Column:

Bigotry makes a comeback

By Lindsay Eanet

Published Nov. 6, 2009

I woke up this morning and was half-surprised when I turned on the TV and it was in color, had more than three channels and Ed Sullivan was nowhere in sight.

I say this because it feels like we've all suddenly gone back to 1955 this week. Virulent bigotry and general disrespect for the rights of "the other" are values I thought Americans were past. Apparently I was wrong.

It's not like racism and homophobia and other repulsive facets of human behavior have gone anywhere between the height of the Civil Rights Movement and now. It just seems as though they've appeared in rather bold ways this week, and in some cases, such as the incident that took place last Thursday at a Columbia Walmart, with an ugliness evoking the more violent bigotry of the Civil Rights Era.

For those unfamiliar with what happened, an article in the Columbia Missourian reported James Pezold and his brother, Michael Pezold, verbally assaulted a number of customers, spouting the "n-word," and James attempted to run over several black families outside with his truck, injuring a 2-year-old.

According to the Missourian article, James Pezold has not been charged with a hate crime because he has already been charged with several felonies. Missouri hate crime law states hate crime charges can only serve to escalate misdemeanor charges and make them felony charges. Michael Pezold, who was charged with a misdemeanor, might receive those charges.

This case proves how asinine hate crime laws in many states are. There has to be something harsher in place to castigate criminals, and it is up to us, regardless of race, to demand it.

As for the passage of Question 1 in Maine, that this is being put up to a vote still boggles the mind. I don't mean to compare the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning civil rights movement with that of the fight for racial equality, but if there's one thing we should have learned from that era, it's that rights for the minority shouldn't be left to the decision of the majority. Had racial segregation been up to a popular vote state-by-state, it would have easily passed in a number of states and might still be legal today.

On the other hand, there are indicators that we should be optimistic, and these are coming from our generation. Evidence (at least in the social networking realm) would indicate, on the whole, our age group is more accepting, supportive and willing to fight for the equality of our peers who have been marginalized and generally more outraged by matters of inequity than our predecessors.

But even though we have the right mindset, we have a difficult task ahead. If we want to move forward in our quest for the inclusion and equality of our friends, peers, brothers and sisters in this human family, we have to show our outrage.

This week, and in times like this before (the passing of Proposition 8 in California, the trials of the Jena Six in Louisiana), I saw friends and classmates verbally express so much rage and frustration, but it's not enough to feel bad about injustices if we don't own this indignation and do something with it.