Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2003/02/10
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]At 09:21 PM 2/10/03 +0100, Nathan Wajsman wrote: > >Whatever the history of the phrase, it is indisputable that today, at >least in the Deep South, it IS very much a code word for supporting the >good old days when blacks knew that their place was in the back of the >bus. I lived in North Florida (the part of that state that is part of >the South, as opposed to South Florida) from 1984 to 1990, and can >assure you that everyone there knew what "states' rights" meant, and >there sure was nothing libertarian about it... > Nathan I have lived in Virginia for three decades now and I can assure you that there is nothing "coded" about 'states' rights' in this Commonwealth -- it means only the right of the sovereign Commonwealth of Virginia to determine those things which the founding fathers felt were proper for the purview of the several states, such as fundamental police powers, nothing more and nothing less. Virginia was never a rancidly Jim Crow state and, when they passed racist laws, they were fairly open about it. To be fair, Virginia is rather quirky about this. It was one of the few, if not the only, state to reserve the right to secede from the Federal Government and submitted the very first proposal calling for a new Constitutional Convention -- and that was actually sent in BEFORE the Constitution became effective, though it remains effective today and is only two states away from becoming effective. I cannot speak for Florida. Never been there and, from all I have heard, I doubt that I ever want to go there. Sounds like the East Coast's answer to California. Marc msmall@infi.net FAX: +276/343-7315 Cha robh bąs fir gun ghrąs fir! - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html