven’t dealt with those poisonous beliefs that they automatically thought were true, believe that letting a Black person (and probably another Person of Color use their bathroom is an ultimate sacrifice because the bathroom is the most “germified” place in any home or building (or at least that’s what most people believe).

    So what that comment from that so-called “judge” proves is that he still habors a belief that Black people aren’t as clean as White people. If he really believed that our basic hygiene practices were the same as his standard of cleanliness-White people-and if he didn’t believe that you could catch “black cooties” or something worse from Black folks in the bathroom more than any other place, than the “judge” wouldn’t have even mentioned letting Black people use his bathroom.

    Racism is still deeply rooted in the psyche of lots of folks. And I bet there are many more people besides that “judge” who have problems with Black people using their bathrooms.

    And one of the ironical things is, those same people probably don’t have any problem with Black people working as janitors or cleaning ladies in their bathrooms or in the rest of their homes.

    It doesn’t make any sense. But racism isn’t supposed to make any sense.

    Posted 16 Oct 2009 at 12:47 pm ¶

25. PPR_Scribe wrote:

    My biggest head-scratching moment was his comment about having “piles and piles” of Black friends. My first thought upon hearing that was that someone should check in his cellar and under his floorboards…

    Posted 16 Oct 2009 at 1:13 pm ¶

26. Digital Coyote wrote:

    He probably double checks to be sure they didn’t steal the hand towels or the decorate soap-ettes.

    Posted 16 Oct 2009 at 1:36 pm ¶

27. Digital Coyote wrote:

    Stupid itchy clicker button.

    I meant to say:

    He probably double checks to be sure they didn’t steal the hand towels or the decorate soap-ettes.

    He’s also probably one of those people that talks about black men having out-of-wedlock babies without registering that he’s contributing to the problem.

    Posted 16 Oct 2009 at 1:38 pm ¶

28. gatamala wrote:

    His Black Friend® probably refers to the butler/maid.

    PPR it soulds like his friends he met on the Amistad “cruise “

    Posted 16 Oct 2009 at 1:45 pm ¶

29. Seattle Slim wrote:

    PPR and Gatamala,

    LMAO! Cosign.

    Azizi, I agree. I wrote about this also, and my point of view re: people like Bardwell is when they announce that “I am not racist because I have ________ friends and let them ___________” it’s very disingenous because they certainly wouldn’t say that about their non POC friends.

    Posted 16 Oct 2009 at 2:25 pm ¶

30. Montclair Mommy wrote:

    I was hoping Racialicious would discuss this. I feel so much better after reading the comments on this site. I don’t think I’m strong enough to read the comments anywhere else. No need to start yelling at my computer and wasting all of my energy…

    Posted 16 Oct 2009 at 2:47 pm ¶

31. RCHOUDH wrote:

    Well now I’d like people to still trot out that meme about us all living in a “post-racial” society!

    Posted 16 Oct 2009 at 2:57 pm ¶

32. ktrujillo wrote:

    “I let black people use my bathroom.”

    I gotta ask, the upstairs bathroom or just the downstairs bathroom?

    My favorite line from asses like these is, “I’m not a racist…I’m a realist.

    Posted 16 Oct 2009 at 3:08 pm ¶

33. Kaonashi wrote:

    Oh by the way, it is people like HIM that make bi-racial or multiracial children suffer.

    Exactly. Somehow, I think the motives behind his reasons aren’t exactly altruistic. I’m anti-marriage, but I’m not condemning people for wanting to tie the knot. Regardless of his personal opinion on interracial relationships, he needs to DO HIS FUCKING JOB.

    Enough about this piece of trash; I want to know more about the couple. Were they able to get married in another parish?

    He probably disinfects his toilets after a POC uses them anyway!

    Posted 16 Oct 2009 at 3:32 pm ¶

34. A.D. Nix wrote:

    No matter what you do, as long as you prevent black people from wetting their pants, you can’t be a racist. That’s the rule.

    Posted 16 Oct 2009 at 3:33 pm ¶

35. MoonCat wrote:

    that bathroom comment made me re-read the article and make sure I wasn’t seeing something from the onion. what an ass.

    Posted 16 Oct 2009 at 3:44 pm ¶

36. Evan wrote:

    This is whole incident is so stupid that my brain hurts from reading about it. The Louisiana redneck’s head is still stuck in the 19th century. What else is new from the Deep South.

    Lots of guys in that state are like the ol’ judge. After all, over 40 percent of Louisiana voted for David Duke (a well-known and unapologetic member of the Ku Klux Klan) during a gubernatorial election in the early 1990s. Outside of New Orleans, Louisiana is a hard-core den of right-wing, conservatism.

    It’s a lot more interesting when you have racists residing in positions of power such as corporate executives, media personalities, academia and political office.

    Posted 16 Oct 2009 at 3:50 pm ¶

37. TierListE wrote:

    Oh, we’re on to bathrooms now for racial-bias negation? This is awesome! Now I can say all sorts of crazy things about white people, because I’ve let them use my bathroom all my life, let them use my showers even, and not ONCE checked my drains for hair-clogging!

    *glows in non-reverse racist smugness*

    Posted 16 Oct 2009 at 4:35 pm ¶

38. GüeraLola wrote:

    oops I meant “Can I set it on fire” yeah, I suck at grammar. Also we can file this under “I’m not racist but…”

    @ ktrujillo I think he means an outhouse a guy with this ideas, I don’t think he even knows about indoor pluming

    Posted 16 Oct 2009 at 4:44 pm ¶

39. Amber Cummings wrote:

    I don’t think we have any say who a person loves or wants to marry.

    Posted 16 Oct 2009 at 5:04 pm ¶

40. Tony wrote:

    Just saw the local news broadcast on this.

    The Parish President has basically asked for the ‘Justice’s resignation .

    Nice to see other folks are as amused by the ‘bathroom’ thing as I am.

    Posted 16 Oct 2009 at 6:14 pm ¶

41. lunanoire wrote:

    Is this man familiar with the multicultural heritage of his home state?

    (this is not to say that if his home state was more homogenous that his decision would be justified)

    Posted 16 Oct 2009 at 7:18 pm ¶

42. Hicham Maged wrote:

    You know what? I am always wondering how people in our world sometimes miss-use the words! What is the meaning of ” I just don’t believe in mixing the races that way” if it does not mean racism in a way or another?!

    Posted 16 Oct 2009 at 7:25 pm ¶

43. Arabi wrote:

    @Aziz
    You make an interesting point about the bathroom but I don’t think it means that he necessarily believes that blacks are unclean, I think it signals more that he comes from a community that harbors that view and thus, the fact that he lets blacks use his restroom is proof that he doesn’t harbor this view and is thus not a racist.
    Whether or not he holds this view, the comment is insightful into some of the views the white community in that area holds about blacks and presumably their hygiene.

    In general, I wonder who is this racist against, blacks, whites, “biracials” or all three. He was quick to defend his “friend of black people” credentials but his views are offensive to whites and bi-racial black/white people as well. Probably moreso to the latter. Maybe we should be asking how many Biracial friends he has.

    I’m actually going to give this JOTP the benefit of the doubt and offer the excuse that given the racial environs of Louisiana, he may feel justified in his concerns due to the fact that race-mixing and mixed race individuals are not too welcome in his neck of the woods. But maybe I’m just stereotyping the people of Tangipahoa Parish.

    Posted 16 Oct 2009 at 7:43 pm ¶

44. Lynn wrote:

    It’s interesting that most people here are more offended by what he said about Black people and bathrooms than the fact he doesn’t even think Bi-racial (Black/White) people should exit.

    Posted 16 Oct 2009 at 8:22 pm ¶

45. DMoon wrote:

    about about letting Black people use his bathroom, for those people who have been socialized to believe that Black people (and probably other People of Color) are genetically inferior, and for those who have been socialized to believe that Black people (and probably other People of Color) naturally have all kinds of nasty germs, and are so unclean and have such poor hygiene practices that we don’t even wipe our behinds with toilet paper after doing “number two”, and we don’t even wash our hands after going to the bathroom, it’s one thing to stand and talk with those kind of people. But it’s a whole ‘nuther thing to let them use your bathroom.
    *********************************

    That is exactly what he means by letting Black people use the bathroom. There is a cultural and racial assumption among whites and other non-Blacks that our race is unclean, dirtier and more prone to filth then everyone else, due to being harbingers of disease like AIDS to crime and mayhem.

    I have experienced this first hand in which after shaking a White man’s hand, he automatically as if not even thinking, wiped his hands on his sides with an undisguised leer of disgust. He didn’t do that with the other White people who shook his hand and I was not the last person to touch him. But physical contact with me a Black woman is enough that he felt tainted by the physical contact. This also refers back to the Kids denied entrance to that Philadelphia Pool, because of the idea that swimming with a bunch of innocent Black kids will somehow taint the water and make them less clean.

    So the idea that Black people are inherently filthier is by no means and odd assumption.

    Posted 16 Oct 2009 at 9:27 pm ¶

46. Vandia wrote:

    Deja Vu all over again……..

    Posted 16 Oct 2009 at 11:07 pm ¶

47. Starrie wrote:

    maybe i’m being naive and simplistic, but why can’t one just say “i’m a racist” and own it?

    Posted 17 Oct 2009 at 1:05 am ¶

48. Tony wrote:

    @Lynn

    I don’t think it’s so much that we are excusing his “mixed folks shouldn’t exist” thing ,it’s just, well, alot of us are probably a little USED to hearing that, it’s old hat.

    The whole “I let black folks use my bathroom” excuse is new, and thus grabs the attention.

    Posted 17 Oct 2009 at 1:49 am ¶

49. Emmeaki wrote:

    Starrie wrote:

    maybe i’m being naive and simplistic, but why can’t one just say “i’m a racist” and own it?

    Yeah, I’d rather be called nigger to my face than to have some fake-ass, “non-racist” pretend to be my friend.

    Posted 17 Oct 2009 at 2:12 am ¶

50. 奥日佳 wrote:

    I hope you will excuse me, as I have not read all the comments.

    I am not from the US, I am shocked that someone can deny a couple’s marriage out of blatant racism, and even try to justify it.

    My experience in my very distant corner of the world is not less ashaming. When I married my Chinese husband, the “powers that be” decided that we were to have an interview to detect convenience marriages… even though my husband and I already had a daughter in common! :-O It is so tragic-comical.

    -What are the names of his parents?
    -”This” and “that”, do you want me to write it down in Chinese for you?
    -Any observations?
    -I’d rather end this quick, as our 15 day old daughter is waiting for us…

    What a rotten system… However, it has nothing to do with the racism of a dumbass, but with the racism in the system itself in another country, trying to protect its European-ness from outsiders.

    Sorry for the deviations and for any mistakes in my English.

    Posted 17 Oct 2009 at 3:07 am ¶

51. vcious wrote:

    Some friend he is to the piles and piles of black friends he has.

    (By the way, we measure friends in piles now? Or is just my English-second-language background what makes the expression so odd for me?)

    Posted 17 Oct 2009 at 7:55 am ¶

52. Maysie wrote:

    lol gatamala: I love “Black Friend®”

    Lynn: very interesting point. As a mixed race person reading this story, all I felt was scorn, anger and humour.

    But reflecting on Lynn’s point, the JP has brought forth yet another racist trope something I didn’t think possible in such a small amount of text that he was quoted but there you go: that of the “tragic mulatto” a term I use only because he’s defining mixed race exclusively as black/white.

    This is another problematic to look at: why do the racists define our agenda as anti-racist activists? What about mixed race people who are 10 years old, 20, 30 40 (and more?). How’s that for “realism”?

    Posted 17 Oct 2009 at 8:25 am ¶

53. Monica Roberts wrote:

    I wonder if the JP was making that run down I-12 to Denham Springs, LA?

    There’s was a local Klan group that has it HQ there until 2005

    Posted 17 Oct 2009 at 4:41 pm ¶

54. michelle wrote:

    http://www.lovingday.org

    We celebrate interracial union and mixed race people and all people who support diversity. Sometimes it is nice to be around people who think the same because clearly there are still people out there who do not think positively about interracial relationships.

    Posted 17 Oct 2009 at 9:18 pm ¶

55. Stephen Samuel wrote:

    I think that this is actually a sign of a step forward. Notice that in 35 years of being a JP, he’s only had to refuse interracial licenses in the last 2.5 years?

    It’s an indication that for much of the last 35 years, he’s been right that in Tangipahoa county, interracial marriages haven’t been accepted. Now the tide is turning.

    Remember, this is a man who grew up in the 50s 60s and possibly the 40s when the KKK still held sway in much of the south. His fears are not so much ill-founded as out-dated.

    And, if he was marrying blacks in his house in the early 70s then he probably does qualify as an anti-racism crusader — despite his currently outdated fears.

    Posted 17 Oct 2009 at 9:22 pm ¶

56. Mike Licht wrote:

    Tangipahoa Parish has another claim to fame: It was the filming location for In the Heat of the Night, the TV show about race and the law.

    See:

    http://notionscapital.wordpress.com/2009/10/17/not-in-tangipahoa-parish/

    Posted 18 Oct 2009 at 3:45 am ¶

57. Shauna wrote:

    i think what good might come out of this story is that people will see how even blatant racism can be justified by the language we use today.

    also, this has strange parallels for me to pharmacists claiming their right to not dispense the morning after pill

    Posted 18 Oct 2009 at 6:38 am ¶

58. AK wrote:

    Thanks to whoever posted the local Louisiana article and comments. WoW! I’ve read comments about this on multiple media sites and for the most part people agree this man should be fired. I know there are good people in Louisiana, but unfortunately it appears as though there is still “piles and piles” of backwards thinking if we were to judge by the comments on that web site.

    As I look forward to entering my interracial marriage next year I will try really hard not to screw up my future kids. Wouldn’t want them becoming President or anything unfortunate like that. LOL

    Posted 18 Oct 2009 at 12:33 pm ¶

59. Surprised at the guy wrote:

    Even if the judge were right, it’s not his right to deny interracial couples marriage. I’m surprised anyone would act like this in the 21st century.

    Posted 18 Oct 2009 at 2:18 pm ¶

60. Miles Ellison wrote:

    Didn’t Loving vs. Virginia resolve this issue legally in 1967? His reprehensible attitude is one thing, but denying marriage licenses based on race is against the law as established by Supreme Court precedent. He should be removed. The fundamental essence of racism’s evil is when biased attitudes are enforced by people with power. It’s one thing to be a racist in the privacy of your own home. It’s quite another to use a position of authority to advance a racist agenda.

    Posted 18 Oct 2009 at 9:42 pm ¶

61. Minotaar wrote:

    What I want to know is when the media will stop accepting “I’m not racist” as a meaningful answer in these circumstances. Where is Dave Chapelle and Saturday Night Live and our other comedy outlets when we need them? The skits write themselves!

    Posted 18 Oct 2009 at 10:17 pm ¶

62. Eva wrote:

    How old is this jerk? Hopefully he’s not in my generation (baby boomers) but maybe he is.

    Posted 19 Oct 2009 at 8:51 am ¶

63. Fatemeh wrote:

    I said it on Facebook, I said it on Twitter, and I’ll say it here: I’m the product of an interracial marriage (which is still going strong after over 30 yrs, btw), and I turned out FUCKING AWESOME.

    Posted 19 Oct 2009 at 1:37 pm ¶

64. Tony wrote:

    Fatemah.

    Similar here.

    And what kills me about this guys “Won’t someone think of the CHILDREN?” logic is…well, does he also not marry OTHER couples that may have unhappy kids?

    I mean what if one of the (same-raced) parents is alcoholic, or does drugs?

    I’ve met several “pure raced” folks whose “Good days” of childhood make my “bad days” of being mixed look like life on Sesame Street by comparison.

    How about does atleast one of the parents have a good & stable job?

    Or heck, what about just asking what they plan on naming any children?

    If he knows the dad wants to name his firstborn “Pilot Inspektor” does he deny the marriage then?

    Posted 20 Oct 2009 at 4:05 am ¶

65. Leah wrote:

    The man is clearly a racist ass.

    However, it’s disheartening to see some commenters here and on other sites () are referring to Bardwell as a “redneck”. Do we really want to trade negative stereotypes: his about interracial couples and ours about white southerners?? It seems that a civil dialogue about racism should move beyond reducing his comments to simply being “redneck” rhetoric.

    Posted 20 Oct 2009 at 9:39 am ¶

66. Roger Green wrote:

    Actually, I believe the thought process for this guy is not unlike the book cover you feature: “just don’t marry one.” When was “Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner” anyway? 1968? http://rogerowengreen.blogspot.com/2009/10/half-breed.html

    Posted 20 Oct 2009 at 3:39 pm ¶

67. Tony wrote:

    Leah.

    I’m a southerner myself.
    I can’t speak for everyone here, but I view “Redneck” and “Southern” as being as different things.

    I wouldn’t even limit Redneck to whites, there are plenty of non-white folks who fit my image of what a ‘redneck’ is.

    I view it as a kind of cultural thing, a specific subculture that I personally dislike strongly.
    Sort of how others may refer to “Goths” or “Punks” or “Gangstas” or “Thugs”

    Posted 21 Oct 2009 at 1:57 am ¶

68. Alyssa wrote:

    Fatemeh:
    Add me to the list of product of an interracial marriage and fuckin awesome.
    Tony: Yeah that bothers me too. The other thing that bothers me about this line of reasoning is that he is using bi/multiracial children like us to denigrate our own parents’ (and often our) relationships. It’s bad enough that he feels the need to denigrate interracial relationships, but don’t use me to do it, and then tell me it’s for my own benefit.

    Posted 21 Oct 2009 at 5:55 pm ¶

69. Mnemosyne wrote:

    Whoa, reading the comments from the Hammond Daily Star, I never actually realised that people still thought like that. Here I am living in happy little New Zealand where this type of discrimination isn’t even thought of, let alone believed.

    Posted 21 Oct 2009 at 8:57 pm ¶