Don't Bother, It Won't Last

Interracial Couple Denied Marriage License in Louisiana

Oh, Louisiana. You make my day a little brighter. I thought I would have to be married to my husband forever, but according to a Justice of the Peace in LA, it will never last. Thank goodness, because there are days I want to kill him. I muscle through because I made a commitment, but now I know not to bother. And I was afraid my child wouldn’t have any emotional scars to blame on me, but now, NOW, he has a whopper. His complete and total ostracization from polite society because he doesn’t belong to either race, he’s a hybrid, and everyone knows how much people hate hybrids.

Judge Keith Bardwell, a JOP in Tangipahoa Parish, is refusing to marry interracial couples based on their inability to remain married for an acceptable length of time. Uh, what ruler is he using, exactly? Last I checked marriage as an institution is in the toilet. I know you’ve heard the stats, 50% of marriages end in divorce. That’s all marriages. And while I understand that some of these marriages are interracial, what of the others? Bardwell would have you believe he is being fair because he has never married any interracial couples, but if his reasoning is in fact because of the breakdown of the marriages, then wouldn’t it be fair to refuse to marry anyone. If he is, in fact trying to prevent marriages that won’t last from happening, then why is race the only factor he takes into account. Why not age or economic status? Both of which are statistically proven indicators of doomed marriages.

And frankly, his ill conceived belief that mixed children aren’t accepted in either culture is hog wash. There are so many different races in schools today many mixed children aren’t even identified by white or black. Some are mistaken for Hispanic or Middle Eastern. Believe me, I have more to worry about when my kid enters school than how he will be judged for his heritage. I’ve got to watch out for 6-year-old cub scouts bringing utensils to school.

As with most racists, the judge is sure to point at his “piles and piles” of black friends, friends he allows to use his bathroom. And he’ll marry them, as long as they don’t get high and mighty and start wanting to marry outside of their socially acceptable pool of mates. Racism isn’t just about disliking a race as a whole, it is judging any person about anything based solely on their race. The fact that he holds this antiquated view that interracial couples aren’t able to make their marriages work makes him a racist. The fact that he is a sitting judge who openly allows his racism to sway his judicial responsibilities is a sign of how far behind the south actually is in race relations.

Regardless of Judge Bardwell’s true intention, whether it is as he says or it’s the very real fact that he is a racist, the point is moot. He agreed to uphold the rights of his citizens when he became a judge. He does not get to pick and choose which laws he upholds; he is required to uphold them all. If he is unable to do that, then perhaps he should find a career where picking and choosing your beliefs is allowed.