I was watching a panel interview yesterday on MSNBC talking about the Roy Moore and Doug Jones race for Senate. One of the panelist was a journalist from Alabama. He spoke about Moore’s previous ventures into politics and then stated if Moore was elected Senator he would never finish his term. You see, he continued, for Moore it isn’t about winning it’s about getting kicked off. Moore makes a point not by working for the people who got him elected, he makes a point by breaking the rules because that don’t align with his demented morals or values and getting fired from his job.
You see Roy Moore, like Donald Trump is smarter than you or I. But unlike Donald Trump, Roy has a secret weapon, God. Donald just has money, power and cotton candy hair while Roy has the power of God on his side and like God, Roy is always on the right, and righteous side of everything even in defeat.
We learned a lot about Trump’s base by watching Moore and listening to his supporters speak. I am still working through Kayla Moore’s, Roy’s wife, comment when she stated, from written notes I might add that “I just want to set the record straight. One of our attorneys is a Jew. We have very close friends that are Jewish and rabbis, and we also fellowship with them.” If you saw this little production you also saw Roy standing behind his wife beaming with approval.
“One of our attorneys is a Jew” is just the kind of backwoods, redneck, dumb-ass statements you would expect to hear from a piece of white-trash in rural Alabama. But to hear it from the wife of a man who wanted to be a United States Senator really took my breath away. I am sure the ignorance and the arrogance of “One of our attorneys is a Jew” statement wasn’t lost on the more educated, and sophisticated Alabamians. Honestly it had to be just another embarrassment piled on top of all the other Roy Moore embarrassments.
It has been my experience that when someone says, “I am not a racist, I have black friends” or “I am not antisemitic, I have Jewish friends” or “I am not homophobic, I have gay friends” that they are in fact racist, antisemitic and homophobic but lucky for us Kayla Moore didn’t need to tell us that about her husband. We already knew, and thankfully so did the majority of the Alabama people.
So what does Roy Moore do with the rest of his life? I can bet you a dollar to a doughnut what he won’t do, sue The Washington Post like he claimed he would. Roy disappeared from the campaign trail because he couldn’t afford to litigate the story in public and certainly a trial would be a very public forum, one that he wants no part of. I suspect Roy will disappear from public life for a while and then start speaking on the church circuit. He will probably write a book detailing how great God is and how screwed-up the rest of us are. I doubt I will add it to my collection.
What we just experienced in Alabama will be played out across the country next year and again in 2020. Red states like South Carolina, Mississippi, Georgia, Tennessee, and Texas will fight an internal battle with their densely populated metropolitan areas filled with college educated, professionals, and minorities, people tired of moving backwards.
I had never heard of Roy Moore six months ago and I am okay with never hearing about him again. I am fine with the little cowboy remaining an Alabama delicacy and not a national treat. There are plenty of other positive exports Alabama can focus on now like Toyota, Mercedez-Benz, Honda and Hyundai. And honestly I hope the next time I write about anything associated with Alabama will be when Clemson beats them again on January 1st. Go Tigers, hasta la vista Roy.
Ends and Beginnings 
Very strange that it’s unquestionably OK for a white man to have black friends, but not OK for him to SAY so.
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Why must they be black friends, or gay friends. Why not just a friend? Why do we need a label?
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Is it, or is it not, OK for me to say I have friends who are black?
It began with your remark about Moore’s alleged anti-Semitism.
Now, for sure, my having black friends doesn’t make me non-racist.
In my world, my skin color itself tells the world I’m racist.
And honestly, any of my black friends who’s honest about her or his relationship with me, would have to admit that he or she has a racist friend.
The appearance is that white folk aren’t allowed to be honest about race.
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Again, my point is this, why aren’t people just people? I don’t discriminate against short people, I have lots of short friends. Doesn’t that sound stupid?
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Methinks you need to re-read your post. For me, there’s a ton of pain wrapped up in this. It really, really hurts that I can’t be honest about my relations with black people.
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William you live your life the way that works best in your world. My words are my words. I am no sage but I am damn tired of people being categorized particularly by the color of their skin, sexuality and religion, period.
My point is very simple, people are people, a lesson I am still learning everyday. Rather than being the old, fat, white guy am I not just a person first without all the other labels?
In my very humble opinion this world can’t and won’t move forward until we all realize that we are all the same on the inside. Why can’t we leave it at that?
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Sure, I discriminate. Sure, I’m prejudiced. I’m prejudiced as hell. Does that mean I can’t have black friends? and say so?
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Sounds like you have other things to work on other than worrying about having black friends.
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Moore’s loss restored some hope in this country for me.
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Me too, slim as it might be.
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Go Clemson. Darkness cannot prevail where there is light. Thanks for sharing your light.
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Hello friend. I read the comments back and forth from William Tell and your self. I would like to add my own thought to the idea of distinctions. Sometimes we do use modifiers with out meaning a negative connotation. I do not consider myself racist or discriminatory based on race or ethnic background. However in telling the story where a friend of ours came to stay with us for a few days and we took him out to eat where for the first time in my life I seen him subjected to discrimination for his skin color. So to make the story clear I do mention our friend is black. Oh and trust me we shut that discrimination down fast but the damage was done. If I wanted to describe someone to another I would have to use adjectives. Again with no attempt to impart a negative aspect or to impart any inferiority / superiority measure. I am a middle aged man with a belly from years in a wheelchair that I will always have now. To describe me you would have to mention my “pot” belly, but that wouldn’t be an insult as it is the truth. I hope I have made some kind of sense? It sounds concrete in my head and heart but on the screen I am not sure I made my point. Be well and hugs
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As I told William you have do what works for you in your life. I also understand it is a generational thing, I saw it tonight when an older friend described a man that baked the cake we were eating as “a black man” his 30 year old daughter said, “Why isn’t he just a man Dad? Why is he a black man?”
I wouldn’t introduce someone as my black friend Bob, or my gay friend Rob. Just where I am at Scottie, agree or disagree, just my thoughts. Hugs back my friend.
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I think you misunderstood my comment. We never had a reason to introduce Laddie as a black man, but to tell the story in writing it was needed to understand what the discrimination was and why we responded in the ways we did. No I don’t see a need to add unnecessary information. I was only adding to the conversation that sometimes an additional modifier is needed. For example I know a person who wipes tables at a fast food joint. She will pick up discarded trays and wrappers and such. She goes for a few days a week and she is so proud of this task, her JOB. She loves it. Thankfully the place treats her great. But so that people can understand I have to mention that Gina has the mind of a small child. She is nearly my age. But when born she had the umbilical cord tangled around her neck and suffered brain damage. But boy she is a joy and loves to wipe those tables and take the trays. SO we agree, I was just adding a caveat. Joys to you. Hugs
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