2011

On the Ohio mother who got arrested for trying to give her kids a better education:

from a Sully reader:

My initial reaction to this was outrage. I sat at my computer, heart pounding, eyes tearing, because when you peel off all the layers, you have this: a woman (who works with special education children and was attending school for her teaching degree) is being vilified because she wanted something better for her children. And we can't possibly ignore the racial aspect of this situation. A poor BLACK woman on public assistance is being jailed for sending her kids to the rich white school. I'm not arguing whether this is how it should be looked at; I'm saying that is how it is looked at. It's questionable at this point whether the teaching degree she's been working toward will be allowed, because she has a felony charge against her. A family's life is in virtual ruins because of this situation.

I would say this: could anybody from 1981 have predicted that in 2011 we'd still be having any semblance of an argument about this? Really? How fucking embarrassed do we need to be?  In 1981, could you have honestly thought that a reasonable question about zoning would leave any room at all for racism?

Of COURSE had she been white, we'd be applauding her as a "single mother doing what's best for her kids!" But she's black, so we of course need to lock her up. In 2011. Not 1961, not 1971, but in 2011. That's fucking incredible to me.