Is the Poll tax back?
As an African American and former city councilwoman in Alabama, I thought I had seen everything. Apparently not—Guest Opinion by Belinda Thomas
Guest Opinion by Belinda Thomas
As I think back at the ingenuity my fellow Alabamians used to disguise their racism, with tactics like the poll tax which never mentioned the word “Black” or “Negro,” but were obviously meant to disenfranchise the Black community by pricing us out of our right to vote, I thought surely we were beyond that in Alabama.
It is a hobby of mine, since I ran for the 2nd congressional district, to monitor bills that catch my fancy.
Since I own a German Shepherd, and my next door neighbor owns a pitbull, I stumbled across a post by Alison Black Cornelius touting we really needed to stop chaining up dogs, since the inference is it is chains, not people that feed them. Since I will on occasion tie my dog out to keep her from running in front of, and harming, a motorist, I decided to read the bill. This bill, SB 361, written by Senator Garlan Gudger, was the most racist piece of legislation I have seen in a long time.
Why doesn’t Senator Gudger come out and say “I hate Pitbulls and the Blacks that own them?” The procedure he asked for me to follow was impossible. I can’t attach my tether to a pole because my dog might get tangled up, but it's ok to attach the trolley with a pulley that will jump track to TWO poles?
For a fence, I had to build it from sturdy material and add a chain link fence and an electronic fence, on top of both of the preceding.
Since it takes my Shepherd 40 feet to reach a full run, I would have to buy 5 pre-made outdoor kennels at $2500, plus flooring, and installation — just to take my dog outside and leave her to do her business.
Why these people write a bill that would make it so hard and expensive for poor minorities, just to deprive us out of owning a dog under threat of going to jail, is beyond me. The only thing that makes sense is this is a racist bill just like the old poll tax.
Shame on you, Senator Gudger.
What I couldn’t figure out at first was why GBHS, a 501(c)3, was shilling for him. Then I looked back at his old campaign finance records and he had accepted money illegally (allegedly) given to him by 501(c)3 shelters and rescues. So, she was collecting on his debt with her racist ideas that he was sponsoring.
I have seen too much of this systemic racism in the past to not recognize it now.
I still think it’s rather desperate to use a fake AI picture of a live German Shepherd head on a badly decomposed body with a chain hooked to its flat collar, that stops where it touches the ground, and a matching story. I guess people will do anything, say anything to scam the public. (Image below)
Alabama, we are better than these two bad apples.
Belinda Thomas
Belinda Thomas was born in Birmingham, Alabama. Her career experience includes working as a farmer, City Council member, founder of Joyful F.A.R.M.S., and owner of Alabamaboo Inc. Thomas has served with the Newton City Council, the State Republican Executive Committee, and the state GOP’s Alabama Outreach Coalition. She campaigned for Donald Trump in Florida in 2020 and Hershel Walker in Georgia in 2022. She may be contacted by email at bthomas2965@yahoo.com.
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