June 26, 2023 at 2:08 p.m.
Judge wasn't calling anyone a racist
It's easy to accept as normal the editorials in the River News, filled with passion but devoid of facts and reason. But the vicious tirade against Judge Mary Burns [2 June] was clearly outside the box. Such personal attacks of public officials for doing their job is hostile to the civil discourse basic to democracy.
An important duty of a trial judge is to see that everyone gets as fair a trial as possible. In this case, the judge thought justice would be served by letting a White woman have her trial separately from a Black man.
The judge was merely trying to deal with the realities of the case in light of the racial attitudes so prevalent in our country. She wasn't calling anybody a racist, just recognizing the fact that race influences all of us in insidious ways.
What I mean is that even a person who would never mistreat someone on account of race can still be negatively influenced by seeing a Black man and a White woman together. Isn't it logical to take such things into account in deciding on separate trials? It has become popular in recent years to claim that we shouldn't talk about racism because some White person might take offense, be insulted, or suffer pain of some sort.
The editorial follows that line of thinking, insisting that a judge who recognizes that racism can conflict with justice should leave the county. Yet how can we resolve our racial divide if we can't talk about racial attitudes? And why isn't there a similar reaction to unspoken but implied accusations of racism?
Think about this: For many decades, one of our political parties has based much of its campaign rhetoric on the assumption that a large swath of the population is racist enough to be influenced by racist appeals.
In recent elections, to the consternation of many traditional conservatives, they have doubled down, building on prejudices against Black people, immigrants, Jews, and any other sub-group against which they can gin up fear or hatred. Obviously, they think most people are racists! Yet I have never heard anyone claim to be offended or insulted by such politicians! Does that mean we are pretty comfortable with being treated as racists, just as long as it isn't stated directly?
Every election cycle, at least, it becomes painfully obvious that our country needs to do some serious work on our racial issues. Yet instead we get politicians trying to prevent such discussions and to keep kids and adults from even learning about how we got to this point. Yes, racial healing can be uncomfortable and difficult work; but we have to do it in order to survive as the multi-racial country that we are and delay only makes it harder.
Meanwhile, until we get our issues worked out, what is wrong with one judge recognizing the present situation and taking a simple step to try to assure one defendant a fair trial?
Gerald Anderson, Rhinelander
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