Wednesday, September 02, 2015

Kim Davis's homophobia meets George Wallace's racism


When this madness with Kim Davis is over (because all things must pass, thank God), the above image is what I am going to carry with me.

The  black and white photo was taken in 1963 of Alabama Governor George Wallace standing in front of a Foster Auditorium to symbolically, but not actually,  block two African-American students from entering the University of Alabama. It was a gesture he took to protest the desegregation of public schools, which was ordered by SCOTUS in 1954.

The bottom picture is that of Kentucky clerk Kim Davis refusing to give a marriage license to a gay couple, in spite of that the fact that SCOTUS  made same-sex marriage legal.

And please don't give me any nonsense about how the civil rights movement and the movement for lgbt equality are different. There is no difference here.

Both  photos underscore people being denied rights which they fairly won via our system of jurisprudence. Both photos underscore odious demagogues (George Wallace, Kim Davis) deciding that he or she will take it upon themselves to circumvent the rule of law simply because they don't agree with it. And both photos underscore how some people can deprive American citizens of their dignity while deluding themselves with the ugly fantasy that they are somehow taking a stance for righteousness.

Anyone viewing  the photos of Kim Davis and George Wallace shouldn't waste precious time attempting to deny their similarities. Rather they should be asking themselves why hasn't America matured enough over the decades so that the  ugly event in 1963 didn't repeat itself in 2015.

2 comments:

Erica Cook said...

before I eve read this article, I want you to know I am stealing this meme.

BlackTsunami said...

it's all yours! lol