COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- In the history of the United States, the civil rights movement stands out as a defining political moment. Yet today we find petty bureaucrats and small-time politicians abusing what little authority they have to further personal ends, with little or no regard for the rights of those they supposedly serve.


Carthage civil rights lawyer Richard Brooks discussed the problem of official incompetence, and voter incompetence. Here are some excerpts:

• "What we have in the small, rural counties is a 'plantation mentality.' Why do you think Gone with the Wind is so popular in the South? The county is Tara. These people are captured by the bounds of their counties."

• "We give people who are not qualified a gun and a badge. Police enforce laws they don't understand. When police rough up a suspect or officials violate civil rights, it is not the violation of the law that causes the illegal official response -- it's the questioning of their authority that angers them. It's 'I'm Bubba, you can't ask me anything.' Some places you don't need to be a lawyer to be a judge. There should be some minimum requirement for holding office.

• "I have faith in the judiciary. There are some good judges. [General Sessions Judge] Nolan Goolsby is good. [Former] Federal Judge [L. Clure] Morton was honest. They ran him out of Nashville [for his school bussing decision] but he did what he knew he had to. Then there's [Circuit Judge]John Turnbull. He did the right thing in the Chris Tatrow murder case. But watch. They're going to try to vote him out of office.

• Regarding the ticketing of dozens of motorcycle riders for not wearing helmets in Horton Swift's funeral procession: "I wonder if they have ever stopped a Christmas parade and pulled the Shriners out for not wearing helmets? This is not equal protection if you're going to apply the law to some groups but not to others."

• How effective would it be to have a recall election? "I'm always interested in raising a stink. But we already have a recall election, it's called an election, and voters keep putting the same people in office. People want to give up their civil rights to take care of the bums out there. But Bubba will still be there. And one day they'll wake up and all their rights will be gone. With the plantation mentality, you don't want to rock the boat. The straw boss calls the shots. They want somebody in their they know. Tara lives in the plantation mentality. And it's permitted to live."