Interracial couple denied marriage license in La.

[Azazal]

Getto edit, last line should be, "For some reason, I'm guessing he would be ok with a that, after all in his mind, the white man will still be the master."

need to drink more coffee before posting

[Darth Wong]

Check out what some rednecks are saying about the story:

http://www.hicktownpress.com/justice-of ... apologize/

Some choice excerpts from the comments section:

The real world – after the honeymoon on Interracial Marriage
Don’t be so hard and judegemental of the Justice of the Peace. He has a point and it is valid.
I have been in an interracial marriage for 16 years, it has not been easy. In the beginning you think it doesn’t matter what the world outside of your relationship thinks and does, but it does matter. The colored community (even though my husband has a very very light skin tone) saw my marriage as a victory and my husband would get nods, smiles, and thumbs up when we walked in the mall or elsewhere, the lighter complexioned people saw my marriage as a fall from grace and cast disparaging looks, looks of shame, looks of how could you. To this day only two of my husbands brothers and one sister (he comes from 9) accept me and treat me as a member of the family. It is never a comfortable feeling to be in his parents house…Luckily my family came around they all love and respect my husband. Our child never knew that he was different until he went to kindergarten. In kindergarten he was told by other children, “your dad is half black”, “your dad is black, your mom is white, you can’t play with us”, “you and your Mom are white but your dad is black”…. He came home and asked me if it is true, he wanted me to explain why they said these things. Keep in mind these are small children and the only color related opinions they would have would be from their parents. I’m using these examples to show that it’s not all rosey out there despite the objections and public crying foul about the Justice refusing to marry this couple. He didn’t say they couldn’t get married he just said he wouldn’t do it and I respect that. I wonder if this couple will be together in 16 years…how many caucasion/colored women do you see with a mixed child alone/divorced or know of. How many of them do you go out of your way to associate with? How many of these children do you invite into your home? Shuned by both sides is a hard life to live and it is hard for the children.

I'm willing to bet that this person is not really in an interracial marriage, and is just posting that shit because that's what he or she believes the interracial marriage to be like. The fact that he or she claims that the dark-skinned partner gets thumbs-up and congratulations for "marrying up" from other "colored" people seems like a big giveaway to me. That sounds like made-up racist bullshit.

Intolerance of opinions. I am beginning to wonder if the couple at least the wife didn’t know ahead of time that if she called this Justice that she would be asked if this is an interracial marriage. I mean if you live in a community I’m sure there are other interracial couples who the Justice would have refused to marry she had to know ahead of time and just wants to make a point. I understand she is “IN LOVE” and wants to support her husband’s race and be accepted by them, but is dragging this out on and on really the right way to go about doing it? It dawned on me that the ones who are being intolerant of opinions are the supporters of interracial marriage. I don’t think this Justice should lose his position because of a difference of opinion. We are America because we have the right to voice our opinions. How sad is it for him to lose a position held for over 30 years. I do not believe that his presence and position in the community will affect the beliefs of the community…he’s been there for over 30 years people and if this one man’s actions are so feared in that his opinions will cause the entire community to reject interracial marriage I think this is just a case of the pot calling the kettle black. Look both sides are allowed to have their opinion, why must one side be the winner and force its view on the other.

Notice how "myname" follows that up with a bog-standard right-wing "freedom" rant about how they deserve the freedom to take away other peoples' freedom.

Once more, it seems painfully obvious that this person is just pretending to be part of an interracial marriage. It reminds me of the Christian fundies who say things like "I was an atheist once" but when they start making arguments, you can tell they have absolutely no idea how an atheist thinks.

I must agree with both Vicky Bevis and myname. Everyone must follow their own conscious. After 30+ years and by his own admission refusing to be part of any interracial marriage, why is this NOW a problem? I too smell a rat!. It is a “I’m gonna be a celebrity, the country will know my name” rat. Maybe even a book deal rat. This is STILL America where we are allowed to follow our beliefs. This couple was not told they could not marry, just told to go to someone else. Only if you are seeking publicity would this be a problem. A minister can allow (rightly) refuse to marry a couple for any reason, including his conscious that this would be wrong. Why must everyone always jump to the ‘racist’ card when there is something they don’t like?????

I just wonder why any woman who i white could marry some reatarded black man with a terrible attitude. There are tons of black people where I live with stupid attitudes, terrible manners, and waaaaay too senisitive. They mostly isolate themselves, speak english terribly, hardly know how to read or write. I mean hell this is really just dumb people marrying dumb people.
I don’t know if this justice or any justice has the right to not marry someone, but if he does so what. There’s just too many retarded hypersensitive idiots in this country. Btw racism means:
1 : a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent “superiority” of a particular race
The judge retards is not saying he believes this will cause white people to be impure and that the black guy is not superior enough to be a member of the white family….he just said it isn’t something he will do cause of hardship it may cause.

Mr. Bardwell is a modern day American hero. Many people, both black and white, do not accept interracial marriages and they never will. I always hear about having to be “tolerant” of other peoples views, but they are never tolerant of people who hold views different than them. Perhaps he should run for Governor. He might just win!

Of course, not everyone on that forum is like this. But random obscure places like that do give us an idea of how people like this think.

[Darth Wong]

You should watch this Youtube video where some asshole explains why the judge is right.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gERDc5PW ... tube_gdata

There's just something about his face and his verbal delivery which just makes him look hilariously stupid. At first glance you might almost think it's meant to be a parody.

[General Zod]

I'm kind of curious how this asshole would handle a marriage with someone who was already a mixed race. But knowing this kind of bigot he probably thinks the 'one-drop' rule was a good idea.

[Serafina]

You should watch this Youtube video where some asshole explains why the judge is right.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gERDc5PW ... tube_gdata

There's just something about his face and his verbal delivery which just makes him look hilariously stupid. At first glance you might almost think it's meant to be a parody.

Ah, yes, the good old "own oppinion" argument.
No one forbade him his oppinion/beliefs - they only forbid him to discriminate against them based on his beliefs.
And he did NOT get his job done, so that argument is stupid, too.

So, no surprises in this video.

[Pint0 Xtreme]

You should watch this Youtube video where some asshole explains why the judge is right.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gERDc5PW ... tube_gdata

There's just something about his face and his verbal delivery which just makes him look hilariously stupid. At first glance you might almost think it's meant to be a parody.

Ah, yes, the good old "own oppinion" argument.
No one forbade him his oppinion/beliefs - they only forbid him to discriminate against them based on his beliefs.
And he did NOT get his job done, so that argument is stupid, too.

So, no surprises in this video.

Unfortunately, this is the kind of thinking that is seems more prevalent in this country than we like to admit. The freedom of religion clause has now been commonly accepted as the freedom to practice whatever my belief dictates. It's essentially one of the basic arguments for most cases of discrimination. It's amazing how people are all up in arms about this and there is rarely any media comparisons to the fight for marriage equality. There is so little significant difference in the two situations. Our future generations are going to look back at us with such disbelief.

[Gramzamber]

I just wonder why any woman who i white could marry some reatarded black man with a terrible attitude. There are tons of black people where I live with stupid attitudes, terrible manners, and waaaaay too senisitive. They mostly isolate themselves, speak english terribly, hardly know how to read or write. I mean hell this is really just dumb people marrying dumb people.

I imagine this is the kind of horse-faced, buck-toothed, banjo twanging twit who's convinced that the only reason a member of the opposite sex won't give him two looks is because of those damn black men stealing them away.

[Broomstick]

I'm kind of curious how this asshole would handle a marriage with someone who was already a mixed race. But knowing this kind of bigot he probably thinks the 'one-drop' rule was a good idea.

Having had a look at the couple in question, it is quite obvious to me that the black man in question had substantial European ancestry to go with the African. So he's mixed race already.

I also heard on the news that the couple found another justice of the peace to perform the marriage and are now wedded. I wish them a long and happy marriage.

[Isolder74]

I also heard on the news that the couple found another justice of the peace to perform the marriage and are now wedded. I wish them a long and happy marriage.

I wish them the same. I also hope they live happily ever after just to spite this guy.

[Stark]

I know this is a silly place to ask (given Mike's experiences) but why is this always apparently more prominent in America with black/white couples (and especially black men)? Is it because 'everyone' knows black people are poor and poorly educated, so white people think they're just doing it for the monster cock? Why do people talk about the 'reality' of 'interracial marriage' (ps who would even call it that) is bad without demostrating statistics?

And as a corrolary to something Mike has said in the past, I'm a white guy dating an asian woman. The most racism I have to deal with with is from the Taiwanese community... and it's just ignorant people being rude, because they're a minority. Turns out racism is a much more serious problem when it's the majority doing it?

[Samuel]

I know this is a silly place to ask (given Mike's experiences) but why is this always apparently more prominent in America with black/white couples (and especially black men)?

Because of the fear that blacks are stealing white people's women folk.

Why do people talk about the 'reality' of 'interracial marriage' (ps who would even call it that) is bad without demostrating statistics?

Because they are idiots.

[Broomstick]

I know this is a silly place to ask (given Mike's experiences) but why is this always apparently more prominent in America with black/white couples (and especially black men)? Is it because 'everyone' knows black people are poor and poorly educated, so white people think they're just doing it for the monster cock? Why do people talk about the 'reality' of 'interracial marriage' (ps who would even call it that) is bad without demostrating statistics?

A lot of it goes back to slavery and the need to control (supposedly) dangerous black men for fear of them raping/stealing white women. Also, sexual fear/hang-ups regarding black vs. white prowess in sexuality.

The result is that black/white interracial pairings (and yes, that term is used here) are more "provocative" to racists/bigots in the US that other racial/ethnic pairings, and black men/white women even more so than white men/black women (the latter of which were more tolerated, even accepted, provide the parties involved never actually married, especially if it was a high status white man and a low status/servant black woman).

[Master of Ossus]

I know this is a silly place to ask (given Mike's experiences) but why is this always apparently more prominent in America with black/white couples (and especially black men)? Is it because 'everyone' knows black people are poor and poorly educated, so white people think they're just doing it for the monster cock? Why do people talk about the 'reality' of 'interracial marriage' (ps who would even call it that) is bad without demostrating statistics?

And as a corrolary to something Mike has said in the past, I'm a white guy dating an asian woman. The most racism I have to deal with with is from the Taiwanese community... and it's just ignorant people being rude, because they're a minority. Turns out racism is a much more serious problem when it's the majority doing it?

Black-white marriages are by far more common. Asians make up around 3% of the US population; Latinos are more numerous, but still nowhere as big as blacks. Also, blacks are much more heavily concentrated in the Deep South, whereas Latinos are concentrated in the Southwest and (to a lesser extent) in the Northeast.

[FSTargetDrone]

I just wonder why any woman who i white could marry some reatarded black man with a terrible attitude. There are tons of black people where I live with stupid attitudes, terrible manners, and waaaaay too senisitive. They mostly isolate themselves, speak english terribly, hardly know how to read or write. I mean hell this is really just dumb people marrying dumb people.
I don’t know if this justice or any justice has the right to not marry someone, but if he does so what. There’s just too many retarded hypersensitive idiots in this country. Btw racism means:
1 : a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent “superiority” of a particular race
The judge retards is not saying he believes this will cause white people to be impure and that the black guy is not superior enough to be a member of the white family….he just said it isn’t something he will do cause of hardship it may cause.

As an aside, I just wonder how anyone who makes as many spelling and grammatical errors as this twit has is also capable of using a computer. It's so incoherent, my hair hurts.

[Alyeska]

I know this is a silly place to ask (given Mike's experiences) but why is this always apparently more prominent in America with black/white couples (and especially black men)? Is it because 'everyone' knows black people are poor and poorly educated, so white people think they're just doing it for the monster cock? Why do people talk about the 'reality' of 'interracial marriage' (ps who would even call it that) is bad without demostrating statistics?

And as a corrolary to something Mike has said in the past, I'm a white guy dating an asian woman. The most racism I have to deal with with is from the Taiwanese community... and it's just ignorant people being rude, because they're a minority. Turns out racism is a much more serious problem when it's the majority doing it?

Black-white marriages are by far more common. Asians make up around 3% of the US population; Latinos are more numerous, but still nowhere as big as blacks. Also, blacks are much more heavily concentrated in the Deep South, whereas Latinos are concentrated in the Southwest and (to a lesser extent) in the Northeast.

Latinos outnumber Blacks now. Its been that way for a great many years.

Link

40 million Blacks, 44 million Latinos.

[Civil War Man]

The result is that black/white interracial pairings (and yes, that term is used here) are more "provocative" to racists/bigots in the US that other racial/ethnic pairings, and black men/white women even more so than white men/black women (the latter of which were more tolerated, even accepted, provide the parties involved never actually married, especially if it was a high status white man and a low status/servant black woman).

This isn't just a black/white thing. It seems that in general white woman/non-white man is considered to be a bigger deal than non-white woman/white man. Same motivation, though.

I imagine this guy would have absolutely no problem conducting a marriage if it were a black man and a hispanic woman, or an asian man and a black woman, or a hispanic man and indian woman, etc. Just as long as neither of them were white.

[Rogue 9]

Working as intended. Marriage licenses were introduced in the United States precisely to prevent interracial marriage; he's simply exercising the thoroughly despicable intended purpose.

[Broomstick]

The result is that black/white interracial pairings (and yes, that term is used here) are more "provocative" to racists/bigots in the US that other racial/ethnic pairings, and black men/white women even more so than white men/black women (the latter of which were more tolerated, even accepted, provide the parties involved never actually married, especially if it was a high status white man and a low status/servant black woman).

This isn't just a black/white thing.

Yes, that's why I said black/white were more provocative, implying the others were still provocative, just not as much. Why do people have a reading comprehension problem regarding relative intensities?

I imagine this guy would have absolutely no problem conducting a marriage if it were a black man and a hispanic woman, or an asian man and a black woman, or a hispanic man and indian woman, etc. Just as long as neither of them were white.

Actually, when I saw him being interviewed on the TV this morning he was pretty clear that he was opposed to ALL interracial marriages, not just black/white. So that supposition is, apparently, incorrect.

[FSTargetDrone]

I may be skirting on the edge of a necro, but I think it's appropriate given that today the clown in question resigned:

AP: La. justice quits after interracial wed flap

By MELINDA DESLATTE (AP) – 1 hour ago

BATON ROUGE, La. — A Louisiana justice of the peace who refused to marry a couple because the bride was white and groom was black resigned Tuesday.

Keith Bardwell, who is white, quit the post with a one-sentence statement to Louisiana Secretary of State Jay Dardenne and no explanation of his decision: "I do hereby resign the office of Justice of the Peace for the Eighth Ward of Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, effective November 3, 2009."

Bardwell refused to perform the ceremony for Beth Humphrey and Terence McKay because they are of different races.

When questioned about his refusal, Bardwell acknowledged he routinely recuses himself from marrying interracial couples because he believes such marriages cause harm to the couples' children. In interviews, he said he refers such couples to other justices of the peace, who then perform the ceremony, which happened in this case.

Humphrey has said she and McKay received their marriage license from the parish clerk of court, where they also received a list of people qualified to perform the ceremony. When she called Bardwell's office to ask about the ceremony on Oct. 6, Humphrey said Bardwell's wife told her that the justice wouldn't sign their marriage license because they were a "mixed couple."

Bardwell didn't immediately return a call for comment Tuesday about his resignation, which followed calls for his ouster from several public officials, including Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu.

Humphrey and McKay have filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Bardwell.

I like how he had such deep, personal convictions and concerns about such marriages producing these children, but he evidently had no problem suggesting other justices to couples who wanted to get married.