As Fuzzy noted when Alexandria’s famous Christ Church removed the plaque honoring George Washington (a founding member of that institution):
First, they came for the Confederate flag, but I didn’t fly a Confederate flag, so I did not speak out. Then they came for Confederate statues, but I didn’t feel strongly about Confederate statues, so I did not speak out. Then they came for statues of George Washington…
Now, a battalion of social justice warriors is targeting the national anthem:
When California lawmakers return to the Capitol in January, the state chapter of the NAACP will be seeking their support for a campaign to remove “The Star-Spangled Banner” as the national anthem.The organization last week began circulating among legislative offices two resolutions that passed at its state conference in October: one urging Congress to rescind “one of the most racist, pro-slavery, anti-black songs in the American lexicon” as the national anthem, and another in support of former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who launched a protest movement against police brutality among professional athletes by kneeling when “The Star-Spangled Banner” was played before games.
I would like to remind our state’s politicians that we have dams that are in danger of collapsing, our brush and housing construction policies contributed to wildfires that slammed our prosperous wine country, and we are having serious outbreaks (bordering on outright epidemics) of infectious diseases. Social justice drama focused on the “Star Spangled Banner” is unproductive, childish, and likely to make our state more of a national mockery than it is.
How ludicrous is this charge? The organizers of this inanity had to dig down to the rarely sung third stanza to support their changes of racism.
Huffman, who could not be reached for comment on Thursday, told a local CBS TV station that The Star-Spangled Banner is “racist” and “anti-black.” She referred to an infrequently-sung third stanza that includes the lyrics, “Their blood has wash’d out their foul footstep’s pollution/No refuge could save the hireling and slave/From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave.”
I really wonder why this issue was never brought up during the 8 years of Barack Obama’s administration? It’s not like a different set of words were being sung between January 2009 and January 2017.
Should the state’s representatives agree to take the next step, the move would likely to increase California’s reputation as the…nuttiest and most unpopular state in the nation. We would be the Hillary Clinton of states!
The response is what you would expect, at least from those with a basic knowledge of history, civics and decency.
While Francis Scott Key composed the words in 1814, after witnessing the massive overnight British bombardment of Fort McHenry in Maryland during the War of 1812, and the music came later. Throughout the 19th century, the song was treated as the de facto anthem by most branches of the U.S. military. In 1916, an executive order by President Woodrow Wilson formally designated as such. In March 1931, Congress passed an act confirming Wilson’s presidential order, then President Hoover signed it into law.
The main complaints about the anthem to this point is that it is hard to sing and it is hard to memorize the words. However, in the unlikely event that Congress agrees to this California NAACP stupidity, you can be sure that the group will find something racist about the next tune offered.
Additionally. I suspect many Americans would consider giving California the NFL treatment. While the state’s tourism industry has grown in the past 7 years, there are 49 states that also have amazing sites and less social justice craziness.
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