Wife beating still OK, but don't cock fight

[Roac]

Wife beating is OK, but don't you dare cock fight.

For those not from the south, no, that is not obscene.  Cocks in this case are gamecocks, a rather angry (but colorful) chicken.  From the link:

Both cockfighting and domestic violence are currently misdemeanor crimes, punishable by 30 days in jail. If the bill passes, cockfighting will become a felony, punishable by five years in jail. Domestic violence crimes will remain a misdemeanor.

Basically, right now in South Carolina, it is a misdemeanor to beat your wife or to cock fight (favorite southern pasttime; put two gamecocks in a closed arena, and place bets as they try to kill each other).  SC is now passing a law to make it a felony to cock fight, while the state legislature declined to have the same applied to beating up spouses.  While that's bad enough, this is the icing on the cake:

Rep. Altman responds to the comparison, "People who compare the two are not very smart and if you don't understand the difference, Ms. Gormley, between trying to ban the savage practice of watching chickens trying to kill each other and protecting people rights in CDV statutes, I'll never be able to explain it to you in a 100 years ma'am."

News 10 reporter Kara Gormley asked Altman, "That's fine if you feel you will never be able to explain it to me, but my question to you is: does that show that we are valuing a gamecock's life over a woman's life?"

Altman again, "You're really not very bright and I realize you are not accustomed to this, but I'm accustomed to reporters having a better sense of depth of things and you're asking this question to me would indicate you can't understand the answer. To ask the question is to demonstrate an enormous amount of ignorance. I'm not trying to be rude or hostile, I'm telling you."

They've been playing clips of the exchange down here, and it's even more surprising than reading the above.  The Representative just lit into the reporter for asking why one and not the other (honest question, you'd think).  He went on and on about how stupid she was, or how she was twisting things, etc.  And of course, all the while with the obligatory thick southern accent.

Would've posted this in General, but I've got this horrible feeling regarding the south being useless.  Sigh.

[Mesozoic]

Wow.

Reporter: "So whats the deal here?"
Guy:  "You're too stupid to understand, so I won't explain."

Maybe they could schedule the wife-beating ahead of time, and friends could come and place bets on things like which punch draws first blood, how long she lasts before hitting the floor, and whether or not the fight ends in rape.

[kaid]

Wow just wow. Thats some funny stuff I bet whoever runs against him the next time he is up for election is going to be laughing with glee at all the amunition they have for their ads.


kaid

[Paelos]

What are the worst calls that cops respond to?


That's right, domestic violence cases. Not cockfights. Why is that? Because anything and everything can happen in a domestic violence call, and they are much more common than cockfights. Most cops want to beat the ever loving hell out of wife-beaters and throw away the key. The problem is that our legal system can't hold them since most wives won't press charges. They'll hide behind their bruises until they end up dead or in protection.

[Ironwood]

Unbelievable.

It's true that men value their cocks much more highly than their women....

[HaemishM]

Jesus Fucking Christ, Rep. Altman, way to further the stereotype of Southern men wearing wife-beaters and being drunk on the lawn. What the fuck was he thinking?

"Uppity Yankee reporter bitch gonna try to embarrass me, I'll take her down a peg or two!"

Wow, what a dumb fuck. As to why wives would go back to men who beat them, if this asshat has been re-elected even once, I'd imagine the people of his district feel like that wife who went back a second time. What a stunningly dumb fucker.

[Roac]

"Uppity Yankee reporter bitch gonna try to embarrass me, I'll take her down a peg or two!"

Except it's not even that - she's a local reporter from this state.  I think the key word in that phrase though, is "her". 

[HaemishM]

I watched the video. Holy fuck. This guy makes me sad to be a Southerner. He's like the epitome of the stereotypical "refined" Southern bubba jackass. He should be wearing a white suit with a little black twisty tie.

[Paelos]

Congrats Haemish, SC just one-upped the retarded reps from your state. Louisiana is still #1 though.

Wiggum: "What do you suspect the rent is on a hideout like that?"
Skinny Boy: "It's not rented Chief, it's stolen. That's the Louisiana governor's mansion, and it's been missing for six months."