"They was going to take me to court, and I was going to lose"

While browsing the news, a title of a story interested me, mainly because it seemed like it pertained to lots of class discussion. The topic of race, laws, free speech, and civil liberties has been quite a popular one (in my French class, too!), so when I saw Louisiana justice who refused interracial marriage, I knew I had to read it.

What struck me the most at first was the fact that Keith Bardwell felt his actions were justified because he felt he wasn't being racist, but was just worried about the future of the children and marriage itself. 

But, when it said that he was advised, "that I needed to step down because they was going to take me to court, and I was going to lose," I began thinking about something else entirely.

Obviously, there are laws and acts such as the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th amendment and the Supreme Court case of Loving v. Virginia that foreshadowed his loss, but this statement got me thinking about the Crucible and inevitably of "judicial" outcomes. 

This may be a stretch, but it's kind of like the Michael Jackson example. He was never convicted of molestation, but he was associated with it nonetheless. I'm sure his career was affected, as well as Bardwell's. Or if any of you watch Grey's Anatomy, the threat of a malpractice suit looms over the O.R. during hard times.

Does public opinion have too great a hand in determining the fate of your career and reputation? Without everyone knowing about our "mistakes", would our lives be more secure?

"Mary Warren, with greater impatience with him: I told you the proof. It's hard proof, hard as rock, the judges said," (Miller, 55).