Peaceful Protesters Arrested Outside Alabama Senate Chamber
Months of documenting damage, lobbying, calling, writing, emailing, rallying to ask our legislators to repeal Alabama's punitive, unjust immigration law, a/k/a HB56, have failed to persuade Alabama Republicans to rectify what even some of them consider to be a mistake. This morning, six brave people knelt at the door of the Alabama Senate chamber to sing, pray, and ask again for the repeal of HB56. Because our esteemed legislators consider this peaceful but vocal dissent to be some sort of threat, they were handcuffed and removed. After they were taken, two Democratic Senators, Bobby Singleton and Quinton Ross, knelt in solidarity and demanded to be arrested too.
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Cooler heads later prevailed, and no charges were filed against the protesters. A "tweak" bill, HB658, slated to be fast-tracked in order to placate the business community, has been slowed - for two reasons, I think. The closet moderates are hoping the Supreme Court will overturn Arizona's SB1070 and thereby gut HB56. They get the repeal they know they need without leaving any fingerprints. The hardline right-wingers don't want to "weaken" HB56 because they believe the Roberts Court will come through for them and uphold the whole thing.
Meanwhile, this whole mess has been an invitation for racists to come out of the woodwork. I don't even want to link to the poison, but if you're curious just visit al.com and sample the comments on any article about the immigration law. Alabama is once again a sanctuary state - for bigots.
6 comments:
It really is a curse having to share a country with these irredeemable monsters.
The mistake was, Sherman didn't burn down everything, hang every traitorous SOB and his/her family from the nearest tree or bridge, and salt every feckin' inch of the earth.
Ok, maybe not everything, everyone, and every feckin' inch - but enough so's they'd remember for a thousand years.
It seems they've forgotten the lessons that were taught them in 1865, and reinforced in 1964 and 1965.
As my people are all from around here, I'm glad Sherman didn't salt the earth. See also: Hunger Games.
I've been lots of places, and Alabama truly is one of the most beautiful I've seen. Too bad our spirits can't match our physical environment.
Kathy,
I hope you know I was using hyperbole - just maybe too much hyperbole...
"Sanctuary state for bigots"--ugh. Worse still, Alabama is far from the only one.
Yeah, Victor, I knew that. :-) Tom, you're right. There are plenty other states.
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