Republicans and House Decorum

This morning, during the open floor time allocated to House members to give the opportunity talk about issues important to them, Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) walked up to the podium and began delivering a speech about the need for a full investigation in the homicide of Trayvon Martin.

As he spoke, he pulled off his suit jacket to reveal a hoodie. He pulled the hood over his head, donned sunglasses, and was immediately ruled out of order by the presiding member, Rep. Gregg Harper (R-Miss.).

Rep. Harper eventually cut Rep. Rush's microphone and ordered the Sergeant at Arms to remove Rep. Rush, citing rules on "decorum."

Rep. Harper had fewer concerns about decorum a few years ago when Rep. Joe Wilson shouted out "you lie" during President Obama's Sept. 9, 2009 appearance before a joint session of Congress. Rep. Harper voted against a resolution rebuking Rep. Wilson.

To Rep. Harper, showing contempt and disrespect for the President of the United States is consistent with House "decorum." Showing respect to a homicide victim? Not so much.

Rep. Kanjorski's offensive statement

Democratic Congressman Paul Kanjorski (D-PA) recently spoke in favor of a program that would help for "average, good American people" who were facing foreclosures and the loss of their homes--a fine sentiment.

However, he defined those "average, good American people" as those who were "not minorities" and "not defective." His quote in full,

We're giving relief to people that I deal with in my office every day now unfortunately. But because of the longevity of this recession, these are people -- and they're not minorities and they're not defective and they're not all the things you'd like to insinuate that these programs are about -- these are average, good American people."

The implications, of course are that minorities and "defective(s)" are somehow distinct from "good American(s)" and that these groups are less deserving of assistance with their housing hardships. The implications may have been unintended, but even so, it's not clear what positive implications might have possibly been intended.

Rep. Kanjorski should apologize for his offensive statement. So far, he's refusing.

Another "expression of regret" may be in order

Last month, the Greensboro City Council took the courageous step of formally expressing regret for the killings at the 1979 Death to the Klan march.

It now appears that another, bigger crime may haunt our collective history--an alleged genocide of Neanderthals by humans.

Squat, rugged, and well suited to cold, Neanderthals dominated Eurasia for the better part of 200,000 years, surviving an ice age, but the species mysteriously disappeared around the same time modern humans spread out from Africa into their habitat.

What about it city council? Do you have it in your hearts for one more expression of regret?

Expressions of regret leading to healing

Contrary to critics' predictions, the Greensboro City Council's expression of regret for the killings at the 1979 "Death to the Klan" march does appear to be leading to increased racial healing.

Yesterday, the Senate unanimously passed a resolution apologizing for slavery.

And last night Jon Stewart healed some of the wounds between blacks and Jews.

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Blacks and Jews
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Can rapprochement between dogs and cats, old men and kids on their lawns, and road runners and cayotes be far behind?

Proms in black and white -- part 1

One gets the sense that Ebony & Ivory won't be played at the segregated proms in Montgomery County, Georgia. (Okay, given the song's high cheese factor, Ebony & Ivory probably won't be played much of anywhere else--nobody's that lactose tolerant).

From the New York Times,

Racially segregated proms have been held in Montgomery County — where about two-thirds of the population is white — almost every year since its schools were integrated in 1971.

...The senior proms held by Montgomery County High School students — referred to by many students as “the black-folks prom” and “the white-folks prom” — are organized outside school through student committees with the help of parents. All students are welcome at the black prom, though generally few if any white students show up. The white prom, students say, remains governed by a largely unspoken set of rules about who may come.

The quotes from one white student effortlessly reprise some of the "greatest hits" in racial excuse-making.

Remember this classic (beloved by Confederate flag-fliers everywhere):

Trying to explain the continued existence of segregated proms, Edge falls back on the same reasoning offered by a number of white students and their parents. “It’s how it’s always been,” he says. “It’s just a tradition.”

Or how about this timeless favorite?

I have as many black friends as I do white friends. We do everything else together.

And of course the grand-daddy of rationalizations

I don’t think anybody at our school is racist.

Of course not.

The lone bright spot in this story is that it is rare enough to be news.