The B Word on the Ballot
"NOT the whiteman's bitch"
Wisconsin permits independent candidates in partisan elections to display a phrase of up to 5 words under their names on the ballot to indicate the "party or principle represented." Usually it is something like "Socialist Party" or "Cut Taxes." This year Ieushah Griffin, an independent candidate for the Assembly in the 10th district on the north side of Milwaukee, wants to have the phrase above (hereinafter "The Phrase") under her name on the November General Election ballot. But the staff of the Government Accountability Board, which is in charge of elections in this state, has determined that The Phrase is "derogatory," and so banned it from the ballot. The candidate appealed the ruling to the Board, which voted 3-2 to restore The Phrase. However, four votes are required to override a staff determination, so the decision to ban The Phrase stands. Griffin filed suit in federal court on July 22 to force the Board to allow The Phrase under her name. (1)
The Board has the right under state law to ban obscene and derogatory statements from the ballot. The word "bitch" (literally,female dog) is highly pejorative when applied to a woman, but is not obscene. (2) But is The Phrase derogatory?
One may argue that The Phrase implies that the Democratic nominee (presumably Elizabeth Coggs), unlike Griffin, is "the whiteman's bitch," a "ghetto-slang" epithet for "under white control." Ms Griffin is trying to "play the race card" on the ballot with The Phrase, just as the Democratic Party of Alabama did with its symbol: a white rooster bearing a banner with the words "White Supremacy." The name "Black Panther Party" does the same thing. (3) I consider all pandering to racial and ethnic hostility in politics reprehensible, and would certainly vote against a candidate like Ieshuah Griffin that used it. But, since The Phrase does not name any other candidate or party, I cannot agree that it is derogatory of anyone. Rather, it makes a political statement about the candidate herself, albeit in a very negative and offensive way. That is no more deragotory than "the honest candidate" or " the patriotic candidate" which also imply that rival candidates are dishonest or unpatriotic, but I believe these phrases would have been allowed.
Living in a vibrant democracy entails being exposed to offensive speech now and then, and our courts have given maximum leeway to political messages, like The Phrase, which does distinguish the candidate from her rivals on the ballot, in the sense that she considers herself somehow "more black." Accordingly, I predict that she will prevail in federal court. At the very least, the Court will instruct the state to permit a less offensive version of The Phrase under Griffin's name. (How about " Not controlled by white people?")
If I lived in the 10th Assembly district, I would vote for the "whiteman's bitch." But then, I am not the epitome of her intended constituency.
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(1) Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, July 22 and 23 , 2010.
(2) Names of female animals applied to women such as bitch, cow, and vixen, are considered pejorative, but names of male animals such as bull, buck and tomcat applied to men are not. Double standard, again!
(3) Since all panthers are black, the term Black Panther is redundant, but emphasizes the blackness of the party. The name "Panther Party" lacks the intensity desired.
Wisconsin permits independent candidates in partisan elections to display a phrase of up to 5 words under their names on the ballot to indicate the "party or principle represented." Usually it is something like "Socialist Party" or "Cut Taxes." This year Ieushah Griffin, an independent candidate for the Assembly in the 10th district on the north side of Milwaukee, wants to have the phrase above (hereinafter "The Phrase") under her name on the November General Election ballot. But the staff of the Government Accountability Board, which is in charge of elections in this state, has determined that The Phrase is "derogatory," and so banned it from the ballot. The candidate appealed the ruling to the Board, which voted 3-2 to restore The Phrase. However, four votes are required to override a staff determination, so the decision to ban The Phrase stands. Griffin filed suit in federal court on July 22 to force the Board to allow The Phrase under her name. (1)
The Board has the right under state law to ban obscene and derogatory statements from the ballot. The word "bitch" (literally,female dog) is highly pejorative when applied to a woman, but is not obscene. (2) But is The Phrase derogatory?
One may argue that The Phrase implies that the Democratic nominee (presumably Elizabeth Coggs), unlike Griffin, is "the whiteman's bitch," a "ghetto-slang" epithet for "under white control." Ms Griffin is trying to "play the race card" on the ballot with The Phrase, just as the Democratic Party of Alabama did with its symbol: a white rooster bearing a banner with the words "White Supremacy." The name "Black Panther Party" does the same thing. (3) I consider all pandering to racial and ethnic hostility in politics reprehensible, and would certainly vote against a candidate like Ieshuah Griffin that used it. But, since The Phrase does not name any other candidate or party, I cannot agree that it is derogatory of anyone. Rather, it makes a political statement about the candidate herself, albeit in a very negative and offensive way. That is no more deragotory than "the honest candidate" or " the patriotic candidate" which also imply that rival candidates are dishonest or unpatriotic, but I believe these phrases would have been allowed.
Living in a vibrant democracy entails being exposed to offensive speech now and then, and our courts have given maximum leeway to political messages, like The Phrase, which does distinguish the candidate from her rivals on the ballot, in the sense that she considers herself somehow "more black." Accordingly, I predict that she will prevail in federal court. At the very least, the Court will instruct the state to permit a less offensive version of The Phrase under Griffin's name. (How about " Not controlled by white people?")
If I lived in the 10th Assembly district, I would vote for the "whiteman's bitch." But then, I am not the epitome of her intended constituency.
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(1) Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, July 22 and 23 , 2010.
(2) Names of female animals applied to women such as bitch, cow, and vixen, are considered pejorative, but names of male animals such as bull, buck and tomcat applied to men are not. Double standard, again!
(3) Since all panthers are black, the term Black Panther is redundant, but emphasizes the blackness of the party. The name "Panther Party" lacks the intensity desired.
posted by Gerald S Glazer at 9:05 AM
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