Thread: Happy Black History Month.

Originally Posted by Rasselas

But the past is different for different people. Orwell was right, but that doesn't mean he agreed that controlling the past for one's own benefit was a good thing. So why won't we? Tell the story from all sides, I mean? (I never said 'can't,' by the way.)

Actually, the past is fixed, and you can't change it. The individual's family histories will vary, but not the gestalt of events.

What Orwell was referring to was the tales that are told. Rewriting the tales was Winston Smith's job, after all. Imagine how easy his job would be with the internet. All the government has to do is assume control of it to control the content. And no, Orwell was horrified at the thought of the past being in the hands of people like Stalin or the English Socialists (which is what Ingsoc stood for).

The Mayor never wrote that lying about past was a good, not in any way whatsoever.

(Agreed, you said "don't", which doesn't do too much to alter the Mayor's response, but he apologizes for that error.)

Originally Posted by Mayor Snorkum

What month is Irish history month?

What month is German history month?

What month is Italian history month?

What month is British history month?

What month is French history month?

What month is Greek history month? (No other culture contributed more the Western Civilization than the Greeks)

What month is Spanish history month? (Not "hispanic", "Spanish")

What month is Iroquois History month? What about Cherokee, Sioux, Apache, etc?

If any of the above months exist, why are they not granted equal coverage in the media and THE SCHOOLS?

Why is one racial group lauded while the others ignored?

Put a tampon in it douchebag... if it wasn't for stupid bastards like you and freecell over the centuries, this wouldn't even be an issue, now would it?

Originally Posted by Inkslinger

Put a tampon in it douchebag... if it wasn't for stupid bastards like you over the centuries, this wouldn't even be an issue, now would it?

Something crawl up your ass today?

Originally Posted by meridian5455

Something crawl up your ass today?

Not at all... having a great, productive Monday as a matter of fact.
How's your day going?

Originally Posted by Mayor Snorkum

Not "can't".

"Won't".

"He who controls the past, controls the future" - George Orwell.

There is no "official history." Every single historical account is from a certain point of view.

Originally Posted by Bluegrass

There is no "official history." Every single historical account is from a certain point of view.

Isn't there a saying that the winners write the history?

Originally Posted by Mayor Snorkum

What month is Irish history month?

What month is German history month?

What month is Italian history month?

What month is British history month?

What month is French history month?

What month is Greek history month? (No other culture contributed more the Western Civilization than the Greeks)

What month is Spanish history month? (Not "hispanic", "Spanish")

What month is Iroquois History month? What about Cherokee, Sioux, Apache, etc?

If any of the above months exist, why are they not granted equal coverage in the media and THE SCHOOLS?

Why is one racial group lauded while the others ignored?

Greek history is covered extensively for 2 years at a minimum. Elementary grades 6-8.

I think we give too little emphasis to early American studies, most people know so little about the relationship between early settlers (or pilgrims) and the inhabitants of the continent. When it comes to history, we learn a great deal about anceint civilizations, which makes sense if you're going to learn about history you start from the known begining. Then there's a gap where we begin to focus on civics, a broadbrush study of how our Constitution came to exist, and how it's played out since. By default, we learn about the contribution of Americans, white Americans, Irish and British and French and so on, because this country excluded black Americans for the majority of it's history, when learning about civics, by default the only thing we have to teach young blacks are negative things, mostly anyway, in relation to whites. So that's why we've set aside the most miserable month of the year to specifically focus on contributions made by black Americans. I don't see a problem with that, it's still American history, not like we're neglecting educations or anything to fit it in, and if any Germans feel left out, there's always high school where they're the focus of two world wars, that's some bragging rights.

Originally Posted by Mayor Snorkum

The key point was actually that so-called "history months" are divisive and pointless.

As an AMERICAN of Irish and German descent, the Mayor would be bored silly if two months of every year were spent repeating tales how the Irish catholics preserved civilization at the onset of the dark ages, and how the rent-seeking english occupied a divided fratricidal Ireland and kept them in the gutter for centuries. The Irish did fine in the US.

You see, the blacks in this country aren't the only people with a history of persecution. The blacks are the only ones still whining about events hat happened fifteen decades ago. Given the history of the Irish, of the Jews, of the Italians, of the Chinese and other asians, it's rather pathetic that the black leaders still use the myth of "oppression" to keep their followers segregated from the successful mainstream of this nation. The Mayor knows far too many black men and women who work their asses off, are devoted to their families, and are SUCCESSFUL.

There are two things all those people have in common:

Their african ancestry is more recent than the Mayor's, by a hundred thousand years. (prbably more lie 30,000-50,000 years, does that make a difference?)

They rejected that socialist victimhood bullshit and used their skills and talents to earn for themselves what their abilities say they deserved.

The Irish did the same.

As did the Jews.

So did the Chinese and other asians. You can pretend to argue that the Irish could "blend in" to the population, but not when their friggin' name is Mick-something or other. (The Mayor does recall Governor Cuomo (the first one) whining one time that there was some kind of prejudice against people who's names "ended in a vowel". Seriously, he did.) Are you going to try to pretend that the Chinese blended in with the white population, too, to explain their success as opposed to that of the blacks?

There's one other issue you forgot to discuss. Black people can't blend in with Irish/Italian/Jew/catholic/Spanish/whatever. I come from an Irish Catholic family, the only reason anyone would know that is if I shared the information with them.

Originally Posted by Sparta

There's one other issue you forgot to discuss. Black people can't blend in with Irish/Italian/Jew/catholic/Spanish/whatever. I come from an Irish Catholic family, the only reason anyone would know that is if I shared the information with them.

You mean you didn't get the decoder ring and tatoo that only shows up under UV light? You must be one of those "Connecticut Catholics."

All of us Boston Catholics, we got the whole package...including the secret handshake.