by EM JAY (Gather Director of Chaos & Uprisings) W.
Member since:
November 7, 2006

A Shining Moment in Cracker History

October 15, 2009 11:22 PM EDT
views: 95 | rating: 10/10 (9 votes) | comments: 102

Is it still 2009?

Is Barack Obama still President of the United States?

Would someone please tell this justice of the peace in Louisiana?

I was stunned this afternoon to read that Keith Bardwell of Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, denied to issue a marriage license to Beth Humphrey and Terrence McKay because they are an interracial couple.

Of course, good ol' boy Keith isn't a racist - he just doesn't believe in races mixing. He's refused interracial couples in consideration of any children they  may have. The children, he believes, are not accepted by either the black or white communities.

This crap about having concern for any children that may be born to an interracial couple blows my mind. Who is the President? What's his family background? I know it wasn't easy for Barack Obama growing up in the sixties as be a brown skinned kid with a white mom and grandparents, but it certainly looks like he did okay.

And just to prove how non-racist he is, Mr. Bardwell told the press, "I have piles and piles of black friends. They come to my home, I marry them, they use my bathroom. I treat them just like everyone else."

If there were an award for the most stupid explanation of denying one's racial bigotry, Mr. Bardwell should get the trophy. Not merely using the old stand-by, "I have black freinds," he emphasizes just how many by describing them as "piles and piles" of black friends. He will marry them and allow them to use his own personal bathroom!

Well that's mighty white of you there, Keith.

The ACLU is standing by the denied couple, who were married by another justice of the peace. They are encouraging the Louisiana Judiciary Committee to severely punish Keith Bardwell for his bigotry and repeated refusals over the years to issue marriage licenses to interracial couples.

I hope they strip him of the privilege of being a justice of the peace. It's not up to him to decide who gets married. He has a job to do and no legal standing to deny people who want to be wed, unless they are ineligible because they are not divorced or of legal age or next of kin to each other.

Another crap excuse from Bardwell - interracial marriages don't last long. Guess what Bubba of the Peace? Half of all marriages don't last, so maybe you shouldn't be sanctioning any unions of any races.

I can't wait until his kind die out like the rest of the dinosaurs. His brain has already fossilized.

 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091015/ap_on_re_us/us_interracial_rebuff

 

 

 

link to this page
Bookmark this post:
Facebook
Twitter
Delicious
Buzz
More

Comments: 102

Lori F. Oct 15, 2009, 11:23pm EDT
disgusting.
Now I have to stay out of another state out of concern of meeting someone I'd feel like beating the hell out of.
Michelle S. Oct 15, 2009, 11:29pm EDT
i don't think that guy should have opened his mouth with an explanation. piles & piles of crap fell out.

what a douche.
With all the piles, it may be difficult to tell his mouth from his butthole.
Wyoming Catt (The Militant Midget) Oct 15, 2009, 11:56pm EDT
Ooooo! That was just harsh! Deserved, but harsh.
Mugg Muggles, "The Man With the Jive" Oct 15, 2009, 11:30pm EDT
Screw this peckerwood.
No thanks! I prefer a particular guy that this guy wouldn't marry me to if I wanted to get married.
david f. Oct 15, 2009, 11:32pm EDT
i feel bad for the educated people of louisiana, who i would guess, have to be embarrassed as hell that idiots like bardwell are giving their state such a bad name and making it look like they're still living in the past. yikes!
I hope the educated folks of LA stand up and shout this down, but I'm thinking it won't happen.
david f. Oct 15, 2009, 11:41pm EDT
i'm cautiously optimistic. i have met some wonderful folks from LA who are working hard to get rid of the racist and backwood stereotypes.
Elsie C. Oct 15, 2009, 11:48pm EDT
Some roots run very deep. He got elected, didn't he?
I am not sure if justices of the peace are elected or appointed there.
Lori F. Oct 15, 2009, 11:54pm EDT
Usually they are appointed.
Sarah A. (I KANZ B UH RITUR!!!!) , YEZ!! Oct 16, 2009, 9:25am EDT
Speaking as one from a state that frequently embarrasses me in public, I sincerely doubt that most Louisianans would back this guy. It only takes a few wackos to give the whole place a bad name. I had a friend tell me 25 years ago that things had changed so much in his little Mississippi town that mixed couples could walk around in public. We were still shooting at them in the street in the early '70's. Things have changed. Most people have changed, at least somewhat.
My daughter visited Louisiana before Katrina hit and wanted to move there. But she spent most of her time there in an academic bubble and I was concerned that she didn't get a real feel for the state.

But I do like the idea of drive through margaritas.
Linda B. Oct 16, 2009, 1:20pm EDT
I knew it wouldn't be long before someone brought up Mississippi....

The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Mississippi is one place I've had zero desire to ever visit...most of the southern United States, really. We have to deal with the occasional cracker moment here, but their kind is so outnumbered in the city.
Linda B. Oct 16, 2009, 1:37pm EDT
Mississippi does have that reputation....I don't blame you a bit. I think the attitude is in all states--just not as publicly scrutinized.

Metropolitan areas do tend to be more liberal (Jackson, the capitol city, is solidly Democratic) but the further away from the population centers you go, the 'redder' the attitude. (Republican or redneck, take your pick.)
Oh yeah, just drive from here to Cleveland during an election year. You can tell when you enter Redneckville when the signs all turn Republican. Then you can breath again when you start seeing them interspersed with Dem signs.
Lori F. Oct 15, 2009, 11:37pm EDT
Of course, good ol' boy Keith isn't a racist - he just doesn't believe in races mixing.

I think Keith is on gather.
david f. Oct 15, 2009, 11:42pm EDT
sigh!
His legions are not confined to Louisiana.
Sarah A. (I KANZ B UH RITUR!!!!) , YEZ!! Oct 16, 2009, 9:30am EDT
How sad is it that I don't know if you're kidding... ?
Kat W. Oct 15, 2009, 11:41pm EDT
What a fucktard.
Sadly, he's probably spawned more of his kind.
Kat W. Oct 15, 2009, 11:50pm EDT
That is so freaking scary!
Brian T. Oct 15, 2009, 11:42pm EDT
This has been going on for sometime there, I'm just sooooo glad it's got world wide attention now and is out the closet.
I hope action is taken to get these kind of people out of their positions. To me, it's like a pharmacist who refuses to give a woman birth control pills. Like it's any of his business?
Don(time to open them FEMA camps) S. Oct 15, 2009, 11:49pm EDT
Still 1950 in la?
It's only been since 1967 that the Supreme Court ruled the government can't decide who marries who. Still, that's long enough for them to have caught up by now.
Brian T. Oct 16, 2009, 12:04am EDT
Come on it's only been 42 yeas since 1967, LOL.

I know this is really not a laughing matter we don't need this ass backwards type of thinking in LA or anywhere else for that matter. Question is what are they going to do about it? Will they dismiss this guy and others like him or will they go, wink, wink at it? I say get rid of this bum.
Don(time to open them FEMA camps) S. Oct 16, 2009, 12:04am EDT
Again proves Lincoln made a big mistake:-)
I'm for getting rid of the guy and all like him.

I can't say Lincoln was wrong, because he did what he had to do to keep the union together and it was more about economic reasons than civil rights.
Wyoming Catt (The Militant Midget) Oct 15, 2009, 11:56pm EDT
I knew if I waited a few hours someone would post about it. And don'cha just love, "I'm not racist. I have scores of black friends...." Will they ever stop?

Poor Louisiana... they've already been through so much already...
I think he's one of the reasons they are where they are.
Wyoming Catt (The Militant Midget) Oct 16, 2009, 12:07am EDT
Oh, good grief! With all this ebaying, I forgot to score. Ten, naturally!!
Hell, I don't worry about scores, but I do have concerns about people with eBay addictions. ;-)
Wyoming Catt (The Militant Midget) Oct 16, 2009, 12:21am EDT
Ebay, crack. Either way, its money spent on stupid stuff.

But in this case, I'm selling some stuff for my daughter's Japanese club. If they earn enough, I get rid of her for a summer while she wings her way to her cultural Nirvana. I'll post about it when done.
eBay well, my friend. The goal is worthy!
sharon SugarMomma is a wise woman, Oct 16, 2009, 12:34am EDT
Who exhumed George Wallace?
Now wait, George Wallace was an admitted racist, wasn't he? This guy has piles and piles of black friends using his bathroom.
sharon SugarMomma is a wise woman, Oct 16, 2009, 12:53am EDT
Bet he charges them.
Sarah A. (I KANZ B UH RITUR!!!!) , YEZ!! Oct 16, 2009, 9:26am EDT
No, but he sprays down with Lysol when they leave. Count on it.
No, he has his wife do it, because cleaning is woman's work.

Keeping the gene pools pristine is his work.
Linda B. Oct 16, 2009, 1:12pm EDT
"Keeping the gene pools pristine is his work."

Inevitably, this guy will be a future candidate for the Darwin Awards. Idiocy in one area tends to spill over into others.
Ed Da Head Toker Oct 16, 2009, 3:45am EDT
in 1968, and 1972, Wallace ran on a segregation now and forever platform.
Well no wonder he wold let his dozens and dozens of black friends use his bathroom.
I wonder how good your shrubbery would be if over 60 people were using it for a toilet???
You know Ed, I remember George Wallace. Also, to be fair to the man, he did come around and see the error of his ways later in life.
Ed Da Head Toker Oct 16, 2009, 8:51pm EDT
IF I remember right, during his last run for Governor the NAACP endorsed him because of that turn around.
I don't remember that, but I seem to remember at the time of his death, his caretaker for many years had been a black man who spoke of the change in Wallace's heart and mind.
Cena W. Oct 16, 2009, 9:13am EDT
U.S. Supreme Court
Loving v. Virginia, 388 U.S. 1 (1967)

Oh well the nut is only 42 years behind the law.
He doesn't see it that way. He's doing it "for the kids."
Linda B. Oct 16, 2009, 1:42pm EDT
And that excuse is second only to 'God told me to'.
I haven't read the comments, so I'm sorry if I'm being repetitive when I say: What a douchebag!

I'm only sorry that I won't be around to see the "browning" of the races. Someday, we'll all just be one race. It's been a long time coming.

What a f***tard.
as if we are all different races.

We're all the human race. Only the US, it seems keeps a color chart and worries about it.

Hey, I did my part toward the browning goal! LOL
I guess I did, too. I was kind of on the fringe of those who welcomed the diversity into their family. I put up with a lot of guff because of my stance.
Sarah A. (I KANZ B UH RITUR!!!!) , YEZ!! Oct 16, 2009, 9:28am EDT
My GMIL used to worry that soon we'd all be "tea-colored"...

The guy should be run out of town on a rail. What Louisiana doesn't need is one more stereotypical wacko to live down.
How many people would that leave there if they ran them all out?

I will have to ask my daughter if she considers herself "tea colored." She is usually compared to a latte or an Italian.
Sheryl O. Oct 16, 2009, 9:29am EDT
Well, in defence of Bubba, he DOES let black folk use his bathroom.

Sorry, I couldn't resist. The guy should be thrown out of office. And if he does get to keep his job, he should be forced to go through all sorts of training and wear a sign around his neck that says "Beware - I am a bigoted, racist, horse's ass."
Sarah A. (I KANZ B UH RITUR!!!!) , YEZ!! Oct 16, 2009, 9:33am EDT
Excellent Idea! Like the Scarlett Letter for the New Millennium!

Personally, I think we lost a lot when we abandoned personal humiliation as a form of punishment. It's non-violent, cost-effective and I bet it works.
Sheryl O. Oct 16, 2009, 9:41am EDT
Yeah, especially if it's nailed into his chest.
Would you settle for stapling it to his chest, Sheryl?

Has this Bardwell appeared on FUX News yet today? I would think he and Beck would be co-hosting by now.
Sheryl O. Oct 16, 2009, 10:32am EDT
Nails are more appropriate, EM.

I like the "FUX" news name - nice touch.
Ha - it's a "typo", just like they're a "news station."
CRACKER hahahsahhahhahahaha!~ sorries~that word always makes me laugh~ I'll have to tell you WHY someday~ lol
okay scrolling back up to read~
Yes, will have to hear this story one day!
Linda B. Oct 16, 2009, 1:15pm EDT
Would it have anything to do with the apparent lack of recognition of the utility of belts?
YOU GOTTA BE F***ing kidding me~ =O
I wish along with you that these intellectually/emoitionallly/spiritually/ throwback racists die out sooner than later~ but Em ~ I've been maybe reading too much but there have been reports that since our President was elected the white supremacist groups have doubled their memberships~ =(
I know what you mean. I still hold my breath when they say Obama is going out in public and do town halls when his schedule allows.
Sheryl O. Oct 16, 2009, 10:34am EDT
I saw on my elevator news screen yesterday (which is always the best source of news, IMO), that some idiot got arrested for sending an Obama death threat in an email.

I hope they start rounding up the Tea-bag assess, too, with their threatening signs.
What these "powerless" white people that teabag have to realize is that before Obama was President, they were "powerless" white people. No matter what happens, unless they hit a lottery, they're going to always be what they are.
Linda B. Oct 16, 2009, 1:16pm EDT
EM JAY, I disagree. Even if they win the lottery, they will always be what they are....they'll just have much more opportunity to show the world what they're really like.
True, they would be what they are, but if they had money, they may not feel "powerless" because they would be "rich." They would still be dumbasses.
Thank you for posting this to GutterGirls~featured
Rachel W. Oct 16, 2009, 9:40am EDT
What an ass!!!

I love you more and more each day Em. We think WAY too much alike.
Aww, Rachel. Now I know you're not my kid. HAHA

Actually, I read the article to my daughter over the phone and she gave me a WTF? Now I wonder what this ass would do if he met her. She likes to date white guys. Would he marry her to one? Would he hem and haw around and finally ask her about her race? Then would he refuse her?
Rachel W. Oct 16, 2009, 10:40am EDT
I would hope not but he, unfortunately, probably would give her a hard time. I still can't believe people can be that stupid.
Hmmm, well, the origin of the word "cracker" in this context is 'the cracker is the one that cracks the whip." Good ol' Keith still wields a wishful whip but hopefully not for long.
I've read another possible origin for the word "cracker." One who breaks out of jail and heads south.

I'm with you, DT. This guy can't be allowed to continue as a government official.

I wonder where his KKK friends on Gather are? Why aren't they coming to defend his actions? He's not racist just like they aren't.
Dame Ruth, Chief Executive Elitist D. Oct 16, 2009, 11:35am EDT
I was working at a black radio station in New Orleans in '69, saw the integration riots up close and personal. This dude is a pussycat, by comparison to some of the shit that went down. I was dating one of the DJ's (on-air personnel was black, everyone else not so much) but we couldn't be seen in public together for fear of arrest. Miscegenation was still a legal no-no in the Big Easy and the only time black people went into white bathrooms was to clean them. Time just goes more slowly in Looziana...they'll catch up eventually, once they clean up the Katrina mess...should only be another twenty years or so.
Thanks for jumping in, Dame. I always thought New Orleans was more relaxed about interracial couples.

Do you think racism is slowing the progress of the reconstruction of the Gulf Coast?
Dame Ruth, Chief Executive Elitist D. Oct 16, 2009, 12:56pm EDT
Of course it is! Do you think that if the Garden District had been torn up, it would still be in shambles? Or the "right" side of St. Charles? The Quarter was back in business within days, only because Bourbon Street is a money pot. The black neighborhoods don't produce anything but poverty...who cares about them?

NO is more tolerant of gay couples than interracial ones. At least, that was my experience when I was a resident.
I've never been to NO, but we had neighbors from the 9th Ward who moved here before Katrina hit. They watched their family and friends swim through the water on CNN. Some of the cousins came here to live afterwards. They were a same sex couple (they've since split up), but didn't feel very accepted so they came north for better wages and to see snow. (This is a very gay-friendly city.)

I don't know all the districts of NO, just about the party streets. The racists issues aren't really featured on the Travel Channel or by the tourist boards.
Saw a 1 paragraph item in the paper this AM about it. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"I have piles and piles of black friends. " conjures up the old woodpile cliche. :)
My mind went there too, Nippy. Then I thought of photos I've seen of bodies stacked that way. Then I thought of the saying, "the only good _____ is a dead _____."
Sarah A. (I KANZ B UH RITUR!!!!) , YEZ!! Oct 16, 2009, 6:41pm EDT
I looked at the BBC's article. Here's my favorite quote:

However, Mr Bardwell denied mistreating anyone and said if he oversaw one mixed-race marriage, then he would have to continue to do it for everyone.

He said: "I try to treat everyone equally."

Now is this guy's head on backwards, or what?
Backwards and up his butt - quite an acrobat, I'd say.
Linda B. Oct 17, 2009, 4:00pm EDT
Doing his part to promote 'separate but equal', huh?
I heard on the news this morn that Jindal wanted the man relieved of his title since he can't carry out the duties like he's supposed to.
Digital Diva S. Oct 16, 2009, 7:06pm EDT
And the suspicious person inside me wanted to ask if that idiot didn't vote for Obama because he though a Republican was the better Choice - Yah right...
I don't see how he could sleep at night if he voted for Obama.
Ava's Mom (formerly known as Robiyah) Oct 16, 2009, 8:32pm EDT
I must be racist because I don't have "piles and piles" of black friends.

Shit. I better go find me some.
I'll bet you could find a bunch on Facebook. And they wouldn't be asking to use your bathroom.
Ava's Mom (formerly known as Robiyah) Oct 16, 2009, 8:32pm EDT
Wait, I let my husband use our bathroom once in awhile.
Ava's Mom (formerly known as Robiyah) Oct 16, 2009, 8:32pm EDT
He's really stinky though so I have to space it out a bit.
Wyoming Catt (The Militant Midget) Oct 16, 2009, 9:26pm EDT
Robiyah, why is your icon a pic of your obstetrician examining you? *smile*
I had to let Wil and my kids use the bathroom or they probably would have had a riot up in the house. *sigh* It was such a bitch being the minority.
Ava's Mom (formerly known as Robiyah) Oct 16, 2009, 8:33pm EDT
On an almost serious note, I just love it when I hear, "I'm not racist because I have black friends" comments. They make me all warm and fuzzy inside.
☀ Aunt Shanny Oct 16, 2009, 8:37pm EDT
Or I'm not racist cuz I work with someone who is black.
The Lenny Bruce routine about making a black man feel at ease at a party is still funny today. The reason it's still funny is that it still true enough to make you cringe inside.
I'll have to look that up. I'm not quite old enough to have heard much of Lenny Bruce's material.

Join the Conversation
Chime in! Become a Gather member to comment.
Already a member? Sign in
top
 
Gather | Friends | Groups | Share
About Gather | Engagement Marketing | Make New Friends | Gather Points | Advertise on Gather | Gather Press | Privacy | Terms of Service | Community Guidelines
Books | Celebs | Entertainment | Family | Food | Health | Moms | Money | News | Politics | Spirituality | Sports | Travel | Writing
Version 16865, "Oz"; Copyright © 2009 Gather Inc. All rights reserved.