Born white in segregated North Carolina and going to segregated schools, I was proud to watch as North Carolina became the most progressive state in the south and one of the most progressive in the country — until the coming of the Evangelical Christian movement and the election of Republicans. Since that time the state has had an ever steady movement to the bottom by most any yard stick one would like to use.
It’s top notch education system — North Carolina had the first public university in the country — has ended up at the bottom in which not only are it’s teacher’s pay right at the bottom and not having enough textbooks for it’s students but teachers having to pay for their students paper and pencils or they go without. All the while spinning off funds from public schools to fund charter schools — most religious based. And, of course, leaving the poorest in the ever deteriorating — mostly minority — public schools. These charter schools do get around not being called “segregated” by having a couple of “token” minority students — those usually be outstanding athletes.
The highly media shown HB 2 about who can and can’t use what bathroom, which was put together and passed in less than 12 hrs, has made a laughing stock of the state — except in other red states, of course — and cost the state an estimated billion dollars and hundreds of jobs and which the Republicans in the state capital did nothing to repeal during their whole session but did find a few hrs at the end to change it a little, leaving the worse parts in.
So yesterday, another black mark for my state — that fine, upstanding, bigoted, racist, red-necked Republican Governor, Pat McCrory, signed a bill that allows law enforcement — and only law enforcement — to determine if or when to release body or car videos. This done in the guise of “more transparency”.
But, hey — they are just “good ‘ol boys”.
I have seen enough of the “good ‘ld boys” in my lifetime — I am no longer proud of my state.