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I shall never fight in the armed forces with a Negro by my side. . . Rather I should die a thousand times, and see Old Glory trampled in the dirt never to rise again, than to see this beloved land of ours become degraded by race mongrels, a throwback to the blackest specimen from the wilds.
klan member and future liberal icon robert byrdin 1945 on the integration of the armed services
and since the phony charge of "racist" is tossed about with such facile, promiscuous abandon by the left these days, i thought it might be instructive to use the occasion of the good senator's passing to remind everyone of what the real thing looks like.
5 comments:
Can one ever stop being a racist? I wonder.
(And you'll love the Captch for this comment: gunfead. Somehow, it's fitting.)
todd: when you embrace a philosophy for the length of time and with the level of passion this guy brought to the deal and then do a sudden come-to-jesus 180 only when it becomes politically necessary? you know i don't have a cynical bone in my body, but even so, i'm just a little skeptical.
[and yeah, you're right--that is fitting, even if i can't put my finger on exactly why.]
I'm sure you're right. But I'm shocked that politicians would do anything self-serving. SHOCKED!! =:0
Hugo Black was a member of the KKK and then was appointed by FDR to the Supreme Court.
After "The Birth of a Nation" was released in 1919, there was a surge in membership in the Klan that lasted for decades.
It is important to put all of this in context that Byrd was speaking in language that was acceptable for his day among whites in the South (West Virginia counts).
Some politicians played to the racial politics even when they themselves did not mean it.
But, let's no forget, that Ronald Reagan gave his first post-convention speak for the presidency in 1980 in Philadelphia, Mississippi -- and used the coded language of "states rights" repeatedly in his campaign. Indeed, this language continues today.
So, was Byrd a racist? Sounds like he was espousing overtly racist language. But, he had plenty of company then and now.
noblesavage: you know, i love the way all you libs are falling all over yourselves putting byrd's racism in "context," when you're the same bunch that ran trent lott outta washington on a rail for daring to show a kindness to that other old racist from a bygone era--you know the one i mean.
the point of this post was, what the left so loudly decries as racism today can't even hold a candle to the genuine article--that's my idea of context.
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