Interracial relationship? Don't get married in Louisiana...

[Erzengel]

It's for the greater good.

 

[ReTrO JuNkIe 42]

"Think about the children." That's the first issue that comes to mind with a lot of people against interracial anything. They act like growing up with two different cultures in the household will cause the future brats to self implode or something. It won't be any harder for them than any other kids.

But look at how that Obama guy turned out, whats to become of interracial kids

 

[terry78]

I mean, I won't be naive, I'm sure there are many people my own age or younger that have issues with interracial dating, though they may be a little more complex than the judge's...don't make them any more valid, but whatever.

 

[Erzengel]

Actually I did have a mom of an ex ask what if you had children. LOL

 

[Wylie Times]

Probably is. If it isn't, it should be.

It's is illegal..He's discriminating against the couple because of their race. Sadly if they were gay he'd be be legally in the clear.

 

[SuperFerret]

Just to clarify, when I said "most people think the Civil War was about slavery" I guess I should've added an "all" to that, but I didn't think it would be taken so literally. Yes, slavery was a factor in it, but it was not the only factor that led to the war.

 

[Ace of Knaves]

There is rarely just one reason for two sides to go to war.

But slavery played a big part in the Civil War.

 

[SuperFerret]

My point was that there're a lot of other factors that people overlook due to the allure of the slavery aspect of it.

 

[Ace of Knaves]

Yea I get ya.

 

[Carcharodon]

It's for the greater good.

The greater good.

 

[SuperFerret]

Yarp.

 

[Mrs. Sawyer]

As a Bi-racial man myself (African/Dominican American), I am upset by this news. I understand that there is still racism in this nation, and this is no exception. The JP's actions are racist, as he is denying them a marriage license based on their race. It is not his place to worry about the children in this situation, as I believe the couple would have thought that out.

I hate when I hear news like this, because the sad thing is this probably won't be last time we hear of someone doing this.

 

[The Guard]

Ah, the classic "I have black friends. Lots of them" defense.

Racism and prejudice of all kinds is still an issue EVERYWHERE, not just the South.

He didn't say he refused to marry them because they'd get divorced. He said he didn't want their children to go through what he perceived they would.

I guess the question is...after all this...why would you even WANT the guy to marry you?

And he didn't say black and white people can't marry. He said he wouldn't do it, and he gave his reasons why. I'm iffy on how legal that is. He may well be within his rights, as justices of the peace are allowed to refuse to marry people for various reasons. They are generally not obligated to do so. We'll see.

I don't know that this is outright racism, though, as he's not obviously biased against a particular race, so he's not discriminating against them because of their particular race, he's biased against the idea of mixed races, periods, be they black white, blue M&M or green M&M.

Is there a name for that? Is that racism?

Regardless, I don't know that it matters. Maybe we should stop trying to label it yet another instance of racism, and just focus on the fact that it strikes many of us as wrong and unfair.

 

[terry78]

Saying the children would have a problem is somewhat of a racist mindset to me, though.

 

[SuperFerret]

I would think that a part-white, part-other race person would have a slight advantage over most other people. I'm like 1/4 Puerto Rican, but I look entirely white, so I can avoid most racist comments and attitudes, but I'm also not averse to taking advantage of Affirmative Action by putting myself down as "Hispanic" on applications. It's win-win.

(Disclaimer: This post, while containing true information, is mostly meant in jest. So if you're going to get offended, stop, take a breath, and laugh. It'll be good for you.)

 

[The Guard]

I still don't know if this is racism.

He said nothing about whether one race is better than the other...or whether their racial traits define him or make them superior/inferior.

And in order to discriminate based on race, he has to discriminate based on a particular race. This seems to be discrimination of another kind entirely.

 

[Anita18]

I don't think it's racist in and of itself to want to marry someone who is of the same race as you. That's more like a personal preference thing. It's like wanting someone with blonde hair and blue eyes. It's your choice.

But even if he feels that way himself, he should just give them the damned marriage certificate. It's their choice too. They should be allowed to.

Well no, he's discriminating them because of their race. It has nothing to do with attractiveness, otherwise the issue would just be that this Bardwell guy wouldn't date/marry a black person. He's refusing to see that their relationship is valid because of their race. He's externalizing his own "preferences" onto other people, and that's what's unacceptable.

I'm not usually attracted to black men, but I'm all for other Asian women dating black men. I'm not them, I don't care. That's the difference.

He didn't say he refused to marry them because they'd get divorced. He said he didn't want their children to go through what he perceived they would.

And he didn't say black and white people can't marry. He said he wouldn't do it, and he gave his reasons why. I'm iffy on how legal that is. He may well be within his rights, as justices of the peace are allowed to refuse to marry people for various reasons. They are generally not obligated to do so. We'll see.

I don't know that this is outright racism, though, as he's not obviously biased against a particular race, so he's not discriminating against them because of their particular race, he's biased against the idea of mixed races, periods, be they black white, blue M&M or green M&M.

Is there a name for that? Is that racism?

Regardless, I don't know that it matters. Maybe we should stop trying to label it yet another instance of racism, and just focus on the fact that it strikes many of us as wrong and unfair.

I think it's racist because he's assuming that children of mixed race would have a hard time from both sides. He's assuming that both races would act prejudiced toward someone who didn't fit into their neat little mold.

Although it's true that almost anything race-related could be construed as "racist," so we should all consider this song and get along.



Anyways, I really am less concerned about giving this a proper label than with actually making things fair. This reminds me of pharmacists who refuse to dispense birth control pills or emergency contraception. In my opinion, if you're performing a public service, don't push your own prejudices or beliefs onto your customer, especially if it will affect them in any way. That should be illegal. Sure free speech is free speech, at least until someone gets hurt.

If Bardwell doesn't feel comfortable giving marriage licenses to interracial couples (which, unlike gay marriage, is legal), he shouldn't be a justice of the peace. Period.

 

[terry78]

I personally think he had some bad personal experience with interracial romances either in his family or himself, and he's projecting.

 

[Erzengel]

Well it also depends if you want to argue semantics. I mean racism the exact definition is pretty much feeling/thinking one is superior over another based on race.

 

[BestGirl]

I wonder if he would've been willing to perform the marriage if the couple had been black and Hispanic, or black and Asian, instead of black and white.

 

[Ace of Knaves]

Good question

 

[Franklin Richards]

I wonder if he would've been willing to perform the marriage if the couple had been black and Hispanic, or black and Asian, instead of black and white.

It's ok for Mud Men to breed. It's not ok to make a Mongrel Race out of the superior white people.

 

[Watson]

Ah, the classic "I have black friends. Lots of them" defense.

Racism and prejudice of all kinds is still an issue EVERYWHERE, not just the South.

He didn't say he refused to marry them because they'd get divorced. He said he didn't want their children to go through what he perceived they would.

I guess the question is...after all this...why would you even WANT the guy to marry you?

And he didn't say black and white people can't marry. He said he wouldn't do it, and he gave his reasons why. I'm iffy on how legal that is. He may well be within his rights, as justices of the peace are allowed to refuse to marry people for various reasons. They are generally not obligated to do so. We'll see.

I don't know that this is outright racism, though, as he's not obviously biased against a particular race, so he's not discriminating against them because of their particular race, he's biased against the idea of mixed races, periods, be they black white, blue M&M or green M&M.

Is there a name for that? Is that racism?

Regardless, I don't know that it matters. Maybe we should stop trying to label it yet another instance of racism, and just focus on the fact that it strikes many of us as wrong and unfair.

JP's can refuse on some grounds, but JP's are also bound to follow whatever human rights codes are used in that jurisdiction. That means that they cannot act in a manner that is discriminatory, even it goes against their own personal beliefs. Their job is to help administer law and justice, not decide who is worthy and who isn't.

And I don't really know how else to look at this than racially motivated discrimination. The JP isn't saying he won't marry them because he thinks they personally won't make good parents. He won't marry them because he thinks that a biracial child would have a harder life than a pure black or white child. He may not be saying one race is better than the other, but is making it very clear that he feels that mixing would be damaging to society, when a majority of society has recognized that this is not the case.

 

[Anita18]

I wonder if he would've been willing to perform the marriage if the couple had been black and Hispanic, or black and Asian, instead of black and white.

Also, most black people who have lived for several generations in the US are mixed, even if they don't know it and you can't see it. Slaveowners often had their way with their female slaves...

I also wonder what he would have done if it wasn't immediately obvious that the couple was interracial. Like, I have half-Jewish cousins and they don't really look Asian. Would he have deemed it "okay" for them to marry a white person if they hadn't told him their mom was Chinese?

I still think he's projecting assumptions onto others, anyway. He's assuming that the races shouldn't mix, because it would disturb the status quo to see something like this:

That's Obama with his biological niece. ZOMG they're related THE HORROR.

 

[Prison Mike]