Tennessee Republicans Put Bigotry Front and Center
The Black man is a threat; the brown man is less of a threat; the woman is irrelevant
Last week the Republican-led majority in the Tennessee House of Representatives did something they haven't done but twice since the Civil War. They expelled two members — both Democrats, both POC.
Their excuse for throwing democracy out the window was cited as a breach of decorum, one so heinous in their eyes that they equated it to the insurrection on January 6. The activity that inspired such a radical response was a non-violent protest aimed at gun safety — the Democrats' response to a recent school shooting in Nashville that claimed the lives of three 9-year-old students, among others.
The horror of the peaceful protest so enraged House Republicans that they voted to expel three of their members: Reps. Justin Pearson, Justin Jones, and Gloria Johnson.
For reasons no one has explained, only Rep. Johnson was not expelled. Similarly baffling is the ongoing discussion about reinstating just one of the expelled representatives: Justin Jones.
Since there appears to be no logic involved in either the original decision to expel or the potential decision to reinstate Jones, I am compelled to point out that all three did the same thing. They protested — an act that until last week was considered an acceptable form of exercising one's rights in a democracy.
Why wasn't the woman expelled?
First, the woman who was not expelled is white. This must have confused them when considering their decision. On the one hand, she is one of them because she is white. On the other hand, she isn't because she is a woman.
I can almost hear their rationale: She was led on by the men — she would never have done this if she hadn't been unduly influenced. She wouldn't be a threat if the innately violent men who enticed her to protest hadn't used their masculine powers of persuasion to make her do something against her nature.
Am I making this up? Yes — and no. I'm all ears if anyone can give me a reason that makes more sense than the one I made up.
This wouldn't be the first time a woman has been discounted as irrelevant. For men who think Black people are a threat regardless of their individual characteristics, women are the opposite. We're weak, and we can't think straight. We become confused and easily led if a strong man is in the room. So why get rid of the woman when they just need to show her the way?
Why is there talk of reinstating Jones but not Pearson?
I'll be blunt here. Rep. Jones is a brown man. Rep. Pearson is a Black man. In the minds of racists, the darker person is the bigger threat. I'm not making this up.
In the history of our nation, it has always been this way. For example, Barack Obama is half white and half Black, but our entire country considers him to be a Black man.
We should also remember that before slavery was outlawed when a white man raped a slave, if he impregnated her, he was free to enslave his children because they were Black.)
So here we are in Tennessee today. The people of Tennessee have expressed "outrage" at Rep. Jones's expulsion, so the Nashville council is already preparing to reinstate him. But, unfortunately, they have yet to make the same commitment to bringing Rep. Pearson back.
Democrats in Memphis also say they have the votes to reinstate Pearson — but the enthusiasm isn't quite as strong as it should be.
"As of Thursday, the council said it will consider Pearson's reinstatement, provided there's no legal reason preventing such an action." (Emphasis mine)
And what legal reason could there be? Hard to say, but how interesting that even after all the blowback from the stupendously stupid move to expel these men in the first place, lawmakers are still giving themselves an "out" when it comes to reinstating Pearson.
If you're still searching for a logical reason behind this seemingly illogical stance, I'll give you one: Pearson sounds much like a younger, more energetic MLK. My first thought when I heard him speak was that if Pearson were given a platform, that man could bring down the House.
Here's hoping he does.