William Fix Boutan did not begin life as a coward or a racist. Unfortunately the choice about racism was not his to make. In another time and another place Fix Boutan may have developed into a decent and well-respected man. His upbringing made him a rotten hateful person. This hatred later caused Fix to become a coward. His cowardly and hateful existence had left him alone and clinging to bygone times. In the end his only friends will be as hateful and miserable as he is. To understand Fix we have to look at his development.
        Being born as a white in the deep South half a century after the Civil War condemned Fix to his fate. In all likelihood Fix was indoctrinated into racial hatred and superiority when he was too young to know any better. Fix never had a chance to develop his own thoughts and ideas about blacks. While he was growing up blacks were treated as less than animals. Given these conditions it is not surprising that Fix became a racist.
        Fix's cowardice can be traced back to his young adult life and the first time a black man stood up to him. One day, at the plantation store, Fix told Mathu to take an empty Coke bottle back into the store for him. Mathu refused and told Fix that "he wasn't nobody's servant." After suffering this public embarrassment, Fix became enraged and attacked Mathu while sheriff Guidry quietly looked on. This fight ended an hour later with Fix on the ground and Mathu the clear winner. Guidry knocked them both unconscious, preventing Mathu from being lynched by the on looking crowd.
Fix learned several things that day which shaped how he would live the rest of his life. If he did not know it already, he discovered that the law would not step in to prevent some indiscretions when it came to how blacks were treated. He also found out that some blacks would not only stand up to him, but that some of them could physically overcome him one on one. The knowledge that his feelings of superiority didn't make him stronger or tougher than a black man incited and embittered him. For the first time in his life, Fix had been hurt and publicly humiliated by a black man. This branded Fix for life and set the stage for the next several decades.
        For the next 40-50 years, Fix organized and led a reign of terror against the blacks in the parish. Realizing his weakness and inability to deal with the blacks one on one, Fix did the only thing he could – he called in reinforcements. Fix cultivated the community's existing racial hatred and created a vigilante group of racists that struck out against members of the black community at his whim. This group allowed Fix to strike back at the blacks, which was something that Mathu had shown him he could not do on his own. This drove that Fix controlled was responsible for countless acts of cruelty, violence and murder against the black community. The actions of these men went unpunished for years. In this time, Fix earned the hatred of the blacks and the Boutan family name became known for pain.
        After Beau is killed, the Boutan family and their friends gather around Fix, waiting for him to lead them against the blacks one more time. When Gil tells Fix about the black men with shotguns, and sheriff Mapes, Fix undergoes a small change. Even though the reason isn't quite clear this time, it is obvious that Fix is scared because of the way his eyes narrow and how he clutches Tee Beau closer. When Fix discovers that two of his sons and some of his old friends won't support action against the blacks, he makes the decision not to seek vengeance for Beau's death. This pivotal point is where leadership of the vigilante group passes from Fix to Luke Will. With the law involved and not having his family and friends to hide behind, Fix does not have the courage to confront them on his own. Being faced with this and realizing his cowardice causes Fix to respond in the only way he knows – he lashes out with hatred and anger at his sons.
        Fix is condemned to live out the rest of his life in misery. Having to face his cowardice caused him to drive his sons away. Now he is left with the loss of three sons and the loss of his power. He will live out the rest of his days surrounded by a few people who share an unfounded hatred of their fellow man. Living with such hate and losing all that was important to him leaves Fix with nothing positive to look forward to except the end.
        Given the environment Fix lived in as a child, it is no surprise that he turned out as he did. His racism led him to a confrontation that made his weakness obvious. His anger from this and his cowardice caused him to form a group of whites that operated outside the law, punishing blacks for their very existence. As time went by and times changed, Fix found himself alone without family or friends to hide behind. Instead of confronting the situation as a man, he chooses to withdraw into bitterness and wait for the end. This is a fitting end for a petty little coward of a man.

Copyright Ó 2000 John R. Laffoon

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