We sure do like the occasional story where people Do the Right Thing and there's actually a win for the little guy. And here's one right now: You might remember our April story about Crystal Moore, the former police chief of the town of Latta, South Carolina. She was fired by the town's doodyhead mayor, Earl Bullard, as part of a good-old-boy vendetta because -- he said -- she went beyond her authority in questioning the appropriateness of Bullard's decision to hire a Parks and Rec director whose qualifications were iffy. Not because she's openly gay, no, not at all. And never mind the recording of Bullard saying he'd rather have a dead drunk watch his children than a gay person (the police chief job, incidentally, does not include providing babysitting services). As often happens with small-town politics, things got nasty, fast, and Moore was quickly fired, without following normal procedures.
Yeah, a slight complication there. A lot will probably depend* on whether the newly hired chief was a legitimate, good-faith job-seeker or a mayoral crony.
*I'm assuming that the council would not just stiff somebody who had gone after the job in good faith, even though they probably could.
Six or eight years ago, I drove up through South Carolina, and was amazed that there was a billboard near the state line saying something like, "Welcome to South Carolina, number one in violence against women, number 50 in spending to reduce domestic violence." Amazed that there were people of that ilk there, and amazed that the other ilk allowed the billboard to stand.
Sometimes small towns can surprise you (good and bad), no matter where they are. My assumption is the folks in Latta, SC knew Chief Moore, had known her for years, knew she was gay and had discounted that as an issue because ... well, they knew her (they may have had some thoughts on the mayor too). It does not mean someone else who was gay would get the same treatment, though it does suggest that homophobia is not the winning issue some on the right like to imagine. Even in the Deep South.
Doodyhead mayor whines that he's being persecuted for his beliefs in 4,3,2....
speaking of shopworn
OW! My jaw hurts from hitting the floor when I saw this happened in South Carolina. Have they seceded from Wingnutistanistan?
Yeah, a slight complication there. A lot will probably depend* on whether the newly hired chief was a legitimate, good-faith job-seeker or a mayoral crony.
*I'm assuming that the council would not just stiff somebody who had gone after the job in good faith, even though they probably could.
Six or eight years ago, I drove up through South Carolina, and was amazed that there was a billboard near the state line saying something like, "Welcome to South Carolina, number one in violence against women, number 50 in spending to reduce domestic violence." Amazed that there were people of that ilk there, and amazed that the other ilk allowed the billboard to stand.
Sometimes small towns can surprise you (good and bad), no matter where they are. My assumption is the folks in Latta, SC knew Chief Moore, had known her for years, knew she was gay and had discounted that as an issue because ... well, they knew her (they may have had some thoughts on the mayor too). It does not mean someone else who was gay would get the same treatment, though it does suggest that homophobia is not the winning issue some on the right like to imagine. Even in the Deep South.