Was Bass Reeves the inspiration for the Lone Ranger?
Reeves was a Black cowboy as were one out of every four.
In 1838—nearly a century before the Lone Ranger was introduced to the public—Bass Reeves was born into slavery in the Arkansas household of William S. Reeves, who relocated to Paris, Texas, in 1846. It was in Texas, during the Civil War, that William made Bass accompany his son, George Reeves, to fight for the Confederacy.
Just imagine. You’re enslaved. You don’t have fucking autonomy. You don’t own your own damn body. There’s a whole war being fought over whether you're even fully human. Should you have self-determination? Your owner wants to send you to fight for his right (and the rest of the criminally ass-brained rich bigots) to consider you as nothing but livestock. Also, he needs you to babysit his precious widdle white son.
Bass managed to escape to Indian Territory in Oklahoma where he learned the landscape, customs and language of the Seminole and Muscogee Nations. YEA!
Eventually, after Juneteenth, he moved back to Arkansas where he married, had a bunch of kiddles and was recruited to become the first Black deputy U.S. marshal west of the Mississippi.
The legendary lawman was eventually removed from his position in 1907 when Oklahoma gained statehood. As a Black man, Bass was unable to continue in his position as deputy marshal under the new state laws. (source)
Imagine that.
And now a new directive from Oklahoma's top education official requires all public schools to teach the Bible and the Ten Commandments.
This is a red-lights-blaring-sirens-screaming violation not only of parental rights, but of the Constitution. After yesterday’s corrupt, on-the-take Supreme Court bullshit ruling making U.S. Presidents above-the-law kings though, it’s no surprise. Not at all.
Here's what Rachel Laser with Americans United for Separation of Church and State had to say.
This is about claiming the Christian nationalist myth that America is a Christian country. And this is also about preaching, and not teaching, because when Ryan Walters announced the policy, he made clear that he was requiring teachers to have the Bible in every classroom and — quote — "to teach from it." That's not education. That's indoctrination. And it's unconstitutional. (source)Does the Constitution mean anything anymore? Apparently not if you live in a Red State.
Author A.J. Jacobs has a positively bril and growing collection of biblical math problems which could help Oklahoma students stay current and competitive with their contemporaries in the U.S. (I'm not betting on it though). The state is currently ranked 49th in quality of education. Oklahoma officials apparently see it as their mission to keep the state's residents as poor and ignorant as humanly possible. It's a race to the bottom for them.
You Don't Mess Around with Jim, Jim Croce
Don't forget that the ark also had to carry enough food for all those animals for several months. The damn thing must have been bigger than Manhattan. And some creationists also believe there were dinosaurs on board.
ReplyDeleteThere were supposed to be only about eight people on the ark. One could try to calculate how many tons of poo each person would have had to shovel overboard per day to keep up with the output of that many animals.
Speaking of AJ Jacobs and the woefully woeful SCOTUS ruling, I just finished his latest book The Year of Living Constitutionally wherein he spends a year aligning himself as closely as possible to originalist thinking. No surprise, he discovers that there is no such thing. The founders were often at odds with what to say in the constitution and a lot of it is compromise. He also frequently comments on how absurd it is that nine unelected officials have so much power and influence over what becomes law. AJ is as entertaining as ever, but he makes good points. Well worth the read.
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