What Year Is It? Louisiana JP Won’t Marry Interracial Couple

In 1967, the Supreme Court in the US struck down laws which barred interracial marriage (though some states had these laws in their books as late as 2000 – they were useless, however, since federal laws trump state laws).  Fast forward 42 years and you still find people who don’t want mixed couples to marry.  This happened recently in Louisiana when a Justice of the Peace refused to issue a licence to a couple because one was black and the other was white.  What?  What year is it?  The last time I checked, it was 2009, not 1959.  I realize that things aren’t perfect yet and that in some areas, interracial couples still face more issues than others, but I thought society has become more enlightened.  Especially when the US President is a product of an interracial relationship himself.

According to news reports, the reason why the JP did not marry interracial couples was because he felt that children wouldn’t be accepted on either side.  That is the oldest excuse in the book and not exactly true.  You can be of the same race as both parents and *STILL* not be accepted by family.  Sometimes it’s simply because the child is just a little eccentric (kid decides get a green or blue streak in his/her hair, for example) or something more serious, like the fact that the kid is gay.  It could also be that the child is absorbing a different culture – this is very common for children of immigrants and has been illustrated in Hollywood since the dawn of the industry.  Another excuse I hear from naysayers of interracial (or inter-anything) relationships is the fact that one can’t possibly have anything in common with someone of another race/ethnicity.  Again, this is one of the dumbest things I’ve ever heard.  Do they really think that say, an Italian Canadian born and raised in suburban Toronto is going to have MORE in common with someone from the Italian countryside than a Jamaican Canadian person from the SAME Toronto suburb?  Cultures do evolve, and the Italian culture that the Torontonian was brought up with is probably not the same as the old country.  Of course, there’s the “they’re not interested in marriage, but something else” reason.

I do know why some people are like the JP and have issues with interracial relationships.  It’s often deeply rooted in their history and past.  For some, it might war or colonialism – women exploited by foreigners (military, usually) and any children between them are often social outcasts.  Even then I don’t quite understand.  Children of mixed race aren’t social outcasts unless you make them outcasts!  Of course, for others, there really isn’t a reason to oppose - it’s just what they’re taught (the musical South Pacific even had a song called You’ve Got to be Carefully Taught” which criticizes how racism is taught to children).  This when it becomes stupid. And yes, the JP is stupid – especially since he said that he “isn’t racist.”

Of course,  I’m probably just naive about this whole situation.  After all, I live in a very diverse city where interracial relationships are common.  I’m in one myself.  I know several other people who’re married or in relationships with someone of a different race. It’s just something that people in my circle accept happens.  I’m pretty sure most people in Toronto, especially those under 40, know of at least one person who is married, dating or has dated someone from a different race.  It’s not something one can avoid.  It’s just another way of life.   And our kids aren’t going to be messed up because they’re multiracial.  If they are messed up, it’s because they chose to be.

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