My feelings are too jumbled to give a coherent response to the Zimmerman verdict and all that it says about our justice system, our culture and our sense of community. I’m too overwhelmed to add my voice to the conversation. But I can pass on some words from someone who said it better than I ever could. Ta-Nehisi Coates has written the most valuable article that I have read about this situation.
Here is just a brief excerpt of “Trayvon Martin and the Irony of American Justice“:
It is painful to say this: Trayvon Martin is not a miscarriage of American justice, but American justice itself. This is not our system malfunctioning. It is our system working as intended. To expect our juries, our schools, our police to single-handedly correct for this, is to look at the final play in the final minute of the final quarter and wonder why we couldn’t come back from twenty-four down.
To paraphrase a great man — We are what our record says we are. How can we sensibly expect different?
You should still take the time to read the whole article. It is important.
It’s your basic two-panel political cartoon; a simple comparison designed to illustrate the hypocrisy of the Democratic Party. On one side you have a world-weary Joe Paterno who “knew about a sexual predator” and is thus labeled by society as a “scumbag”. On the other side, you see a grinning, pants-less Bill Clinton with a certain beret-wearing woman on his lap and a winking donkey giving the A-OK sign in the background. The arrow pointing to Clinton says “sexual predator”, but the public label remains “statesman”.
In this horrible cartoon by Glenn McCoy, what exactly is the point the artist is trying to make? That anti-Paterno sentiment is a convenient political position and not a reasonable moral judgement? Or is Mr. McCoy seriously trying to equate an inappropriate sexual relationship with another consenting adult to the sexual assault of children? Implicitly comparing the sexual misbehavior of former President Clinton with a White House intern to Jerry Sandusky’s rape and sexual assault of numerous children over a number of years is unconscionable. Sexual harassment in the workplace or leveraging a position of power to coerce a sexual relationship is wrong, no question. But to imply that behavior is in the same league as sexually assaulting children is grossly irresponsible satire at best, and at worst, deplorably dismissive of the harm real sexual predators inflict.
I’m familiar with Mr. McCoy’s work. I lean liberal and he leans conservative. I generally don’t agree with his point of view, but that does not mean I don’t appreciate his satire when it is clever or interesting, which often it is. However, this particular cartoon adds no value, but rather further contributes to the sinking standards of public discourse. The cartoon appears to compare Paterno to Clinton to show the unbalanced way we have judged the non-criminal actions of these two men. But the true “sexual predator” comparison is not about Paterno, but between Clinton and the horrific criminal actions of Jerry Sandusky.
Take away the comparison to Clinton. Take away the image of Joe Paterno. What would you call someone who knew about a man sexually preying on children and did nothing? I’d call him a scumbag.
Recently, David Blankenhorn, the founder of the Institute for American Values and a leading gay marriage opponent, publicly withdrew his opposition to extending the legal right of marriage to gay Americans. While Blankenhorn has not changed his personal beliefs, he has recognized that extending full and equal legal rights to the gay community is a “victory for basic fairness.”
I’m glad there is one less person in the movement against same-sex marriage, and I’m grateful that such a high profile figure in this debate chose to articulate his conversion publicly, but, in 2012, an intelligent adult thinking that denying equal rights to an American citizen on the basis of sexual orientation is unfair isn’t exactly impressive. Folks arguing against same-sex marriage strike me as today’s segregationists. The George Wallaces of this civil rights fight. In 1963, George Wallace, newly-elected Governor of Alabama, famously proclaimed in his inaugural address, “Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever!” Wallace later, too many years later, changed his position, but he will be remembered, predominantly, as a jackass who took a stand against extending civil rights to African-Americans.
My reaction to articles about legal prejudice against gays and lesbians varies. Sometimes I’m enraged. Sometimes I’m sad. Sometimes I try to understand the opposition’s argument so I’m in a better position to converse with, and ultimately persuade them. But every once in a while, I can put enough distance between myself and the discriminatory incident du jour and I’m just amused. It seems so obvious to me that 30 years, from now, arguing against gay marriage or objecting to an “out” jurist being appointed to the bench will be on par with being opposed to equal rights for people of color or women. It will seem as ludicrous as George Wallace standing on the University of Alabama’s campus attempting to block the path of two black students trying to matriculate.
It’s not so much that opponents of gay marriage are wrong (though they are), but they are out of touch. And in fewer years than they realize or want to admit, they will simply seem ridiculous and backwards. Whether gay rights opponents want to acknowledge it or not, full and equal protection of the law for gay Americans WILL happen. The only thing we don’t know is exactly how long it’ll take us to get there. And subsequently, how embarrassed we’ll be that it didn’t happen sooner.
Woohoo!! My people are making progress. Positive progress that is getting media attention, no less. A recent poll by the Public Religion Research Institute suggests that the majority of American Catholics support gay marriage. I don’t buy into every poll that comes out, since you can often manipulate the data to draw whatever conclusion you want, but I love these results.
A friend recently asked if I consider it hypocritical to associate myself with an organization that aggressively and publicly promotes positions I don’t agree with, i.e. pro-life, anti-gay rights. My response was that I strongly identify with what I believe to be the real core values of the Church: compassion, social justice and a reliance on faith that helps to deal with life’s challenges. Rather than abandoning the Church to the reactive, myopic segment that gets the most media play, I hope progressively-minded Catholics stay with the Church and guide it to better days.
I’m glad to hear Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel supporting a measure that would allow police officers to issue a fine for possession of small amounts of marijuana as opposed to the current policy: facing a misdemeanor charge punishable by up to six months in jail and a $1,500 fine. This is a step in the right direction for America’s drug policy.
Our current president wrote a bestselling book that mentions he was a recreational pot user in his youth. Reruns of “That 70’s Show”, with its recurring references to marijuana use, are on a network called “ABC Family“. Does anyone really think it is a worthwhile use of police and legal resources to arrest and prosecute people with an amount of pot that is clearly intended for individual use? This isn’t a matter of decriminalizing or legalizing marijuana (a conversation for another time), but rather of having the punishment fit the crime.
I don’t entirely understand why this is a “controversial” measure. Even if we were to limit the conversation to marijuana-related offenses, there are significantly higher priorities, like dealing pot or driving under the influence. Offenses that directly put others in harm’s way. Being caught with a joint on you is like underage drinking or jaywalking. Should it be encouraged? No. Should you lose months of freedom over it? Well, maybe that’s a bit of an overreaction. Let’s see what Chicago does with this proposal at the end of June.
“Chicago Mayor: Tickets, not jail, for pot users” http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/06/20/12317350-chicago-mayor-tickets-not-jail-for-pot-users?lite
And in response... 