When you take the emotion out of it – the horrific images of white store owners chasing black people out of their stores with axe handles, the specter of the lynch mobs wearing white sheets, the "Jews verboten" signs from WWII-era Germany – there is an undeniable logic to Rand’s viewpoint: Racists have the right to be racists.
I enthusiastically approve of racists being able to say racist things. It helps identify them as racists. If they were gagged, how would we know who they are?
If they weren’t allowed to blather about "firey, emotional" Latina judges, presidents who "hate white culture," how Health Care Reform is somehow "reparations," and how there will be just too many Jews on the Supreme Court, how would other racists know who to vote for, listen to on the radio or watch on TV?
I’m also happy to ride the Libertarian Logic Crazy Train even further. I’m happy to support eliminating the government’s power to say who a private business can serve.
I’m happy to let racists open restaurants and serve only lily white people who want nothing more than to eat a meal with other like-minded, similar-looking people of the clearly superior race.
However, if we take Libertarian logic that far, we need to go even farther, but not quite as far as John Stossel's vision of a no-government nation and free mustache combs for everyone.
This is my thinking...Libertarian doctrine says that a private business can do what it wants because it is private. But that’s never really true is it? Every private business that services the public also takes part in the benefits of public work.
So, I humbly propose a new law, a law that I hope will be call "The Rand Paul Accidents and Racists Happen Law." That law says that if we make it legal for a business to exercise its right to be private, that business must give up its right to benefit from anything that is public.
A private business, to opt out of public rules, must become truly private.
This is how it can do that.
Take a hypothetical café well call The White Bread Sandwich Emporium (slogan: "We serve white meat on white bread only to whites!") It is open to only the whitest of the white, the chalkiest of Caucasians. (Sorry John Boner. You need to lose a little of that melanin before entering.)
That café, under my proposed law, could not take advantage of the public streets, paid for by people of all colors. So, it must open 500 feet away from any street paid for by taxes. It’s not allowed to have a parking lot or an access road, because cars take advantage of the roads and government licensing, so white people are just going to have to walk that 500 feet to get those tasty sandwiches.
Also, there will be no public power or water or sewage or trash pick up. All those things are taxpayer supported, and many of those taxpayers are not white. It’s not fair to them to contribute to keeping TWBSE open, no matter how awesome the homemade mayonnaise is. (BTW, no food inspections either, so white people, when you are enjoying that delicious mayo, keep in mind that the chef could be pissing in it and there is no one to say that that isn’t a good idea. Bon appetite!)
Forget about cops and firemen, public servants who are often not white.
If someone holds up TWBSE at gunpoint, the chefs and waiters (who are probably armed with their Second Amendment approved guns anyway) are going to have to defend themselves. Management should also keep lots of fire extinguishers around, because fire trucks won’t coming by to douse any fires.
Oh and one other thing: No advertising. The airwaves belong to the people, all the people, even the non-whites. And yes, a free speech argument could be made there, but guess what? Commercial speech isn’t covered by the first amendment.
There you have it! I’m ready to support the Rand Paul Mistakes and Racists Happen law, just so long as it forces these private businesses Rand is so concerned about to become truly private.
Of course, it might just be easier for Rand and other libertarians to recognize that while private property rights are an important part of our democracy, they come with a responsibility to be part of the common good, and that the people have put a government in power to decide what is in the common interest.
Nah. You’re right, Rand. Everyone and every business should do whatever, to whoever, and whenever. Accidents and racists happen, and we should do nothing to curb their damage or make things better for everyone. That’s a much better way to run a country.