Froth Slosh B'Gosh

Learned Behavior

No child is born racist, racism is learned, and perhaps at a younger age than once thought.  I haven't seen too much published at this time about the shooting suspects upbringing, but living in the deep south, and in the state that exepmplifies sedition, where the symbols of racism are unavoidable, is it any surprise that Dylann Roof holds odious views?

This was an act of terrorism.  It was a hate crime.  It was not an attack on religion, despite the protestations of those on the right.  How many churches did the killer drive past on his way Emanuel A.M.E., a church steeped in history and symbolism?  If it was an attack on religion, why didn't the killer launch his attack on a Sunday, when the churches are full? 

And the most odious?  Blaming the victim, as an NRA board member did.

So where to start?  How do we begin to address the posion of racism?  Ta-Nehisi Coates made a modest suggestion.

Learned Behavior

No child is born racist, racism is learned, and perhaps at a younger age than once thought.  I haven't seen too much published at this time about the shooting suspects upbringing, but living in the deep south, and in the state that exepmplifies sedition, where the symbols of racism are unavoidable, is it any surprise that Dylann Roof holds odious views?

This was an act of terrorism.  It was a hate crime.  It was not an attack on religion, despite the protestations of those on the right.  How many churches did the killer drive past on his way Emanuel A.M.E., a church steeped in history and symbolism?  If it was an attack on religion, why didn't the killer launch his attack on a Sunday, when the churches are full? 

And the most odious?  Blaming the victim, as an NRA board member did.

So where to start?  How do we begin to address the posion of racism?  Ta-Nehisi Coates made a modest suggestion.

Color Bearer

Antietam, at The Bloody Lane.

Whistling Dixie

Its odd spending time south of the Mason-Dixon line.  Confederate flags are everywhere, and this is the part of Virginia that was for the most part completly under Federal control during the Civil War. 

I went to the pharmacy to pick up some cold medicine, and I happened to be wearing a shirt indicating that I'm from Pennsylvania.

The clerk at the checkout asked me "How did you get down here?  I didn't think we allowed Yankees." 

I replied, "We won the war, that's why."

She then said "well its amazing that we let you across the border."

To which I replied, "Don't make us come down to teach you a lesson again."

Less than a week to go, I cannot wait to get back north.

The Traitor

Writing in Esquire on the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War, Lt. Col. Robert Bateman states, quite eloquently, something that I've long believed about someone many Americans consider a hero, Robert E. Lee. 

“I think that Robert E. Lee, as a traitor and betrayer of his solemn oath  before God and the Constitution, was a much greater terrorist than Osama  Bin Ladin… after all, Lee killed many more Americans than Bin Ladin, and almost  destroyed the United States. "

Spot on.  Bateman's piece goes on to laud one of my most admired Civil War figures, the loyal Virginian, George Thomas, who most U.S. citizens have never heard of. 

I urge you to read his article, there's a lot of good stuff there, including some thoughts on the very real perception of two Virginias.

The End

Not of the blog, but of the Gettysburg photos!  Some of the gang in front of the 116th PA monument.  I hope you enjoyed the series.

PA & MN

A little shaky (it was dusk, OK?)

Another Gettysburg Sunset

Looking over the tube of a 3" rifle.

Uncle John

Statue of John Sedgwick at Gettysburg.  He commanded the Sixth Corps.  Killed at Spotsylvania Courthouse in 1864.

Rainy Days