John Wayne Memorial Bigotry

[psiberzerker]

It's a lot to unpack, but this is happening.

Okay, I can kinda see where Ethan is coming from, in Context.  John Wayne is the kind of household name that parents named their sons after.  (Like Marion Elaine Robinson)  And his father.  So, most sons don't want to accept that their fathers can be so wrong, even when they're not an American Icon.  That doesn't make his words any less doublespeak than his father's are frank, and explicitly offensive. 

However, you're talking about his Father, someone that underpins his Identity.  So, the first reaction is denial, and added on top of Mourning, he may never move on to Acceptance.  I'm sorry, but your father was a Bigot.  We can see it, because we didn't grow up in that box, but I read that article in the 80s.  When I was too young to be reading playboys that were part of the family collection. 

I still understood the gravity of those words, those ideas, and lost a lot of respect for the man who said them.

[Lois]

Times have changed a lot.  I think when it comes to those long gone we can admire their accomplishments without endorsing their bigotry.

My own mother was a bigot.  She was against interacial marriage because she claimed the children would come out blotchy (Gee, ma, I wondered where all those blothcy freckles came from), or that the parents would favor those born with lighter skin.

Sadly my mother died before she could change.  I still love her and miss her.

My Dad was a bigot too.  He too was against interacial marriage, because whites should stay white and blacks should stay black.

LOL!  Then he married a Puerto Rican woman and later met her family.  Puerto Ricans ARE THE RAINBOW. He met an aunt that was obviously black.  He then realized that the heart wants what the heart wants, and all he belived in before needed to change, so he did.

The important thing is that we all have the conversation about the issue, not that we suddenly start hating people that are dead and can't change.

[psiberzerker]

Times have changed a lot.

Right, but the key word was Context.  That interview was in Playboy Magazine, and no I don't start hating people posthumously after they're dead, when they turn out to be bigots, but then again, I call out Toxic Role Models wherever I see them.  Times have changed, but we don't forget the man who Emancipated the Slaves, because he's dead.  We don't forget Rudolf Eichmann, and we try to remember what Santayana said about History...

The Orange County that John Wayne represented is gone.  Times have changed a lot.  That's literally what Progressive means.

[Athos_131]

Times have changed a lot.

#Resist

[seveninchblues]

Some of my fondest memories of childhood through early adulthood are of my Uncle and Aunt who had a farm downstate.  My uncle had a way of telling stories that could make you laugh until your side hurt.  Of course, they are not the kinds of stories that might go over well in mixed company today.  Everyone is too sensitive.  Everyone has to be correct, very careful what they say.

Of course, on the other hand, I know that my uncle was a bigot, that he used the "n" word on several occasions, a fact that my liberal brother will deny forever (for whatever reason).
The fact is that he was who he was, and if I am going to remember my Uncle, I am going to have to accept the fact that he was a racist, a redneck, a bigot, that for some unknown reason he looked down on black people.

I realize it's not easy for some people.  For some, there is only black and white, good and bad, no shades of grey in between.

As for John Wayne, I enjoyed his performances in "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" and "The Cowboys",  but shucks, he warn't no role model of mine...

[ChirpingGirl]

If your fee fees are hurt by something a dead man said, reevaluate you existence.

[psiberzerker]

   Seriously?  Me widdow feewings aren't "Hurt."  Your standards for trolling are getting really low, sweet cheeks.

Also, since we be petty.  That would be "Your" existence.

Slow news day?  Didn't get laid last night for once?

[Athos_131]

If your fee fees are hurt by something a dead man said, reevaluate you existence.

You can't stop your happy ass from being an idiot can you?

There are plenty of deceased people who said offensive things that are major parts of history and contribute to the bigotry we see today.

#Resist

[Jed_]

People are the products of their environment and their abilities including physical and mental.  I see no point in passing judgment on someone long dead for holding beliefs that were pervasive at the time, especially someone like John Wayne who certainly was one whose physical attributes (6 foot 4 inches) exceeded his mental ones by a lot.

If he ran around lynching people, that’s one thing.  He was just dumb.

[psiberzerker]

Okay, but this isn't about "Passing Judgement" on John Wayne.  It's about changing the name of an Airport, because the Values changed.  That's the Progressive part.  We don't want to forget our bigoted past, but at the same time, we don't want to keep Celebrating that.

That's why they're taking down the statue, and renaming the John Wayne Memorial Airport.  Because it was named for Political reasons, and the "Wild West" is a false narrative about Genocide:

"Our so-called stealing of this country from them was just a matter of survival. There were great numbers of people who needed new land, and the Indians were selfishly trying to keep it for themselves.”

~John Wayne.

Well, just like the "Indians" the liberals needed new homes in Orange County, and moved in when the "Greatest Generation" died out.  

[seveninchblues]

Ignorant, I believe, is the best term to describe John Wayne, my uncle, and those like them when it came to some of their beliefs.  I'd like to remind everyone of John Wayne's stance on the McCarthy hearings.  Total jerk there.

[ChirpingGirl]

If your fee fees are hurt by something a dead man said, reevaluate you existence.

You can't stop your happy ass from being an idiot can you?

There are plenty of deceased people who said offensive things that are major parts of history and contribute to the bigotry we see today.

#Resist

Go copy and paste an original thought, dipshit.

[psiberzerker]

Go copy and paste an original thought, dipshit.

Irony!

[ChirpingGirl]

 Seriously?  Me widdow feewings aren't "Hurt."  Your standards for trolling are getting really low, sweet cheeks.

Also, since we be petty.  That would be "Your" existence.

Slow news day?  Didn't get laid last night for once?

[psiberzerker]

I think you said it best yourself:

Go copy and paste an original thought, dipshit.

Still pathologically incapable of calling someone out for something without doing the same thing I see.

[Athos_131]

Go copy and paste an original thought, dipshit.

Go whine about your online friend leaving the board.

#Resist

[psiberzerker]

Get a room!

[Lois]

We can't change what John Wayne thought and said, but that does not mean we should ignore it either.  If folks would like to change the name of their airport because he is no longer seen as a great role-model, I would understand.

After all he only played heroes in the movies. That does not make him a hero, proclamations of such aside.

[watcher1]

After all he only played heroes in the movies. That does not make him a hero, proclamations of such aside.

It will be a cold day in Hell before I ever have an actor, entertainer or overpaid athlete as a hero.

[Katiebee]

I do remember seeing somewhere that many soldiers in WWII didn’t like John Wayne because all he did was to portray  military men in movies , and never served. They were incensed that they were getting shot at in reality, and john Wayne was getting shot at in movies.