Posted on 01/25/2007 11:27:27 PM PST by weegee
After facing intense opposition against a proposed ordinance that would have outlawed the use of the "n-word" in his town, Brazoria Mayor Ken Corley announced Thursday he would drop the proposal altogether.
Corley's decision brought applause from most of the 200 people who gathered in the middle of Main Street to discuss the issue.
The meeting was held outside Thursday because the town's council chamber is too small.
Though almost all speakers said they condemned the use of racial epithets, most said the Brazoria County town of 2,800 has few racial problems, and the proposed ordinance would cause more problems than it would cure.
"I'm embarrassed for my little town," said Bill Lott, who is white. "We need to unite, not divide."
The Rev. Melvin Johnson, who is black, said he thought it was wrong to single out one word.
A few speakers, however, liked the proposed ordinance.
The Rev. Ricky Jones, who is black, said that he approved of the measure.
"So many people are here tonight as proof that (this) is a problem," Jones said.
Corley, 62, said his proposal was a "quality of life issue," and not a censorship issue.
He said that though he doesn't think Brazoria has any more of a problem with the use of the offensive word than anywhere else, he wanted his town to take a progressive stance against its use.
Corley, who is white and grew up in Brazoria County, admitted to using the "n-word" in years past. "But never directed directly against a black person," he said.
Brazoria City Attorney Charlie Stevenson said he thought the proposed ordinance would be constitutional because it doesn't outlaw the "n-word" but outlaws its use in an offensive or aggressive manner. The word had to be used in such a way as to disturb the peace, he said.
A violation would have been a class C misdemeanor, the lowest category of offense, which is punishable by a fine up to $500, Stevenson said.
David Hudson, an attorney with the First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., said the proposal clearly violates the First Amendment.
In 1971 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that no individual words can be outlawed, he said.
"I was surprised to see that this was being proposed anywhere in the United States," he said.
"It sounds like something you would see in France."
Claude Foster, regional director of the NAACP in Houston, said that though he applauds the intention of the measure, he doesn't think it is the proper way to fight rac- ism.
"Education is the answer," Foster said.
Brazoria, one of the oldest towns in Southeast Texas, was founded in 1828.
According to the 2000 Census, about 10 percent of the population is black, about 11 percent is Hispanic and about 80 percent is white.
In the original Chronicle article (title search for Brazoria), it is mentioned that the law would not have applied to all uses of the word. Those who used it as a "friendly greeting" would not be charged.
So it would come down to thoughtcrime.
Right. That law would last about 5 seconds anyway.
Wow, talk about ThinkSpeakThoughtPolice! Those people need to busy themselves with something constructive.
I'd be tempted to just show up, blurt it out, and if they wanted to cite me, sue them for a dime for violating my First Amendment rights.
The law is clearly unconstitutional and just sets bad precedence. Better to have it just struck down.
Thoughtcrime doubleplus ungood.
Actually it would come down to prosecuting Whitey, because blacks "can't" use the word maliciously.
There used to be a saying that that warned of someone's hidden agenda--There's a gentleman of color hiding in the woodpile in this situation. You can use your own imagination as to how often gentleman of color was used instead of the naughty N word.
Doesn't Brazoria have a pothole or two for this idiot to repair? Guy apparently has too much time on his hands.
San Jose tried to outlaw it a couple of years ago. In a truly Orwellian outcome, they were forced to give up after they found themselves unable to draft a statute that did not mention, as a matter of example, the word that was to be outlawed.
The Forbidden Word
"The Santa Clara County Human Relations Commission agreed Tuesday to approve a resolution endorsed by African-American activists condemning the use of a racial slur used against blacks," the San Jose Mercury News reports:
Commissioners voted 10-0 in "spirit and concept" to adopt the resolution--which denounces the use of "the n-word"--but held off on final approval until deciding whether to consider including the actual word, "nigger," in the text of the resolution.
The word was spelled out in the resolution but dropped from a revised version shortly before the vote, prompting a leader of a San Jose-based African-American coalition to urge commissioners to put it back.
"It should be in there," said Lessie James, who also suggested the modified resolution state that the word is "provocative, psychologically damaging and controlling."
The paper says that "advocates" hope "to prohibit the use of the word in California." If Sacramento actually does pass such a law, how long will it be before we hear complaints that it's being enforced disproportionately against blacks?
"It sounds like something you would see in France."
I think we should outlaw the F***** words!
Now THAT's an insult.
Nrad!
"There's a gentleman of color hiding in the woodpile in this situation..."
Or as my old man would put it: "There's an Ethiopian in the fuel supply..."
Has this little twit never heard of the Constitution? And this from the Mayor of a Village in one of the most Conservative Counties in Texas. What an embarrassment to his village, his County and to the Great State of Texas.
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