CIVIL RIGHTS, HUMAN RIGHTS, FREE SPEECH, AND OLD MEMORIES...

This story is a few days old, but I wanted to weigh in, and share some thoughts.

Ex-Ku Klux Klan leader, David Duke is back in the news. It seems that he was detained by authorities in the Czech Republic on suspicion of "denying the Holocaust." When I read this article from the New Orleans Times-Picayune my mind really got in motion.

I found it interesting that denying the Holocaust is a crime in the Czech Republic. Of all European nations, I have had the most fun watching the Czech Republic morph into a conservative island in a sea of lefties. It is surprising to me that freedom of thought, and speech is still limited.

It is heartening to me that the US has not yet criminalized freedom of thought, or freedom of speech. Oh sure, we have laws against inciting riots, etc. And we have legal & civil proceedings to address outrageous "encouragement" of outrageous acts. But for the most part, we can still say what we want to without fear of arrest. We see signs of the erosion of that liberty (which we must push back against), but I can find no rival to the US when it comes to free expression.

As a "free speech" advocate, I can tell you firmly that if David Duke would want to stand at a public rally, and declare that he hates all negroes...they are inferior to the white man (like Abe Lincoln once did)...they should all be returned to their native Africa...and all Jews are worthless, destroyers of all that is righteous in America, etc. And if he would advocate for legislation to rid America of all those he feels inferior and subersive to the US...

Well, I've got no problem with that.

If President Obama's pastor, and spiritual mentor Jeremiah Wright wants to stand in his church (which O attended for 20 years), and "damn" America in the name of God...and declare the USA to be "The U.S. of K.K.K. America"...and blame "whitey" for keeping black folks poor (which he has)...

Well, I've got no problem with that.

If the imbecile Alec Baldwin wants to whip up idiots by screaming to the idiot crowd that "we should all go kill Henry Hyde, and his wife, and his children," which he did, because he is an evil demented leftie...

I don't even have a problem with that...I know that one is close to the line.

You know the saying, "If somebody is determined to make a fool of themselves, just step back and get out of their way!"

When Duke was arrested in the Czech Republic, his organization posted a plea for action. This is just a part of their statement:

Listen up, Folks. Dr. David Duke has been arrested and detained by the Czech Republic police and is falsely accused of the crime of Holocaust denial. Jan Mikulovsky, spokesman for the police states this carries up to a three year sentence. He is falsely accused of promoting “movements seeking suppression of human rights”. David Duke does not suppress human rights, he fights for them. We the people of the world must join together to demand an end to the spread of draconian Orwellian thoughtcrime laws throughout Western nations. We must demand this man’s freedom...

It goes on and on, but I will not link to David Duke's website. If you want to read it, you can Gooble it.

Since I am not a Czech citizen, I have no say in what they choose to outlaw. But I'd recommend that if they want to fashion themselves as a "free" nation...well, they oughta look into that "Holocaust denying deal." I know it happened...and the bulk of the world does...but if retards like Duke, or AquaVelvaJad want to say otherwise...well, just step back, and let 'em make fools of themselves.

The article also threw me back in time to 1991, when David Duke ran for Goober of Louisiana. It was an interesting time in Louisiana politics (even more interesting than usual). The somewhat conservative Republican Governor, Buddy Roemer (a freakin' genius, and Bossier City boy himself) was being challenged by the worthless crooked coonass, (and former Goober) Edwin Edwards...and by David Duke.

Duke had won a seat in the State House of Representatives, and had made a name for himself as a "tax-cutting welfare reformer." If you are old enough to remember the 1991 election, you will remember that it was painted as a "national joke." From the outside looking in, it probably seemed very funny, and surreal.

But as a guy living on the inside looking out...it was not that AT ALL! It was serious business. I was 31 years old during that Goober race. I was faced with a choice (after Buddy missed the runoff) between Duke and Edwards. And I will tell you, I struggled with it.

I know it ain't Christian to "hate." But I hated Edwin Edwards. I hated everything about him. I hated his lib/populist Huey Long views. I hated his arrogance, and his hairdo, and his smart-ass "laws don't apply to me" attitude, and his stupid coonass nose-thumbing at the rest of the world.

And then there was Duke... Duke was a young, charismatic, obviously very intelligent State Rep from the New Orleans area. During his short stint in the legislature he had proposed legislation to cut taxes, reform welfare (which was a huge issue in 1991 before Federal Welfare Reform...Duke proposed limiting welfare payments for "two children maximum" as I recall), and ethics reform. As I remember, none of his measures went anywhere...but he was at least proposing some badly needed "change."

His Klan past dogged him in the campaign, but he presented himself as a "foolish young man in those days...an older, wiser man that had renounced his racist past...a man for "all Louisiana citizens." A George Wallace type...reformed racist with a deeper understanding, and tolerance for negroes (Wallace's story is a fascinating one...but for another time). And I will tell y'all...THIS GUY WAS GOOD!

In fact, he was endorsed in the 1991 Louisiana Goober race by none other than James Meredith. An interesting quote from Meredith's Wiki bio:

James Meredith has characterized himself as an individual American citizen who demanded and got the rights properly extended to any American, not as a participant in the U.S. civil rights movement. There is considerable enmity between James Meredith and the organized Civil Rights Movement. Meredith once said that "Nothing could be more insulting to me than the concept of civil rights. It means perpetual second-class citizenship for me and my kind."^[9]

Huh? I know what he means, but he coulda done a better job of saying it. I don't think he meant "the concept of civil rights" is insulting. I figure he meant that the civil rights leaders have a vested interest in making sure that there is a perpetual second-class group to champion...I figure. But I digress...

I consider myself pretty hard to be fooled by flim-flammers. But, I will admit that I almost bought the dookie he was peddling. I could never quite bring myself to be excited about this young, tax-cutting, welfare-reforming, well-spoken man, but I believed he deserved a chance to prove what he was saying.

Time has proven that David Duke was none of that. Not only is he a con-man criminal,and a white supremecist...he's a miserable a-hole.

When time drew near for the election, I had to make a decision. At that time, I was in a position that I had a significant influence on many, many people. And they all wanted to know what I thought...who was I voting for?, etc. In my position, I could not afford to "ride the fence."

So, one night as I pondered it all, I realized that if I voted, I must vote for David Duke. I could not live with myself if I voted for Fast Eddie. Edwards was a known crook, whose politics were polar opposite to mine. My conclusion was that even if Duke was lying about being a "reformed racist," RACISM is not a crime! And given the choice of voting for a closet racist against an arrogant SOB criminal...I picked the lesser of evils.

What is funny about the whole deal is that as much as I struggled with it... one month before election day, I moved away from Louisiana. I was relieved of the options of taking one clothespin into the voting booth...or a 9" C-clamp.

Friends, let us all vow that we will always stand up for David Duke's, and Jeremiah Wright's, and Al Sharpton's, and Ann Coulter's right to speak their mind without fear of legal authorities. I know that I will...at least I think I will...