[Vision2020] And another incendary grenade tossed upon the fire

[keely emerinemix]

I come from a family of staunch Democrats, Phil.  Our house was always rife 
with politics and commentary, and my parents' friends were union organizers, 
civil rights workers, NAACP comrades, educators and peace activists.  My 
grandfather, father and I were journalists; they were renown for their 
newspaper columns about the Democratic Party and its doings, good or bad.  
Both of my parents are still active in the Democratic Party in Tucson.

Not once in my 44 years have I heard of "Jackson Day" in honor of Andrew 
Jackson.  Not there, not here, not anywhere.  Further, no one I know would 
passively accept the remarks of Woodrow Wilson, either as quaint evidence of 
his times, or as a manifesto for the Party.  Frankly, the Democrats I was 
raised with, and the ones I know now, consider Jackson and Wilson as 
relevant to their activism as Laurel and Hardy.  The folks I know and grew 
up with have pictures of Cesar Chavez, JFK, Dr. King, Susan B. Anthony and 
Medgar Evers in their offices.

Some Democrats are and have been undeniably racist, as have some members of 
my own family.  Others are just obnoxious, ignorant and petty.  But such 
aren't the tenets of the Democratic Party, and if you would like to consider 
this a denunciation of Jacksonian/Wilsonian racial bigotry from a Democrat, 
you're welcome to.

keely emerine mix


From: "Phil Nisbet" <pcnisbet1 at hotmail.com>
To: vision2020 at moscow.com
Subject: [Vision2020] And another incendary grenade tossed upon the fire
Date: Sat, 20 Aug 2005 06:06:46 -0700

I have recently read the interesting denigration of some folk’s espousal of 
Robert E Lee as a possible role model and found the whole thing fairly 
interesting.

If we are to take the idea a little further, then of course we should look 
at a number of organizations and try to see who exactly idealizes whom.

So if for an example, a group or organization were to idealize and make 
heroic reference to a known racist who had been specifically responsible for 
say genocide, would that group receive similar condemnation?  What if that 
same group still found heroic a neo-Confederate who was endorsed by the KKK 
and who had sponsored complete segregation in all public facilities?

And should we condemn a group whose chief would say, “…Negroes should expect 
to be treated as a servile race.”  Or one who would tell a black that 
"segregation is not a humiliation but a benefit, and ought to be so regarded 
by you gentlemen."?

Because last I checked, the local Democratic Party still holds a Jackson 
day.  Andrew Jackson was a slave owner, a racist and was the man who 
condemned tribes to the Trail of Tears.  He is commonly held out as an 
example of what a good Democrat should be.

And the KKKer who gave us National Jim Crow, who had Dixie played at his 
innagrial ball was none other than Woodrow Wilson.  Wilson is still held out 
as the ultimate Progressive, yet he had the provisions for Racial Equality 
stricken from the League of Nations Charter.

Oppose that the Lee’s statement to President Pierce, “There are few, I 
believe, in this enlightened age, who will not acknowledge that slavery as 
an institution is a moral and political evil. It is idle to expatiate on its 
disadvantages. I think it is a greater evil to the white than to the colored 
race.”

As one whose relatives fought on the Union side in the Civil War and were 
distinguished for their service in it, I think I an fairly say that Lee’s 
failure to support the Union was a terrible choice and he should be and was 
found guilty for it.  But as a man, he was a far better person than the 
ravening racists Jackson and Wilson and I would rather see people emulate 
him than either of those two rascals.  At the very least, he never committed 
genocide.

So can I get Tom Hansen’s round condemnation for the use of Andrew Jackson 
as a role model?  Is it possible to see a segment of Not on the Palouse Not 
Ever devoted to a round of condemnation for groups who hold dinners in that 
bigoted mass murderers honor?

>From Horseshoe Bend to the Trail of Tears, to the slave cabins at the
Hermitage, surely painting a rosy picture of that man deserve deserves a 
serious cat call.  How about it Tom?

Phil Nisbet

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