Some Historical Perspective

On this date in 1960, four African-American students from North Carolina A&T College began a sit-in at a “Whites Only” Woolworth’s in Greensboro, North Carolina lunch counter. By February 10, the action had spread to 13 southern cities.

This is a testament to how much the United States has changed in my lifetime. Racially, we are light years ahead of where we were in those days, but in other ways, we are not. There are still great hurdles to overcome on many fronts, and it will take heroic actions for some to approach them. Sadly, the present gang of idiots in the White House would never allow anything as revolutionary to happen, so we are forced to wait until at least January of 2008.

All these people are interested in now is fostering a war that people do not understand and promoting their so-called War on Terror – whatever that is. It is so typical of the narrow-mindedness that comes out of Washington. They fight wars on ideas while squelching real ones in science, technology and human rights in the name of corporate profits and suppression of feelings. Keep promoting hate and fear. You’re doing great! But I digress.

The original lunch counter, still intact, sits in the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. I saw it when I was there a couple of years ago. I must have looked like some sort of mental patient as I just stood there and stared at it for what seemed like an hour.
I can only imagine the amount of courage it took for them to sit there - not only in the time, but in the place, as well. The South in the late 1950s. Send me to Iraq.

On second thought…
Just when I think we have as a nation, turned a corner, up steps jackass for president Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr. with a quote about fellow Democrat (and real candidate) Barack Obama, that appeared on the front page of today’s Philadelphia Inquirer. He described Obama as “the first mainstream African American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy.”

I could say something about it, but I think the comment (and the commenter) speaks for itself. Sit down and have lunch, Joe. There is real work to be done, and we need real people who are capable of doing it.