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The Glorious Lost Cause: Not Glorious, Just LOST
This is my second blog post on this topic. But I feel it needs to be addressed again and again, LOUDLY, as by as many people as possible. The Glorious Lost Cause needs to be dismantled. The Civil War was NOT glorious, and the South LOST. It was not a war over “states’ rights” but a war stage-managed by the slave owners to protect their right to own and use human-beings as chattel. It was a class and culture war, true. Many of the poor whites, i.e. those not coming directly from plantation families, were fighting on behalf of an ideal that benefitted them little. Fake news was indeed in play during this time, largely spread to inveigle those same poor whites into fighting this war. “States’ Rights”, “The War Of Northern Agression”, and “the happy slave” were just some of the terms used at the time to cajol people into fighting. But slave-owners in truth placed poor whites on much the same socio-economic place as their African American slaves and saw them as only a little above the beasts they claimed their slaves to be. Cannon fodder, indeed!
So to all those who decry the recent taking down of Confederate statues and fly the battle flags of the Confederacy, I suggest you do some reading of history before you go proudly embracing the white supremacy of the Neo-Confederates. Find out who your ancestors were and look into their past. Get a DNA test done (gotta have prof of that white blood, right?) I would recommend Nancy Isenberg’s book White Trash: The 400-Year Untold History Of Class In America. After that wake-up call, then read Michael Eric’s Dyson’s Tears We Cannot Stop: A Sermon To White America.
To my Anglo-Saxon aquaintances here in Abingdon who love their Confederate Soldier statue and Confederate Dead section of the cemetary: should you wish to be proud of relics of a war fought not for you nor for your ancestors, go right ahead. But the time has come for these NOT to be in the public eye. The South lost a war it fought for a intolerable ideal. These reminders which glorify that heritage need to be removed and either publicly destroyed (my hope) or placed into private venues. Like it or not-and I know many of you don’t- the South alongside the rest of America is now multicultural and multiracial. We need to embrace that reality, not cling to some mythical past.
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Hope And Despair As A Trans Person
Over the past week, I’ve been visited by outrage over the continuing rollback of LGBTQ rights by Trump (#notmypresident) & Co. There were Trump’s obnoxious and factually incorrect tweets about not allowing trans people to serve in military, though the armed forces are not yet reversing their policies. The Justice Department headed by Sessions is arguing that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 does not cover discrimination based on sexual orientation. And in a further slap in the face to us Trump appointed Sam Brownback, known for his vociferous anti-LGBTQ views, as his religious ambassador. (In case you’re wondering, the religion that Brownback is representing is Christianity. Like we really need that. Snort.) Texas joins NC in stating that trans individuals who are government employees or attending public school must use the bathroom which corresponds to the gender stated on their birth certificate. (So should you be visiting Texas, make sure you have both proof of citizenship and your birth certificate on hand!)
BUT…I found a glimmer of hope in a very unexpected place: An acquaintance of mine who is a confirmed Trump supporter evinced great disgust at the administration’s positions on LGBTQ rights and Trump’s anti-trans tweets in particular. You could have knocked me over with a feather when he told me this! Of everyone I know, I would have never considered that HE would prove an ally! He said that the violence against LGBTQ individuals that he reads about makes him sick and that we should have the same rights and protections as everyone else. Wow. This coming from a member of Trump’s base is extremely heartening.
I am probably the only queer trans person he knows. But I have been very outspoken about being queer and trans (and progressive and atheist) as part of my one-person consciousness-raising program. One of my doctors told me that he has fears for my safety b/c of this, in fact. Perhaps it’s actually having an effect? I do this b/c I want the people I know to have a face when they hear about LGBTQ issues. That makes it much harder for them to demonize us, imho. If someone they know and like is queer, then perhaps they’ll think twice before endorsing heinous policies regarding us. They’ll remember that these do not only affect nameless strangers but are meant for someone who has helped them with their groceries, paid their bus fare, inquired about their health, etc. So being visible is important to me. The more people see that we are their neighbors, friends, and family members, the more they will realize that we are people and citizens not unlike themselves. This is what I hope.
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So Transparent-NOT
I have to write about Donald Trump, Jr. The whole debacle is further proof that Trump (#notmypresident) and his family seem to be TRYING to provide fodder for bloggers, late-night comedians, and all those who deem this admin a joke. He has changed his story 5 times. As details come to light, he looks more and more guilty, not to mention stupid AF. I’ve watched Junior come up with excuse after excuse. Trump’s admin keeps trying to spin this. The main story seems to be “He didn’t actually get any damaging info, so this doesn’t count.” EXCUSE ME??? That is NOT the point. The point is: You and others in the Trump campaign knowingly and eagerly met with RUSSIANS to get damaging info on HRC. Merrian-Webster has changed the spelling of “collusion” to “JUNIOR” because of you! This is like saying: “Yes, officer, I DID break into that house and steal items. But no crime was committed b/c they weren’t worth much!” Your INTENT was to collude with a foreign government to win the major election in the United States. Whether or not you succeeded (in this meeting, at least) is irrelevant.
Kushner, also present at this meeting, has amended his security clearance 3 times. He keeps forgetting meeting with foreign offials, i.e. Russians. Sessions also has neglected to list HIS contacts with Russian officials. With Russia being a main topic before, during, and after Trump’s election, how the fuck do you forget something like this? Were I a Trump official, I would even be putting down, “I watched Boris Badenov as a youngster!” But, nooooo. These people seem to have a collective and selective amnesia, which filters out meetings with foreign ambassadors, government representatives, and anyone else who might prove problematic. As the Church Lady would say, “Well, isn’t that convenient?!!”
