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    Official Who Denies Interracial Marriage Lets Black People Use His Bathroom

    By Michael Wolraich on Fri, 10/16/2009 - 11:50am | Social Justice

    Just because Louisiana Justice of the Peace Keith Bardwell refuses to let interracial couples marry doesn't mean that he's a racist. He just doesn't believe in "mixing the races that way," which raises the question, in what way does he believe in mixing the races? Native American-Tibetan? They both have a brownish hue and wear colorful traditional costumes, so maybe that's OK. Or perhaps he means that the races can mix in other ways. They can be bridge partners, for instance.

    But seriously, Bardwell has "piles and piles of black friends." They're stacked up in the woodshed. And he defended his enlightened sensibilities by explaining, "[Black people] come to my home, I marry them, they use my bathroom." Not his private bathroom, I presume. Can't have black asses touching his personal toilet seat. He doesn't believe in mixing the races that way.

    But seriously seriously, Bardwell is worried about the children of interracial couples. "There is a problem with both groups accepting a child from such a marriage. I think those children suffer and I won't help put them through it." Faced with such hardship, an interracial child could be permanently warped and become a homeless drug addict or worse, a socialist president who enacts health care policies to euthanize grandparents. There are even reports that President Obama, a notorious spawn of interracial marriage who has a "chip on his shoulder" and "hates white people," doesn't let white folks use the White House bathroom because unlike Bardwell, he doesn't believe in mixing the races that way. They have to use the White Porta-Potty in the Rose Garden.

    Update: Bardwell was a Democrat until a certain interracial man was elected president. Coincidence? Thanks to Nebton for the catch.

    Topics: 
    Social Justice

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    Here's what I don't get: How, in 2009, have attitudes in the south not evolved at least enough for people like this to stop using 1950's-style euphemisms? "Some of my best friends..." and "I invite them in my house all the time..."? If you're going to have outdated attitudes, at least update your vernacular. This guys needs a meeting with Michael Steele, stat.


    by Orlando on Fri, 10/16/2009 - 12:46pm

    This guys needs a meeting with Michael Steele, stat.

    What, so he can update his vernacular from the 1950s to the 1990s (or late '80s)? I suppose it's an improvement.


    by Nebton on Fri, 10/16/2009 - 12:49pm

    Actually, I'm somewhat impressed with how quickly things have changed. Spike Lee's "controversial" Jungle Fever about a black man and a white woman came out 1991. That said, you still don't see many mixed race couples on the big screen.

    I was trying to figure out how old Bardwell was but couldn't fine the info.


    by Michael Wolraich on Fri, 10/16/2009 - 1:08pm

    If you trust Wikipedia, he was born in 1956. That makes him approximately 53 years old, or about halfway between my parents and me in age.


    by Nebton on Fri, 10/16/2009 - 1:35pm

    Obviously, I didn't look very hard. :)


    by Michael Wolraich on Fri, 10/16/2009 - 3:20pm

    Here's another interesting nugget. He was a Democrat up until an interracial man got elected President.


    by Nebton on Fri, 10/16/2009 - 1:38pm

    Shocker. Nice catch.


    by Michael Wolraich on Fri, 10/16/2009 - 3:21pm

    I actually remember being told something similar (about such a child not being accepted by either race) by my parents when I was 17-18 and was dating a black girl (I'm white). In their defense, (a) this was more than 20 years ago, and (b) they were concerned about their possible grandchild being picked on. Of course, I hadn't even discussed marriage with my parents or the girl, so it definitely struck me as odd. After seeing that I was embarrassed for their way of thinking, they didn't raise the issue again.

    Just to be clear, I'm floored that a public official would have such a policy and not have already had his ass handed to him by a court of law. (He's already turned away four interracial couples.)


    by Nebton on Fri, 10/16/2009 - 12:48pm

    I am not sure that this guy was being racist. I think he actually believes that he was doing them a favor or at least did not want to participate in what he honestly believed was a big mistake. This will be interesting to see what happens here legally or in terms of other sanctions that might be brought against him. Are there any circumstances under which a Justice of the Peace can refuse to marry a couple?

    by Janto (not verified) on Fri, 10/16/2009 - 1:36pm

    Whether or not he's "racist" possibly gets into a question of semantics. Regardless, the guy is operating under antiquated stereotypes and assumptions. (Most of us here would consider that racist.) That a mixed race child will not be accepted by the majority of people of either race (or even a significant minority) just doesn't hold true anymore. Sure, there are still a few holdouts in both the black and white (et al.) communities that would tease a mixed race child, but these holdouts are statistically insignificant, IMO.


    by Nebton on Fri, 10/16/2009 - 1:56pm

    Anti-desegrationalists argued that black children were "better off" in their own schools. Racists rarely lack rationalizations for their racist ideas.


    by Michael Wolraich on Fri, 10/16/2009 - 3:32pm

    Perhaps he thinks the Supreme Court ruling in Loving v. Virgina only applied in Virginia.

    I loved the line about piles of black friends...my black friends don't take kindly to being piled up, of course they don't think the idea of using a restroom is a strong measure of racial tolerance.   Maybe it was in the 1950's when segregated publc facilities were the norm.

    What a waste of space that guy is.


    by David (not verified) on Fri, 10/16/2009 - 2:31pm

    I am a white man married to an African American lady and we have two boys.  Yesterday we were reading the part of "To Kill a Mockingbird" where the sadness of "mulato" children was mentioned... how they do not fit into either society.  Yet, even then, it was noted that such issues were not as gruesome in the North.  It is, however, a challenging issue to discuss with children even today.  Having Obama as president helps a little.


    by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 10/16/2009 - 3:09pm

    I think you'd find that even in the South (where I've lived for more than 3 decades now), the number of people who have a problem with people of mixed ancestry is quite small. In fact, it's probably about equal to the number of people who have a problem with someone from another race than themselves.

    I'm not sure that the North is really significantly better than the South any more on race issues. This guy doesn't really help in defeating the image of the South, however.


    by Nebton on Fri, 10/16/2009 - 3:36pm

    I recall an interesting article from the 2008 primary season about how Obama was more popular among white voters in regions with very small black populations and very large black populations, suggesting that racism is strongest in areas with moderate black populations, which are more common in the north.


    by Michael Wolraich on Fri, 10/16/2009 - 3:46pm

    Thanks for the personal anecdote and the reference. I certainly didn't mean to imply that we live in a colorblind society where mixed race is a non-issue. But of course, Bardwell gets it backwards by reinforcing racist ideas rather than challenging them, which belies his expressed concern for the children.


    by Michael Wolraich on Fri, 10/16/2009 - 3:41pm

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