To the Louisiana House of Representatives and Speaker Jim Tucker for removing Rep. John LaBruzzo from his position as vice chairman of the House health care committee. In my opinion he should have been removed from the committee entirely, but at least our lawmakers had the presence of mind to address in some way LaBruzzo's outrageous suggestion that we pay the poor citizens in this state $1000 to be sterilized.
It is precisely people like LaBruzzo and his constituents who give our state its reputation for racism and ignorance. Can you imagine young, educated professionals reading stories like this and deciding Louisiana would be a great place to settle and raise children? Is it no wonder that our best and brightest college graduates decide to move elsewhere after college?
Yes, it is true that Louisiana has an unacceptable number of families on welfare, but the blame lies with our substandard educational system and the lack of a coherent plan to prevent poverty. If we are serious about solving the problems afflicting the poor in this state, we need to stop laying blame on their reproductive choices and start giving everyone access to quality education and job training.
LaBruzzo is an idiot. If anyone should think twice about reproducing, it's him.
State Representative and Republican John LaBruzzo of Metairie, LA (the area that also elected David Duke in '89) made us all proud to be from Louisiana this week when he proposed offering $1,000 to poor people in exchange for having them sterilized. I don't even know where to start with this one. It's one of those stories you read and literally yell at no one in particular, "WTF?"
I'm posting his picture here so you can get a good, long look at him.
This is exactly the kind of idiot who gets the microphone all too often in Louisiana. We are perceived as backwards, racist bigots constantly in the press, and no wonder. The sad thing is, I know his type - the heir to generations of white Southerners who believe every derrogatory stereotype concerning anyone of color, and who think all our problems will be solved if we just 'get all the negroes off welfare'. They've never personally known anyone of a different race or lower socio-economic status, but feel comfortable making blanket statements about their lives and motivations. It makes me sick, frankly.
This, of course, is not even touching on the fact that the whole idea of state-mandated and funded Eugenics is frightening and evil. EVIL.
You know, I love Louisiana. I truly, truly do. I was born here, and have lived here all my life. I'll be honest, though - it's hard to stay. It's hard to raise my children here surrounded with all this ignorance and racism that bombards us on a daily basis. I tell myself that my family needs to stay, that for this state to ever get any better young, educated professionals need to stop running to places with better health care, better educational and job opportunities, and higher standards of common human decency. I'll tell ya, though - this shit? It makes me want to pack up and run.
