MARCH 27, 2021 – Current Republican efforts to adopt voter suppression legislation is a sweeping solution in search of a non-existent problem. Actually, it’s a white, racist solution to the white, racist problem of demographic decline. “If dark people, who go Democratic overwhelmingly, vote in droves,” say Republican strategists, “we gotta stop ’em.” The solution: a euphemistically labeled, “Election Integrity Act,” signed by a racist governor sitting under a painting of an Old South plantation—framed by six racist legislators.
Georgia Republicans stuffed 95 pages full of racist voting barriers—racist because Republicans know damn well the legislation will suppress black votes far more than white ballots. The most ridiculous element makes it illegal to give food or water to voters standing in line. Among other things, the law limits ballot drop boxes and imposes more stringent requirements on mail-in ballots, thus ensuring that mostly voters of color will be . . . standing in line. The prohibition against handing out food or water is as stupid as it is racist—assuming that the law isn’t amended to prevent Black voters from carrying their own food and water to the polling place.
Only in America!
I imagine a conversation with the racist who hatched the idea of no food or water for voters in line:
ME: I gotta question.
JIM CROW REPUBLICAN: Shoot.
ME: Uh, that’s another whole subject for another day. For now, I’m curious—what evidence, what reasoning, what good faith argument makes you think it’s necessary to criminalize handing food and water to voters standing in line?
JIM CROW REPUBLICAN: According to Mr. Trump, people who hand out food and water are out to steal votes.
ME: Sorry. That dog don’t hunt. That’s Mr. Charlatan blowing smoke into your ears.
JIM CROW REPUBLICAN: Just listen to Fox News, then.
ME: That’s Murdoch’s Money Machine pullin’ the wool over your eyes. Truth is, since most people standing in those long lines are people of color and more likely to vote Democrat, handing out food and water increases the likelihood those people standing in line will stay in line.
JIM CROW REPUBLICAN: You’re makin’ way too big of a deal out of this. We’re simply tryin’ to prevent the horrible stuff that happened down here when Biden stole the election.
ME: “Horrible stuff?” Absolutely but exactly the opposite of what you claim. It was your guy trying to steal the election by calling state authorities and like a mob boss telling them to “find” the exact number of votes that’d give him the win.
JIM CROW REPUBLICAN: To be honest . . .
ME: . . . I wish you were.
JIM CROW REPUBLICAN: Okay, fine. Democrats winning down here isn’t supposed to happen. The fact they got more votes proves election fraud occurred. We’re now just tryin’ to fix things. Why don’t you libs stop meddlin’ in our affairs and go back to where you belong?
ME: Huh? I’m a citizen of the United States of America. The people your state sends to Washington have a direct effect on me. Thus, how you run your elections matters to me.
JIM CROW REPUBLICAN: “Long live the Confederacy.”
ME: I guess.
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© 2021 by Eric Nilsson
