The history of today?

[Guest]

i guess I will put it in this forum...

I was listening to a blues DVD in the wee hours of the morning. I heard a song about Jim Crow laws. That once again sparked Analytical Jody.

I can think back to growing up. Detroit, the civil rights movement, all the small town white chatter and attitudes, so sad and small and hateful. So much to take in for a kid on a Stingray bike. My heart was so sad, what my ears were bombarding it. Just so wrong. I only know my era.

I started to research the History of Jim Crow laws. Most of which is horrifying. Sure can't say it makes me proud to be a lifelong Democrat; though the party now is almost a 180deg of those days.

Take out the races and put in transgender, our wonderful nation shines under a new very dim light. Oh certainly times have changed. New technologies, inability to hate monger so openly, but it's all still here, sadly far worse in some communities.

I wonder if a turn of election events would bring repeals and new Jym T laws? It is purely going to rest on the hearts and voices of people that care about us.

All that history is good reading and educational for us to watch our backs from backlash. I realized the pun as an afterthought, though not intended. Sobering information. Care to share? Hug. JodyAnn

(I have mixed feelings about never being a Detroiter again. Sigh.)

[Charlize]

I grew up in a conservative white family. My father was a WW 2 vet, a surgeon. My mom had been a nurse. Both were tolerant and respectful to those who were different than themselves but there was also a paternal undercurrent that, while not overt, was always present in their attitudes. They were both 'good' Eisenhower Republicans. I grew up in a time perhaps due to the Vietnam war and the civil rights campaign where i rebelled against that complacency and adherence to attitudes that were simply wrong. I admired African Americans for their struggle and joined in as i could. I was just a little white kid. I was so happy with the civil rights act of '64. I was proud of my cousin who worked for Johnson and who an important part of the segregation of several southern colleges. I became a democrat and never found a republican i could vote for. Somehow one party went towards hate and money while the other went a bit more towards the light.

I still see a quieter but ever present back pressure. '64 was more than 50 years ago and we still have major problems in civil rights. The hate and fear still exists and creates a self perpetuating problem.

I'm sure our trans* issues will be there for years to come. Change is painfully slow, at times non existent. We will need to help each other and the community we belong to for years to come. Perhaps someday it will be rare for a child to feel wrong about expressing his or her self as they know they are rather than what they are told they must be. We may also someday have a political party that i feel even more comfortable with and a system that can't be bought by the rich. I can dream.

Hugs,

Charlize

[Guest LesleyAnne]

Without a dream there is nothing to look forward to!