SHOEFALL | 2006-08-05
I remember very well when arguing that there were innate differences in IQ between blacks and whites was considered
not only hopelss, but insane. I was fighting hte Communists when the John Birch Society
insisted that the Communist Conspiracy directed from Moscow was a power beyond my simple
comprehension.
Only a few of us militantly denied it was true and we were denounced as fools.
I remember when Walter Cronkite was God and Dan Rather was His Son.
I remember when Bella Abzug was the Voice of Women. I remember when hippies were the Voice
of Youth.
Back then, a lot of people complained about this, but only a few of us militantly denied it was true. We were denounced as fools.
I remember decades when the Republican Party insisted it should ignore the "Wallace vote"
and concentrate on getting "The Negro Vote."
Back then, a lot of people complained about this, but only a few of us militantly denied it was true. We were denounced as fools.
I remember the days when "Soylent Green" was an expression of what everybody knew, that
white American were having too many children.
Back then, a lot of people complained about this, but only a few of us militantly denied it was true. We were denounced as fools.
I remember in the 1980s when everybody insisted that the only difference between a baby boy
and baby girls was how they were raised.
Back then, a lot of people complained about this, but only a few of us militantly denied it was true. We were denounced as fools.
Far more important, I clearly remember that these were not academic theories. These were
all absolute realities. Even those who opposed them admitted they were unshakable.
I remember when, to the aveage Southener, New York City was God. Atlanta claimed it was
Little New York.
Back then, a lot of people complained about this, but only a few of us militantly denied it was true. We were denounced as fools.
So here I sit in the midst of today's Absolute Unchanageable, Unchallengable Realities, waiting for the next shoe to fall.
For fifty years I have listened to Tough, Practical People tell me that the mext shoe cannot
fall.
This is a lonely and tiresome business.
But I am proud to be what I have always been. I am proud to be denounced as a fool, because us fools have been right.