The Saturday (Not So) Funnies: New (Old) Understandings of Reconstruction Terrorism

From the gift that keeps on giving …

Nobody bothers to understand what was going on during that period in the South when both whites and decent blacks were under attack by the North’s OWN “klan,” the Union League and the military authorities did nothing to protect helpless civilians. THAT’s where the Klan came from. If there had been no reconstruction, it is quite possible that there never would have been a Ku Klux Klan.

… followed by …

I think it’s safe to say that had there been no reconstruction, or at least not in the virulent form imposed by Stanton and his cronies, there would have been no Ku Klux Klan, without the qualifying “possible”. And don’t forget the Freedmen’s Bureau among the roll call of the oppressors.

… and then …

I think it is reasonable to believe that had there never reconstruction there would have no no Klan in the South, to speak of. Klan activities that reemerged with the KKK in the 1920’s were in the northern and mid west regions.

I’m waiting to hear Birth of a Nation declared historically accurate.

War and Sports

I’m confused.  After 9/11, one of the major themes that ran through American culture was that the use of military-type descriptions of athletes and sporting events  … warriors, war, and all that … somehow was out of place given the real heroism of our military.  That made sense to me, because sports isn’t war.  It’s sports.  Oh, yes, preparation and competition can call on and develop certain qualities, but even that’s open to debate (is playing with a serious injury courageous, stupid, or both?).  I can recall being cross-checked across the face after scoring a goal in a hockey game, and remaining in the game, skating with flashes/stars all over the place.  Sure, that’s a sign I was a hockey player, as they say, but upon reflection, I don’t think it was a particularly smart decision.  Certainly athletic competition does not require its participants to lay it all on the line as combat does.