In Praise of Self-Determination, By James Reed

This item about the development of a new town, St. George, breaking away from the old parent city Baton Rouge, almost passed me by as just something about the US. But, thinking about the politics of the issue, and that the breakaway went to the Louisiana Supreme Court, indicated bigger issues; racial issues, I rethought this. It seems, in a nut shell that Baton Rouge was majority non-White, and facing telling problems of social decline and crime. The desire of mainly whites was to jump ship, with a new city. I imagine that high land prices would keep out the sorts of people that were making Baton Rouge into a hell hole.

The objection made to secession was primarily from Blacks, that Whitey leaving would mean less money for the present town. As stated below: "Baton Rouge is losing population because it is a poorly run majority-black city. Whites foot the bill. The Buckhead area of Atlanta, Georgia, tried to break away from the city, but Republicans stopped it; it was more important to prop up Atlanta. Louisiana chose differently, and everyone should support this decision. Secession from states and cities is the best thing people can do right now. St. George has shown it is possible."

Thus, as demographic replacement of Whites proceeds by mass immigration, there may be more such breakaway movements, which will fuel the larger attempt to breakup multicultural, multiracial empires. These undemocratically constructed false societies, products of the metapolitics of the elites, richly deserve to fall and crumble into the dust of history.

https://www.amren.com/commentary/2024/05/the-return-of-self-determination/

"The difference between white nationalism and black nationalism is that whites want to be free from other groups, while blacks want to keep us around to pay the bills. Malcolm X, Keith Ellison, and other activists began as "black nationalists" but ended up begging or threatening whites for handouts. They need us and they know it.

The Louisiana Supreme Court recently let St. George, a new city, break away from Baton Rouge. It was a narrow, 4-3 ruling and was the end of a 15-year legal battle. The New York Times explained that it "signaled victory for a campaign that . . . was built on frustrations about schools, crime, infrastructure and the resources devoted to that part of the parish." In other words, it was built on frustrations about race.

Blacks in Baton Rouge are furious because it means whites will no longer subsidize a majority-black city. St. George will be majority white, and this alone is apparently immoral. "Opponents have argued that the St. George movement is inherently racist as it creates legal lines of segregation," wrote the Associated Press. "St. George organizers have vehemently denied that, saying their goal is more localized control of tax dollars."

The NAACP Baton Rouge Branch said, "The creation of a new municipality introduces considerable uncertainty around funding allocation for our schools, jeopardizing the cornerstone of our community's future: education." Education drove the campaign to begin with, mostly because Baton Rouge schools are dangerous.

The Daily Mail's story about Mr. Browning was unintentionally revealing:

In the late 1990s, he accepted the offer to pursue his passion for sports coaching as a volunteer at Woodlawn High, also in East Baton Rouge.

The school was founded in 1949 . . . . In those days, it was all white.

By the time Browning joined, more than half of its students were black. . . .

But over the past few decades Baton Rouge's public schools have started to struggle, plagued by ill-discipline and falling grades.

Woodlawn High, which has around 1,400 students, currently has a C letter grade. [It is now poor and 82 percent non-white.]

But most disturbing is its extensive record of violent incidents, many of which have been filmed by pupils and uploaded to YouTube. . . .

Some of the brawls appeared to be fought along racial lines. . . .

Corhonda Corley, a parental advocate for the NAACP, cited escalating "racial tensions."

She highlighted anger among some black parents that discipline was being targeted at their children, while others were getting away scot free.

If blacks thought the problem was too much school discipline, that strengthens the case for separation. There can be no agreement about the common good when people are divided.

Mr. Browning said students would get "nose to nose" with teachers and curse them, and the effort to start a new city came after St. George tried to start a new school district. No one in the official campaign seems openly to defend racial self-determination. The group's Facebook page claims that the areas selected to leave Baton Rouge were determined by support for separation, not by race. The new city will be about 70 percent white and 12 percent black.

"Supporting Data" for the separation emphasizes crime, taxes, spending, and city services, but opponents remain focused on race. State Senator Karen Carter Peterson (D-New Orleans), who is black, said in 2019 that the then-attempted secession had "racial implications," complaining that a "select few" should not be able to "pull out" after tax dollars had allegedly benefitted them rather than a "poor black neighborhood." She was recently sentenced to 22 months in prison for spending campaign funds on gambling.

Other opponents have made a contradictory argument, saying that the new city will cost Baton Rouge $48 million in tax revenue, but also that St. George will be bankrupt. Which is it? The head of the Baton Rouge Metro Council wants the state supreme court to rehear the case.

The Louisiana Supreme Court's ruling determined that St. George could pay for services and, more controversially, secession would not necessarily hurt Baton Rouge. It even argued that it may help Baton Rouge, because its population is declining and it can now save money by not having to serve so many residents.

The majority opinion concludes:

Incorporation improves the general welfare of the people [of St. George] and empowers self-determination. The people will decide what is in their best interest and govern accordingly. That is consistent with our constitutionally described purpose of government.

The dissent argued that secession was driven by "grandiose promises unsupported by facts." It also complained that St. George didn't have a good plan for services. The dissent loftily concluded therefore that people who voted for secession were not fully informed, and the majority vote was thus invalid.

Baton Rouge is losing population because it is a poorly run majority-black city. Whites foot the bill. The Buckhead area of Atlanta, Georgia, tried to break away from the city, but Republicans stopped it; it was more important to prop up Atlanta. Louisiana chose differently, and everyone should support this decision. Secession from states and cities is the best thing people can do right now. St. George has shown it is possible.

This should be the start of a nationwide movement. Nothing matters more to ordinary people than crime, taxes, and schools. These issues boil down to race, even if people don't admit it or even realize it. Race realists and white advocates should take the lead in this new movement for self-determination."