I was one of those children who loved to listen to family stories. My granddaddy, William F. Fain, often told me about my great-grandfather, Iota Oscar Fain, his parents, and siblings who farmed in north-eastern Georgia and ran a general store in the 1860s. My great-great-grandfather, William Hollen Fain was a southerner, yet was vehemently anti-slavery, as were many in that region. When Sherman came through, he sent out teams of soldiers, one of which raided the Fain family's farm. The soldiers went room to room, piled up belongings, sliced open the feather pillows and mattresses, dumped the feathers, and poured sorghum molasses over everything. They used the family's own property and products to destroy all they had. Their clothes, linens, and furniture in each room were ruined, that is until the reached the oldest sister's room where they attempted to demolish her hope chest. She'd been hiding under the bed, but came out roaring, attacking the soldier molesting her treasure with her fists and feet. He backed out of the room, said "Pardon me, Miss," called his fellow soldiers together, and they rode away.
After the Union won, the community's angry pro-slavery citizens set the family's store ablaze and salted their fields. This final devastation meant they could not stay, so they packed up and left, finally settling in northern Arkansas after a second failed homestead in northwestern Georgia where their anti-slavery position was met with even more hostility.
Grandaddy's aunt eventually set up housekeeping in Arkansas with her husband, the hope chest and its treasures intact.
My great-great grandparents, William Hollen and Susan Fain, rest in Lead Hill, Arkansas. Their commitment to what is right cost them so much, but it has been a light in my family, one that still guides me, my children and my grandchildren.
I never met my great-great grandfather George (Doc) Robertson who was a sawbones in the Confederate Army in Mississippi, but my grandmother told me stories about him. A die-hard rebel, in the early 20th Cent. he would hit ppl with his cane if they didn't stand when "Dixie" played. I am so glad that I was raised in St. Louis & only visited the South each summer. I later saw the personal racism of my family there. Had an uncle in the KKK who was also deacon of his Southern Baptist church. I attended an integrated high school in the early 1960s while the South was still segregated by race.
Jesus weeps.I call those Ppl “Convenient Christians “. Only when it suits them. I know because I’m surrounded by them. There are some who walk the talk. But very few in my neck of the woods. Christopher Reeves aka as Superman was interviewed by Barbara Walters I is close to final days. She asked him about his Faith. “ I have a sign hanging in my office he said. When I do bad I feel bad . When I do good I feel good. And that is My Religion.” Mine also.
I don't know if you realize that only paid subscribers can comment but anyone can like a post. Many, like me who's only reliable income is Social Security and a small VA pension which will never reimburse me for the horrors of a stupid war, can't afford to subscribe to every newsletter they love. I finally decided to subscribe anyway, just to make sure you know that you may well be calling someone a false Christian who may just be poor. I agree that there are many false Christians but it's not for us to judge.
Terri, thank you so much for sharing this amazing story. Having had the courage of their convictions must have given them strength in their difficult journey. Inspiring.
The death of Richard Trumka, the President of the AFL-CIO, brings up the question of what is the role of unions in this time. I have a unique perspective because I have been both a member of the AFL-CIO - the Musicians Union and a senior executive in a Fortune 100 company that never saw unionization. I was in the Musicians Union before Right to Work laws so in order to perform with a professional symphony orchestra in the 1970s you had to join the union. I saw the union as having both pluses and minuses. Collective bargaining could be a good thing; but union rules could stagnate innovation in a workplace. The Fortune 100 company I worked for was a highly ethical organization. It avoided being unionized by treating its employees very well. In the blizzard of 1978 in New England no one was allowed to drive on the roads for five days so no one could go to work. My company paid the hourly workers for those days at their regular wage as the right thing to do while General Electric didn't pay its unionized workers. So for a million dollars or so, the company could use that story for decades as why it wasn't necessary to unionize.
Today, my position on unions is that in order to counter every penny possible going to the investors keeping wages and benefits low and continually created greater and greater income disparity, employees must own a substantial part of the company they work for. The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra is an interesting case. The musicians own the orchestra and manage it. There is no separation between management and employees. It is working very well for them. Income disparity in hollowing out the middle class and taking the consumer out of capitalism. It is time to turn the tables and assure every person lives a life of well-being.
Cathy, my experiences with unions--both as a member and as an observer--are not dissimilar to yours. They are necessary when dealing with hostile management that underpays its workers and doesn't want to provide essential services such as health care. But they are also discriminatory, especially with respect to women and BIPOC. Dancers who are in union "shops" have more job protection than those who don't but are often paid less than the members of the orchestras that accompany them--because of gender discrimination, which is rampant, and because of the pressures on dancers by management not to make a fuss. The Vienna Phil did not admit women as full members until 1997 (I checked), which means it was the last holdout. Even the Berlin Phil had relented and admitted women as regular members over a decade before. So I don't really consider it a good example of communitarianism. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/23/arts/music/women-vienna-philharmonic.html
Trumka had worked himself up from the coal mines into his position. In the story on NPR last night, the thing that stood out for me was his yelling at union members whose racism made them hesitant to vote for Obama. They played the clip. Obama wasn't great for unions but dang, he was a better bet than either McCain or Mittens. And yet--as Trumka pointed out--these guys were willing (as they did with Reagan, who did more damage to unions than anyone) to vote against their best interests because, as Trumka said, "of the color of his skin."
The person who ushered in the new age in unions was Reagan, who made it acceptable to fire striking workers and replace them with scabs. In the process, he demonstrated to union leadership that they were better off feathering their personal nests than trying to make lives better for their workers. Reagan was also the architect of the destruction of American manufacturing, of the destruction of our environment and climate, of the destruction of our system of public education. The cognitive disconnect between the damage he wrought and his public memory is, to me, staggering.
Are unions corrupt? yep. Are unions necessary? Again, yep. How to reform them so that they are not corrupt? That's the question.
Reagan’s affability masked the cruelty of Republican policies and the movement of wealth upward. I fully agree about the disconnect between the damage he wrought and his public memory. He was a master of sound bites.
My father who was a member of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners, and later in life, a member of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, had mixed feelings about unions. But we never had discussions about the reasons for his mixed feelings; we just didn't discuss things like politics, religion or finances in my household growing up.
Later I had a boss who stated on many occasions that "any company that had a union deserved a union." I grew to appreciate this as I entered the workforce. Treat your employees humanely, with good pay and benefits, and a safe work environment and both the company and its employees will succeed; treat your employees like easily replaceable cogs in a machine, and eventually you will have a unionized work force.
Linda, your letter ends with this: "Reagan was also the architect of the destruction of American manufacturing, of the destruction of our environment and climate, of the destruction of our system of public education." I admit I remember little of what Reagan did, probably because I was so involved in bringing up two sons and not paying much attention to politics. Can you recommend some readings that would enlighten me on Reagan's "destructions." I think to many Americans at the time, Reagan was a reassuring figure because of his Hollywood charm and his position against Russia. Thanks, Linda.
The marquee act was his firing of the nation's Air Traffic Controllers and hiring scabs to replace them. This decimated the PATCO Union and signaled to the business community that it was open season on Unions. That was a turning point where Unions lost an immense amount of their clout in national politics.
I remember it quite differently, the head of PATCO called a strike which was a direct threat to the economy of the nation, the president ordered them back to work while negotiations were to continue, PATCO refused and the president terminated their contract, some members went back to work and others refused, I used to know some of them, the union ceased to exist, commerce in the US continued to grow and we still have the safest flight ✈️ management that I know of. I say this as a 30 year union member who flew often during those years. PATCO was wrong to try to shut down the US economy and they paid the price.
I was in my teens at the time and only know the broad outlines. Thanks for fleshing it out a bit. Negotiations are a hardball game and PATCO got squashed.
Some union houses for orchestras, opera, and dance have protected their members during the pandemic. Others, like the Metropolitan Opera, have shafted their company members. When it is time for people to make donations, look into how organizations have treated their employees and contractors.
Indeed--but alas too often it hasn't been the unions taking care of the performers, staff, and techies. Here in KC all the major union houses (Ballet, Symphony, Lyric Opera) have worked like crazy to fundraise and support everyone in their organizations and they have largely succeeded. KC is different from a lot of other mid-size midwestern cities in its level of philanthropy but what they've done here is a testament to the determination of the administration's of all these organizations and rather less the support of the unions, although that is vital to things like health care for dancers and pensions.
In the United States the auditions for orchestras started to be done behind a screen so the jury couldn't see who it was playing. It worked pretty well. Even have a few women conductors doing well.
We were lucky in Eugene to have Marin Alsop as our Symphony director for a number of years! I also got to see the Philadelphia Orchestra when they came to town just after Carol Jantsch got the principal tuba position at age 21; the youngest member of the orchestra and the only female principal tuba player in a major symphony.
The son of one of my musician friends was a substitute Tuba player for the New York Philharmonic. He played a solo at church once and his gorgeous sound filled every nook and cranny of the sanctuary. The best way to describe it was being inside a glass of fine wine.
If you want to listen to Christmas music in August, and are on Facebook, look up a video on the Oregon Tuba Association's Facebook page and listen to our rendition of "How Far is it to Bethlehem" that we played in 2018. A friend described it as "liquid sound". I'll see if I can post a link to that when I get a chance.
Cathy, the behind the screen auditions go brilliantly--and they are extremely interesting to observe because of the white men who are so dismayed by the results, since they are hiring people who "do not look like them." The bias of the observer/judge is a well-known phenomenon that is consistently studied and proven over and over in hiring practices of all kinds. Another place where blind judging has become a super interesting issue is TV cooking contests (to which I admit I am addicted). Introducing blind judging--the judges have no idea who cooked the food because no contestants are named and none are in the room--has meant that the old reliable winning of men in those situations disappears. In those contests, the women are winning in very significant numbers. This tells you something about high-end chef-y stuff as well.
Thank you for this "view from both sides". I am curious as to what flavor of music caused you to be required to join AFM/AFoM. I have never worked in the private sector, and was a 28 year member of LCPOA (Lane County Peace Officer's Association) which did an adequate job of protecting its members from the not infrequent management attempts at signaling out specific individuals for "attention". Sadly, our management was so incompetent that they kept messing up the termination of a deputy (a guy I thought never should have made his probation, and ended up being "wrongfully" terminated for lying and sexual harassment and eventually terminated (after 30 years of employment) for "untruthfulness" after double dipping the county and the city where he was a city counselor for reimbursements. The district attorney declined to prosecute misdemeanor theft charges against him but did "Brady List" him (meaning he couldn't testify under oath because of his demonstrated untruthfulness.) He retired in lieu of termination, and still sits on the city council.
what a sad story...and you know there are thousands just like it. The apathy, the unwillingness to take the time and trouble to do the right thing; wink, wink, nod, nod. Challenging, it can be, to gather the documentation for ending employment, but so necessary to weed the garden. What we call weeds are plants in the wrong places. Sometimes, people are the wrong places.
I'm a violinist. Also play viola, some double bass, and a bit of piano. One of the most fun times was playing in the Aspen Festival Orchestra for three summers. You might say I fiddle around a lot.
Wow Ally. Just . . . wow. But also, alas, not unique--I hear about things like this frequently from friends and students who work for government organizations. Also academia has a similar problem with tenuring people who should never have been allowed in the classroom. It screws it up for the rest of us.
Wow. A double whammy from Cathy and Linda. So much food for thought. So many people that are fair minded and discerning have a lot of trouble deciding about unions. It is because of Linda’s double edged sword’s question.
Everything that starts out as good and pure has the potential to turn backwards and become opposed to what it was when it started. I've seen this personally so many times. Unions is a great example. What was once good and even necessary, has turned in on itself and become hierarchical and bloated and corrupt. Just look at the Police Unions that favour police non-accountability over well run and well working police forces. Just look at the Republican Party (RIP).
Just because Unions have devolved into a pathetic shadow of what they once were, doesn't mean they can't be resurrected, though it may be easier to replace them with a different system, one that can't be corrupted as easily.
Your experience confirms what I used to say to new supervisors when I began training: “What ‘causes’ unions?” All kinds of answers… the correct one: management.
My husband was a union carpenter for 40 years. We always had good insurance and he made a living wage. And now, retired, he has a decent pension. Along the way the unions negotiated for their members. They won some decisions and lost others. What I always say to people who frown at unions is this, when you build a house non union, do you think you pay less for that house, no. Do the workers make union wages, no. So who do you think makes the extra money, management of course.
I worked for a construction company, later construction management, for 29 years. In the first years I worked there, the company was union, with a side company that was non-union. Back in the late 70s. After a few years, all of our jobs were union & as Pam said, union Carpenters & Masons & Laborers all got a good wage & good benefits. Yes, the guys (and later, gals) paid union dues, but the return was worth it for them.
Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) used to be a selling point for recruiters in companies that offered them but they are now rarely seen. One wonders why that tool for building engagement and employee wealth has lost its appeal.
I believe that critical race theory should be taught in our schools. But more so the depth and sacrifice and the horrors of the Civil War should also be re-examined. They go hand in hand. I was brought up to believe in the honor of it all. Yet the true reasons for it is appalling and should taught it that should never happen again. Yet I feel that we are on the brink again right now. Four almost the same reasons. The two histories go head and head. I dearly love this country and we need to stand up for the right to be free, all of us, and to adhere to the constitution which to me is sacred. It has been undermined daily by, for lack of terms, fearful, hate mongering people who just care about power and not about the people of this land. We are from all over…thus making us the United States, at least I hope we are. Lately I have been very sad and anxious, and sorry, but angry at the way that things have been run. I will not be silent anymore, and I will do what I can to make a stand for freedom. Truthfully and peacefully. We all need to know that we or bound by our words and pledge to America to be kind, compassionate and helpful to those in need and to welcome those who seek freedom and happiness. If we have more than we need we need to give. But if we I have less then we should be able to ask openly and be helped. We are all in this together. Professor, your words and this history today is a reminder and is very important to me and I hope to everybody else in understanding the price of freedom. But also the insanity that brings us to the brink. Thank you very much, peace aside will prevail. Mike
P.S. please everyone, get vaccinated. Our lives we knew and want depend on it.
I wonder if future generations won't shake their heads as they teach we were experiencing our 2nd Civil War, with 600,000 deaths, and we didn't even know it.
Not to throw any ice cold water on your comment, Mike, because I believe completely in the spirit of your post. But I feel compelled to correct what I believe is misinformation deliberately spread by the “Tr*mp Republicans”.
Simply, Critical Race Theory will never be taught in our schools. It’s a graduate level Theory, can affect theories and action in other humanities. It’s not a noun or a thing that can become a curriculum product.
Teachers that study this theory can learn much about bias and integrate in their teaching approach.
Critical Race Theory is like the Theory of Evolution, or the Theory of Relativity. You don't need to teach tensors and covariant derivatives to teach relativity, though you do need to learn them if you intend to work in the field.
Any time a teacher asserts that "species change over time, including the human species," they are teaching the theory of evolution, and flying directly in the face of the Christian/Medieval doctrine of "as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end."
Any time a teacher asserts that the deck is rigged against non-white people in the US, they are teaching critical race theory, and flying in the face of the American doctrine of "equal opportunity."
Oh, I see. You went straight to hyperbole and I wasn't expecting it. And I really wasn't clear.
Clarification: in my schooling (back at the dawn of time), history was part of "social studies," and was a strange jumble of disparate "facts" that had nothing to do with anything. I can still tell you that the chief export of Bolivia was tin. I have no context for why this was worth remembering. I don't remember any of the dates, or succession, of English Kings we were expected to memorize to pass tests. When it came to American history, which wasn't taught until high school, it was patently obvious that it was a hagiography, not a history.
When you said (above) "just saying these things happened," I'm thinking, "yes, add these things to the laundry list of stuff to memorize for the test and then forget because there's no context."
I don't see how you could teach about the Tulsa Massacre without bringing up the threat that affluent blacks represented to the white people, and you can't explain why that was a threat without talking about the US history of slavery, the Jim Crow period, and the idea of white privilege, which is the core of what was threatened by affluent (uppity) blacks.
The Tulsa Massacre doesn't make any sense outside the context of Jim Crow, which brings up ALL the barriers placed in the way of black people. You are now talking about systems of oppression, rather than acts of individual racists, and -- if I understand the term -- you are now talking about Critical Race Theory. Not at the graduate level, of course.
You bring up a deeper point. If teachers just say "these things happened," they aren't really teaching anything at all. It's one of the reasons kids grow up hating history, because they aren't really taught history, which is not about disconnected events and dates, but about relationships, and patterns, and the "rhyme" that unites recurrent themes.
Of course, you tailor the subject to the student. You don't teach a kindergarten child about the Tusla Massacre.
I wonder which next thing that the treasonous lying bullsh*t mouthpieces will use to demonize people of color and rile up the white people to be “afraid” of black peopke taking everything from them.
Maybe it will something about “soul food” or “soul music” taking over Christian souls.
No, we didn’t destroy them. They are here doing good work, thinking wise thoughts, making great art, surviving. If we ‘destroyed them’ where did Obama, Keith Ellison, Cori Bush, Audrey Lorde, MLK, John Lewis, Harriet Tubman, John Coltrane, Nina Simone, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Sherman Alexie, Louise Erdrich, Deb Haaland, Scott Momaday, Buffy St Marie and Black Elk come from? We white people made their lives hard and took from them everything they loved, yes, but don’t seem to know how to destroy them.
But I think it's important to address the idea of slavery early. Wasn't their choice. Then we "Freed" them, and began suppressing their rights over all? And how to you grow from there when it is so difficult to start from scratch. And not to sound like it was a given favor. We let every other "nationality" into this country. And yes all had difficulties, but ones color of their skin became an insurmountable hurdle. Yes we've done good, but we can do so much more. Just my thoughts, but until you experience racism, or any kind of suppression, one just can't understand totally. WE cab't turn our heads. And right now we are. I remember when Hunter Thompson, in his book "On the campaign Trail, "72", interviewed Nixon and asked him, "But what about the doomed sir?". He replied, " Eff the doomed". I believe many are feeling the same way. And it makes me sad, and angry. Again. If you have give. Peace all. ( I know there are two sides, but in the middle is what counts. Lets meet there).
Mike yes yes yes, 100% agreement! I didn't intend my comment as a defense of White people or their dominance! I meant it as respect to the enslaved people and the indigenous inhabitants, that they could survive cruelty and barbarism as great as we know it to be, that they could triumph over it to that degree. They hold all the moral cards. It is centuries past time for reparations but we must be active about seeing to it that serious discussion takes place while Democrats are quasi-powerful in Congress. That topic has gone totally silent, after a lot of media attention last year.
Not even that. The Indians I know still speak their languages, hunt, raise horses, grow corn and beans. One resurrected the Wampanoag language at MIT weith Chomsky's help,from a single surving early 18th-century bilingual New Testament and taught it to her infant daughter, whose first lanuage it was--after 2 centuries! and it's spreading. Lots don't, I know: Euro-Americans (including Canadians) tried hard to make them ignorant of their way of life and their languages, basically kidpnapping them into boarding schools for that purpose, "Indian Schools." I'm just saying they persisted, and worked from traces, and treasured the old people who remembered, and in some areas were not even deracinated, like northern British Columbia etc. And they are scholars, writing their own histories now. Bravo!
I don't think we need to teach CRT in schools. We need to expose kids and adults to RESPECT, by doing, modeling, teaching and exercising being respectful. Respect crosses gender, race, skin color, social boundaries, creates bridges; it brings hope and the best in people. It is the game changer.
Worth watching this 90min conversation with former SCJ Souter in 2012. Among many sub themes, civics in public education curriculum, and thoughts around how democracies die.
So critical race theory is just a theory, I think it’s mostly a distraction right now. I think what most of us believe is that we do need to teach the facts about slavery and as you pointed out we need to teach respect for diverse kinds of individuals, all kinds of diversity. The Republicans have seized upon CRT as if it was the bogeyman! It’s a complete distraction
Teachers however should take such courses. School curricula has many opportunities to open opportunities for discussions and critical thinking. Take African American Month as an example. In average, that month will pass as another check box exercise, kids talking about the same icons between slavery and civil rights, except for opportunities in colleges and other rare initiatives in mass communication platforms. There is little to no mentioning of Ella Baker, Malcom X, the writings or works of Frederick Douglas, or W.E.B Dubois and their respective legacies.
CRT is an academic theory in education about teaching our historical truth in public education instead of white washed lies we have all been taught throughout our history. CRT is only taught in post secondary programs. The Republicans in this country are using the call to teach the truth in our public education (at long last) as a wedge issue to invigorate their white supremacist base. This issue has been discussed in this forum at length repeatedly, with many academics offering great references for the motivated self learners here to educate themselves on this racist dirty trick coming from the GOP.
With all respect, you condescending remarks are out of place. A person truly vested in opening up and sharing knowledge would have provided the sources and left the judgement aside. I have seen academics presenting themselves in different ways, with some looking for the spotlight on their opinions based on their credentials in forums such as this, and those who share their credentialed wealth of knowledge and expertise to inspire, challenge, educate and advance something for the greater good.
Zelita, I’m sorry I have no clue what I said that you might have interpreted as condescending. I greatly benefit from the knowledge freely given in this space. Whatever someone’s motivation for sharing knowledge, as long as they aren’t intending to deceive me. I’m grateful. Sending my best your way. No harm was intended.
Can you provide reliable evidence of this? Have to say, I'm skeptical. For about 50 years now, I've been accused of being "anti-male" when I talk about sexism and of being a "race traitor" (I'm white) when I talk about racism in public life or U.S. history. Privileged people have a long history of accusing the rest of us of making them feel bad.
As a woman, I have heard plenty of mansplaining, ignoring what I have to say, and the worst, when I complained about the lack of preparation for my girls' basketball games, I was told that it was because of having a period, all the while, being held in a bear hug by the athletic director.
Coincidence: Right now I'm listening to a panel discussion on "history, race & exclusion." Heather McGhee (author of _The Sum of Us,_ a must-read) just spoke about how now in Tennessee the state can pull funding from a school if anything being taught makes a white child uncomfortable. The example she gave was a lesson about Ruby Bridges, who at the age of SIX integrated an elementary school in Louisiana.
I saw a meme from a R friend of mine which implied exactly this. She got an earful including the fact that some of my ancestors owned slaves. I am not responsible for that. However, being caucasian has given me a leg up. This is the same person who told me she was glad she wasn't as educated as I am. I told her that while my education helps me understand the history, it has nothing to do with my aversion to racism which was awakened in Chicago when i was seven and saw racism in action. It was wrong then; it is wrong now.
Hmm David. That provides no evidence for your generalization. And here’s some news. White kids and really, most kids, are programmed by their families and environments before they ever hit pre-k. And to be frank with you, the common good of public education blurs the lines of many child prejudices and most soft bias by cooperative approaches teachers take in creating a community in their classrooms.
The simple truth of it is that the Trumplicans have demonized CRT so they can demonize public schools and teachers who apparently are teaching dangerous race theories. It has nothing to do with what their true aim is. They want to be I control of schools and funnel money to private schools where proper discourse and time will be given to Aryan White philosophy and keep those black and brown and poor white kids in the public schools with reduced funding. Sounds conspiratorial? It is.
? How are white kids being taught to feel guilty for "White Privilege?" White Privilege is real, but understanding the issues of racism, especially the economic deprivations that go with it is tantamount to learning fairness and humanity.
I don't think they are being taught to feel guilty. I believe guilty comes more as a dynamic from not knowing or understanding how to bridge the past into wherecone finds him/herself and what we can do now to prevent those undesirable systems to ever prevailing again.
This is where the educational professional comes in, because bringing guilty is not the answer but respect, empathy and ownership to solutions, critical thinking. Guilty is a dead end situation. If a young child learns these basic core values such as respect/empathy from young age, they will see these events less as a reflection on who they are personally while grasping their responsibility to ensure such actions don't happen again, and this is a collective responsibility as well.
Wow! Really??? That’s your justification? I’m going to guess you won’t care David, but I can’t deal with your unwillingness to see thru the glass less darkly. I’m pretty sure we will get to the truth and a reversal of white supremacy come hell or high water and I’m tired of this 💩. So, whatever Dude. This is the best response I can come up with for you today:
"Our analysis has been touted by the top conservatives in the world, including Donald Trump Jr., Dan Bongino, Dinesh D’Souza, James Woods, Kris Paronto, Candace Owens, Larry Elder, and Sarah Palin."
I always find some nugget of truth from Professor Richardson’s history lessons that help me to better deal with today. To that Admiral Farragut quote, I want you to say, “Damn the lies! Full transparency ahead!”
I'm just now reading Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman's new memoir, "Here, Right Matters", the central theme of which is refreshingly in keeping with Farragut's famous order. As you say, "Damn the torpedoes, indeed."
I heard Lt. Col. Vindman speak twice yesterday, once on WaPo and later on the Lincoln Project. There is a true patriot, a man with integrity who can look at himself in the mirror. I was glad to read Dr. Richardson's letter today, and learn the history and origin of "damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead" which my father used to say.
I began reading it last night. He's an excellent writer and I'm impressed by the way he interlaces the lessons learned from his experiences throughout his career (only up to p. 75 so far but expect this will continue), lessons which helped form his character and enabled him to take immediate action following TFG's phone conversation with the president of Ukraine.
Morning, all!! Morning, Dr. R!! In the spirit of today's Letter...
Judge Jackson: "In Dresch’s case, Jackson said he has the right to vote for whomever he wants, 'but so does everyone else. Your vote doesn’t count any more than anyone else’s. You don’t get to cancel them out and call for a war because you don’t like the results of the election.'”
Woo hoo! Great find, Lynell! Wake up, everyone saying, "nothing is happening!"
"A federal judge in Colorado has disciplined two lawyers who filed a lawsuit challenging the 2020 election late last year, finding that the case was “frivolous,” “not warranted by existing law” and filed “in bad faith.”
In a scathing 68-page opinion, Magistrate Judge N. Reid Neureiter found that the lawyers made little effort to corroborate information they had included in the suit, which argued there had been a vast national conspiracy to steal the election from President Donald Trump.
...Calling the suit “one enormous conspiracy theory,” Neureiter ordered that the duo must pay the legal fees of all the individuals and companies they had sued — 18 separate entities in all — as a way to deter future similar cases.
...“In short, this was no slip-and-fall at the local grocery store,” wrote Neureiter, who was appointed as a magistrate judge by other judges. “Albeit disorganized and fantastical, the Complaint’s allegations are extraordinarily serious and, if accepted as true by large numbers of people, are the stuff of which violent insurrections are made.”
Good morning, Lynell and Ellie! Much food for thought you’ve given us, many thanks! If only a Neureiter could deem the idjt and his henchmen “one enormous conspiracy theory” dripping through a diabolical bucket of deceit and order appropriate, searing charges for the myriad corrupt illegalities to which they this far seem immune.
Good morning Lynette. These articles are heartening, especially the last one. I have a brand new baby grand girl as of yesterday evening. 7.7 pounds of healthy. Yet I won’t see her until Saturday because of Covid restrictions upon visiting at the hospital. I’m all in with the light that leads those who oppose tyranny and suppression of our rights. And just the plain cunning and naked greed on the clammy unmasked faces of the likes of Desantis and his supporters.
Congratulations, and welcome to her! Because of changes in our society underway now, may she only hear in history classes about such things as “me too” , or voter suppression. All the people!
'... brand new baby grand girl' way before 'clammy unmasked faces....', way, way before. Much health and happiness to grand baby and the loving family around her!
Congrats on the new grandbaby! I have a dear friend who gets to see her new grandson in about 10 days, and is sweating out the wait as the Delta variant rampages through our community.
Thank you for that link Lynell, we, I, need to read articles like these to hold on to some faith in our judicial systems which have been so horribly overrun by McConnell and djt cronies.
My pipe dream- most everything djt touched (except op warp speed) during his horrendous term would be overturned or reversed on the findings of what really went on in the white house for four years- much of which is yet to be exposed.
I know, it’s just fantasy. Just as the mental image I have replayed many times in my mind of djt being shackled and dragged against his will off to Guantanamo broadcast on every national and international media station- Highest ratings ever!
Our contemporary heroic Admiral David G. Farragut is Marc Elias. Track his team's successes on Democracy Docket:
"The DOJ: The Justice Department is delivering on the first of its promises to fight back against voter suppression. Last week, they released new guidance regarding post-election audits and voting methods “to ensure states fully comply with federal laws regarding elections.” The guidance outlines federal protections for voters in each situation and promises that the Justice Department will act if violations occur."
"Democrats in Maine have enacted a new law that will allow residents to register to vote online for the first time in 2023."
"Texas: Last Friday, the Texas Democratic Party, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) and individual voters settled a five-year-long lawsuit with Texas over its noncompliance with the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA). The state will now permanently offer simultaneous voter registration when an eligible voter renews or updates his or her driver’s licenses or ID cards online — an option not offered before this litigation."
With your battery recharged, check out your action opportunities, including:
August 28: "March On for Voting Rights is organizing marches all over the country on the anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s March on Washington. Find a march near you..."
Rooting for Rocky Hanna in Leon County. Hoping the State University Board of Governors makes a similar effort. Universities open back in the next two weeks and Gov Desantis has them hamstrung.
Good morning, Lynell! Thanks for these links. It seems that rationality will win the day over these irrational bordering on insane conspiracy theories.
High school was over 50 years ago. I don't remember learning about Mobile Bay, but I did recognize " Damn the torpedos, full speed ahead!" even if I didn't know its origins until right now. I'm not sure what this says about my education, but it looks like a good slogan has a way of sticking in the brain.
As an aside, Charles Coburn used it in the film "The More the Merrier" and he did just that in relation to the interpersonal interplay between Joel McRae and Jean Arthur (and got a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for it). Coincidentally it was during WW2.
Tenacity, determination and courage mixed with humility and empathy….all qualities of the most effective leaders and citizens. As Dr Richardson points out, things were far from certain for President Lincoln and the Union in early 1864; so much was yet to be won even after the important victories of Gettysburg and Vicksburg. Go to Petersburg and you can begin to appreciate just how tough it still was as late as 1865 when the Confederacy was near its end. Like then, the stakes are high, now. It’s always that way in a democracy because the will of the majority is subject to constant change and can be temporarily thrown off course….at the worst times. We all felt what that was like during trump’s presidency and as we continue to battle against the pandemic while trying to convince more of our fellow Americans to do their patriotic duty and just get vaccinated. Nothing is for certain in our efforts to protect and preserve our Union but we can’t and must not ever give up.
What a riveting account of the Battle of Mobile Bay! Thank you! I, for one, am rarely captivated by accounts of war, yet you had me on the edge of my seat -- it was the change of tactics -- that of unification -- brought about by Ulysses S. Grant. Isn't that always a brilliant manoeuvre -- to work in tandem?
That said, I do hope that you will give us the pleasure of reading your insights about "the rising radicalism of the Republican Party." This is where, I believe, that we can learn a few Grantian military procedures that may serve us well against the current GOP. Perhaps, we need some way of unifying the Democrats and Progressives in a common quest to fight tooth and nail with a Farragutian cry of: "Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!"
Morning, Lynell, Stuart, and Gail! Yes TC's post is alarming, but we must be vigilant and recognize the destructive power 45's GOP continues to brandish. We can't let our guard down. They are too dangerous.
For those of you who would really like something to smile about, see if you can dig up this evening’s Reid Out… on MSNBC. She returned from vacation tonight. Full of piss and vinegar. Her riff is priceless.
'Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead.' If Heather's books were required reading for high school history classes, this country would explode with history majors.
"I wrote a letter tonight about the rising radicalism of the Republican Party. But then, sorting through the dark chaos of today’s news, I found myself thinking instead about the Battle of Mobile Bay, which happened on this date in 1864. "
A glimpse of how a historian's mind works. From taking the LFAA intended (discussing the increasing radicalism of today's Republiqans) to a decisive victory that enabled the Union to endure (even if it was basically thrown away by kowtowing to the southern Democrats in the 1870's) to face its present crisis is magnificent. I thank you for these comparisons of how time folds over on itself in our nation's history and how the times from the 1850's to 1870's moved to the 1930's and influence us today. Thank you for this nugget. Damn the torpedoes of conspiracy, full steam ahead to the truth!
It is interesting to note that the "torpedoes" are perhaps more accurately described as mines, an additional analogy for the minefield of misinformation and conspiracy theories that our Republiqan friends throw into our path.
And now I know for whom Farragut Square in DC is named, and what the story behind it is. I have to say, though, I'm always wondering how much better off those of us in the North would be if Lincoln had let the South go.
I don't agree, but my level of certainty about this is not high. I just wish we had a reasonable supreme court, no electoral college, and an end to gerrymandering. I wish Gore had been in the White House instead of Bush.
Remember the old saying: If wishes were horses, beggars would ride! Not sure that really aligns with your comment - only brought to mind that all of my "wishes" were horses from the time I knew what they were!
I literally got goosebumps reading this letter. A reminder that sometimes victory requires "eyes on the prize", all obstacles be damned. Thank you once again, Heather.
I was one of those children who loved to listen to family stories. My granddaddy, William F. Fain, often told me about my great-grandfather, Iota Oscar Fain, his parents, and siblings who farmed in north-eastern Georgia and ran a general store in the 1860s. My great-great-grandfather, William Hollen Fain was a southerner, yet was vehemently anti-slavery, as were many in that region. When Sherman came through, he sent out teams of soldiers, one of which raided the Fain family's farm. The soldiers went room to room, piled up belongings, sliced open the feather pillows and mattresses, dumped the feathers, and poured sorghum molasses over everything. They used the family's own property and products to destroy all they had. Their clothes, linens, and furniture in each room were ruined, that is until the reached the oldest sister's room where they attempted to demolish her hope chest. She'd been hiding under the bed, but came out roaring, attacking the soldier molesting her treasure with her fists and feet. He backed out of the room, said "Pardon me, Miss," called his fellow soldiers together, and they rode away.
After the Union won, the community's angry pro-slavery citizens set the family's store ablaze and salted their fields. This final devastation meant they could not stay, so they packed up and left, finally settling in northern Arkansas after a second failed homestead in northwestern Georgia where their anti-slavery position was met with even more hostility.
Grandaddy's aunt eventually set up housekeeping in Arkansas with her husband, the hope chest and its treasures intact.
My great-great grandparents, William Hollen and Susan Fain, rest in Lead Hill, Arkansas. Their commitment to what is right cost them so much, but it has been a light in my family, one that still guides me, my children and my grandchildren.
I never met my great-great grandfather George (Doc) Robertson who was a sawbones in the Confederate Army in Mississippi, but my grandmother told me stories about him. A die-hard rebel, in the early 20th Cent. he would hit ppl with his cane if they didn't stand when "Dixie" played. I am so glad that I was raised in St. Louis & only visited the South each summer. I later saw the personal racism of my family there. Had an uncle in the KKK who was also deacon of his Southern Baptist church. I attended an integrated high school in the early 1960s while the South was still segregated by race.
Deacon of church, member of KKK.
Hmmmmm, what would Jesus do?
A question we can ask many Christians today.
Jesus weeps.I call those Ppl “Convenient Christians “. Only when it suits them. I know because I’m surrounded by them. There are some who walk the talk. But very few in my neck of the woods. Christopher Reeves aka as Superman was interviewed by Barbara Walters I is close to final days. She asked him about his Faith. “ I have a sign hanging in my office he said. When I do bad I feel bad . When I do good I feel good. And that is My Religion.” Mine also.
a.k.a. hypo-Christians.
I don't know if you realize that only paid subscribers can comment but anyone can like a post. Many, like me who's only reliable income is Social Security and a small VA pension which will never reimburse me for the horrors of a stupid war, can't afford to subscribe to every newsletter they love. I finally decided to subscribe anyway, just to make sure you know that you may well be calling someone a false Christian who may just be poor. I agree that there are many false Christians but it's not for us to judge.
Whoa! Please read Gary Sanchez comment below!
It’s the “light” you tell about which is the same today to guide us to save our democracy.
Yes!
Thank you Terri. The true family history of pioneers heading westwards.
Wonderful example of staying true to your beliefs. Thank you for sharing this, Terri.
What history! Thank you for sharing.
What a wonderful family history! Thank you
Terri, thank you so much for sharing this amazing story. Having had the courage of their convictions must have given them strength in their difficult journey. Inspiring.
Thank you for sharing. What a wonderful legacy they have left you.
Inspiring!
What a story and a legacy. I hope it is written down somewhere and available to others. Thank you for sharing it.
What a wonderful story and a great legacy!
What a powerful testimony. Thank you very much.
Oh my goodness, Terri, what an incredible story, what an incredible legacy. Thank you so much for telling us this.
Thank you.
Just saw this and wanted to share:
Husband rued: "I'm sad to be raising our children in these dystopian times."
Wife recalled a quote she had read:
"Never feel sorry for raising dragon-slayers in a time when there are actual dragons."
#VoteBlue2022
"It's a great life if you don't weaken." ~My Mom
Reminds me that we need to be dragon-slayers, alongside our children. Thanks for sharing!
Love you Deborah Unger! That’s the right response to “Damn the torpedoes. Full speed ahead!”
I know several dragon slayers amongst the Millennials and Gen X-ers. I know because I raised two of them.
Wife's on to something, Deborah!
Thank you for sharing this. I needed to read it.
Love this!!!!
The death of Richard Trumka, the President of the AFL-CIO, brings up the question of what is the role of unions in this time. I have a unique perspective because I have been both a member of the AFL-CIO - the Musicians Union and a senior executive in a Fortune 100 company that never saw unionization. I was in the Musicians Union before Right to Work laws so in order to perform with a professional symphony orchestra in the 1970s you had to join the union. I saw the union as having both pluses and minuses. Collective bargaining could be a good thing; but union rules could stagnate innovation in a workplace. The Fortune 100 company I worked for was a highly ethical organization. It avoided being unionized by treating its employees very well. In the blizzard of 1978 in New England no one was allowed to drive on the roads for five days so no one could go to work. My company paid the hourly workers for those days at their regular wage as the right thing to do while General Electric didn't pay its unionized workers. So for a million dollars or so, the company could use that story for decades as why it wasn't necessary to unionize.
Today, my position on unions is that in order to counter every penny possible going to the investors keeping wages and benefits low and continually created greater and greater income disparity, employees must own a substantial part of the company they work for. The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra is an interesting case. The musicians own the orchestra and manage it. There is no separation between management and employees. It is working very well for them. Income disparity in hollowing out the middle class and taking the consumer out of capitalism. It is time to turn the tables and assure every person lives a life of well-being.
Cathy, my experiences with unions--both as a member and as an observer--are not dissimilar to yours. They are necessary when dealing with hostile management that underpays its workers and doesn't want to provide essential services such as health care. But they are also discriminatory, especially with respect to women and BIPOC. Dancers who are in union "shops" have more job protection than those who don't but are often paid less than the members of the orchestras that accompany them--because of gender discrimination, which is rampant, and because of the pressures on dancers by management not to make a fuss. The Vienna Phil did not admit women as full members until 1997 (I checked), which means it was the last holdout. Even the Berlin Phil had relented and admitted women as regular members over a decade before. So I don't really consider it a good example of communitarianism. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/23/arts/music/women-vienna-philharmonic.html
Trumka had worked himself up from the coal mines into his position. In the story on NPR last night, the thing that stood out for me was his yelling at union members whose racism made them hesitant to vote for Obama. They played the clip. Obama wasn't great for unions but dang, he was a better bet than either McCain or Mittens. And yet--as Trumka pointed out--these guys were willing (as they did with Reagan, who did more damage to unions than anyone) to vote against their best interests because, as Trumka said, "of the color of his skin."
The person who ushered in the new age in unions was Reagan, who made it acceptable to fire striking workers and replace them with scabs. In the process, he demonstrated to union leadership that they were better off feathering their personal nests than trying to make lives better for their workers. Reagan was also the architect of the destruction of American manufacturing, of the destruction of our environment and climate, of the destruction of our system of public education. The cognitive disconnect between the damage he wrought and his public memory is, to me, staggering.
Are unions corrupt? yep. Are unions necessary? Again, yep. How to reform them so that they are not corrupt? That's the question.
Reagan’s affability masked the cruelty of Republican policies and the movement of wealth upward. I fully agree about the disconnect between the damage he wrought and his public memory. He was a master of sound bites.
My father who was a member of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners, and later in life, a member of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, had mixed feelings about unions. But we never had discussions about the reasons for his mixed feelings; we just didn't discuss things like politics, religion or finances in my household growing up.
Later I had a boss who stated on many occasions that "any company that had a union deserved a union." I grew to appreciate this as I entered the workforce. Treat your employees humanely, with good pay and benefits, and a safe work environment and both the company and its employees will succeed; treat your employees like easily replaceable cogs in a machine, and eventually you will have a unionized work force.
Linda, your letter ends with this: "Reagan was also the architect of the destruction of American manufacturing, of the destruction of our environment and climate, of the destruction of our system of public education." I admit I remember little of what Reagan did, probably because I was so involved in bringing up two sons and not paying much attention to politics. Can you recommend some readings that would enlighten me on Reagan's "destructions." I think to many Americans at the time, Reagan was a reassuring figure because of his Hollywood charm and his position against Russia. Thanks, Linda.
The marquee act was his firing of the nation's Air Traffic Controllers and hiring scabs to replace them. This decimated the PATCO Union and signaled to the business community that it was open season on Unions. That was a turning point where Unions lost an immense amount of their clout in national politics.
I remember it quite differently, the head of PATCO called a strike which was a direct threat to the economy of the nation, the president ordered them back to work while negotiations were to continue, PATCO refused and the president terminated their contract, some members went back to work and others refused, I used to know some of them, the union ceased to exist, commerce in the US continued to grow and we still have the safest flight ✈️ management that I know of. I say this as a 30 year union member who flew often during those years. PATCO was wrong to try to shut down the US economy and they paid the price.
Thanks for this perspective.
I was in my teens at the time and only know the broad outlines. Thanks for fleshing it out a bit. Negotiations are a hardball game and PATCO got squashed.
Some union houses for orchestras, opera, and dance have protected their members during the pandemic. Others, like the Metropolitan Opera, have shafted their company members. When it is time for people to make donations, look into how organizations have treated their employees and contractors.
Indeed--but alas too often it hasn't been the unions taking care of the performers, staff, and techies. Here in KC all the major union houses (Ballet, Symphony, Lyric Opera) have worked like crazy to fundraise and support everyone in their organizations and they have largely succeeded. KC is different from a lot of other mid-size midwestern cities in its level of philanthropy but what they've done here is a testament to the determination of the administration's of all these organizations and rather less the support of the unions, although that is vital to things like health care for dancers and pensions.
In the United States the auditions for orchestras started to be done behind a screen so the jury couldn't see who it was playing. It worked pretty well. Even have a few women conductors doing well.
We were lucky in Eugene to have Marin Alsop as our Symphony director for a number of years! I also got to see the Philadelphia Orchestra when they came to town just after Carol Jantsch got the principal tuba position at age 21; the youngest member of the orchestra and the only female principal tuba player in a major symphony.
The son of one of my musician friends was a substitute Tuba player for the New York Philharmonic. He played a solo at church once and his gorgeous sound filled every nook and cranny of the sanctuary. The best way to describe it was being inside a glass of fine wine.
If you want to listen to Christmas music in August, and are on Facebook, look up a video on the Oregon Tuba Association's Facebook page and listen to our rendition of "How Far is it to Bethlehem" that we played in 2018. A friend described it as "liquid sound". I'll see if I can post a link to that when I get a chance.
I'd love to hear it!
Cathy, the behind the screen auditions go brilliantly--and they are extremely interesting to observe because of the white men who are so dismayed by the results, since they are hiring people who "do not look like them." The bias of the observer/judge is a well-known phenomenon that is consistently studied and proven over and over in hiring practices of all kinds. Another place where blind judging has become a super interesting issue is TV cooking contests (to which I admit I am addicted). Introducing blind judging--the judges have no idea who cooked the food because no contestants are named and none are in the room--has meant that the old reliable winning of men in those situations disappears. In those contests, the women are winning in very significant numbers. This tells you something about high-end chef-y stuff as well.
Thank you for this "view from both sides". I am curious as to what flavor of music caused you to be required to join AFM/AFoM. I have never worked in the private sector, and was a 28 year member of LCPOA (Lane County Peace Officer's Association) which did an adequate job of protecting its members from the not infrequent management attempts at signaling out specific individuals for "attention". Sadly, our management was so incompetent that they kept messing up the termination of a deputy (a guy I thought never should have made his probation, and ended up being "wrongfully" terminated for lying and sexual harassment and eventually terminated (after 30 years of employment) for "untruthfulness" after double dipping the county and the city where he was a city counselor for reimbursements. The district attorney declined to prosecute misdemeanor theft charges against him but did "Brady List" him (meaning he couldn't testify under oath because of his demonstrated untruthfulness.) He retired in lieu of termination, and still sits on the city council.
what a sad story...and you know there are thousands just like it. The apathy, the unwillingness to take the time and trouble to do the right thing; wink, wink, nod, nod. Challenging, it can be, to gather the documentation for ending employment, but so necessary to weed the garden. What we call weeds are plants in the wrong places. Sometimes, people are the wrong places.
I played with several professional symphony orchestras -- an ensemble of about 100 musicians -- all classical music although did some pops concerts.
This amateur tuba player wants to know what instrument(s) you play!
I'm a violinist. Also play viola, some double bass, and a bit of piano. One of the most fun times was playing in the Aspen Festival Orchestra for three summers. You might say I fiddle around a lot.
Wow Ally. Just . . . wow. But also, alas, not unique--I hear about things like this frequently from friends and students who work for government organizations. Also academia has a similar problem with tenuring people who should never have been allowed in the classroom. It screws it up for the rest of us.
Wow. A double whammy from Cathy and Linda. So much food for thought. So many people that are fair minded and discerning have a lot of trouble deciding about unions. It is because of Linda’s double edged sword’s question.
Thank you!
Everything that starts out as good and pure has the potential to turn backwards and become opposed to what it was when it started. I've seen this personally so many times. Unions is a great example. What was once good and even necessary, has turned in on itself and become hierarchical and bloated and corrupt. Just look at the Police Unions that favour police non-accountability over well run and well working police forces. Just look at the Republican Party (RIP).
Just because Unions have devolved into a pathetic shadow of what they once were, doesn't mean they can't be resurrected, though it may be easier to replace them with a different system, one that can't be corrupted as easily.
Your experience confirms what I used to say to new supervisors when I began training: “What ‘causes’ unions?” All kinds of answers… the correct one: management.
My husband was a union carpenter for 40 years. We always had good insurance and he made a living wage. And now, retired, he has a decent pension. Along the way the unions negotiated for their members. They won some decisions and lost others. What I always say to people who frown at unions is this, when you build a house non union, do you think you pay less for that house, no. Do the workers make union wages, no. So who do you think makes the extra money, management of course.
I worked for a construction company, later construction management, for 29 years. In the first years I worked there, the company was union, with a side company that was non-union. Back in the late 70s. After a few years, all of our jobs were union & as Pam said, union Carpenters & Masons & Laborers all got a good wage & good benefits. Yes, the guys (and later, gals) paid union dues, but the return was worth it for them.
Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) used to be a selling point for recruiters in companies that offered them but they are now rarely seen. One wonders why that tool for building engagement and employee wealth has lost its appeal.
Cathy, thank you for this information.
Fascinating! Thanks fir sharing!
I believe that critical race theory should be taught in our schools. But more so the depth and sacrifice and the horrors of the Civil War should also be re-examined. They go hand in hand. I was brought up to believe in the honor of it all. Yet the true reasons for it is appalling and should taught it that should never happen again. Yet I feel that we are on the brink again right now. Four almost the same reasons. The two histories go head and head. I dearly love this country and we need to stand up for the right to be free, all of us, and to adhere to the constitution which to me is sacred. It has been undermined daily by, for lack of terms, fearful, hate mongering people who just care about power and not about the people of this land. We are from all over…thus making us the United States, at least I hope we are. Lately I have been very sad and anxious, and sorry, but angry at the way that things have been run. I will not be silent anymore, and I will do what I can to make a stand for freedom. Truthfully and peacefully. We all need to know that we or bound by our words and pledge to America to be kind, compassionate and helpful to those in need and to welcome those who seek freedom and happiness. If we have more than we need we need to give. But if we I have less then we should be able to ask openly and be helped. We are all in this together. Professor, your words and this history today is a reminder and is very important to me and I hope to everybody else in understanding the price of freedom. But also the insanity that brings us to the brink. Thank you very much, peace aside will prevail. Mike
P.S. please everyone, get vaccinated. Our lives we knew and want depend on it.
I wonder if future generations won't shake their heads as they teach we were experiencing our 2nd Civil War, with 600,000 deaths, and we didn't even know it.
profundus abundus
Not to throw any ice cold water on your comment, Mike, because I believe completely in the spirit of your post. But I feel compelled to correct what I believe is misinformation deliberately spread by the “Tr*mp Republicans”.
Simply, Critical Race Theory will never be taught in our schools. It’s a graduate level Theory, can affect theories and action in other humanities. It’s not a noun or a thing that can become a curriculum product.
Teachers that study this theory can learn much about bias and integrate in their teaching approach.
Critical Race Theory is like the Theory of Evolution, or the Theory of Relativity. You don't need to teach tensors and covariant derivatives to teach relativity, though you do need to learn them if you intend to work in the field.
Any time a teacher asserts that "species change over time, including the human species," they are teaching the theory of evolution, and flying directly in the face of the Christian/Medieval doctrine of "as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end."
Any time a teacher asserts that the deck is rigged against non-white people in the US, they are teaching critical race theory, and flying in the face of the American doctrine of "equal opportunity."
I don't assume they're teaching the deck is rigged or asserting? Just saying these things happened. And we did them. And we can be better.
Oh, I see. You went straight to hyperbole and I wasn't expecting it. And I really wasn't clear.
Clarification: in my schooling (back at the dawn of time), history was part of "social studies," and was a strange jumble of disparate "facts" that had nothing to do with anything. I can still tell you that the chief export of Bolivia was tin. I have no context for why this was worth remembering. I don't remember any of the dates, or succession, of English Kings we were expected to memorize to pass tests. When it came to American history, which wasn't taught until high school, it was patently obvious that it was a hagiography, not a history.
When you said (above) "just saying these things happened," I'm thinking, "yes, add these things to the laundry list of stuff to memorize for the test and then forget because there's no context."
I don't see how you could teach about the Tulsa Massacre without bringing up the threat that affluent blacks represented to the white people, and you can't explain why that was a threat without talking about the US history of slavery, the Jim Crow period, and the idea of white privilege, which is the core of what was threatened by affluent (uppity) blacks.
The Tulsa Massacre doesn't make any sense outside the context of Jim Crow, which brings up ALL the barriers placed in the way of black people. You are now talking about systems of oppression, rather than acts of individual racists, and -- if I understand the term -- you are now talking about Critical Race Theory. Not at the graduate level, of course.
You bring up a deeper point. If teachers just say "these things happened," they aren't really teaching anything at all. It's one of the reasons kids grow up hating history, because they aren't really taught history, which is not about disconnected events and dates, but about relationships, and patterns, and the "rhyme" that unites recurrent themes.
Of course, you tailor the subject to the student. You don't teach a kindergarten child about the Tusla Massacre.
Not to be a jerk, But you teach them Jesus walked on water?
??? Sorry, not getting the point.
I'm not sure where religious teaching came into this thread.
I wonder which next thing that the treasonous lying bullsh*t mouthpieces will use to demonize people of color and rile up the white people to be “afraid” of black peopke taking everything from them.
Maybe it will something about “soul food” or “soul music” taking over Christian souls.
Fools.
I understand. I just saying the simple bold truth. And about or native peoples. We destroyed 2 races.
No, we didn’t destroy them. They are here doing good work, thinking wise thoughts, making great art, surviving. If we ‘destroyed them’ where did Obama, Keith Ellison, Cori Bush, Audrey Lorde, MLK, John Lewis, Harriet Tubman, John Coltrane, Nina Simone, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Sherman Alexie, Louise Erdrich, Deb Haaland, Scott Momaday, Buffy St Marie and Black Elk come from? We white people made their lives hard and took from them everything they loved, yes, but don’t seem to know how to destroy them.
But I think it's important to address the idea of slavery early. Wasn't their choice. Then we "Freed" them, and began suppressing their rights over all? And how to you grow from there when it is so difficult to start from scratch. And not to sound like it was a given favor. We let every other "nationality" into this country. And yes all had difficulties, but ones color of their skin became an insurmountable hurdle. Yes we've done good, but we can do so much more. Just my thoughts, but until you experience racism, or any kind of suppression, one just can't understand totally. WE cab't turn our heads. And right now we are. I remember when Hunter Thompson, in his book "On the campaign Trail, "72", interviewed Nixon and asked him, "But what about the doomed sir?". He replied, " Eff the doomed". I believe many are feeling the same way. And it makes me sad, and angry. Again. If you have give. Peace all. ( I know there are two sides, but in the middle is what counts. Lets meet there).
Mike yes yes yes, 100% agreement! I didn't intend my comment as a defense of White people or their dominance! I meant it as respect to the enslaved people and the indigenous inhabitants, that they could survive cruelty and barbarism as great as we know it to be, that they could triumph over it to that degree. They hold all the moral cards. It is centuries past time for reparations but we must be active about seeing to it that serious discussion takes place while Democrats are quasi-powerful in Congress. That topic has gone totally silent, after a lot of media attention last year.
OK, fair enough. I stand corrected. We destroyed their way of life.
Not even that. The Indians I know still speak their languages, hunt, raise horses, grow corn and beans. One resurrected the Wampanoag language at MIT weith Chomsky's help,from a single surving early 18th-century bilingual New Testament and taught it to her infant daughter, whose first lanuage it was--after 2 centuries! and it's spreading. Lots don't, I know: Euro-Americans (including Canadians) tried hard to make them ignorant of their way of life and their languages, basically kidpnapping them into boarding schools for that purpose, "Indian Schools." I'm just saying they persisted, and worked from traces, and treasured the old people who remembered, and in some areas were not even deracinated, like northern British Columbia etc. And they are scholars, writing their own histories now. Bravo!
I don't think we need to teach CRT in schools. We need to expose kids and adults to RESPECT, by doing, modeling, teaching and exercising being respectful. Respect crosses gender, race, skin color, social boundaries, creates bridges; it brings hope and the best in people. It is the game changer.
Both. We need both.
We need to teach accurate American History and civic responsibility. These are labels we can unite under. Messaging matters.
Do we even teach civics anymore? It’s not hard to tell the truth. For the honest ha ha Ha. And I’m not making a joke.
Worth watching this 90min conversation with former SCJ Souter in 2012. Among many sub themes, civics in public education curriculum, and thoughts around how democracies die.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=yVJhXQB1TAk
Yes, definitely.
So critical race theory is just a theory, I think it’s mostly a distraction right now. I think what most of us believe is that we do need to teach the facts about slavery and as you pointed out we need to teach respect for diverse kinds of individuals, all kinds of diversity. The Republicans have seized upon CRT as if it was the bogeyman! It’s a complete distraction
One more in a long list, per DJT, et al.
Teachers however should take such courses. School curricula has many opportunities to open opportunities for discussions and critical thinking. Take African American Month as an example. In average, that month will pass as another check box exercise, kids talking about the same icons between slavery and civil rights, except for opportunities in colleges and other rare initiatives in mass communication platforms. There is little to no mentioning of Ella Baker, Malcom X, the writings or works of Frederick Douglas, or W.E.B Dubois and their respective legacies.
CRT is an academic theory in education about teaching our historical truth in public education instead of white washed lies we have all been taught throughout our history. CRT is only taught in post secondary programs. The Republicans in this country are using the call to teach the truth in our public education (at long last) as a wedge issue to invigorate their white supremacist base. This issue has been discussed in this forum at length repeatedly, with many academics offering great references for the motivated self learners here to educate themselves on this racist dirty trick coming from the GOP.
With all respect, you condescending remarks are out of place. A person truly vested in opening up and sharing knowledge would have provided the sources and left the judgement aside. I have seen academics presenting themselves in different ways, with some looking for the spotlight on their opinions based on their credentials in forums such as this, and those who share their credentialed wealth of knowledge and expertise to inspire, challenge, educate and advance something for the greater good.
Zelita, I’m sorry I have no clue what I said that you might have interpreted as condescending. I greatly benefit from the knowledge freely given in this space. Whatever someone’s motivation for sharing knowledge, as long as they aren’t intending to deceive me. I’m grateful. Sending my best your way. No harm was intended.
Can you provide reliable evidence of this? Have to say, I'm skeptical. For about 50 years now, I've been accused of being "anti-male" when I talk about sexism and of being a "race traitor" (I'm white) when I talk about racism in public life or U.S. history. Privileged people have a long history of accusing the rest of us of making them feel bad.
As a woman, I have heard plenty of mansplaining, ignoring what I have to say, and the worst, when I complained about the lack of preparation for my girls' basketball games, I was told that it was because of having a period, all the while, being held in a bear hug by the athletic director.
Coincidence: Right now I'm listening to a panel discussion on "history, race & exclusion." Heather McGhee (author of _The Sum of Us,_ a must-read) just spoke about how now in Tennessee the state can pull funding from a school if anything being taught makes a white child uncomfortable. The example she gave was a lesson about Ruby Bridges, who at the age of SIX integrated an elementary school in Louisiana.
Sorry to be so blunt since CRT is once again being misrepresented again in our community again today.
White “kids” are not being taught to feel guilty.
I mean, really?
I saw a meme from a R friend of mine which implied exactly this. She got an earful including the fact that some of my ancestors owned slaves. I am not responsible for that. However, being caucasian has given me a leg up. This is the same person who told me she was glad she wasn't as educated as I am. I told her that while my education helps me understand the history, it has nothing to do with my aversion to racism which was awakened in Chicago when i was seven and saw racism in action. It was wrong then; it is wrong now.
Hmm David. That provides no evidence for your generalization. And here’s some news. White kids and really, most kids, are programmed by their families and environments before they ever hit pre-k. And to be frank with you, the common good of public education blurs the lines of many child prejudices and most soft bias by cooperative approaches teachers take in creating a community in their classrooms.
The simple truth of it is that the Trumplicans have demonized CRT so they can demonize public schools and teachers who apparently are teaching dangerous race theories. It has nothing to do with what their true aim is. They want to be I control of schools and funnel money to private schools where proper discourse and time will be given to Aryan White philosophy and keep those black and brown and poor white kids in the public schools with reduced funding. Sounds conspiratorial? It is.
? How are white kids being taught to feel guilty for "White Privilege?" White Privilege is real, but understanding the issues of racism, especially the economic deprivations that go with it is tantamount to learning fairness and humanity.
I don't think they are being taught to feel guilty. I believe guilty comes more as a dynamic from not knowing or understanding how to bridge the past into wherecone finds him/herself and what we can do now to prevent those undesirable systems to ever prevailing again.
No amount of mansplaining is going to make your point David.
😂😂😂😂
This is where the educational professional comes in, because bringing guilty is not the answer but respect, empathy and ownership to solutions, critical thinking. Guilty is a dead end situation. If a young child learns these basic core values such as respect/empathy from young age, they will see these events less as a reflection on who they are personally while grasping their responsibility to ensure such actions don't happen again, and this is a collective responsibility as well.
“In a lot of schools, under the rubric of CRT, white kids are being taught to feel guilty for their "white privilege" Another fascist assumption.
Wow! Really??? That’s your justification? I’m going to guess you won’t care David, but I can’t deal with your unwillingness to see thru the glass less darkly. I’m pretty sure we will get to the truth and a reversal of white supremacy come hell or high water and I’m tired of this 💩. So, whatever Dude. This is the best response I can come up with for you today:
https://crooksandliars.com/2021/08/joy-reid-fire-calls-out-hypocritical-gop
This publication is an admittedly opinion-based source rather than original news/analysis, just so you know. See below.
https://www.bizpacreview.com/about-us/
Skimming down THAT page says it all, doesnt it?
"Our analysis has been touted by the top conservatives in the world, including Donald Trump Jr., Dan Bongino, Dinesh D’Souza, James Woods, Kris Paronto, Candace Owens, Larry Elder, and Sarah Palin."
Who's on fire? Christy's on fire!
And the truth about all that has happened and continues to happen.
Well said Mike.
Thank you for this excellent post. What you propose is difficult work, but we must undertake it.
I always find some nugget of truth from Professor Richardson’s history lessons that help me to better deal with today. To that Admiral Farragut quote, I want you to say, “Damn the lies! Full transparency ahead!”
I live next door to Farragut, TN.
So do I. Interesting letter today by HCR.
“Damn the lies! A full investigation NOW!”
Excellent letter, Heather. I hope voters show the same tenacity and grit our ancestors had so as to subvert the will of the radical right. Sleep well.
Boy, howdy, yes, indeed, Daria. Morning!!
Howdy back, Lynell! Very happy Friday!
Gotta say, I read Heather’s retelling with bated breath!
In this war with the current Confederacy, “Damn the torpedos!”
Full Speed Ahead!
I'm just now reading Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman's new memoir, "Here, Right Matters", the central theme of which is refreshingly in keeping with Farragut's famous order. As you say, "Damn the torpedoes, indeed."
I heard Lt. Col. Vindman speak twice yesterday, once on WaPo and later on the Lincoln Project. There is a true patriot, a man with integrity who can look at himself in the mirror. I was glad to read Dr. Richardson's letter today, and learn the history and origin of "damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead" which my father used to say.
With you , Sally.
I began reading it last night. He's an excellent writer and I'm impressed by the way he interlaces the lessons learned from his experiences throughout his career (only up to p. 75 so far but expect this will continue), lessons which helped form his character and enabled him to take immediate action following TFG's phone conversation with the president of Ukraine.
Morning, all!! Morning, Dr. R!! In the spirit of today's Letter...
Judge Jackson: "In Dresch’s case, Jackson said he has the right to vote for whomever he wants, 'but so does everyone else. Your vote doesn’t count any more than anyone else’s. You don’t get to cancel them out and call for a war because you don’t like the results of the election.'”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/legal-issues/capitol-riot-political-prisoners/2021/08/04/9b6adb84-f54d-11eb-9068-bf463c8c74de_story.html?utm_campaign=wp_politics_am&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_politics&carta-url=https%3A%2F%2Fs2.washingtonpost.com%2Fcar-ln-tr%2F3453b70%2F610bcd479d2fda2f47e42b45%2F5e865b08ade4e21f59b0a68d%2F37%2F52%2F610bcd479d2fda2f47e42b45
And some Floridians thinking for themselves:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2021/08/03/florida-schools-mask-mandate/?utm_campaign=wp_todays_headlines&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_headlines&carta-url=https%3A%2F%2Fs2.washingtonpost.com%2Fcar-ln-tr%2F3453a1b%2F610bb6b79d2fda2f47e4228c%2F5e865b08ade4e21f59b0a68d%2F13%2F73%2F610bb6b79d2fda2f47e4228c
And this from Colorado, Michigan: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/colorado-sanctions-trump-lawsuit/2021/08/04/704dec92-f53a-11eb-a49b-d96f2dac0942_story.html?utm_source=feedly&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=wp_politics
Woo hoo! Great find, Lynell! Wake up, everyone saying, "nothing is happening!"
"A federal judge in Colorado has disciplined two lawyers who filed a lawsuit challenging the 2020 election late last year, finding that the case was “frivolous,” “not warranted by existing law” and filed “in bad faith.”
In a scathing 68-page opinion, Magistrate Judge N. Reid Neureiter found that the lawyers made little effort to corroborate information they had included in the suit, which argued there had been a vast national conspiracy to steal the election from President Donald Trump.
...Calling the suit “one enormous conspiracy theory,” Neureiter ordered that the duo must pay the legal fees of all the individuals and companies they had sued — 18 separate entities in all — as a way to deter future similar cases.
...“In short, this was no slip-and-fall at the local grocery store,” wrote Neureiter, who was appointed as a magistrate judge by other judges. “Albeit disorganized and fantastical, the Complaint’s allegations are extraordinarily serious and, if accepted as true by large numbers of people, are the stuff of which violent insurrections are made.”
Thanks, Ellie, for this deep dive...and that you found it "read worthy"!
Good morning, Lynell and Ellie! Much food for thought you’ve given us, many thanks! If only a Neureiter could deem the idjt and his henchmen “one enormous conspiracy theory” dripping through a diabolical bucket of deceit and order appropriate, searing charges for the myriad corrupt illegalities to which they this far seem immune.
This sounds like the suit with four of TFGs lawyers were the judge took them down and one female lawyer started crying? Same or different?
Good morning Lynette. These articles are heartening, especially the last one. I have a brand new baby grand girl as of yesterday evening. 7.7 pounds of healthy. Yet I won’t see her until Saturday because of Covid restrictions upon visiting at the hospital. I’m all in with the light that leads those who oppose tyranny and suppression of our rights. And just the plain cunning and naked greed on the clammy unmasked faces of the likes of Desantis and his supporters.
Onward!
I have every faith, Christine, that you can multitask...save democracy with a brand new baby on your hip!
Still can multitask as much as when I had her mama on my hip. Thanks Lynell. Not sure why “Vivian” autocorrected you to “Lynette”.
Congratulations, and welcome to her! Because of changes in our society underway now, may she only hear in history classes about such things as “me too” , or voter suppression. All the people!
How wonderful! Enjoy your new grand Baby!
Congratulations to you and your family, Christine!! How exciting!
'... brand new baby grand girl' way before 'clammy unmasked faces....', way, way before. Much health and happiness to grand baby and the loving family around her!
Christine, congrats on your healthy, new granddaughter!
Congrats on the new grandbaby! I have a dear friend who gets to see her new grandson in about 10 days, and is sweating out the wait as the Delta variant rampages through our community.
Congratulations, Christine!
Thank you for that link Lynell, we, I, need to read articles like these to hold on to some faith in our judicial systems which have been so horribly overrun by McConnell and djt cronies.
My pipe dream- most everything djt touched (except op warp speed) during his horrendous term would be overturned or reversed on the findings of what really went on in the white house for four years- much of which is yet to be exposed.
I know, it’s just fantasy. Just as the mental image I have replayed many times in my mind of djt being shackled and dragged against his will off to Guantanamo broadcast on every national and international media station- Highest ratings ever!
Guantanamo broadcast? Now that's a visual I don't want to miss!
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Thank you for this article. I do hope DeSantis does not withhold funding for school districts. He is so callous and pompous. Just incredible.
Our contemporary heroic Admiral David G. Farragut is Marc Elias. Track his team's successes on Democracy Docket:
"The DOJ: The Justice Department is delivering on the first of its promises to fight back against voter suppression. Last week, they released new guidance regarding post-election audits and voting methods “to ensure states fully comply with federal laws regarding elections.” The guidance outlines federal protections for voters in each situation and promises that the Justice Department will act if violations occur."
"Democrats in Maine have enacted a new law that will allow residents to register to vote online for the first time in 2023."
"Texas: Last Friday, the Texas Democratic Party, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) and individual voters settled a five-year-long lawsuit with Texas over its noncompliance with the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA). The state will now permanently offer simultaneous voter registration when an eligible voter renews or updates his or her driver’s licenses or ID cards online — an option not offered before this litigation."
With your battery recharged, check out your action opportunities, including:
August 28: "March On for Voting Rights is organizing marches all over the country on the anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s March on Washington. Find a march near you..."
https://www.democracydocket.com/
Woo Hoo back at ya, Ellie!
Yes! Yes!
Rooting for Rocky Hanna in Leon County. Hoping the State University Board of Governors makes a similar effort. Universities open back in the next two weeks and Gov Desantis has them hamstrung.
Yes, it is sad that they are unable to act in the best interests of the students, professors, and staff. Bama just reinstated masks on campus indoors.
I'll root for him, too, Trisha!
Lynell, thanks for the links. Appreciate you sharing what you’ve been reading - the links are always worth the read!
Morning, Lena...And thanks!
Good morning, Lynell! Thanks for these links. It seems that rationality will win the day over these irrational bordering on insane conspiracy theories.
Wink-Wink!
Much to celebrate
Small torpedoes, I grant you, Cathy, but torpedoes nonetheless!
High school was over 50 years ago. I don't remember learning about Mobile Bay, but I did recognize " Damn the torpedos, full speed ahead!" even if I didn't know its origins until right now. I'm not sure what this says about my education, but it looks like a good slogan has a way of sticking in the brain.
As an aside, Charles Coburn used it in the film "The More the Merrier" and he did just that in relation to the interpersonal interplay between Joel McRae and Jean Arthur (and got a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for it). Coincidentally it was during WW2.
Tenacity, determination and courage mixed with humility and empathy….all qualities of the most effective leaders and citizens. As Dr Richardson points out, things were far from certain for President Lincoln and the Union in early 1864; so much was yet to be won even after the important victories of Gettysburg and Vicksburg. Go to Petersburg and you can begin to appreciate just how tough it still was as late as 1865 when the Confederacy was near its end. Like then, the stakes are high, now. It’s always that way in a democracy because the will of the majority is subject to constant change and can be temporarily thrown off course….at the worst times. We all felt what that was like during trump’s presidency and as we continue to battle against the pandemic while trying to convince more of our fellow Americans to do their patriotic duty and just get vaccinated. Nothing is for certain in our efforts to protect and preserve our Union but we can’t and must not ever give up.
Dear Prof. HCR,
What a riveting account of the Battle of Mobile Bay! Thank you! I, for one, am rarely captivated by accounts of war, yet you had me on the edge of my seat -- it was the change of tactics -- that of unification -- brought about by Ulysses S. Grant. Isn't that always a brilliant manoeuvre -- to work in tandem?
That said, I do hope that you will give us the pleasure of reading your insights about "the rising radicalism of the Republican Party." This is where, I believe, that we can learn a few Grantian military procedures that may serve us well against the current GOP. Perhaps, we need some way of unifying the Democrats and Progressives in a common quest to fight tooth and nail with a Farragutian cry of: "Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!"
TCinLA's brilliant account entitled "The New 'Lost Cause'" is well worth a read in this regard. (See https://tcinla757.substack.com/p/the-new-lost-cause)
Morning, Rowshan. I just read TC's post. Deeply disturbing. But we must not be deterred!
Morning Lynell and all. Me too. Nice to read TC.
Morning, Lynell, Stuart, and Gail! Yes TC's post is alarming, but we must be vigilant and recognize the destructive power 45's GOP continues to brandish. We can't let our guard down. They are too dangerous.
Damn. TCinLA sounds a disturbing alarm.
For those of you who would really like something to smile about, see if you can dig up this evening’s Reid Out… on MSNBC. She returned from vacation tonight. Full of piss and vinegar. Her riff is priceless.
"Joy Reid critiques Tucker Carlson and many conservatives’ love of autocrats" and calls out fascism:
https://www.msnbc.com/the-reidout/watch/tucker-carlson-broadcasting-his-show-from-hungary-critiqued-by-joy-reid-118021701608
Haha: “Tuckems.”
Thank you for the link.
Yup! She definitely slayed some dragons! ❤️❤️
Joy Reid is better to best!
'Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead.' If Heather's books were required reading for high school history classes, this country would explode with history majors.
💚
"I wrote a letter tonight about the rising radicalism of the Republican Party. But then, sorting through the dark chaos of today’s news, I found myself thinking instead about the Battle of Mobile Bay, which happened on this date in 1864. "
A glimpse of how a historian's mind works. From taking the LFAA intended (discussing the increasing radicalism of today's Republiqans) to a decisive victory that enabled the Union to endure (even if it was basically thrown away by kowtowing to the southern Democrats in the 1870's) to face its present crisis is magnificent. I thank you for these comparisons of how time folds over on itself in our nation's history and how the times from the 1850's to 1870's moved to the 1930's and influence us today. Thank you for this nugget. Damn the torpedoes of conspiracy, full steam ahead to the truth!
It is interesting to note that the "torpedoes" are perhaps more accurately described as mines, an additional analogy for the minefield of misinformation and conspiracy theories that our Republiqan friends throw into our path.
And now I know for whom Farragut Square in DC is named, and what the story behind it is. I have to say, though, I'm always wondering how much better off those of us in the North would be if Lincoln had let the South go.
I suspect it would be perpetual war.
I don't agree, but my level of certainty about this is not high. I just wish we had a reasonable supreme court, no electoral college, and an end to gerrymandering. I wish Gore had been in the White House instead of Bush.
Remember the old saying: If wishes were horses, beggars would ride! Not sure that really aligns with your comment - only brought to mind that all of my "wishes" were horses from the time I knew what they were!
No, it doesn't really align--I'm just being wistful--but it's a good old saying.
Yeah - theres a lot of "being wistful" around - has been for going on 5 years! Just thought I'd throw it in there - lighten things up, maybe?
I literally got goosebumps reading this letter. A reminder that sometimes victory requires "eyes on the prize", all obstacles be damned. Thank you once again, Heather.