Have you ever heard of The Motels? They were a California-based new wave band fronted by singer/guitarist Martha Davis (no relation), primarily active in the late ’70s and early ’80s. Their single “Only the Lonely” is pretty great, and though it shares a name with the Roy Orbison number, it’s a different song completely. My favorite track, though, has got to be “Total Control,” in which Davis muses that she would sell her soul for control of a lover’s heart. You know the type — it’s one of those obsessive love songs that sounds romantic until you realize the portrayal of romance is, uh, problematic at best. It’s probably safer to say anyone who would sell their soul to control someone else is experiencing something that has only the thinnest relation to love. But would you? Sell your soul for total control?
Well, several Tennessee legislators have made up their minds on that issue. As I write these words, bills are due for votes — about local control of land use, about a woman’s right to control her body. Just last month, a bill to ban instant-runoff voting (IRV), which Memphis has twice voted to implement, passed. From the Associated Press, “Voters there still haven’t used the method since voting in 2008 to adopt it for city elections.” I would point out the blatant hypocrisy of the “party of small government” undercutting our right to local control, but at this point it’s clear that the hypocrisy isn’t a cause for shame.
On Monday, March 7th, the state Senate rejected a bill that had already passed the House, which would have eliminated residency requirements for first responders — for Memphis and Shelby County only. That may or may not seem like a big issue, but as someone who has lived in a small, rural town in West Tennessee, I can say with certainty that I wouldn’t want anyone consuming out-of-town media to police Memphis, a community they had little other exposure to. I’m glad the state Senate rejected the bill, and I hope it’s never signed into law. But that would be going against the trend of how our state views local control when it comes to Memphis and Shelby County.
As I mentioned previously, HB 2246/SB 2077 would remove local government control of zoning for fossil fuel infrastructure. I guess that would give the Byhalia Connection another crack at that pipeline. The bill has been delayed for two weeks, so now would be an excellent time to let your representatives know how you feel about it.
And an amendment to HB 2779/SB 2582 is the abortion ban to end all abortion bans. It would even award “damages if the plaintiff has suffered harm from the defendant’s conduct, including, but not limited to, loss of consortium and emotional distress.” And yes, there’s a $10,000 bounty as well.
Anti-abortion laws, like gun owners’ rights and immigration, are blank checks for Republicans seeking campaign donations. And the fossil fuel industry has deep, deep pockets. So I’ve always assumed many of these issues have, at heart, a financial incentive. There are oodles of Tennesseans willing to write a check — or set up a recurring donation — based on a promise to protect the right to bear arms or a promise to end abortion. And, of course, there are the true believers. The people who have a passion for these issues. But more and more I’m forced to believe that much of this is about control.
The most recent abortion ban isn’t so much anti-abortion as it is pro-forced-birth. Through that lens, it seems more about keeping women out of the workforce than about protecting zygotes.
When we in Memphis were told we couldn’t decide which statues would be in a position of prominence in our parks, that wasn’t about protecting history. It’s about making sure the state’s majority-Black city knows who is in charge.
There’s a resurgence of authoritarian politics in this country and this state, and when you strip away the star-spangled wrapping paper, at the heart of it is a desire for control. I believe some people remember the days before a woman could legally open a checking account, before those people had to be counted as equals of people with a different skin color or a different faith. And they remember those days fondly.
By the time this column is in print, votes will have been cast on some of these issues. So why write about it if I can’t tell you to call your reps? Because in the end, we have to decide, if we truly believe everyone deserves agency, are we willing to protect their right to it? Even if we’re not directly impacted by one of these decisions, are we willing to let someone else’s rights be curtailed?
Well, would you? Would you sell your soul for total control?
