Noose outlawed in La., Confederate flag should follow

Hundreds of new laws went into effect Aug. 15. Louisiana became the 50th state to ban cockfighting while the fleur-de-lis became an official state symbol.

It is now illegal for a noose - whether actual or drawn - to be displayed publicly with intent to intimidate, punishable by up to a $5,000 fine or imprisonment of no longer than a year.

The law defines a noose as "a rope tied in a slip knot, which binds closer the more it is drawn, which historically has been used in execution by hanging, and which symbolizes racism and intimidation." Louisiana is now the third state, after Connecticut and New York, to ban the noose.

The noose always symbolizes intimidation; hanging it at all demonstrates the intent to intimidate.

This rationale applies to the Confederate flag.

In my eyes, the noose and the flag only differ in symbolism because the noose is the actual weapon used to lynch.

But the flag has long been defended as a symbol of Southern pride. "The flag is seen by some Southerners simply as a symbol of Southern pride, [but] the flag is often used by racists to represent white domination of African-Americans," according to the Anti-Defamation League, which lists the Confederate flag as a hate symbol.

The "pride" some Southerners are adamant about perpetuates the stereotype the Confederacy was established on - that whites and blacks are not equal. Tailgaters who support the purple and gold Confederate flag will stop at nothing to argue otherwise, pretending this symbol of "pride" is not at its core racist and intimidating.

Don't take my word for it - consult the Cornerstone Speech of Alexander Stephens, the only vice president the Confederate States of America ever knew. His speech in Savannah, Ga. in March 1861 defined the foundation of the Confederacy.

"Those ideas [of the U.S. Constitution] were fundamentally wrong … Our new government is founded upon exactly the opposite idea; its foundations laid, its cornerstone rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery - subordination to the superior race - is his natural and normal condition. This, our new government, is the first, in the history of the world, based upon this great physical, philosophical, and moral truth."

For the record, it was also the last.

"It is, indeed, in conformity with the ordinance of the Creator," Stephens continued. "It is not for us to inquire into the wisdom of His ordinances, or to question them. For His own purposes, He has made one race to differ from another."

The noose law slipped through the House and Senate unanimously, with eight legislators absent from voting. The author of the bill, Rep. Rickey Hardy, D-Lafayette, expressed his joy in the bill's passing to The Daily Advertiser on June 17.

"[Passage of the bill] really shows the heart and mindset of the state has changed," Hardy said. "I hope no one will be prosecuted under this law. We should not fight but do what's right."

Gov. Bobby Jindal signed the law as a disingenuous attempt to resolve the controversy involving the Jena 6. Presumably, Jindal would not want to appear racist by vetoing this feel-good legislation.

But by its mere definition as a "symbol of racism and intimidation," if the noose is now illegal to display, why stop there? Why can't we ban every symbol of racism and intimidation?

More importantly, how many people does it take to classify something as intimidating? If one person - say, myself - finds the Confederate flag intimidating, which I do, can we successfully ban it?

But then again, can we successfully ban anything? Alcohol was banned during Prohibition in 1920, forcing bootleggers to work underground until 1933 when the 21st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution repealed the 18th.

Marijuana is still banned by federal law, yet according to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, 94 million Americans, nearly one-third of the population, have admitted to marijuana use at some point in their lifetimes.

It's one thing to ban an herb. It's another to ban a symbol of an ideology, which - when pushed underground - forces zealots to educate by example, indoctrinating intolerance in their children.

This example has already been seen through egregious acts across the country.

Last Thursday, 19-year-old Jeremiah Munsen was sentenced to four months in prison for disrupting Jena 6 demonstrators in Alexandria. Munsen drove his pickup, with nooses in tow, back and forth in front of demonstrators.

According to the Associated Press, he pled guilty to a misdemeanor federal hate crime, which carried a maximum sentence of one year in prison. Munsen has a KKK tattoo on his chest, as he and his family are members of the Ku Klux Klan. Brass knuckles and an unloaded rifle were also found in his truck, according to the police report. The noose law was not instituted at the time of his arrest.

In education we find the secret to creating a culture of acceptance, unfortunately coupled with the secret to breeding future agents of racism and intimidation. The last sentence of every flier distributed by the Imperial Klans of America (IKA), the largest current Klan organization in America, implores the importance of "proper" education.

At the end of its fliers, the IKA pleads, "We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children."

While the noose and the Confederate flag are vile, despicable symbols of our nation's history of hatred, they are also constitutionally protected pieces of speech.

However horrible the noose is, its ban will only encourage those who wish to display it to do exactly that, claiming free speech while ignoring the hatred sparked by its display.

Pretending to dismiss a symbol by banning its display only encourages said use, only less publicly.

The law cannot afford liberties to one symbol of racism and intimidation while banning another. Either the Confederate flag should be banned, or the ban of the noose should be lifted. In either case, we have a responsibility to teach our children exactly what happened in our history and why.

Banning a noose will not end racism, but teaching and spreading the truth will.

While tailgaters fly the purple and gold, and racist, Confederate flag, I'll be getting a tattoo of a fleur-de-lis. That's Southern pride.

And for any of you who wish to display your racism publicly with intent to intimidate but fear imprisonment, don't fret. There's no law against making a noose out of a Confederate flag.

Yet.



Originally published in The Daily Reveille...

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Bernie Mac, Isaac Hayes redefined the words "Soul Men"

"Who's the black private dick that's a sex machine to all the chicks?"

"You don't understand. I ain't scared of you motherfuckers!"

Those were the first words uttered to me by Isaac Hayes and Bernie Mac, respectively. One introduced himself to me on Def Comedy Jam, while the other donned an apron and served knowledge as a cartoon cafeteria chef after a career defining what and how soul music sounds.

Both, however, influenced my life in ways I can't imagine.

This past weekend, however, the two lost their lives: Mac succumbing to a complication from pneumonia, while Hayes was found unconscious next to a still-running treadmill. Both dispensed wisdom as filthy as a drunken sailor's on shore leave. But while the pair made me laugh, both Bernie Mac and Isaac Hayes were born entertainers, destined to make people smile with their evolving senses of performance.

This fall, the two will shine together for the final time, co-starring alongside Samuel L. Jackson in the upcoming film, "Soul Men." As the story goes, Jackson and Mac are two estranged soul-singing legends who go twenty years without a word to each other. The pair are forced to rally together at a reunion performance at the Apollo Theater when a fellow band member (John Legend) suddenly dies.

On August 9th, Jackson remembered Bernie Mac, reported in the Shreveport Times, the paper from a city where "Soul Men" was shot. "I feel blessed to have shared years of friendship with Bernie Mac," Jackson said. "I'm honored to have finally co-starred with him in what I consider to be his finest cinematic acting achievement."

The title of the article read "Samuel L. Jackson lauds Bernie Mac." Now, most assuredly, he lauds them both.

Already on the internet, the blog-o-sphere has ruptured wide open about a conspiracy involving the trio, with many suggesting that Jackson watch himself. It's that exact kind of thinking that A) you clicked on to get to this blog by Googling "bernie mac isaac hayes samuel l. jackson conspiracy," and B) does irreparable damage to the legacies of all three of these men. These two tragedies were mere coincidence, and to elaborate any further on the causes shows true ignorance coupled with severe lack of respect.

However, the pair are no strangers to controversy, no matter how inane and childish the claims may be. Take, for instance, Mac's joke at an Barack Obama fundraiser (at $2300 a plate, I might add) that led the presumptive nominee to rebuke the comedian's joke. The joke itself isn't new to the world; in fact, I'd heard a version of the joke before I'd heard of Bernie Mac. But it was apparently controversial enough to force people at the dinner to walk out, briefly shining a negative spotlight on Obama for not having YouTubed Mac's stand-up sooner.

Hayes earned himself a similar, equally perplexing, black mark when he left the cast of "South Park" after Trey Parker and Matt Stone ran an episode poking fun at the soul singer's religion of Scientology. Regardless of your feelings of the religion, Hayes has a constitutionally-protected right to worship as he chooses, and Parker and Stone showed a severe lack of class by dehumanizing Hayes's faith, especially after Hayes established himself as one of the most memorable cartoon characters in history as South Park Elementary's "Chef."

Regardless, these minor squabbles with the increasingly disingenuous P.C. police will not have the slightest place in the history of these two pioneers. More people, I guarantee you, will remember that Isaac Hayes wrote the classics "Soul Man" and "Hold On, I'm Comin" for the soul duo Sam and Dave. More people will recognize Bernie Mac's unrelenting wit combined with his no-nonsense approach to life, specifically on his Peabody-Award winning sitcom "The Bernie Mac Show," where he models his own life experience taking in his sister's three children.

When it comes to seeing the world from a pessimistic eye, Mac explained it best while having microphone trouble on stage during his smash "The Original Kings of Comedy:" "What type a shit is this?"

They complemented each other in style and in performance. Mac was in your face, helping -- nay, forcing -- you to see the world with a new lens, while Hayes's sultry baritone voice soothed any ill, ranging from impotence to general uncertainty. No matter how Mac's fiery commentary of the world and the minor nuances of life prepared you with laughter, you would be prepared enough before you took your partner home, lit the candles and put on Hayes's second album, "Hot Buttered Soul," for some all-night passion.

The loss of these two giants have left all of our souls wondering. Whether it be wondering about the future or whether or not their creative insight and relentless delivery will ever be replicated. It may be duplicated, but never as authentic or as revolutionary. Bernie Mac and Isaac Hayes were two of the men I'd always seen myself emulating, whether in style or in fearlessness. But one thing is for sure: the world will never forget them, and the world will never see another pair quite like them.

For a while at least, all of our souls need a little mending.

Play these two videos at the same time. Start with the bottom one first and let them sink in.

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The YouTube Chronicles, VII

Bill O'Reilly's flip out has got nothing on this crazy psycho.

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The YouTube Chronicles, VI

They don't call him "Shep" for nothing.

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The YouTube Chronicles, V

My question after seeing this:

Why is it even news?

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The YouTube Chronicles, IV

If I could write music, it might sound like this.

Mr. Luke, "A Symbol of Hope"

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The YouTube Chronicles, III

"New Rule: Referring to voters that America has left behind economically as 'bitter' isn't an insult; in fact, it's a compliment, acknowledging that they're smart enough to understand what's happening to them. The hopeful, now those are some idiots. So, let's separate the bitter, my people, from the idiots. If you think the Democrats are going to take away your Bible, you're an idiot. If you think they're going to take away your gun, you're an armed idiot. And you think they're going to take away your gun and give it to a Mexican to kill your God, you're Bill O'Reilly.

At the end of last week, when Barack Obama ignited the 'bitter-gate' scandal, you'd have thought he climbed Mount Rushmore, dick-slapped Jefferson in the face and spray painted 'God Damn America' over Lincoln. But he wasn't lying. The truth is that religion and guns and hating gays and immigrants are crutches that people lean on. So are fast food, crystal meth and child beauty pageants, but we don't have time to tackle all of America's addictions in one night.

So let's focus on the big thing.

That the people who claim to be the 'non-elitists' are the ones who constantly shift tax burdens from the people who fire you to you. John McCain voted to repeal the estate tax, voted against raising the minimum wage, has no health care plan and is fine with keeping the working class in Iraq for 100 years. But he's a real man of the people. And the President went to Harvard and Yale and inherited your country from his dad. But he's not an elitist because he can neither read nor write. What does it take to label someone 'elitist' these days anyway, they wear shoes? They don't buy their groceries at the gas station? Their dog has a name and their truck doesn't?

You know who is bitter in America? I am, because shit kickers voted twice for a retarded guy they wanted to have a beer with, and everybody else has to suffer the consequences!"


- Bill Maher, Real Time with Bill Maher, April 18, 2008

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