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The True Citizen, Wednesday, March 10, 2021 — Page 5A
Michael N. Searles
In 1790, only 12 percent
of the U.S. population was
eligible to vote. It was a time
when only white adult male
landowners could exercise the
franchise. This limitation de
prived a great many Americans
the right to vote. One of the
“left behind” groups was white
adult males without property.
Many of these white men had
fought in the Revolutionary
War for America’s freedom and
felt they had earned the right to
vote. While the franchise was
eventually extended to include
them, it was not until 1856
when North Carolina allowed
all white men to vote regardless
of property ownership. There
was an enduring concern that
those without property would
demand public education and
other services for which prop
erty owners would have to pay.
Once white men had the right
to vote, it would be another 14
years before black men would
officially gain that right in
1870. It would take another
95 years for black people to be
able to fully exercise their right
to vote in 1965.
Women were not extended
the right to vote until 1919.
Historically, voting has been
a challenge in America. The
fear was that extending the
franchise would limit or cancel
the votes of those who already
had the right. Many believed
there was a special “woman’s
place” in society and that they
should not engage in public af
fairs. Some feared that women
would “negatively” impact
politics by demanding a cleaner
and more humane community
as they challenged domestic
violence and liquor consump
tion. Other argued that giving
a woman the vote would give
her father or husband a second
vote. These attitudes, naturally
held predominantly by men,
kept women from voting for
over a century.
The United States has been in
a continuous struggle to extend
the franchise and by extension
democracy. Yet not a single
change has occurred without
a struggle and in the case of
voting, a long protracted one.
Frederick Douglass once said,
12 PERCENT
“Power concedes nothing with
out a demand. It never did and
it never will.” We also know
that being granted the official
right to vote as it was for black
men in 1870 did not guarantee
the right to exercise that vote.
In the state of Georgia, for
many years black votes were
insufficient to change statewide
and national elections.
It was during this time that
voter registration automati
cally was extended when a
person got a driver’s license.
No-excuse absentee ballots
were enacted into law in 2005.
This broaden exercise of the
franchise was acceptable as
long as it worked to the ad
vantage of Republicans. When
African American votes had
less impact on the body politic
these reforms were accept
able, however, as the numbers
of black voters increased and
coalitions were formed things
began to change. In 2020
and 2021, African Americans
pulled the levers of power and
elected President Joe Biden
and two Democratic Sena
tors, Jon Ossoff and Raphael
Warnock. These Democrats
were not elected solely on the
votes of African Americans.
Progressive whites, Hispanics,
Asian and Pacific Islanders,
and the LGBTQ community
joined with blacks to change
the political face of Georgia.
This change profoundly
affected those white voters
who felt that they were the le
gitimate heirs to the franchise.
They charged that Democrats
were challenging the state’s
“election integrity.” How was
it possible for a solidly Red
State like Georgia to elect
Democrats? The answer was
that there must have been
cheating or manipulation of
the system.
To resolve this problem, Re
publicans could have planned
strategies for increasing the
number of Georgians to vote
for their party. However, Re
publican elected officials de
cided the best and possibly the
only way to win was to reduce
the number of Democratic vot
ers. This is the reason so many
voter suppression laws are be
ing introduced in the Georgia
General Assembly. Maybe, if
the clock could be turned back
to 1790 when voting was lim
ited to white men who owned
property, we could have true
American democracy.
Diana Royal
I'M OFFENDED
I shared a cartoon with a
friend this week that resonated
with me in this cancel culture
mess the Gen Z crowd is push
ing.
In it, a father is asking his
son, “What’s the magic word
to get what you want?” as he
dangles a cookie above the
child’s head. From the sweet
and innocent-appearing face
come the words, “I’m of
fended.”
While the image is funny,
it paints a picture that, sadly,
shows the mindset of an up
and coming generation with a
sense of “woke” entitlement.
Rather than implementing
changes that actually make
a difference in whatever the
platform, they seem to think
complaining about a particular
“thing” and saying they’re of
fended enough times to have
the thing “canceled” is some
sort of revolution.
This ideology has spread
through the masses as a sec
ond pandemic, robbing folks
of common sense and normal
human decency.
In the hot seat this week ap
pears to be oT Pepe Le Pew, the
skunk with a serious obsession
over a black cat who wanted
none of it. He bounces around
declaring his love for the cat,
basically creeping her out.
Now, some are saying Pepe
normalized rape culture, partic
ularly a columnist for the New
York Times. And no, he’s not
part of Gen Z; he’s older than
I am, but declares the skunk
taught boys that no doesn’t re
ally mean no and that it’s cute
to overpower a woman.
I remember watching the
cartoon as a child and think
ing Pepe was crazy. I realized
his behavior was not normal
because of the exaggerated
storyline (and the terrified fea
tures on the feline). To me,
this was always an example of
what not to do. Yet instead of
advocating for rape victims,
doing something to ensure
their safety or mental health
well-being or teaching about
victim shaming, people are
more concerned with getting
Pepe off the air and out of the
Space Jam sequel.
Recently, a slew of TikTok-
ers called for the “cancellation”
of Eminem. Again, what’s the
purpose? They’re offended by
lyrics from 20 years ago and
obviously don’t understand
satire. Eminem is abrasive, I’ll
give them that, but his point is
to slip into different personas
and exploit the truth. He does
so in language and references
they aren’t everyone’s cup
of tea, which is fine, but he’s
shining a light, not being a jerk.
And Shady hasn’t been around
in years.
Whatever happened to be
ing offended by something
and asking questions about it
to learn more and know “both
sides of the story”? Now, peo
ple say, “Oh I don’t like that!
It must disappear!”
My aunt told me last week
that I might be offending the
LGBTQ+ community by hold
ing the Queen of the Wing
pageant at Boss Hog, some
thing we have done for over a
decade. It’s in no way shape or
form meant to disrespect any
one. These guys enjoy dressing
up and being silly, and some of
them make gorgeous women
(and can walk in stiletto boots
in a miniskirt like nobody’s
business). I seriously doubt a
big concern of that community
is a bunch of guys at a BBQ in
evening wear and eyeliner try
ing to raise money for charity.
The gist of all this is, if you
are just walking around look
ing for things to get mad at for
no reason, you don’t have to
look very far. Would you be of
fended if I told you my column
photo has a SnapChat filter on
it? (You’d be really offended
if it didn’t!)
Wake up and stop trying
to be woke without purpose.
Get exposed to something that
doesn’t sit well with you and
figure out how to handle it like
an adult. You absolutely will
sometimes have to and need
to fight against discrimination,
hate and unfairness. Also, you
don’t always deserve a cookie.
Please know the difference.
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