Supreme Court v Racism edit
- In June of 2013 the Supreme Court determined America's long history of voter exclusion was over. The court gutted a key element of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which demanded that areas with a history of racial discrimination at the polls get prior authorization before changing their election or voting laws. "That problem is solved." Chief Justice Roberts agreed, arguing that the provisions were based on "40-year-old" facts.
- The trial of George Zimmerman opened in Florida just about the same time. Trayvon Martin looked "suspicious", he said, a "punk" and complained, "They always get away."
- About the same time, celebrity chef Paula Deen wept on TV over racial and sexual harassment accusations against her. A former employee was claiming she demanded a "true southern plantation-style wedding" for her brother in 2007. "Well, what I would really like is a bunch of little niggers to wear long-sleeve white shirts, black shorts and black bow ties," she allegedly said. "You know in the Shirley Temple days, they used to tap dance around."
- Ginsberg disent
Zimmerman edit
User talk:Engleham edit
Most users here tend to delete the more "colourful" threads from their Talk pages, treating them like social media profiles: massaging them to present their most attractive face. In that regard, I try an exercise a light hand, as the most interesting threads are usually the darker ones, and I've occasionally enjoyed reading such on other Talk pages. The drawback of deleting the dull editorial maintenance threads, and retaining the few emotive ones, is that the Talk page gradually resembles Stalingrad, and its owner possibly a total ratbag. Like most people, I'm not entirely thrilled with a few comments I've posted over the years on Wikipedia, but mostly I wouldn't take back a word. Although I might wish to phrase them better! So, please bear in mind, should you dip in, that this is mostly the gritty stuff. I'm not a rigid editor, and don't play a hall monitor. My only significant bugbears appear to be: page deleters who blank stuff or put it up for proposal without making an effort to research or improve the article; editors or admins who may collaborate for their own purposes – rather than for the right ones; those who engage in WP:CRUSH, and the excessively anal. The reasonably anal are a vital resource! Although I do think calling all of us dweebs is rather harsh. Enjoy.