Disturbing Thoughts of George

For some reason yesterday I started to compare two incomparable events. I have been thrilled, as most of the more liberally minded people I read have been thrilled, by the move by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom to allow the weddings to proceed. It’s nice to see a case of civil disobedience that results in lots of flowers, more than a few kisses, and some genuinely happy people. Ultimately though, the gesture is oddly comparable to the decision of George Wallace to bar the admission of African Americans to the University of Alabama.

Both Mayor Newsom and Governor Wallace were concerned about just who is allowed to enter into a specific institution. Both proclaimed that their decision was based in state laws that render them legal and right, as well as overarching moral imperatives of human rights (yes, Wallace really believed that). Both cases will probably result in federal intervention. But it is so nice to see flowers and kisses instead of angry dogs and beatings. The media circus is also comparable, and unfortunately, so is the probable net result of the action. I hate to be so pessimistic about it. I don’t understand why people wanting to sanction their love would be such a hot-button issue.

The rhetoric on either side is much the same— protecting the sanctity of institutions versus the dictum that separate really can’t be equal. But the legislation or amendments involved are far different—taking away rights rather than assuring them. That such a thing could even be considered makes me really sick inside.

But searching around lead me to D. Gorton’s Decline and Fall of the White South. Excellent photographs, really. Especially his picture of the Wallace supporters.