samedi 11 décembre 2004

'That Imperial Bastard' I'm reading "Huey Long: A Biography" by T. Harry Williams, who won a Pulitzer prize for the effort. Note that I'm a southerner; my mom is from Louisiana and grew up during the period, and my dad is from northwest Florida. Huey Long is widely regarded as the closest America has come to producing a fascist. It isn't clear yet in the book whether this conclusion is, in detail, deserved. However, there is a passage from a speech he gave in 1934 that I find is worth repeating. The context is as follows. Huey was a U.S. Senator at the time. On the way up, he had occassionally resorted to race baiting, but with apparently a neglible level of gusto relative to the Southern politicians of the era. Still, the head of the KKK decided that Huey had an "un-American attitude" towards "authority", and was going to visit Louisiana to campaign against Huey, who was much stronger than the threat the KKK could pose. Huey could have ducked the challenge, which had many implications for his position amongst his lower class power base. Still, Huey went to go to the press gallery of the Louisiana Senate and asked to make a formal statement. (Note for non-U.S. readers: the head of the KKK is called the Imperial Wizard). "Quote me as saying that that Imperial bastard will never set foot in Louisiana, and that when I call him a sonofabitch I am not referring to the circumstances of his birth." He added that if the KKK leader came to the state, he would leave with "his toes turned up". As context, the much-lauded Woodrow Wilson, circa 20 years before this quote, is known to historians as a "a retrograde racist" Virginian. I can't state yet if Huey was the most dangerous man in America at the time. I can state that, if T. Harry Williams' citation is accurate, this quote is one of the most incredible statements in American politics that I can recall. Rascism sucks, but, well, it is, and no howling at the moon will send it to the dustbin of history where it deserves to rest. The first cure is public courage by public servants, some who wound up dead for such a stance. For the rest of us, we should remember some fleeting courage when faced with a chance to serve without mortal threat. I grew up in the stew and for all my life, going back to a vivid memory in fourth grade, racism has bugged me more than anything else. 10:30:25 PM   comment []