Nearly 40 years ago, I was in study hall at Stonewall Jackson Senior High School in Charleston, WV. It was the Monday after Halloween and I was new to the school. I’d grown up in a white enclave in a small New York town. The doors to the auditorium were thrown open and hundreds of white students rushed in.
The principal’s office was just across the hall and Dr. Steadman followed the crowd in and began telling students to get back to class immediately. An incident on Halloween apparently set off tempers between the black and white students.
Students began shouting the principal down as he stood in front of the stage barking for all he was worth. The shouting went back and forth and, from what I could understand, the kids wanted a group of black students punished for beating up one of their own.
While the shouting was going on, hundreds of black students gathered outside the closed doors of the auditorium. (There is a point here — wait for it).
As students realized they were trapped, tempers flared to the point where a senior boy jumped up on the stage and started inciting the crowd. Dr. Steadman was losing his cool and directed the boy to get off the stage and back to class. The student kicked the principal in the head and said, “You may be chickenshit, but I’m ready”.
And the riot was on. It was brutal and bloody and profane. It seemed to last forever and there was no place to hide. My younger brother wound up hospitalized after being chain whipped. Once word spread, parents were on campus searching for their children.
The school was closed for a week, but the tension remained for the year.
The point? I sincerely believe we are, as a society, watching tempers reach the point where one swift kick to a Senator or Representative is going to bust things wide open. Our representatives in Washington are going to go into hiding to prevent having to hear our ‘complaints’. We’ll get mad and they’ll respond by awarding themselves protection.
Be careful, Melanie Morgan. This is serious stuff. Things are going to get really bad before they get better. Congress isn’t used to being questioned the way they have been this past year. Some, Barney Frank comes to mind, are oblivious to it all. They are the ruling class and we are the ruled and they will do whatever is required to protect that.
Freegards,
Glenn
See I just disagree with this. It’s not Princess Pelosi, it’s Queen Nancy of Syria.
Okay, let’s keep that in mind for next time.
After all, Queen Nancy of Syria announced peace in our time there. (Not that anyone agreed but still, she said it.)
It’s somewhat shocking that Spector would call. I would like to be a fly on the wall for that conversation!
