The Constitution Was Literally Written By Slaveowners. Why Is America Obsessed With Upholding It?

[aubiefifty 18,248]

The Constitution Was Literally Written By Slaveowners. Why Is America Obsessed With Upholding It?

Candace McDuffie

Mon, June 27, 2022 at 3:30 PM

Members of the Supreme Court pose for a group photo at the Supreme Court in Washington, April 23, 2021.

Last week, the Supreme Court eviscerated a woman’s right to abortion, undermined Miranda rights, expanded gun rights and allowed border patrol agents to operate with even further impunity. Today, it ruled that a former Washington state high school football coach can pray on the field immediately after games—regardless of the religious backgrounds of the students.

The mostly conservative justices are using the Constitution as a smoke screen for their rulings—which will continue to demolish even more human rights. The governing document was constructed during the Constitutional Convention that occurred in Philadelphia from May 5, 1787 to September 17, 1787.

Read more

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Toasted: Jerk Chicken Empanadas and Mango Chili Sauce

The primary authors consisted of: John Adams, Thomas Paine, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison. The last two men on that list owned slaves. How can this set of laws still guide a nation when it was concocted by white men who looked at Black people as property and not as human?

The fact that a Black man—Justice Clarence Thomas—is working to erode the rights of millions of people is more than ironic: it’s downright pathetic. In a concurring opinion Thomas wrote Friday, he claimed that the Supreme Court’s controversial June decisions aimed to weaken substantive due process which protects certain rights even if they’re not listed in the Constitution.

“As I have previously explained, ‘substantive due process’ is an oxymoron that ‘lack[s] any basis in the Constitution,’” he wrote. He also said that it’s “legal fiction” that is “particularly dangerous.” Even more ironically, how is it up to the states to decide a woman’s right to abortion yet not interfere with a person’s right to carry a concealed firearm?

In Justice Samuel Alito’s concurrence, he stated:

“Does the dissent think that laws like New York’s prevent or deter such atrocities? How does the dissent account for the fact that one of the mass shootings near the top of its list took place in Buffalo? The New York law at issue in this case obviously did not stop the perpetrator.”

Does Alito realize that by that line of reasoning, abortion laws won’t stop abortions from happening?

Seven of the nine Supreme Court justices were put there by presidents from a party who haven’t won a popular vote more than once in three decades. Shouldn’t the Twelfth Amendment, which established the electoral college, be revisited?

The Fifteenth Amendment gave Black people the right to vote. However, last year nineteen states passed laws that restricted access to voting. The Thirteenth Amendment outlawed slavery and involuntary servitude, but America’s mass incarceration problem proves this as untrue.

Why isn’t the Supreme Court clamoring to restore these rights or rectify systems that fail the people?

It’s clear that the right will continue to twist and contort anything they can to carry out their agenda—an agenda that has and will always harm this country’s most marginalized and vulnerable populations. And honestly, the Constitution will always be a hell of an excuse to oppress Black folks on behalf of white supremacy.

[TexasTiger 14,303]

3 hours ago, aubiefifty said:

The Constitution Was Literally Written By Slaveowners. Why Is America Obsessed With Upholding It?

Candace McDuffie

Mon, June 27, 2022 at 3:30 PM

Members of the Supreme Court pose for a group photo at the Supreme Court in Washington, April 23, 2021.

Last week, the Supreme Court eviscerated a woman’s right to abortion, undermined Miranda rights, expanded gun rights and allowed border patrol agents to operate with even further impunity. Today, it ruled that a former Washington state high school football coach can pray on the field immediately after games—regardless of the religious backgrounds of the students.

The mostly conservative justices are using the Constitution as a smoke screen for their rulings—which will continue to demolish even more human rights. The governing document was constructed during the Constitutional Convention that occurred in Philadelphia from May 5, 1787 to September 17, 1787.

Read more

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<i>Black in the Day</i>: Barrettes, Blue Magic and Other Ways We Laid Our Hair

Cheat Sheet: What is Critical Race Theory?

Toasted: Jerk Chicken Empanadas and Mango Chili Sauce

The primary authors consisted of: John Adams, Thomas Paine, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison. The last two men on that list owned slaves. How can this set of laws still guide a nation when it was concocted by white men who looked at Black people as property and not as human?

The fact that a Black man—Justice Clarence Thomas—is working to erode the rights of millions of people is more than ironic: it’s downright pathetic. In a concurring opinion Thomas wrote Friday, he claimed that the Supreme Court’s controversial June decisions aimed to weaken substantive due process which protects certain rights even if they’re not listed in the Constitution.

“As I have previously explained, ‘substantive due process’ is an oxymoron that ‘lack[s] any basis in the Constitution,’” he wrote. He also said that it’s “legal fiction” that is “particularly dangerous.” Even more ironically, how is it up to the states to decide a woman’s right to abortion yet not interfere with a person’s right to carry a concealed firearm?

In Justice Samuel Alito’s concurrence, he stated:

“Does the dissent think that laws like New York’s prevent or deter such atrocities? How does the dissent account for the fact that one of the mass shootings near the top of its list took place in Buffalo? The New York law at issue in this case obviously did not stop the perpetrator.”

Does Alito realize that by that line of reasoning, abortion laws won’t stop abortions from happening?

Seven of the nine Supreme Court justices were put there by presidents from a party who haven’t won a popular vote more than once in three decades. Shouldn’t the Twelfth Amendment, which established the electoral college, be revisited?

The Fifteenth Amendment gave Black people the right to vote. However, last year nineteen states passed laws that restricted access to voting. The Thirteenth Amendment outlawed slavery and involuntary servitude, but America’s mass incarceration problem proves this as untrue.

Why isn’t the Supreme Court clamoring to restore these rights or rectify systems that fail the people?

It’s clear that the right will continue to twist and contort anything they can to carry out their agenda—an agenda that has and will always harm this country’s most marginalized and vulnerable populations. And honestly, the Constitution will always be a hell of an excuse to oppress Black folks on behalf of white supremacy.

That same Constitution provided the framework for the greatest expansion of human rights in the history of the world. What would you replace it with?

[aubiefifty 18,248]

1 minute ago, TexasTiger said:

That same Constitution provided the framework for the greatest expansion of human rights in the history of the world. What would you replace it with?

that i would not pretend to tell you i know but we can do better. we have turned Camelot into a political cesspool. we allow cops to shoot people in the back. one cop just chot a black man in the back of the head while the cop was on top of him. i think the cop said he was scared? i am sick of this kind of crap. churches trying to game the system and playing politics. pols doing what their corporate masters want and not what the country wants? we are now fighting over military grade weapons in the home and taking the rights of what a woman can and cannot do with her body? you remember you asked me this when they start coming for birth control. a country can implode just like it can rise up if we keep acting stupid. we have people living in the streets because they cannot afford a home or cannot get medical help. many of our vets are homeless but lets keep waving the flags like good patriots right and the hell with the real world. this country runs on freedom? ask kap what his decision cost him and he went and got advice from a seal on how to honorably protest the country? ask why in many cases poor folks pay more for taxes than corps? we are honestly letting our kids get murdered in school because people have to have their military style weapons? and before you come at me on that ask yourself why they make most of your rifles look like assault weapons? because they are popular. how long did it take those cops to stop the uvalde shooter? oh thats right they did not because they know those vests will not stop certain rounds. TRUMP used his anger and his crookedness to stock the supreme court when breaking an agreement between left and right. we got pols that believe in the crap of anon and the rest of those idiots. and what is next for gays? they gonna start throwing them off rooftops like they do in parts of the middle east? between kennedy dying along with his brother, martin luther king and the viet nam war we sucked all the goodness out of this country. it is very sad. i tell you two things i would start with. get rid of dark money in politics.make time limits for serving in american politicans where they are more interested in serving the people again instead of corporate masters. quit letting bad cops shoot people in the back and that sort of thing and get away with it. send religious peds to prison. ALL of them. all they do is move them to a new area and they just start again. and if any of the justices lied on their hearings like is being claimed then file charges. with the highest court in the land do we need a bunch of liars because something is special to them? once again you just keep watching because worse is coming.

[PUB78 1,413]

4 hours ago, aubiefifty said:

The Constitution Was Literally Written By Slaveowners. Why Is America Obsessed With Upholding It?

Candace McDuffie

Mon, June 27, 2022 at 3:30 PM

Members of the Supreme Court pose for a group photo at the Supreme Court in Washington, April 23, 2021.

Last week, the Supreme Court eviscerated a woman’s right to abortion, undermined Miranda rights, expanded gun rights and allowed border patrol agents to operate with even further impunity. Today, it ruled that a former Washington state high school football coach can pray on the field immediately after games—regardless of the religious backgrounds of the students.

The mostly conservative justices are using the Constitution as a smoke screen for their rulings—which will continue to demolish even more human rights. The governing document was constructed during the Constitutional Convention that occurred in Philadelphia from May 5, 1787 to September 17, 1787.

Read more

'You Got McDonald's Money?' and Other Phrases We Remember From Childhood

<i>Black in the Day</i>: Barrettes, Blue Magic and Other Ways We Laid Our Hair

Cheat Sheet: What is Critical Race Theory?

Toasted: Jerk Chicken Empanadas and Mango Chili Sauce

The primary authors consisted of: John Adams, Thomas Paine, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison. The last two men on that list owned slaves. How can this set of laws still guide a nation when it was concocted by white men who looked at Black people as property and not as human?

The fact that a Black man—Justice Clarence Thomas—is working to erode the rights of millions of people is more than ironic: it’s downright pathetic. In a concurring opinion Thomas wrote Friday, he claimed that the Supreme Court’s controversial June decisions aimed to weaken substantive due process which protects certain rights even if they’re not listed in the Constitution.

“As I have previously explained, ‘substantive due process’ is an oxymoron that ‘lack[s] any basis in the Constitution,’” he wrote. He also said that it’s “legal fiction” that is “particularly dangerous.” Even more ironically, how is it up to the states to decide a woman’s right to abortion yet not interfere with a person’s right to carry a concealed firearm?

In Justice Samuel Alito’s concurrence, he stated:

“Does the dissent think that laws like New York’s prevent or deter such atrocities? How does the dissent account for the fact that one of the mass shootings near the top of its list took place in Buffalo? The New York law at issue in this case obviously did not stop the perpetrator.”

Does Alito realize that by that line of reasoning, abortion laws won’t stop abortions from happening?

Seven of the nine Supreme Court justices were put there by presidents from a party who haven’t won a popular vote more than once in three decades. Shouldn’t the Twelfth Amendment, which established the electoral college, be revisited?

The Fifteenth Amendment gave Black people the right to vote. However, last year nineteen states passed laws that restricted access to voting. The Thirteenth Amendment outlawed slavery and involuntary servitude, but America’s mass incarceration problem proves this as untrue.

Why isn’t the Supreme Court clamoring to restore these rights or rectify systems that fail the people?

It’s clear that the right will continue to twist and contort anything they can to carry out their agenda—an agenda that has and will always harm this country’s most marginalized and vulnerable populations. And honestly, the Constitution will always be a hell of an excuse to oppress Black folks on behalf of white supremacy.

Well! Isn’t that fantastic!

[AUDub 11,861]

1 hour ago, TexasTiger said:

That same Constitution provided the framework for the greatest expansion of human rights in the history of the world. What would you replace it with?

It was great for the time, depending on who you were. 

Is there room for improvement? 

[PUB78 1,413]

46 minutes ago, AUDub said:

It was great for the time, depending on who you were. 

Is there room for improvement? 

What type of “ improvements “ would you like to see?

[TexasTiger 14,303]

1 hour ago, AUDub said:

It was great for the time, depending on who you were. 

Is there room for improvement? 

Absolutely. The large state/small state compromise was a short-term solution to a problem which isn’t holding up well. Still, I hear many folks being derisive for other reasons. The fact that several founders owned slaves didn’t doom the document or lessen the genius of many of them. The Civil War amendments (made possible by the original document) addressed most of those issues, but didn’t repair the damage created by our original sin of slavery.
 

We have a large, diverse and very difficult to govern country— no other democracy has our challenges. We may not make it. Our Constitution wasn’t built to last through the polarization that prevents us from fixing it. But when someone writes an article like this, I rarely see them offer a workable alternative.

[autigeremt 7,208]

I’m going to pretend I didn’t read this thread and move on. Lol 😂 

Using this argument is a pretext to the end of organized government. The entire history of the world is filled with slave owners in every region of the globe at one point or another. 

[icanthearyou 4,468]

The problem is not the Constitution.  The problem is the fascist Federalist Society.  The problem is the textualist/originalist, bogus interpretation. 

The Constitution is aspirational, not doctrinal. 

As Jefferson said, the past has no right to govern the present, the present has no right to govern the future.

[autigeremt 7,208]

On 6/29/2022 at 9:17 AM, icanthearyou said:

The problem is not the Constitution.  The problem is the fascist Federalist Society.  The problem is the textualist/originalist, bogus interpretation. 

The Constitution is aspirational, not doctrinal. 

As Jefferson said, the past has no right to govern the present, the present has no right to govern the future.

There is a built in path to the living COTUS. It isn't an end-all be all. But the Bill of Rights shouldn't be a bouncing ball either. 

[homersapien 12,238]

On 6/28/2022 at 4:54 PM, TexasTiger said:

That same Constitution provided the framework for the greatest expansion of human rights in the history of the world. What would you replace it with?

An updated version that accounts for our modern reality?  

[NolaAuTiger 3,295]

1 hour ago, homersapien said:

An updated version that accounts for our modern reality?  

I think a lot of people, whether they know it or not, would be happiest if we amended the amendment clause. 

[homersapien 12,238]

On 6/29/2022 at 1:23 AM, autigeremt said:

I’m going to pretend I didn’t read this thread and move on. Lol 😂 

Using this argument is a pretext to the end of organized government. The entire history of the world is filled with slave owners in every region of the globe at one point or another. 

Good grief.

What a weird take.  Updating constitutions - ours or anyone else's - is hardly a "pretext to the end of organized governments". 

Just the opposite actually.

Edited July 1, 2022 by homersapien

[homersapien 12,238]

19 minutes ago, NolaAuTiger said:

I think a lot of people, whether they know it or not, would be happiest if we amended the amendment clause. 

True.  People who are natural authoritarians get uncomfortable when the standard for that authority can be modified, even if for the better.

An absolutely constant, unchanging authority gives them more psychological comfort, damn the moral or logical flaws it may contain.

Edited July 1, 2022 by homersapien

[AUDub 11,861]

23 minutes ago, NolaAuTiger said:

I think a lot of people, whether they know it or not, would be happiest if we amended the amendment clause. 

Was it Scalia that said the amendment process is too damn hard? 

[TexasTiger 14,303]

2 hours ago, homersapien said:

An updated version that accounts for our modern reality?  

Is that through amendments or scrapping?

[homersapien 12,238]

8 minutes ago, TexasTiger said:

Is that through amendments or scrapping?

Whatever process is required to update it. 

[NolaAuTiger 3,295]

13 minutes ago, AUDub said:

Was it Scalia that said the amendment process is too damn hard? 

Correct.