The arc of the moral universe
How's that for a pretentious subject line? But there's a reason. Also, 7 other things worth knowing.
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The arc of the moral universe
Almost 130 years ago, a man named Homer Plessy bought a train ticket from New Orleans to Covington, Louisiana. He wound up in jail.
Plessy knew this would happen; in fact, he hoped it would. He was one-eighth Black, which meant that under Louisiana law at the time, he was considered “colored,” and thus not allowed to sit in the “Whites Only” section of the train.
He sat there anyway, intentionally, in order to challenge the law in court. This led to what we might now call a tactical victory, but a strategic defeat:
He was arrested as planned, and spent the night locked up.
When he appealed to the US Supreme Court, he lost, 7-1 (with one justice absent), enshrining “separate but equal” in constitutional law, instead of overturning it.
Longtime readers might remember that I wrote about this case 18 months ago. I think Plessy’s a bit of an unsung hero, and I also think someone should write a law review article on how bad advice and a changing Supreme Court membership led to him walking into a jurisprudential buzzsaw that took decades to resolve.
As much as the injustice of this case seems obvious to us now, the case of Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) wasn’t overturned until Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954).
Moreover, it wasn’t until yesterday—97 years after his death—that Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards posthumously pardoned Plessy.
From the AP:
The governor’s office described this as the first pardon under Louisiana’s 2006 Avery Alexander Act, which allows pardons for people convicted under laws that were intended to discriminate.
Former state Sen. Edwin Murray said he originally wrote the act to automatically pardon anyone convicted of breaking a law written to encode discrimination. He said he made it optional after people arrested for civil rights protests told him they considered the arrests a badge of honor.
I think it’s fitting that this happened just as people are trying to make sense of the anniversary of the January 6 insurrection at the US Capitol.
Not because I think any of the people involved in it are martyrs who will one day be vindicated like Plessy—far from it. Instead, it’s more to do with something that once divided Americans, but that we now nearly unanimously feel the same way about.
I’m surprised to say that a year after 1/6, Americans are more divided than we were then.
In fact, I found myself pausing before using the word “insurrection” to describe what happened (but ultimately keeping it, on the third or fourth draft of this newsletter).
This is mostly because, a few months back, after I quoted a “7 other things” article that used the word, I wound up in an interesting back-and-forth via email with a reader who (to put it lightly) didn’t see things that way.
On January 7, 2021, I had no such qualms. Anyone could just go back and look, so I’ll copy what I said to start the newsletter 364 days ago:
There is no bigger story on the planet this morning than the insurrectionist, anti-American mob that stormed the US Capitol yesterday, and delayed one of the most sacred duties of the Congress: the peaceful transfer of power.
There’s no “both sides” on this one. It was insurrection, bordering on treason.
Yay America; somehow we’re now an even more divided country.
It makes me continually ask this question: Cui bono? Who benefits from all this—an America ripped apart at the seams?
I don’t have a full answer, but I’m pretty sure (spoiler alert): it’s not anyone who actually lives here and loves this place, warts and all.
Anyway, I treat this newsletter like I treat some members of my extended family: I stay away from deep dives on politics, mostly, because I know we don’t all agree, and I value our extended relationships too much.
So, no pithy mushroom jokes today; the best I can do is hope that Dr. King was right, and that “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.”
Maybe someday soon, we’ll all find a bit more agreement on what that even means.
Call for comments: Tell me something—anything—you think everyone agrees about. Especially in America. And double-especially, if it’s positive and hopeful.
7 other things worth knowing
A majority of Americans expect a repeat in the next few years of something like the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the US Capitol—and just half say they now have faith in American democracy, according to a new Axios-Momentive poll. (Axios, Survey Monkey)
The “January Sixers” have their own unit at the DC jail. Here’s what life is like inside. (On the one hand: Wow, that sucks. On the other hand: Did we learn nothing from Iraq, where putting all the insurgents together in jail led to the creation of ISIS?) Worth reading. (Washingtonian)
Howard University and at least six other historically Black colleges and universities received bomb threats on Tuesday, prompting evacuations and law enforcement investigations, according to school officials. “The threats, which prompted evacuations by students and faculty, have since been cleared and no bombs were found.” (Axios)
Space experts are tracking a Russian rocket part that is set to make an uncontrolled reentry into Earth's atmosphere sometime today. It should land harmlessly in the Pacific Ocean. Should. (TechTimes)
In the case of a divorce, who keeps the family cat or dog? Spain has ruled that, as with children, pets are "living, sentient beings,” and should in some cases be in shared custody. “As a result, family courts must consider both the animal's welfare, as well as the family needs, when deciding who looks after the dog, cat, goldfish, turtle, or bird.” (Yahoo Finance)
Twins in California might have been born just 15 minutes apart, but they were born in different years. Alfredo Antonio Trujillo came at 11:45 pm on Dec. 31, 2021; his sister Aylin Yolanda Trujillo, arrived at 12 am on Jan. 1, 2022, making her the first baby to be born this year at Natividad Medical Center in California. (NBC News)
Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) promises the return of to-go cocktails, to help bars and restaurants alleviate winter strain (The Recount, via Twitter)
Thanks for reading. Photo credit: Pixabay. Want to see all my mistakes? Click here.
I don’t have a crystal ball to predict how things will turn out in United States, or the world for that matter. I can only act in a manner that conforms to how I would like the outcome to be.
High level societies are built on cooperation. As an individual, I make it a practice to focus on what I can control to be successful within our society. That includes having a moral compass and taking action in alignment with that. For example, I treat people who rely on my businesses fairly.
The other thing I can control is how are use my money to vote. I don’t spend money for goods and services at companies that support organizations or political policies I don’t agree with.
I believe how I act makes a difference.
There is a lot written about that day, and many people who were there to simply protest were caught up with those who were sent to cause harm. They are not one and the same, and should not be treated as such. I do not agree that they should ALL still be sitting in jail, being treated like they are sub-human. Meanwhile, there is a black book that was once owned by serial pedophile/rapist Jeffrey Epstein, with the names of his fellow pedophiles/rapists in it, that cannot be used to bring those people out into the public. Every name in it should be printed on the front page of every newspaper in the land. The injustice system in the US has MANY flaws. And it seems like it's just a game to those who manipulate it for their 'win', instead of to get true justice served.