While everyone gets trashed on margaritas and inhales copious amounts of Mexican food to celebrate -- what, Mexican Independence Day, right America? (wrong!) -- I thought it would be nice to have a two minute history lesson that explains it for those amongst us that might be curious as to What Actually Happened.
As much as I love the History channel's little blurb on this topic, this needs to be told from a black perspective -- like most of American history. Because apparently, you won't know what really went down unless we tell it.
Here's the bottom line, plain and simple: If those French troops had provided much needed reinforcements to their Southern allies at that moment in the campaign, the Union might have lost The Civil War. And this country would be a very different place.
To dip into my archives for the golden oldie entry that goes into detail -- In Observance of Cinco de Mayo: A Lingering Afterthought -- please click here.
Oh -- and if you really want to crack up, watch this.
Showing posts with label the history channel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the history channel. Show all posts
Sunday, May 05, 2013
Saturday, March 03, 2007
...not my dark ages...
it's saturday night. as usual, my friend and i are watching the history channel. (i love the history channel.) after years of him bartending in the lower east side every weekend and me running around with a gig somewhere, it's nice to stay in and avoid the unwashed masses downtown, yearning to be trendy and chain smoke and get trashed. besides -- everyone knows that if you want to go out in new york city, you don't do it on the weekends.
a promo comes on for the dark ages, their latest series premiering sunday (tomorrow) at 9pm.
the announcer says, "over 600 years of degenerate godless inhuman behavior," and as his pithy authoritative voice rang out in my apartment, my friend goes, "that's not what was happening in asia. or africa, either." and then he sighed and shook his head and said matter-of-factly, "it wasn't the dark ages for everyone. europe is not the world."
it was an especially wiggy moment because that's exactly what i was thinking, almost word for word. so my eyebrows went up and i said, "you sound like a black militant." he agreed. but when media constantly says things that are so blatantly eurocentric, who wouldn't be? evidently, it's enough to turn the most mild mannered episcopalian white guy into an indignant black woman in a new york minute (which, from what i'm told, is about five seconds).
"would it kill them to talk about what was happening elsewhere in the world?" he asked. hm. maybe they will. they certainly should. we'll see when it airs tomorrow night.
so nice to know that i've finally rubbed off on him. then again, he was probably always like this, just below the surface.
a promo comes on for the dark ages, their latest series premiering sunday (tomorrow) at 9pm.
the announcer says, "over 600 years of degenerate godless inhuman behavior," and as his pithy authoritative voice rang out in my apartment, my friend goes, "that's not what was happening in asia. or africa, either." and then he sighed and shook his head and said matter-of-factly, "it wasn't the dark ages for everyone. europe is not the world."
it was an especially wiggy moment because that's exactly what i was thinking, almost word for word. so my eyebrows went up and i said, "you sound like a black militant." he agreed. but when media constantly says things that are so blatantly eurocentric, who wouldn't be? evidently, it's enough to turn the most mild mannered episcopalian white guy into an indignant black woman in a new york minute (which, from what i'm told, is about five seconds).
"would it kill them to talk about what was happening elsewhere in the world?" he asked. hm. maybe they will. they certainly should. we'll see when it airs tomorrow night.
so nice to know that i've finally rubbed off on him. then again, he was probably always like this, just below the surface.
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