Memphis, TN — Some enlightened individuals have decided to make drastic cuts in our nation’s National Guard. That makes sense. Because the nation is already engaged in military conflicts in two nations, with at least a third on the horizon, and the federal government has proven it does not have enough personel to handle domestic situaitons, so yeah, get rid of more of these folks. The National Guard in the past few years (and especially in the past few months) has proven they are needed far beyond the one weekend a month that is required. Thank you again for fucking over the citizens and soldiers of this country. The one area this administration could be counted on was a strong national defense, and even now that is being willingly weakened. There better at least be a tax cut involved (not that it will trickle down to me).
If I needed more proof that January was not the best time of the year to do a big cross country trip, I spent last night in Southern city walking through sub 40 degree weather and driving rain. Everyone around me was acting as if the appocolypse was upon us, i just laughed and walked on… wind in my face, rain saturating my wardrobe, alcohol flowing through my bloodstream. I’ve seen worse.
The tour through the National Civil Rights Museum was intersesting. A man had a booth set up outside telling people about how this was the National Civil WRONGS Museum. I was rather curious about this and wanted to engage him in some stimulating dialouge, but it was cold, and raining, so I opted for the warmth and shelter of the former Loraine Motel. I will spend much time wondering what his position was, and even if he turned out to be a crackpot, I will admire his dedication to the cause (sitting out ther despite the less than ideal climate).
As I toured the museum (accomponied by the voice of Ozzie Davis) I felt my chest swell with pride as I saw the number of Georgians prominantly involved in the Civil Rights movement. Then I realized while it was cool that John Lewis, Andrew Young and Julian Bond were all right in the thick of things it hit me that maybe this wasn’t such a good thing. If so many Georgians were involved, that meant they probobly got involved because there were so many civil rights violations in Georgia. So I guess I am proud that so many of my home folks were ignorant fucks so that so many of my home folks could be courageous. I wondered going in how the museum would play non-black civil rights issues. The introductory film made mention of the plight of Asians, Americna Indians, Latinos, Jews and gays, but they were basically never mentioned again (except for a brief mention of the Catholics and Jews in the display for the March On Washington). There was also attention paid ot the fact that Rosa Parks was not the first person to be arrested for refusing to observe the bus seating policy in Montgomery (just the best to fight the fight). And there was a slight mention of the Black Panthers and Nation of Islam. The museum did a good job of highlighitng the hard work and struggles of some of the lesser known heroes of the civil rights movement, and gave at least a nod to those who weren’t in the King camp. And they put the display covering the MLK assasination (along with the hunt for and trial of James Earl Ray, and some alternate theories) across the street in an almost completely seperate institution.
MILES DRIVEN: 1034
STATES VISITED: 5
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