I was reading this morning an interview with Wright Thompson, author of the newly published "The Barn," about the Emmett Till murder. He describes his work on that book as a necessary "excavation" that reveals "a direct line from August of 1955 to January the 6th. . . from Ross Barnett and James P. Coleman and Fielding Wright to Donald Trump and J.D. Vance." I've read a number of books about that case; Thompson is the first who, to my knowledge, examines in this context the "lie" of what happened and makes clear that what happened in 1955 is "very present" with us, and that "until everybody can say this is what happened here, there is no future for the Delta." (Thompson grew up only 23 miles from where the crime took place [in The Barn] but not until he began his research did he know that.) That "deafness" you reference in your response to Mary's comment was as true then as now, and intentional, perpetuating "an alternate view of reality, that if everyone agrees that they believe in it, then it becomes true." The "necessary, honorable thing" was not done in the Delta and so, says Thompson, "the history remains unknown." The parallel to today is startling, even overwelming to consider because of its implications for all of us, and I struggle to hope it will be "owned."
For those interested, the interview is online at Electric Literature, Oct, 30, 2024. The interviewer was Dierdre Sugiuchi.
And I've been thinking a lot these Trumpian years about how they were enabled by unresolved wrongs. There is a direct line back from 1955 through Jim Crow to the aborted ending of Reconstruction (an electoral deal) to the various legislative compromises of the 19th Century that arise from the Constitutional compromise. that founded a nation. We tell ourselves, probably correctly, that without it there would have been no nation. But we call these compromises good, common sense, practical and politic, and fool ourselves that they solve a problem. Maybe presently. But all we do is push the problem forward in time, extend, maybe multiply, its effects over time. So there it is still today, and a preemptive pardon of one president, and ignoring the crimes of the torture regime of the aughts, and the destruction of its CIA videotapes, habituates a nation "of laws" to the government breaking the law, and it's a little bit easier for Trump to happen.
Well-said. Important to re-post this essay that says it all. If only the whole of U.S.A voters were listening!
Thank you, Mary. Many saying it well but too many who are dedicated to their deafness.
I was reading this morning an interview with Wright Thompson, author of the newly published "The Barn," about the Emmett Till murder. He describes his work on that book as a necessary "excavation" that reveals "a direct line from August of 1955 to January the 6th. . . from Ross Barnett and James P. Coleman and Fielding Wright to Donald Trump and J.D. Vance." I've read a number of books about that case; Thompson is the first who, to my knowledge, examines in this context the "lie" of what happened and makes clear that what happened in 1955 is "very present" with us, and that "until everybody can say this is what happened here, there is no future for the Delta." (Thompson grew up only 23 miles from where the crime took place [in The Barn] but not until he began his research did he know that.) That "deafness" you reference in your response to Mary's comment was as true then as now, and intentional, perpetuating "an alternate view of reality, that if everyone agrees that they believe in it, then it becomes true." The "necessary, honorable thing" was not done in the Delta and so, says Thompson, "the history remains unknown." The parallel to today is startling, even overwelming to consider because of its implications for all of us, and I struggle to hope it will be "owned."
For those interested, the interview is online at Electric Literature, Oct, 30, 2024. The interviewer was Dierdre Sugiuchi.
And I've been thinking a lot these Trumpian years about how they were enabled by unresolved wrongs. There is a direct line back from 1955 through Jim Crow to the aborted ending of Reconstruction (an electoral deal) to the various legislative compromises of the 19th Century that arise from the Constitutional compromise. that founded a nation. We tell ourselves, probably correctly, that without it there would have been no nation. But we call these compromises good, common sense, practical and politic, and fool ourselves that they solve a problem. Maybe presently. But all we do is push the problem forward in time, extend, maybe multiply, its effects over time. So there it is still today, and a preemptive pardon of one president, and ignoring the crimes of the torture regime of the aughts, and the destruction of its CIA videotapes, habituates a nation "of laws" to the government breaking the law, and it's a little bit easier for Trump to happen.
Exactly this