...fifty years ago, this man would have been lynched. Progressives and liberals are the reason he isn't lynched today. And don't let some conservative tell you otherwise. For those of us old enough to have grey hair, we remember which side conservatives were on and which side liberals were on: it wasn't liberal politicians who went to Bob Jones University to praise its 'values', back when BJU was segregated.
And here's another historical note. Racial progress wasn't inevitable; it required a lot of sacrifice. It wasn't that long ago, that publicly saying that you weren't opposed to inter-racial marriage, in many parts of this country, meant that you would be called a Communist, un-American, and far, far worse. A few even paid for it with their lives. For all those left-of-center who think the political pendulum will swing back on its own, I think you're mistaken. Liberalism is not a force of nature. Men and women defend it, and men and women can abandon it. Now, more than ever, we need to defend it.
Lest I end on a cranky note, remember that progress does occur-the above picture demonstrates that. Perhaps, setting the bar at 'no lynching' is too low-no, I'm certain it is too low. Yet, change did happen. Does more work need to done? Absolutely. Red-lining, educational underachievement, disproportional poverty (or poverty itself, for that matter) are still with us. But we're moving in the right direction.
And it was a bunch of goddamn liberals who did it.
This was originally posted at my old site on July 5, 2005. I'm in the process of moving posts that received lots of hits, or that I cite often over to ScienceBlogs, so newer readers can see some of my old stuff (And so ScienceBlogs can get the site hits. Go hitcounter! Go!)
- Log in to post comments
More like this
Bravo, Mike. So true. I hope someone is making an archive of the rhetoric being thrown around today, so we can look back in 50 years and see who was on the right side of history - again.
True, to a point... However there's been so much swapping around between ideological camps and political parties since that time it's hard to say how relevant the statement is. After all, most of the 'conservatives' who would have lynched a black man with a white girlfriend were Democrats, while the first steps toward desegregation were taken by moderately liberal Republican Eisenhower.
The fact that people who were labeled 'conservative' supported racism doesn't necessarily mean much more about modern conservatives than the fact that 'progressives' supported prohibition and eugenics/forced sterilization means that modern progressives do.
DC,
I didn't say Republican and Democrat; I said liberal and conservative. There's a difference. Also, many leading conservatives were dead set against civil rights:
1) William Buckley, who referred to the civil rights movement as the Negro Revolt.
2) Ronald Reagan, conservative icon.
3) Barry Goldwater, conservative icon.
I think this says a great deal about the modern conservative movement. Racism is not only about lynching and terrorism.
Also, how many current liberals can be identified as anti-civil rights? (Byrd's the only one, and unlike most conservatives, he has repeatedly admitted his opposition was immoral). In addition, most of the living civil rights leaders are liberals (e.g., Lowry, John Lewis).
Finally, by 1968, the Republicans had disavowed their anti-segregationist heritage, and fully embraced the Southern strategy. In addition, Republicans still make pilgrimage to Bob Jones University (and it's not about their dating policy). I'm sorry, but conservatives, despite their party membership, have been on the wrong side of history on this issue for over half a century.
Mike, if you knew enough to cite Reagan and Goldwater, you should also know enough that Reagan later recanted his position, and Goldwater, supported the Arizona NAACP, desegregated the AZ Nat'l Guard and supported the US Civil Rights acts of 1957 and 1960. Goldwater opposed the 1964 Act because he felt it was an untoward expansion of federal power under the Commerce Clause. It's a little disappointing you'd gloss over key information like this just to rehash an old liberal canard.
He have to be lynched.
It was evil white men who created this country and came up with the constitution which deemed all men created equal. The constitution is why the civil rights movement worked so quickly. Slavery still exists in Africa. Thats a fact. Why are liberals such malcontents filled with guilt.
Whereas if we look to black Africa we can see Mugabe seizing White farms and raping the White women. Well, from where I live, the latter isn't that different to Zimbabwe anyway. Patriotism is a crime, and self hating isn't liberalism isn't. Oh please.
thanks
1/10 liberals not bad. Now trying explaining what you'd do to fight the war on terror...
P.S. wars cant be won by sunshine farts and lollypops :)
YOU LISTEN TO ME YOU LIBERAL PIECE OF SHIT....
YOU FUCKIN LIBERALS ARE THE REASON MY COUNTRY IS TURNING TO SHIT....
YALL HAVE BEEN DOIN DRUGS FOR 40 YEARS AND FUCKED UP UR HEAD////
I DID NOT THINK SLAVERY OR ANYTHNG LIKE THAT WASS COOL BUT DONT U FUCKIN BLAME THE CONSERVITIVES FOR THAT SHIT....
NOT ALL OF US WERE RACIST....THERE ARE RACIST LIBERALS TO....I DONT KNOW WHERE THE FUCK LIBERALS GET THERE FACTS....
I THINK THEY GET IT OUT OF THERE ASS.....
UUUGGGHHH YOU PISS A REPUBLICAN OFF....
^Caps Lock - Unleash the Fury!
What I think Josh was trying to say is that this article is partisan tripe.
Our system of government prevents any one idea from being subjected on the body citizen. What the author celebrates is an impossibility. "Progressives" couldn't have done crap to save mankind without support from other members (right & left) in government. Give us a break.
Liberals themselves are racists - setting up a system to loan minorities money that they knew would eventually and explosively fail only to push these minorities out of their home. Is it any coincidence that a liberal run & staunchly defended GSE failed 2 months before the election...only to have liberals like Lying-soon-to-be-fired-Pelosi blaming George Bush for the failing while the former President and other pols (right & left) saw this coming for YEARS?
Greed is universal in human nature, as is hate.
While the OP isn't about socialism, its important to point out that macro-socialism has NEVER worked. Manipulating the culture of America to further a "progressive" socialist agenda will end in bloodshed, and it will likely be those who don't like actual conflict on the receiving end. (Why do you think socialists, I mean, progressives push to have guns banned?)
...but don't let facts get in the way of a good libtard rant on how they are superior thinkers and that they have all the answers - I supposed it's easy to think you're more an intellectual than the rest of the country while smoking a joint during a protest with a sex toy stage-glued to your forehead.
So if i'm born to an interracial relationship (both still married) and i'm about to be married into an interracial relationship, why is it that i'm conservative? Would me having common sense and morals have anything to do with it?
What a steaming pile of crap this article is. Liberals, conservatives, moderates...etc....what a crock. We are Americans, and there isn't 2% of ALL politicians that give a rats ass about this country, they only care about winning elections. RIP America.
They should both be lynched. Only a whore would go with a nigger. niggers are animals, just look at any nigger neighborhood, or any predominately nigger country. They always live in squaller, prove me wrong, show me just one nigger neighborhood that doesn't. They make up roughly 12% of the population yet they are over 85% of the prison population, does that not speak volumes?????
He might not get lynched but he and his wife still have to pay way too much taxes IF they can find a job and are still forced to buy health care and are in danger of being robbed or killed by illegals and/or terrorists who have entered the country illegally. You want to keep living in the past, go ahead, conservatives are true progressives as they are all about progress. BTW, I doubt we can thank liberals exclusively for the success of the civil rights movement. Ultimately, conservatives came on board and made it happen.
So my only question is this... Why do liberals vote for Democrats? They are the party of slavery... if you know your facts. Republicans and conservatives are evil why? Because we encourage people to work and better themselves and be responsible for their own destiny? How much more brainwashing and propoganda are you going to let Democrats drill into your brain? And STOP making it a black/white issue. It's not. Democrats feed the black community funding from taxes, NOT because they care. It's because the more and more they make you dependent on them, the longer they stay in power. Just remember who was lynching who.
utter nonsense, by a historical dunce.
contemporary Liberals, Democrats...whatever synonym term those rabid mongrels decide to call themselves...are nothing more than modern-day plantation owners.
Lets get this straight everyone... We all have a little bit of liberalism and conservatism in us. Depending on the subject, my views may change. All of this talk about capitalism, and socialism is all part of the political agendas by our current political parties. The truth is that there is no such thing as pure capitalism nor is there any pure socialist nations. We are a mixture of these ideologies and things will change and evolve over time. I know that we have a complex history that is full of all types of issues where people take different sides. The BEST thing for all of us to do is to NOT buy into all of this Bull-crap about who is liberal and who is conservative. We as Americans need to be more critical at the people who are separating us by these ideologies. Stop the hate and educate yourselves about each other.
Sounds like some of the posters here long for the chance to lynch those they don't agree with. Anger, vengefulness, and the urge to blame can only lead to swords, not plowshares.
If we happened to meet in person, would you first demand to know what my political 'tribe' is, and then beat me up if if wasn't one you like? Left and right have got to get off the blame-game whodunit cycle, or we'll have civil war shore nuff.
One of the saddest sights I ever see is white grandparents out with their mongrel grandchildren, forced to nurture the death of their own bloodline. We are merely the temporary occupants of our genes, thousands of years of our ancestors lived, loved, struggled and died to pass that genetic inheritance on to us. It is not ours to adulterate. The race mixer destroys their blood and that of all their ancestors and descendants, that is the punishment natural law deals to the race mixer.