"By the way, if the media wants a real party, why don't they invite the loser duo of the KKK and Nazi skinheads, and allow all three of these cretinous groups to rub each other out?"
Oooo, I'd pay money to see that! ;)
Um, the last time somebody suggested that here in North Carolina, it didn't work out all that well, for anybody:
Little Truth In Truth And Reconciliation
On April 18, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission will be back before the Greensboro City Council asking for its endorsement, which means Nelson Johnson, one of the instigators of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and one of the Communist leaders of the “Death to the Klan” rally that precipitated five deaths on Nov. 3, 1979, will most likely be present.
Johnson apparently likes to be on television, which seems to be one of the main reasons that after 25 years this heinous event in Greensboro’s past is being brought to the forefront.
This meeting would give the Greensboro City Council an opportunity to pass a resolution honoring Nelson Johnson. At just about every meeting, the City Council passes a resolution honoring someone for the good they have done for Greensboro. Johnson was one of the ring leaders of the Maoist Communist organization that was responsible for causing the shootings and for those shootings being in Greensboro. Now he is once again reminding the nation that there was a shootout in Greensboro in 1979, without noting that most of those involved in the shootout were not from Greensboro.
It would be an appropriate time for the City Council to recognize Johnson with a resolution noting how much harm he has done to the reputation of the city and dishonor he has brought to the people of the city.
There is no justification for the Klan-Nazi-Communist shootings, but there is also no good reason to remind everyone that 25 years ago there was a terrible shootout in Greensboro.
For years, when I traveled I would have to explain to people that although I grew up in Greensboro, I was not a member of the Klan, that I didn’t know any members of the Klan and that the Klan was not allowed to go into black neighborhoods and shoot people. Lately people have been asking questions about golf tournaments, college basketball and furniture. But this Truth and Reconciliation mess has an opportunity to remind everyone about the Klan-Nazi- Communist shootings.
Some of the facts about the Klan-Communist shootings seem to have been forgotten. It has become a big civil rights issue. The members of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission present the shootings as racially motivated. The truth is that four of the five people who were killed were white and that both sides had weapons. The cars of the Klan-Nazi group that came to the rally were attacked by the Communist Workers Party. But the Klan had bigger, better and more guns than the Communist Workers Party members. The result was that five members of the Communist Workers Party were killed. Four of them were white, and two of the four were doctors.
Because the incident happened in Morningside Homes, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission would have you believe that the shootings were racial and that the Klan came into an economically deprived black neighborhood and mowed people down. But although the rally was held by the Communists in a poor black neighborhood, most of those involved were not even from Greensboro. By holding the “Death to the Klan” rally in Morningside Homes, Johnson and the Communist Workers Party endangered the lives of many innocent people, including children.
Every story seems to mention that two all-white juries found the killers not guilty. What the stories usually don’t mention is that the Communist Workers Party members refused to participate in the trials. It is extremely hard to convict people when the witnesses won’t testify. Saying that the juries were all white makes it sound like the shootings were racial, but it was really a bunch of white racists shooting and killing mostly white Communists.
The rally was a “Death to the Klan” rally, but the issue was unionizing textile mills in the South. People in this area don’t get too excited about union rallies, but a “Death to the Klan” rally was enough to get people interested, particularly because the Communist Workers Party had attacked a Klan rally in China Grove earlier that summer.
The Communist Workers Party challenged the Klan to a confrontation because the Communists wanted the publicity to spread the word about their cause. What they failed to realize is that the Klan and Nazis took the “Death to Klan” rally seriously. This should not have been a surprise to the Maoist Communists of the Communist Workers Party because they were zealously dedicated to their own cause.
There was a lot of guilt on both sides, but it was not predominantly a racial issue, and to make it one now is wrong.
The City Council should politely listen to the Truth and Reconciliation people and then send them on their way. The best thing for Greensboro would be if the City Council voted unanimously not to recognize the group in any way, shape or form, but because it is being presented as a racial issue, it isn’t likely that will happen.