YES! YES! YES!

[Tybee]

This is a different take on a museum of shame:

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/boot-monument

Apparently, before he died, he said,
""Let me die in this old uniform in which I fought my battles. May God forgive me for ever having put on another."

A sad end to a sad life.

[jp1]

David Petreaus wrote an interesting article on the topic of renaming military bases that stuck me as rational and well thought out. Probably the most poignant paragraph was this one:

For an organization designed to win wars to train for them at installations named for those who led a losing force is sufficiently peculiar, but when we consider the cause for which these officers fought, we begin to penetrate the confusion of Civil War memory. These bases are, after all, federal installations, home to soldiers who swear an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. The irony of training at bases named for those who took up arms against the United States, and for the right to enslave others, is inescapable to anyone paying attention.

The whole article is well worth a read.

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/ar...-bases/612832/

[jp1]

Personally I don't have any problem with people being shamed for, and facing consequences for, racist actions or speech. I'm just a middle aged man, but I'm old enough to have been a gay teenager when it was still perfectly acceptable for a white house press secretary to make fag jokes when asked during a press briefing what the administration was doing about an epidemic that was killing thousands of gay men. Thankfully society has move on to the point that that would not be acceptable today. But that didn't happen because LGBT people and their supporters sat quietly by while people said homophobic things and committed violent acts against gay people. Getting society beyond racism also isn't going to happen if we sit quietly by and let people's actions slide when they make racist comments like calling our 44th president a monkey on twitter as happened a couple of days ago. People like that deserve to be publicly shamed for their comments. If the consequences serve as a lesson for others who might consider doing the same then it's a success.

[gimmethesimplelife]

Interestingly enough in this time of being perched on the edge of sweeping social change (meaning America), I feel very calm and very much vindicated. The reality of America is climbing the social class ladder this time and I believe more of America is facing what I faced about America years ago.

Interestingly enough, I am very calm and quiet these days. I am keeping a background role and am not protesting but am getting involved in social justice via Defund The Police.

There's no need for me to be so in your face these days. George Floyd's death at the hands of America has made the reality of America brutally clear to the world, and much better than I ever could. I'm best off taking a lower profile role in the movement as one of my main goals has been realized - for America to take a good hard look at itself. And do something about itself STAT.

In Phoenix we are not defunding BUT we have fully funded a new civilian oversight office regarding the Phoenix PD. Honestly, I'd rather we defund but these are the cards we have to play with.

I'm liking city councils and politicians nationwide waking up to the truth of US police and how truly evil police unions are. What an exciting time to live in the 85006 and to be alive! Rob

[gimmethesimplelife]

I will not kneel nor kowtow to the new religion. Period. Some white chick who is a neighbor was trying to strong arm people for the protest in my town last week. I just told her I have bad knees and can’t walk/stand for a long time. Given I was limping a bit at the time, she didn’t press her case any more.

My social media is full of diving and Corgi dogs. I don’t put a thing political up. That’s nothing new. People have tried posting political stuff on my page. They are immediately blocked. I’ve warned everyone for months to not do so.

Now there’s the stupid move to remove Gone with the Wind from HBO Max’s film library after someone complained.

How about letting people decide for themselves? Too damn many people these days are incapable of realizing that books and movies are products of their times and may have attitudes that don’t match with current thinking.

I just saw that the memorial on the 54th Massachusetts was vandalized. This was the first company of volunteer black soldiers during the Civil War, depicted in the movie Glory. People are idiots.

Too damn many people need to read some history.

Gotta say I love Gone With The Wind. How can you not cheer when Scarlett commits cold blooded murder and shoots the Yankee picking through her late Mother's jewelry? How can you not feel inspired by her tearing down the curtains to make a dress to go to Atlanta and try to get her hands on $300 to save Tara? How can you not respect this woman something fierce for her intense will to survive ala the As God is My Witness speech?

I've always seen this movie not as a romance but as a testament to the human will to survive. And it didn't hurt that Clark Gable was so handsome, either - or that Olivia de Havilland was such a great contrast to Vivien Leigh - so classy and elegant.

Now to the social justice aspects. Yes, the blacks in this movie were portrayed as inferiors. Instead of.making the movie unavailable , why don't we further confront the truth that African Americans indeed have valid generations long grievances with the United States and the treatment they have received at the hands of the United States? Rob

[gimmethesimplelife]

One more comment about GWTW: This movie DID do something positive for African Americans. Hattie McDaniel, who.of course played Mammy - won an Oscar for the role as Best Supporting Actress - a Hollywood first that an African American took home a statue. Rob

[JaneV2.0]

Personally I don't have any problem with people being shamed for, and facing consequences for, racist actions or speech. I'm just a middle aged man, but I'm old enough to have been a gay teenager when it was still perfectly acceptable for a white house press secretary to make fag jokes when asked during a press briefing what the administration was doing about an epidemic that was killing thousands of gay men. Thankfully society has move on to the point that that would not be acceptable today. But that didn't happen because LGBT people and their supporters sat quietly by while people said homophobic things and committed violent acts against gay people. Getting society beyond racism also isn't going to happen if we sit quietly by and let people's actions slide when they make racist comments like calling our 44th president a monkey on twitter as happened a couple of days ago. People like that deserve to be publicly shamed for their comments. If the consequences serve as a lesson for others who might consider doing the same then it's a success.

Hear. hear! I'm tired of the idea that it's OK to protest as long you don't inconvenience anyone, and that it's OK to be as casually cruel as you like without ever facing consequences. Omelet, eggs.

[iris lilies]

There isn’t anything wrong with responding to someone out as a consequence of their speech.


What might be wrong is the judgement of“ Wrong.”


For instance, there are Reddit forums where Rob would be castigated for saying anything positive about the movie Gone With the wind. Kind Redditors would say he is unconsciously racist, and naive, in his defense of that film. But most Redditors are not that kind and would label that opinion tinned eared, divisive, white privileged, and horrifying in our current environment.

[LDAHL]

But isn't that what trump wants us to do? He is going to send the military if we don't bend to his rules! Remember .... law and order!

I view Trump and the new thought police as two sides of the same tarnished coin. They seek to enforce two complementary but equally nonsensical world views by threats and intimidation. In many ways, they make each other possible.

[LDAHL]

David Petreaus wrote an interesting article on the topic of renaming military bases that stuck me as rational and well thought out. Probably the most poignant paragraph was this one:

For an organization designed to win wars to train for them at installations named for those who led a losing force is sufficiently peculiar, but when we consider the cause for which these officers fought, we begin to penetrate the confusion of Civil War memory. These bases are, after all, federal installations, home to soldiers who swear an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. The irony of training at bases named for those who took up arms against the United States, and for the right to enslave others, is inescapable to anyone paying attention.

The whole article is well worth a read.

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/ar...-bases/612832/

I think he’s right about that.