You know Robert E. Lee? The Confederate general during the Civil War? That guy? Well, guess when his birthday is. Okay, you give up. It is 19 January, which is quite close to 15 January, which is the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday. I include his full name with titles here because I am in love with the title "Reverend Doctor". I want to be a reverend doctor.
Anyway, you know how Martin Luther King Day is a national holiday?
Well, in three states (Arkansas, Mississippi, and Alabama, for the interested), they have combined – I swear to God – they have combined the celebration of Martin Luther King's birthday and Robert E. Lee's, so when they get the third Monday of January off of work and school, it's because of both these people. Martin Luther King (reverend doctor) and Robert E. Lee (Confederate general who I don't think was quite as antislavery as people keep assuring me).
So like, they are celebrating Robert E. Lee's valiant attempts to help the South secede from the North and carry on having slaves, at the same time that they are celebrating Martin Luther King's valiant attempts to bring some semblance of racial equality to the legal system of the nation.
WHAT THE HELL, COUNTRY?
P.S. I am tired of racism. Everyone needs to take their damn Confederate flags and their damn "I don't need your permission to honor my ancestors" bumper stickers and put them in a damn Racism Museum so that we can all acknowledge that the Confederate flag is an emblem of slavery and therefore really, really offensive.
P.P.S. Just because I am attacking the South for their racist crap in this particular post, that does not imply that I do not think that other parts of the country are just as racist and in fact I think that other parts of the country need to get off their damn high horse because the North is not less racist than the South even though they really love to think that they are.
P.P.P.S. This very pissed off post brought to you by: Rampant Racism in a Supposedly Enlightened Country; in conjunction with I Didn't Get Enough Sleep Last Night and I Saw A Really Aggravating Bumper Sticker This Morning On My Way In To Work.
2 comments:
People celebrate Robert E. Lee's birthday? How did I live in Louisiana for twelve years and never hear of this?
Louisiana doesn't do it. If you had lived in Mississippi, Alabama, or Arkansas, you would certainly have heard about it because the governor issues a Decree. So.
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