Ignorance is bliss

Either I just missed coverage of this referendum, or it took a back seat to all the coverage of the anti-gay marriage referenda, but today's Washington Post reports: "Vote to Keep Segregation in Ala. Charter Is Verified." (Registration required, I think.) It comes as no surprise to me that people in Alabama are bigoted, but I am still dumbfounded by this. The margin of victory on the measure was less than two-tenths of a percent, but that still means that half of voting Alabamans voted to keep language in their state constitution that requires segregated schools and poll taxes.

Supposedly the reason so many people voted against the measure is because it "also would have removed language that said there is no constitutional right to an education at public expense in Alabama." That sure does explain a lot about the quality of education in Alabama. It is stunning to me that in this era of "No Child Left Behind" rhetoric there are children who have no constitutional right to an education. And that people are willing to vote for blatantly racist policies in order to protect this state of affairs.

These two things may actually go hand in hand. Nothing fuels racism like ignorance, and about 650,000 Alabamans have just voted to hold fast to both.