The US doesn't seem to be able to move on from the sins of the past ..... and no more so than in the deep south ....
A recent senatorial election race in Mississippi was won by Cindy Hyde-Smith, a woman of white heritage for the Republican Party.
Now in Mississippi that perhaps not a surprise, as they abandoned the Democratic Party, seemingly for good in 1989 (and even before that the Democrats who were elected Senators were of a very white conservative tradition).
However the race had been closer than expected, with Mike Espy, the Democratic contender and an African American (but he was a local boy), getting 47 per cent of the vote. The reason for this closeness was that the Republican candidate said that she would be "on the front row" if one of her supporters "invited me to a public hanging"..... the message was apparently reinforced when photos surfaced of her posing at the home of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, with the caption: "Mississippi history at its best."
Now in many states where hanging is supported, that statement and the photo caption might pass off as just appealing to the 'law and order' and conservative white lobby's. After all public hangings as we have discussed ended in the US in the 1930's, and despite the recent controversies about 'Confederate history', any white politician would be daft not to make at least some nod to those portions of the electorate.
But in the deep south, the American civil war and the rebel defeat still echoes through the centuries ..... the Jim Crow laws (which mandated the segregation of public schools, public places, and public transportation, and the segregation of restrooms, restaurants, and drinking fountains for whites and blacks), are still in living memories, as are lynchings.
So her statement, which President Trump commented was because "I know her, and I know she apologised, and she misspoke", was taken as a battle cry, or call to arms to the liberals, and on the last Monday before the vote, several nooses were found at the Mississippi capitol in Jackson, in an apparent protest against the tenor of the campaign. Signs accompanying the ropes, urged voters to elect "someone who respects the lives of lynch victims" and "remind people that times haven't changed".
Now at some point the US has to move on .... history is just that, history, and exists most comfortably in the past. Picking over it is like picking a scab, it just reopens the wounds, and it seems that for now, it is still too raw for some to take.
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| The Sins Of The Past Still Haunt The USA. |
A recent senatorial election race in Mississippi was won by Cindy Hyde-Smith, a woman of white heritage for the Republican Party.
Now in Mississippi that perhaps not a surprise, as they abandoned the Democratic Party, seemingly for good in 1989 (and even before that the Democrats who were elected Senators were of a very white conservative tradition).
 |
| Mike Espy .... |
However the race had been closer than expected, with Mike Espy, the Democratic contender and an African American (but he was a local boy), getting 47 per cent of the vote. The reason for this closeness was that the Republican candidate said that she would be "on the front row" if one of her supporters "invited me to a public hanging"..... the message was apparently reinforced when photos surfaced of her posing at the home of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, with the caption: "Mississippi history at its best."
 |
| Her Body Shapes Didn't Help Matters Either .... |
Now in many states where hanging is supported, that statement and the photo caption might pass off as just appealing to the 'law and order' and conservative white lobby's. After all public hangings as we have discussed ended in the US in the 1930's, and despite the recent controversies about 'Confederate history', any white politician would be daft not to make at least some nod to those portions of the electorate.
But in the deep south, the American civil war and the rebel defeat still echoes through the centuries ..... the Jim Crow laws (which mandated the segregation of public schools, public places, and public transportation, and the segregation of restrooms, restaurants, and drinking fountains for whites and blacks), are still in living memories, as are lynchings.
So her statement, which President Trump commented was because "I know her, and I know she apologised, and she misspoke", was taken as a battle cry, or call to arms to the liberals, and on the last Monday before the vote, several nooses were found at the Mississippi capitol in Jackson, in an apparent protest against the tenor of the campaign. Signs accompanying the ropes, urged voters to elect "someone who respects the lives of lynch victims" and "remind people that times haven't changed".
Now at some point the US has to move on .... history is just that, history, and exists most comfortably in the past. Picking over it is like picking a scab, it just reopens the wounds, and it seems that for now, it is still too raw for some to take.
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