As you get older, and there’s less on your plate every day, you have more time to think. And when you have a whole life to think back on, who knows what will come to you unbidden? And so it was that, recently, while thinking of the incredible events surrounding the national change of mood regarding confederate monuments, and the confederate flag, and believe it or not, I found striking similarities to another massive social and political shift that occurred during my life. It will take a bit to get there, but believe me, it all comes together in the end.
My heart soared when I saw and heard that the state of Mississippi had finally lifted itself out of the muck and became the last state to remove the confederate flag as a component of it’s state flag. This is s work in progress, but it is progress. Following the Mother Emmanuel massacre, South Carolina lowered the confederate flag for the last time from the state capitol. Confederate monuments and statues are coming down all over the country, and even NASCAR, the granddaddy of southern sports, has barred confederate flags from their events and properties. But there is an underlying social movement involved in this that I don’t think people really realize right now, and it has to do with the psychology of racism, or any other socially questionable behavior. Let me explain.
I was a long time smoker, I started smoking when I was 16, and didn’t stop until I was 58, when I switched to vaping. And I was a serious smoker, committed to my right to poison my lungs. But being an avowed smoker during that time frame, I had front row seats to the social upheaval that finally turned the tide of the acceptability of smoking.
When I started smoking, it was socially acceptable, it was done everywhere. But somewhere along the line, people who didn’t smoke got tired of having their clothes smell like an ashtray, and getting diseases common to smokers, even though they didn’t smoke. And then they got some solid scientific evidence on their sides, and it was off to the races.
It started slowly, but once it got rolling, it was unstoppable. In rapid succession, smokers could no longer smoke in restaurants, in bars, on airplanes or theaters, at indoor sporting events, and finally, even at outdoor sporting events. And the ultimate psychological effect was that it tended to isolate smokers from each other, and to minimize the places where fellow huffers could congregate and feel comfortable among other true believers. Every time you lit up a Marlboro, you felt less and less like The Outlaw Waylon Jennings, and more and more like The Outlaw Josie Wales.
Are you seeing the connection? It’s easy for a good ole boy to take great pride in grabbing his confederate flag on a short pole, jamming that pole into a holder on the back of his redneck Cadillac, and zooming off to a NASCAR event, there the same flag flies from a pole, there is confederate paraphernalia on sale at the race, and some of the cars in the race have the confederate flag decals on their cars.
It’s much easier for a racist to feel self confident in his beliefs, and to say to his son, You see that statue? That’s what a real patriot looks like! He fought for our way of life. And you know how that’s true? Because the state put up a statue to honor him, and his cause.
Every time a confederate flag comes down, or a confederate traitor monument comes down, it minimizes the warped ideology that those symbols stood for. And more importantly, it minimizes the feelings of the remaining true believers, and most important of all, it isolates them. After all, how do you validate your opinions when you have no governmental or socially sanctioned symbols to point to to buttress your arguments? Even to your children, who are hearing a different story in school?
The Reverend Dr Martin Luther King Jr. once said that while the moral arc bends slowly, it bends in the direction of justice. And every time that a confederate flag or monument comes down, it isolates and invalidates the racists just a little bit more, and it boxes them in just a bit further. It will take time, but we are finally winning. Take it from a former smoker. Just like poor old Joe Camel, it just isn’t cool to be a racist anymore.
To know the future, look to the past.before the insanity of the 2020 election, relive the insanity of the 2016 GOP primary campaign, and the general election, to see how we got to where we are. Copies of President Evil, and the sequel, President Evil II, A Clodwork Orange are available as e-books on Amazon, at the links above. Catch up before the upcoming release of the third book in the trilogy, President Evil III: All The Presidents Fen
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Thanks for helping us all understand a little bit better how change slowly does happen in this country! It inspired me and gives me hope!
Thanks…The thing that inspires me the most is that in this age of instantaneous information, what USED to be acceptable becomes unacceptable in a heartbeat…
True, but i find it doesn’t promote critical analysis, depth of knowledge, or the ability to read Pulitzer prize winning books of history, which require hours to read. Research has shown too much phone/computer time shortens attention span, decreases frustration tolerance, & I believe, a shallow tv based culture. That’s why we presently have a “reality” tv president. Maybe the good outweighs the downside. Hope so.
Excuse me for pointing out the obvious here, Scott, but I’m hearing the same lack of a solution for all that. In fact, you basically quoted chapter and verse the EXACT SAME ARGUMENT I have been hearing on this subject my entire life. Surely you can do better?
You must be ignoring the fact that although we used to have facts & untruths, now we have a population that runs to a website for information & 40% or so know so little they accept statements from officials that are demonstrably false. I’m 67 years old & I’ve seen it go 2 hell in a handbasket. This ego driven exercise on this site or any other will not replace EFFORT to seek the truth. Ever notice how no one wants to have conversations anymore? I see people together everywhere sitting around with their head down into their phones, ignoring the folks right next to them. Stuff may hit the internet allowing people to connect, but you cannot convince me that they actually know more factual history. Wow look at all those college kids (smart?), who are flocking to bars, the breach, etc. Without masks or social distance. Case closed.
I say this…mostly…with love, Scott: Eff. All. That. You basically just quoted your parents, your grandparents and gods only know how many other generations before whenever the world turned into something they no longer understood. And yeah, blame the kids while you’re at it. It’s not like they’re going to inherit the economy-sized eff-ups neither your generation nor my generation bothered to deal with. We lied to ourselves and about ourselves too, just in different ways and with different mediums.
So, I guess I overestimated to do better after all. Because this tripe is worthy only of the Trump cult. From such stereotypical thinking are memes like “OK, Boomer” born.
Waldorf schools recognized the perils you mention. Therefore, there are no computers in their classrooms. They focus on staying in the real world, observing, and thinking. There is a sort of mixed approach to computers in Waldorf high schools.
Montessori schools take a similar whole child approach, but Montessori educators have made no firm determination about computers in the classroom. It is still a matter of debate. Many Montessori schools offer computers as an extra curricular option.
We blended these approaches in my house, promoted reading, had no TV, and did not allow computer games on the computer. My kids use the oldest cell phones the cell phone company supports and often leave it at home. Discussions with my adult children are truly enjoyable. They present their arguments well, and I often learn something from them.
As far as I can see, there is not likely to be a societal approach to those issue.as well researched as they are. Each family must take their own proactive approach.
Another example: while Muslim-bashing was oh so fashionable in the 2000s, it fell WAY out of favor last decade with the mainstream. True, some asshole racists still go there but they were always going to.
Good points. I hope it ends up working.
Thanks Tin woman…Having been on the losing side once, I’m kind of glad to be on the side of the angels for a changer…lol
Mississippi will probably take Georgia’s lead when they were criticized for the “confederate flag” which appeared on their state flag.
Oh, make no mistake, they were slick…..they did remove the Battle Flag of the Army of Northern Virginia and replaced it with the 13 star First National Confederate Flag with the state coat of arms within the circle of stars in the canton…..still, it is a Confederate flag….
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Georgia_(U.S._state)
Just not as many people notice except the good ol’ boys who are still winking, laughing and nodding.
Sort of like what you did by quitting cancer sticks and vaping instead….same drug with a different delivery system.
There’s a practical joke for you! That IS the Stars and Bars, unlike the Battle Flag, as so many people who display it claim. Ignorance R Us. Thanks, Lil Blue Sock, I was going to mention the difference between the Battle Flag of ANV and the Confederate Flag, but I had no idea about the Georgia flag. Wow.
I always thought the Battle Flag looked like it was based on the St. Andrew’s Cross.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Scotland
Truth be known, the “Confederate Flag” that most people think of still isn’t the actual ANV flag…..the 3’X5’ flags with the starred cross are actually the Confederate Navy Jack….the actual Army of Northern Virginia flags were 4’X4’ for Infantry, 3’X3’ for artillary and 2.5’X2.5’for Calvary all squared with a white border along the edges.
I was a very obnoxious keyboard warrior on an online paper called Mississippi Today for the last few weeks. I never really expected the asshole Republicans to get rid of this stupid flag. But then damn, they did. The threats of the SEC and capitalist probably had something to do with their actions. But of course I would like to think that a small part of the reason was because this old bald fool sort of marched in a BLM protest on the 20th. I was at the back of the marchers before we had gone half a block when some nice ladies got someone to take me in their car. After the speeches at the end I rode home with the young white fire chief. I had my walking stick as my hip was hurting and I had my inhalers as I smoked from my 20th year to my 66th.
When I was in 10th grade we were debating this flag. It took me several years to comprehend the evil of this flag and these monuments. Once I learned more of the history of this I changed my opinion. One of my distant cousins who volunteered to fight when he was 14 came back from the war and paid for the monument in the town where I was born. Other great, great uncles and grand-fathers fought at Vicksburg. To say it had never been portrayed as treason, but as a war for independence would be an understatement. We will see what happens. We still have a putrid R in charge vetoing any bills that help poor people and will not expand medicaid.
Being destitute in East TN made me finally turn against the diseased dream of Dixie once and for all. As I navigated through TN’s unemployment system, had to walk everywhere and thus was forced to look at my surroundings and saw the way my little town was slowly imploding (a process which predates the Great Recession and is still ongoing), it finally clicked in my head. I have NEVER had any love for the “Lost Cause” but it struck me that what I was experiencing came from the hands of its degenerate heirs. If they couldn’t keep an entire race their chattel, then they’d make that out of anybody they could get their hands on. Eff that noise…and praise be to what powers may be that my work now has nothing to do with ANY of them.
In 1970 Mississippi public television did not want to air Sesame Street because it was too ‘integrated’. Yes, the arc is long but it bends toward justice. Joe Camel used to be one of the most recognized cartoon characters by children. Banning Joe Camel, banning sports advertising for cigarettes changed things. Winston cup became the Nextel cup.
What used to be unacceptable is now the norm. Ellen Degeneres was cancelled in 1998 for being gay, but is now one of the most popular TV figures out there.
The silent majority as they used to speak about is making itself heard. Confederate flags are not okay now even with daisy duke shorts. statues have to go. buildings have to be renamed. schools have to be renamed. Sure the protests make a difference, but the overall majority of people saying the time has come to make a change is what is making this possible.
In fairness, Ellen’s sitcom really went downhill after she came out on the show. Every single episode after the “puppy” episode (that’s the term used for the coming out episode) ended up being a “gay” episode for no other reason than to be a “gay” story. I mean, I liked the show when it first came out but, even as a gay man, I found the post-“puppy” shows to be waaaaaay too narrow. I mean, with “Will & Grace,” even when a show was “very gay,” there was still something on the show that had a broader appeal (partly because, of course, Grace was straight, as was Karen, but Will and Jack–both gay characters–had the occasional story that didn’t throw the gay in your face). But Ellen basically lost her supporting characters post-“puppy” and really quit being the “Ellen” with all the little quirks and foibles and humanity that people had liked. I mean, compare the post-“puppy” sitcom episodes with the talk show, and you’ll see that Ellen doesn’t do “gay” all the time. She’s far more human and quirky–the Ellen that had made the sitcom so fun.
Nice work here!!! And more important even: absolutely true. It takes time even when sometimes time feels like it is on a short leash; today that leash is about two inches in length due to the execution before our eyes of George Floyd. But still, it will take time even now.
Back in the day I was at one point a TA in Sociology, and tasked with exploring and dissecting Larry L. King’s book, Confessions of a White Racist, with my students. And now all these years later, and with King long gone from this earthly plane, this book remains one millions of white folks would benefit from reading. Racism, like so many other bad “isms” is an intransigent and tricky bugger and unless folks truly know their and our history, we are doomed to repeat it.
We should also widen our gaze on history to give it proper context. As was true during W’s time, I have lost count of the misunderstanding and misapplication of history instances from people either peddling clickbait or so lost in their own issues as to not find their way. Let everyone else scream about the Weimar republic. I’ll be thinking about the Alhollomads (sp?) of Old Iberia, whose fundamentalist outlook not only did nothing to hold onto the peninsula but eventually drove them out of everywhere but Granada by the mid-13th Century.
The history of racism as it’s practiced around the world has sadly a similar scope and depth we could all benefit from knowing.
Great analogy with the smoking. As a former pissed off smoker and recent awoken ally, I see the tide changing and am glad for it.
I actually had my first job around the time restaurants went smoke-free, Murf, a Taco Bell, in fact. I didn’t think anything of the smoke in the place my first six months of the job…I’m a lifelong non-smoker but I grew up around it so part of the background. But the first day the place went smoke-free, I could almost TASTE the improvement in air quality. I never realized how bad all that was until that moment.
So yeah, it’s an apt metaphor for the way racism is now on the retreat. The hardcore racists are going to curse Donald Trump’s very existence for letting them believe it was safe to say the quiet part out loud. Having said that, I shall also shake my head in disappointment and confusion on how folks on our side, many of them decades older than me, were ever dopey enough to accept that same scenario as fact rather than mad god fantasy.
Thanks for that it’s a simple way and also to the point how we do change and yes we do change and I’m sure glad we can.
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As we vets know, there has never been any war that is civil. We also need to stop using the language “civil war “. The US government never recognized that label. It is known as the war of the rebellion.
Excellent analogy, Murph!
Murf, I hope you are also working on quitting vaping.