Yesterday was one of the most racist election days in memory. Vote suppression tactics fueled by MAGA hate collided with the voting rights of millions of minorities in America. In some cases, we were left screaming at the TV like, "HOW THE FUCK IS THIS EVEN HAPPENING?" Take the case of poll worker Juanita Barnes, who decided it was her God-given right to fuck with black women who were trying to *vote. (*Disclaimer: It's not that fucking with black people who are trying to vote is ANYTHING NEW, it's just that now we all have cell phones, collective political power, and can drag their asses on social media until they beg for mercy.)
From the Houston Chronicle:
An Election Day poll worker was relieved of her duties and charged with misdemeanor criminal assault after she allegedly bumped into a black voter and made a remark about "blackface" following some confusion over the woman's voter registration. [...]
[Juanita] Barnes, who is white, told [Rolanda] Anthony, who is black, "Maybe if I'd worn my blackface makeup today you could comprehend what I'm saying to you," according to Anthony and a witness.
Ok, Ok Ok Ok. Is Megyn Kelly training the poll workers in Texas now?? How the hell does a conversation in a polling place devolve into wretched braying about blackface? What. The. Entire. Fuck. Is going on here? And then not only did she yell racist and obscene nonsense at the woman, she actually "bumped" her? Like, trying to get physical? Yes.
The victim in the case, a black woman named Rolanda Anthony, of Harris County, Texas, reported that she was told to fill out a form about a change of residence. When she explained that her address had not changed and was the same as on her registration, Juanita Barnes came over and began escalating the incident from merely an inconvenience to a misdemeanor assault. As Barnes was showing her entire ass at the Iglesia Bautista Libre polling location, one worker left the job, while another one cried. Anthony was resolute and determined to have her say and make sure her vote was counted, regardless of the white hysteria she faced on election day.
The voter, Rolanda Anthony, said she believed the incident was a flagrant attempt to suppress her vote.
"I feel like my vote today is more important than ever," Anthony said."
Pretty sure she's right. Kudos to Rolanda Anthony for demanding her voice be heard and RECLAIMING her GODDAMN vote from the institutional racism that was trying to take it from her. Yet, somehow, even after the comments about blackface that absolutely made no damn sense and were stupid as hell, Barnes PERSISTED in trying to stop Anthony from voting, and got crazier and crazier while she was doing it.
Edith Randle, the presiding election judge overseeing the tiny church reception room, intervened, eventually told Barnes she was wrong and to get out of Anthony's way, Anthony and the witness said. Randle declined to comment.
You would think that when someone who outranked her came over to tell her to leave people alone she would listen. You would be wrong, because racism makes people batshit insane, and nothing can stop them in the heat of their histrionics. When Anthony later told the election judge she was going to call police, Barnes walked up again and bumped her with her shoulder. Racism is like a drug for these people, they get some sick stimulation from harassing black people, it almost seems like they go into a drunken belligerence, and cannot see how stupid they look. They look very very stupid.
"If you call the police, they're going to take you to jail and do something to you, because I'm white," Barnes said, according to Anthony.
Well, HOT DAMN. I, personally am in no damn way surprised she thought that to herself, or even said it out loud, but I'm pretty sure my white friends just got sick reading that line. It's the same reason these nice white ladies are willing to call the police on black people for doing absolutely nothing wrong. Schadenfreude; it's not the fun kind of schadenfreude where you laugh at Trump for failing because he deserves to fail. It's the kind where you have picnics at lynchings.
Barnes was relieved of her duties and left the building about noon after sheriff's deputies and two lawyers and an investigator from the Harris County Attorney's office arrived to take reports. Barnes declined to answer questions as she left the building.
Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said the woman was given a Class C misdemeanor citation.
Well, at least she didn't completely get away with it and Rolanda Anthony was able to get her vote submitted. But this one incident is the microcosm of the macrocosm for the midterm elections of 2018: a white woman trying to stop a black woman from voting. Unlike in this case, they were often successful. Let's do MUCH better next time.
[CHRON]
Wonkette is ad-free and supported ONLY by YOU. Please and thank you!
