Hephzibah’s Civil War: The Union of Education vs. The Confederacy of Ignorance, 7/16/15

Normally when you pick a school mascot, you pick something that the student body can rally behind.  And the students of Hephzibah High School and Hephzibah Middle School rally behind… a Confederacy Rebel.  Now, the good news is that right now literacy and history are two of the weakest points in grade school academia, at least in the Southeast.  It stands to reason that, if you don’t read well, you’ll shy away from doing much in-depth historical study, and perhaps lack interest in history altogether.  So when you ask many kids if they know the significance and the historical context of the Rebel mascot… they have no freaking idea what you’re talking about.  Thus, thanks to their acute lack of knowledge, they’re not offended by the mascot.

…Remember, that’s the good news.

The Experienced Listener Says, “Let Us Carve OutKast into Stone Mountain!!!”

I’m proud to be from the South.  …Until I’m reminded how ssstupid people from the South can be.  Could you imagine going up to a Jewish person and saying, “Hey, the Final Solution wasn’t really about killing all the Jews; it was about promoting German nationalism and Aryan solidarity!”  Or, “Hey, Gen. Erwin Rommell may have worked for Hitler, but he wasn’t as bad as Hitler, so it’s okay to honor some Nazis!”  Or, “The Egyptians and Babylonians enslaved and killed Jews too; why aren’t you condemning them the way you’re condemning the Nazis?” 

Well, that’s the level of ssstupid ya gotta deal with if you’re a Black person living in the South right now.  Because folks everywhere are trying their BESTS to minimize any connection between the Confederacy and slavery to justify honoring and upholding Confederate symbolism and memorabilia. 

“It’s about heritage, not hate.”  

“It’s about states’ rights, not slavery.”

“It’s about southern pride.” 

“Northerners had slaves too.”

…Maybe we’d know Northerners had slaves too if history books weren’t so busy protecting the “more patriotic” images of America’s forefathers, but that’s another day’s top---where the HAIL is that green FROG with my LIPTON!!