January 2021 - Page 5 of 7 - Ramblin' with Roger

“Who we are” about race

stark contrast

who we are

Jaquandor noted, in his blog response to the January 6 tyranny, “We are who we were.”

Specifically, “The road we walk is the one our ancestors paved, for good or ill. It’s a road that leads to amazing things: a nation that helped defeat Fascism on opposite sides of the globe, and a nation that built itself on the stolen labor of some and the stolen land of others…

“We’re a nation that elected a black man President, and then turned around and enabled a four-year tantrum by people who hate that this ever happened.

“‘Who we are is who we were.’ We were racists and white supremacists and violent conquerors of people who lived here before us. We weren’t just those things, but we were those things…and who we are is who we were.” It’s impossible, then, to avoid looking at America through the prism of race.

Why is it ALWAYS about race?!

As I read conservative websites, few philosophies of “the Left” aggrieve them more than the critical race theory.” The view is that “the law and legal institutions are inherently racist.”

Some conservatives actually say we need to root out racist behavior. The trouble is that the examples of blatant announced racism they can point to are comparatively unusual.

What’s more likely is that a white Columbus, OH policeman, Adam Coy, a “19-year veteran of the Columbus Division of Police,” will shoot and kill Andre Hill, an unarmed black man holding a cellphone. And within 10 seconds of the encounter. Coy refused “to administer first aid for several minutes.”

Did Coy shoot Hill because he feared him based on his race? Can someone prove that? No, but the preponderance of unarmed black folks dying that way forces one to ponder that possibility.

You might have heard about that attempted coup of the US government on January 6. According to the Associated Press report: “The Pentagon asked the U.S Capitol Police if it needed National Guard manpower. And as the mob descended on the building, Justice Department leaders reached out to offer up FBI agents. The police turned them down both times…”

This despite the fact that far-right activists on social media telegraphed violence weeks in advance.

By comparison, last summer, “a diverse group of largely peaceful protesters for racial justice were met with tear gas, military tactics, and legions of police in riot gear.” The contrast was stark.

Difference in tactics

Ed Davis, a former Boston police commissioner wondered, “Was there a structural feeling that well, these [on January 6] are a bunch of conservatives, they’re not going to do anything like this? Quite possibly. That’s where the racial component to this comes into play in my mind.

“Was there a lack of urgency or a sense that this could never happen with this crowd? Is that possible? Absolutely.” No rows of “camo-clad and helmeted National Guard troops” watching this crowd, some of them wearing neo-Nazi apparel and/or waving the Confederate flag.

President-elect Biden saw it. “No one can tell me that if it had been a group of Black Lives Matter protesting…, they wouldn’t have been treated very, very differently than the mob of thugs that stormed the Capitol. We all know that’s true, and it is unacceptable.” As the article title declares, “What’s happening is white privilege.”

I just started reading The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein. The subtitle is “a forgotten history of how our government segregated America.” I’ve gotten far enough to know that the redlining of the US occurred as a result of de jure, rather than de facto segregation.

I’m sure the folks at the Daily Signal are tired of what they deem identity politics. Their conclusion: “the purpose of all teaching about race in American schools is to engender contempt for America.” (SMH) No, the purpose of teaching about race is to recognize that we are on a long, and sometimes imperfect journey. We are striving to form a more perfect union, and we’re not quite there yet.

A random look at the 2020 blog

Thank Allah for music

Some blogger buddy used to do this look at the previous year. He’d select a post date and a sentence from that post at random.

I’ve found it interesting to see how well, or poorly, it reflected the past year. So, the 2020 blog in one post. Sort of.

January: “Willis was the son of people identified only as Jacob and Charlotte.” This was the first of two posts that week about Raymond Cornelius Cone, who I had just discovered was my biological grandfather. Willis was his father.

February: “Those particular matinees mean three things: cheaper tickets, a lot of older patrons, and best of all, a discussion with the cast after the shows.”This was back in the days when I was going to Thursday matinees at Proctors Theatre in Schenectady.

March: “She had to go into work on Monday and Tuesday last week, which I thought was crazy.” An Ask Roger Anything answer about retirement. I was referring to my wife’s school’s COVID methodology.

April: “Yet, and ‘Holy Crap This Is Insane’: Citing Coronavirus Pandemic, EPA Indefinitely Suspends Environmental Rules.” The 50th anniversary of Earth Day. I was pessimistic.

May: “The United States was allegedly staying out of it.” The music of 1940. The “it” was WWII.

June: “In light of the nationwide outpouring of support for the Black Lives Matter movement, movies like Just Mercy and I Am Not Your Negro are available to stream.” Juneteenth links.

Caesar months

July: “He believes the continued popularity of white depictions of Jesus is ‘an example of how far in some respects the United States has not moved.'” He being Edward J. Blum.

August: “He often combined the two.” Another Ask Roger Anything answer about why I’m a duck. “He” was the late Raoul Vezina, who combined his love of art and music.

September: “The moderator said a particular bill meant X.” A discussion of the Federalist Paper No. 62 of James Madison and how far we’ve moved from it.

October: “The search committee was afraid that these folks wouldn’t cotton to working with a black person.” This was the job I held for over 26 years but almost did not get.

November: “Freedom for the Stallion – the Oak Ridge Boys.” A link to a song by the legendary Allen Toussaint.

December: “If I were to have major surgery, such as for this situation, one doesn’t want to deal with the complicating factor of this patient having a bad reaction from the antibiotic.” So, I’m NOT allergic to penicillin!

People who do not read this will ask, “What is your blog about?” Other than About Me, I have no retort. So maybe, just maybe, this shows what was reflected in 2020. Music, COVID, race, genealogy, health, politics. I guess that’s about right.

#1s of 1901: Discs versus cylinders

Tell Me, Pretty Maiden

I’ve listed the 14 songs that went to #1 on the charts in 1901. This wasn’t as easy as you might think. Joel Whitburn’s Pop Memories 1890-1954 gives due credit to Jim Walsh. He is “the world’s leading authority on the pioneer recording age.” His columns in Hobbies magazine ran “a remarkable 40 years.”

The book also used sheet music sales and historical narratives from the record companies.

Emile Berliner, who had invented the microphone, patented the gramophone in 1887. “It utilized zinc discs rather than cylinders,” which Thomas Edison had used on his 1877 phonograph.

Technology changed rapidly. The Berliner Gramophone Company marketed the first commercial flat disc recording in 1895.

Eldridge Johnson’s Consolidated Talking Machine Company had improved sound quality compared with Johnson’s former employer, Berliner. In October 1901, the Victor Talking Machine Company was formed from the two entities of Johnson and Berliner.

The hits

Tell Me, Pretty Maiden– Harry MacDonough and Grace Spencer, #1 for seven weeks (Edison). I’ve heard a version of this song.

Ma Blushin’ Rosie – Albert Campbell, #1 for seven weeks (Gram-o-phone). Dudley had a #3 hit that year, which I found, as well as this more modern version. Al Jolson recorded this more than once.
Hello Central, Give Me Heaven – Byron Harlan, #1 for five weeks (Edison)

The Tale of the Bumble Bee – Harry MacDonough, #1 for four weeks (Victor). Here’s a newer version.
Any Old Place I Hang My Hat Is “Home Sweet Home” To Me – Will Denny, #1 for four weeks (Gram-o-phone)

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder – Harry MacDonough, #1 for three weeks (Victor)
The Stars and Stripes Forever – Sousa’s Band, #1 for three weeks (Gram-o-phone). This is the 1926 version. The band also had a #3 hit with the finale of the William Tell Overture.
Good-Bye, Dolly Gray – Big Four Quartet, #1 for three weeks (Edison). “Big four quartet: Arthur Collins, Byron G Harlan, Joseph Natus, and A D Medeira. This quartet only recorded for a year or so.” McDonough had a #2 hit that year with this.
Good Evening, Carrie – Dan Quinn, #1 for three weeks (Victor). I didn’t find that, but I did come across Good Morning, Carrie by the same performer. Could the sources be wrong?

Uncle Josh’s Huskin’ Bee Dance – Cal Stewart, #1 for three weeks (Edison)
When Reuben Comes To Town – S.H. Dudley, #1 for three weeks (Gram-o-phone). The photograph is of a black performer with a similar name, not the actual white performer.
Tell Me, Pretty Maiden – Byron Harlan, Frank Stanley, Joe Belmont, and Florodora Girls, #1 for three weeks (Columbia). This is a real hip-hop lineup.
Jim Lawson’s Horse Trade with Deacon Witherspoon – Cal Stewart, #1 for three weeks (Edison)

In the Shade of the Palm – J.W. Myers, #1 for one week (Columbia). The label started in 1890.

In the year of the masks

do I want to know a secret?

In some way, there was no date more 2020 for me than December 7. I received three packages. All contained masks.

One was a package of 50 disposable items I had ordered about a week earlier. The second was a mask featuring the mustache of John Green, which I had ordered about a month and a half earlier. It was a Pizzamas thing; don’t worry about understanding that, because I don’t either.

The third, though, I had ordered so long before that I had forgotten about it altogether. Ten black masks with the letters UNITY in white silhouette. Within each letter, a message. all in caps.

Healthcare for all. Back Lives Matter. Save the Planet. Protect Dreamers. Ensure voting rights. The image description from Democracy for America: “We believe there is more that unites us than divides us. These issues are not just for the few, they are for all of us.” I hope so.

In my Christmas stocking, Santa brought two more masks. One was a woodsy scene. The other was a black mask with Day-Glo musical notes. I like these.

One more

Finally, in the mail on New Year’s Eve, came a mask with a card, sent ostensibly from my church’s address. The lettering was intentionally designed to obscure the handwriting of the sender. The white mask had a pinkish rectangle that featured a white cross. In red letters:
FIRST PRES CHOIR
2020

For the last few years, an anonymous benefactor had left the choir t-shirts and pens, both emblazed with messages about the church, left near the choir loft. Since we haven’t sung since March 2020 – haven’t even been in the building – I was particularly surprised by this largesse. I have a theory about who it might be; my wife thinks it’s someone else. Thanks to the choir Secret Santa once again, whoever you are.

Football!

I went to the local grocery store on Tuesday, moving through as quickly as possible. The cashier wore a Pittsburgh Steelers mask. I asked her if her team was going to win this weekend. She said, “I hope so. They only lost by two last week, and they rested some of their players.” I added, “And the Cleveland Browns needed that game. But what about that three-game losing streak?” She sighed, “I don’t know WHAT that was about.”

I mention this because, too often, the mask is a sign of less sharing. You can’t see people’s facial expressions. But at that moment, the mask facilitated a human connection that I too often miss.

Here’s hoping that in 2022, I won’t need the masks anymore. But I keep seeing those newspaper headlines. LA Times, Jan 1.: Spiraling COVID-19 deaths leave morgues overflowing and funeral homes turning away grieving families. And even around here. Times Union, Jan. 1: In Albany County, the mark of 346 new infections in one day is 77 more than the prior record. So know I’ll still have those masks available in 2021. It’s good to have a variety…

At least I don’t have to deal with these folks.

Inciting an insurrection

January 6, 2021: a date which shall live in infamy.

We witnessed an American President inciting an insurrection against the United States. How did we get here?

Every morning since November 3, my wife watches the 7 a.m. CBS News eye-opener. After it’s over, I ask her, “Are we at war with Iran yet?” It’s not a glib question. This regime seemed primed to do just that not long ago. And IMPOTUS, increasingly unhinged from reality, seems to have taken a scorched earth policy towards his own country.

He says the election was rigged, and that he’ll never give up, never concede. Yet he has shown almost zero interest in actually doing the job he says he still ought to have. He has said little about the raging COVID numbers. Nothing was mentioned about the Christmas morning bombing in Tennessee.

Even his appearance at a rally for the Republican candidates for the US Senate in Georgia was mostly about how his own agenda. He even called that GA runoff into question, which helped the Democrats grab BOTH seats.

Senate Majority Leader McConnell noted “Our democracy would enter a death spiral” if Congress overturned the November 3 election.

January 6

My friend Alan had linked to this January 3 article by Jack Rasmus. It is titled What Happens January 6th, 20th & After? I agreed with much of it.

As I’ve noted, the Weekly Sift wrote The Increasingly Desperate Attack on Democracy, posted on January 4. “Once Congress has recognized Biden’s election, Trump has no more cards to play within the American political system. His only option then is to attempt a violent revolution.”

And we got it. The terrorist attack on the US Capitol was “instigated by the President of the United States.” Those are the words of Presidential historian Michael Beschloss.

Twitter and Facebook both locked Trump’s accounts “after he posted false accusations about the election as a mob of his supporters broke into the Capitol following a rally.” Why has it taken so long?

CBS News reports that Cabinet members are discussing invoking the 25th Amendment to remove Trump. Why has it taken so long?

Even impeachment has been floated, again, with reasons far stronger than the last time.

“Alternative facts” is a threat to democracy. His repeating lies incited the rioting. We may be shocked by the first breach of the Capitol since 1814, but not all that surprised.

For months, even years, people have wondered if he mentally fit, and has the temperament to handle the Presidency, even for the next 13 days.

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