Lawful Discrimination Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Lawful Discrimination - Essay Example Having a mind of one's own is a selfish act which could result to discrimination, even lawlessness and chaos. As what a national government implements laws to a country, a state should all the more impose and adhere to the laws put forward by the national government since the general welfare has to be taken care of. A state should not create its own set of rules that strays away from the established law. Neither is she allowed to break it in favor of personal gains. Thoreau noticed this as he mentioned the governor in his speech, of whom the state recognizes as her center of authority. The governor is responsible that the laws of the land are being enforced but according to Thoreau, he is the exact opposite since he is permissive enough to let the laws of the state "go unexecuted." A law clearly doesn't exclude anyone. It applies to all, no matter what race a human being belongs to or whatever the skin color he has as long as he is a recognized citizen of the land. With respect to the established law, judicial decisions, too, should be based from a recognized set of rules and should be strictly observed. The freedom and liberty of a person, whether a human being that is being tried is either free or a slave, depends upon the judge's decisions. In Thoreau's speech, an act known as the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 states that "any official who doesn't arrest a suspected runaway slave could be fined $1,000." This brings pressure to any officer to act or else risk being fined. After capturing, the slave is tried and then returned to his or her rightful owner. How many times have officials captured a suspected runaway slave or remained indifferent to others but ended up capturing or letting go of the wrong person Anthony Burns experienced being tried in the courts of human beings. This act also has its tendencies to make a slave out of a free soul. An example of this is Thomas Sims. Even then, there are already resentments against this law as what was expressed by Thoreau. And then, there are those who are against racial discrimination. Plessy is recognized as a legitimate citizen of the United States and is entitled to equal rights and privileges being enjoyed by a white American. Yet, despite paying for first class train ticket, he was not only forcibly ejected out of an East Louisiana Railway train but also ended up being imprisoned in a parish jail in New Orleans. Just because sitting in an area reserved for whites even though he has every right to do so, he suffered this predicament. The reason that he was different from the whites made his situation even worse. Clearly, racial discrimination even after the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States was ratified. A law can neither be of use to the general public if an institution doesn't at all observe it. By modern standards, the East Louisiana Railway did not recognize the ratified Fourteenth amendment because of the Plessy case. The constitution forbids "making or enforcing any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States, or shall deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, or deny to any person within their jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." However, equality isn't observed since a railway companies such as the East Louisiana had been instructed either to provide additional coaches or