Vonnegut vs. Warren

Racial segregation was a big controversy in the early 1950’s. One of the big court cases during this time was Brown versus the Board of Education. It actually occurred in 1954. A year before, in 1953, Earl Warren was appointed the Chief Justice position of the Supreme Court by President Eisenhower. The time, in which Warren entered his new position, the court was much divided because of the Brown v. Board of Education case. The case was for racial segregation in public schools and how it was unconstitutional. The argument was that it violated the fourteenth amendment, which guarantees all citizens have equal protection of the laws. Warren’s beliefs were that if children in public schools were segregated, it would deprive the children of the minority group of equal educational opportunities. He did not agree with the ‘separate but equal’ idea when it came to education. Warren was criticized for his opinion because he wasn’t in total acceptance of the Constitution, but he took the criticism. Why would Kurt Vonnegut want to impeach Earl Warren because it sounds like he is representing something good?
Kurt Vonnegut is known for his black humor as a writing style. Vonnegut’s or, in the book, Billy’s bumper sticker portrays that for some reason he wanted to get Earl Warren out of office. When putting together that one of Vonnegut’s styles is black humor and that Earl Warren wasn’t for racial segregation, it is very clear why Billy had this bumper sticker. Warren believed that all races should be kept together in public schools because he thought that having the opportunity for a good education should be available to everyone, not the majority only. Warren didn’t believe it was fair to discriminate against any minorities. When someone wants to impeach someone, it is usually because he or she does not agree with what that person stands for. In the case, Vonnegut’s writing style hints that he doesn’t necessarily consider everyone to be equal or that everyone should have a chance at a good education. Vonnegut probably agreed that public schools should be segregated; therefore, he didn’t agree with Earl Warren. I think Billy’s bumper sticker shows that he agreed with racial segregation to some extent or otherwise he wouldn’t have wanted to impeach Warren. Billy obviously is not scared to go against what Warren believes because he has the sticker on his car for everyone to see. In a way, Billy is standing up for what he believes in. However, in this situation I disagree with him.

Callie Holloway