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That's not how it works. Never has been. If you are a politician, you are perfectly free to speak at the local Klan rally. (David Duke does it all the time.) T

That's not how it works. Never has been. If you are a politician, you are perfectly free to speak at the local Klan rally. (David Duke does it all the time.) The fact that blacks are not allowed at the Klan rally is a problem for blacks, but not for David Duke. He is free, and I would think even encouraged, to engage with as many constituents as possible. Wherever he can find them. So for instance, if David Duke had a noblacksallowed.com page, BUT he also had an office in a non-restricted area, he's good. You or I may not like that, but there is no Constitutional restriction against what he's doing. Blacks are perfectly free to go to his office for the purposes of making comments or lodging complaints. Being black is completely non-criminal, but, unfortunately, there exists a group of people for whom being black is also completely non-acceptable. And that group of people are absolutely free to set up exclusionary areas on their own private property. David Duke may even happen to speak in some of those exclusionary areas. Again, you or I may not like that fact, but that's just reality. Nothing's really changed with this ruling, it always has been like this.

MRD85 8y ago
What if the town hall is in a nonblacksallowed site? If you're banned from a shopping mall that has the only town hall it is going to have the same affect on your life.
- bilbo0s 8y ago
  The noblacksallowed mall is allowed to have meetings on their private property at their sole discretion. (I'm assuming that the noblacsallowed mall is a private mall with a racial exclusivity clause in its membership requirements.) So at the meetings they are also free to invite and host, as a guest speaker, whatever politician they choose. There's no Constitutional power that the government would have to stop that. So again, the David Dukes of the world are safe. David Duke is free to do any guest appearance for his constituents or anyone else at any venue they want. We may not like that, but that's just how it's always worked. Now there might be an issue if David Duke were to put his official full time office in the noblacksallowed mall, and conduct ALL his official business there. But even then, that would be an issue for David Duke, NOT an issue for the mall.
  - krustyburger 8y ago
    A mall is a shopping center. In the United States, it is illegal to have a “no blacks” shopping center, even if it is technically a private membership. The Civil Rights Act is the relevant law.
tptacek 8y ago
David Duke doesn't hold a government position. He can speak wherever he likes; running for office (or having held office in the past) doesn't change whether he's a private citizen (he is) acting under color of law (he's not). Further, even an official can attend an exclusive private event, if they do so in their capacity as a private citizen. But if they go to events and conduct government business, that's problematic.
- bilbo0s 8y ago
  I wasn't talking about David Duke now, I was illustrating that it's always worked like this by examining the well known historical case of David Duke's public career. >Further, even an official can attend an exclusive private event, if they do so in their capacity as a private citizen... This was the entire point of my post. David Duke is free to be a guest speaker at any private event he chooses. Again, I think he'd even be encouraged to interact with constituents in this capacity. I would think any politician would be encouraged to interact with their constituents in this fashion. It only makes sense. Go to the county fair or the local Kroger or whatever and actually talk to people. That some would have a problem with the beliefs of the constituents he chose to interact with does not constitute a problem for David Duke. He had a place people could go to see him for the public business of making comments or lodging complaints or whatever, and blacks were perfectly free to go there and do so. That blacks couldn't go to the Klan rallies he spoke at was not a problem at all. It's not like he was at the Klan rally going over government business or something.
  - tptacek 8y ago
    I do not believe that it's the case that a county official could hold an official meeting at a Klan rally. I can't tell if we agree about that, but it's the only thing I'm in this subthread to say.
    - bilbo0s 8y ago
      Right. A politician has to conduct official business, in an official place. But s/he can congregate with constituents and others at as many private places, (like Klan rallies), as s/he pleases. It's not either or, s/he can, and should do both.

MRD85 8y ago

What if the town hall is in a nonblacksallowed site? If you're banned from a shopping mall that has the only town hall it is going to have the same affect on your life.

bilbo0s 8y ago
The noblacksallowed mall is allowed to have meetings on their private property at their sole discretion. (I'm assuming that the noblacsallowed mall is a private mall with a racial exclusivity clause in its membership requirements.) So at the meetings they are also free to invite and host, as a guest speaker, whatever politician they choose. There's no Constitutional power that the government would have to stop that. So again, the David Dukes of the world are safe. David Duke is free to do any guest appearance for his constituents or anyone else at any venue they want. We may not like that, but that's just how it's always worked. Now there might be an issue if David Duke were to put his official full time office in the noblacksallowed mall, and conduct ALL his official business there. But even then, that would be an issue for David Duke, NOT an issue for the mall.
- krustyburger 8y ago
  A mall is a shopping center. In the United States, it is illegal to have a “no blacks” shopping center, even if it is technically a private membership. The Civil Rights Act is the relevant law.

tptacek 8y ago

David Duke doesn't hold a government position. He can speak wherever he likes; running for office (or having held office in the past) doesn't change whether he's a private citizen (he is) acting under color of law (he's not). Further, even an official can attend an exclusive private event, if they do so in their capacity as a private citizen. But if they go to events and conduct government business, that's problematic.

bilbo0s 8y ago
I wasn't talking about David Duke now, I was illustrating that it's always worked like this by examining the well known historical case of David Duke's public career. >Further, even an official can attend an exclusive private event, if they do so in their capacity as a private citizen... This was the entire point of my post. David Duke is free to be a guest speaker at any private event he chooses. Again, I think he'd even be encouraged to interact with constituents in this capacity. I would think any politician would be encouraged to interact with their constituents in this fashion. It only makes sense. Go to the county fair or the local Kroger or whatever and actually talk to people. That some would have a problem with the beliefs of the constituents he chose to interact with does not constitute a problem for David Duke. He had a place people could go to see him for the public business of making comments or lodging complaints or whatever, and blacks were perfectly free to go there and do so. That blacks couldn't go to the Klan rallies he spoke at was not a problem at all. It's not like he was at the Klan rally going over government business or something.
- tptacek 8y ago
  I do not believe that it's the case that a county official could hold an official meeting at a Klan rally. I can't tell if we agree about that, but it's the only thing I'm in this subthread to say.
  - bilbo0s 8y ago
    Right. A politician has to conduct official business, in an official place. But s/he can congregate with constituents and others at as many private places, (like Klan rallies), as s/he pleases. It's not either or, s/he can, and should do both.