Roger Green: a librarian's life, deconstructed.
For me personally, Martin Luther King’s most important speech wasn’t the I Have a Dream Speech. Nor was it the letter from a Birmingham jail.
It was this 1967 speech, the deliverance of which really ticked off Lyndon Johnson and not a few black leaders as well. I didn’t hear it until after he died the following year, but it turned out to become massively important in my life.
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A 2005 sermon appropriate for the day.
“Hey! You in the bushes! Come on out!”
Apparently it’s National De-Lurking Week. Who knew? Well, Greg did, but he knows all sorts of obscure crap.
Quoting him: “If you don’t know, a lurker is someone who visits blogs without ever commenting on it. So if you’re stopping by, say hello. Leave a comment and tell me I’m an idiot. Tell me I’m a genius. Whatever. If you have left comments before, do it again. What will it cost you? I would do it at your blog! Really, I would!” And I WOULD.
(Intentionally postdated for maximum short-term effect.)
After my father died five and a half years ago, my mother, sisters and I went sorting through his things, naturally. One item that I seized on was The Colored Negro Black Comic Book.
Somehow I was totally unaware of this book’s existence. It was published by Price/Stern/Sloan in 1970 (though my father may have purchased it later), and I went to college in 1971, so I didn’t see it around.
It was written by Harvey Comics (Richie Rich, Casper) editor Sid Jacobson, whose name frankly didn’t ring a bell, and drawn by Ernie Colon, whose name I recognized instantly.
It’s 80 pages. 14 x 19 cm. Page 3 reads in part: “This satire of America’s best-loved comic strips is presented strictly for laughs, but with the hope that one day, in a world of greater honesty, justice and understanding, the black man will take his rightful place in literature of all kinds.”
So, how did it do? It’s hard to judge things 35 years after the fact, but I’ll give it a shot.
Note: in the comic strip tradition all the words in the strip are in capitals, but for readability, I’ve deigned to write in standard English. Also the words that are in bold in the strip are in red in this text:
The first strip is “Superblack”, a 4 page takeoff on The Man of Steel.
Page 1:
Lois: Mother! Dad! Guess who’s coming to breakfast!
Page 2:
Page 3, Panel 1:
Supes: (looks lovingly at Lois, and vice versa): Lois has told me so much about you folks, we’ve both sure you’ll have the liberalism to delight in our happiness….
(Picture of a man, and a placard “I.F. Stone for President” in the background.)
Page 3, Panel 2:
(Women in background)
Father (waving his finger in Supes’ face): The world is changing fast, but not that fast! As much as I’d like to, I find that I-
Page 4
(Lois’ mom bemused, Lois proud to see Supes hold her dad up in the air by the jacket)
Dad: -W-Welcome you to the family –choke– son!
The movie Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner was obviously on the minds of the writers. Not only are Lois’ first words a play on that title, but the father name-drops Sidney Poitier, the star (along with Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy) of that 1967 film.
I think it works as “it’s hard to REALLY be liberal” story. Miscegenation was only legal in all states the same year as the movie came out, after all. the finger in the face was a nice, patronizing liberal, touch.
The second strip is “Bronzie”, 4 page riff on “Blondie”
Page 1:
Bronzie: I Wonder who that could be?
Page 2:
(Neighbors at the door)
Female neighbor: Good evening. We wanted to be the first to welcome you to the neighborhood.
Page 3:
Page 4:
(Neighbors shocked look, Bronzie’s back to them and Bronzie’s husband in his chair, bemused)
Bronzie: In fact, you’re the only ones to call on us in the two years we’ve been living here!
This sort of thing actually used to happen to people I knew. Funny in a somewhat painful way.
I’ll be looking at more strips in the coming weeks.
Thanks to MB for scanning these; this way, I did not need to bug friend Fred, who had scanned some previous items for me.
And speaking of whom: Hoffinator and Fred- remember the 2-hour premiere of “24” is tonight. I won’t be watching, and I’m even more disinclined now. That is some 8 o’clock (7 central) show.
This weekend, the country celebrates the birth of one of my heroes, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther king, Jr. I have music heroes (John Lennon, e.g.), and sports heroes (Willie Mays) and even blogging heroes (guess who?)
But there are people who are transcendent, and MLK is one of those.
1. Who are your heroes, if any, and why?
2. Do we need heroes? What function do they serve?
3. Your favorite song about heroes is performed by which of the following artists:
The Beach Boys, David Bowie, Mariah Carey, The Commodores, Enrique Iglesias, David Crosby & Phil Collins, Chad Kroeger, Metallica, Tina Turner, The Wallflowers, or someone else?
I’ll answer the third question, and maybe the others, in the appropriate place.
Speaking of MLK, there’s an MLK event televised on Monday all over New York State. Read about it here.
Both courtesy of friend Anne:
1) Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But then I repeat myself. … Mark Twain
2) I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle. … Winston Churchill
3) A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul. … George Bernard Shaw
4) A Congressman is someone who feels a great debt to his fellow man, which debt he proposes to pay off with your money. … G. Gordon Liddy
5) Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner. … James Bovard, Civil Libertarian
(1994)
6) Foreign aid might be defined as a transfer of money from poor people in rich countries to rich people in poor countries. … Douglas Casey, Classmate of Bill Clinton
7) Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys. … PJ. O’Rourke, Civil Libertarian
8) Government is the great fiction, through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else. … Frederic Bastiat, French Economist (1801-1850)
9) Government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short
phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it. … Ronald Reagan (1986)
10) I don’t make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts. … Will Rogers
11) If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it costs when it’s free. … P. J. O’Rourke
12) In general, the art of government consists of taking as much money as possible from one party of the citizens to give to the other. …
Voltaire (1764)
13) Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn’t mean politics will not take an interest in you. … Pericles (430 B. C.)
14) No man’s life, liberty, or property is safe while the legislature is in session. … Mark Twain (1866)
15) Talk is cheap … except when Congress does it. … Unknown
17) The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of the blessings. The inherent blessing of socialism is the equal sharing of misery. … Winston Churchill 18) The only difference between a tax man and a taxidermist is that the taxidermist leaves the skin. … Mark Twain
19) The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools. … Herbert Spencer, English Philosopher(1820-1903)
20) There is no distinctly native American criminal class … save Congress. … Mark Twain
21) What this country needs is more unemployed politicians. … Edward Langley, Artist (1928 – 1995)
22) A government big enough to give you everything you want is strong enough to take everything you have. … Thomas Jefferson
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I made an auditory error in my review of Julie Hembeck’s review last week. I heard the phrase “Do somethin’ right for once” and somehow REPEATEDLY heard the word f***in’ for somethin’. The wax will be removed from my ears, Fred.