Of course, they are. That's one of the ways to take control of our country's past. It's standard for authoritarian governments. They'll be after the history textbooks, too. They're going to make all history books look like the ones in Alabama x 10.
Kamau, I have to agree enthusiastically to (at least) two of your comments:
1. Living Colour is my favorite band!
2. NMAAHC is an unparalleled life experience that does a wonderful job of showing how history is still alive today. My wife and I spent a whole day there and were so taken by it that we went back for a second day, even though we had only two days in DC. (This was when you could go to their website at exactly 7 a.m. and get one of the 200-300 same-day tickets that they kept in reserve. They were sold out by about 7:10.) We started at the bottom and worked our way up to the top floor, as the museum is designed. When we were approaching the end of the flow, someone near us pointed to a photo and said, "Oh look, there's Suzanne!" (I don't remember her actual name.) A minute or two later, a woman comes up the stairs and her friends all say, "Look, Suzanne, they have your picture here!" She said, "I didn't know they had that photo," and proceeded to tell all her friends plus anyone else who was lucky enough to be nearby, as we were, the full story of how she and a few other people managed to escape from the rubble of the collapsed World Trade Center on 9/11, as shown in the photo. I went back to the hotel riding on a cloud and crying at the same time. Truly a remarkable experience.
This "virtual tour" was fascinating. BTW, I had the pleasure of shooting Pam Grier (with a video camera) in New Brunswick, NJ, when she was there several years ago for a play at the Crossroads Theater. I really miss that little theater--it was a techie's dream! <3
As usual, cruelty is the point. What’s more cruel than trying to make people you don’t value unimportant and invisible (short of exterminating or spiriting them off to black ops prisons, of course) - it’s cheaper and less work.
Listening to your substacks with the very dry AI woman’s voice is my new favorite hobby. Aside from reading your words firsthand, listening to your writing in her tone really hits the nail on the comedic head. Also, YES to the MAGA nicknames. Always more of that 😊👌🏼
I grew up, in part, in Fairfax County (VA) while Dad was at the Pentagon, and my brother and I spent every weekend on the National Mall getting lost in the museums. This was the early 80s. We were both in grade school, but rode the metro into DC ourselves, no cell phones, etc.
Sometimes it snowed both ways, you know.
In retrospect I can’t believe we survived without ICE and ATF and the Ohio National Guard to protect us. But anyhoo…
I was a Natural History kid and Philip all about Air and Space. So we split up, often. My kids would be dumbfounded by that, as we never let them out of sight at same age.
Philip went on to be a chest surgeon at Walter Reed and his wife Cristina a cancer researcher at NIH. Both got out of DC before January, but their son still lives in the area.
What Trump has done to the Capital will never be undone. The stain will never come out. The sense of ownership we had as citizens and ease of exploration now only he and his lackeys have.
But the sense of wonder we knew, they’ll never know.
WTF YOUR COUSIN IS N. K. JEMISIN?!?! How long have you been sitting on that name drop?!?! 🤯 THE BROKEN EARTH SERIES? THAT WON THE HUGO 3X CONSECUTIVELY, FIRST BLACK WINNER OF THE AWARD, N. K. JEMISIN! I told everyone who would listen that they gotta read that series.
I'll shut up, I'm just geeking out. But yeah, your family is clearly awesome stock, you, your mom, N. K. Jemisin 👍🏻 please regale me with more awesome, casual family mentions 😂
Thanks for sharing such a personal story with us. And I love how your posts inspire others to tell their stories as well.
The NMAAHC is my favorite museum in DC. First because of the subject matter and the wealth of information I learned. Also because of the clever, intuitive way in which the museum was designed and curated. It seems cutting edge.
But mostly because it showed me that the country I love could create such a thoughtful, appropriate and inclusive public space to learn more about and celebrate a vital community in our society. We are all inextricably intertwined and it is only hate and insecurity that blinds us to that.
Of course, they are. That's one of the ways to take control of our country's past. It's standard for authoritarian governments. They'll be after the history textbooks, too. They're going to make all history books look like the ones in Alabama x 10.
Kamau, I have to agree enthusiastically to (at least) two of your comments:
1. Living Colour is my favorite band!
2. NMAAHC is an unparalleled life experience that does a wonderful job of showing how history is still alive today. My wife and I spent a whole day there and were so taken by it that we went back for a second day, even though we had only two days in DC. (This was when you could go to their website at exactly 7 a.m. and get one of the 200-300 same-day tickets that they kept in reserve. They were sold out by about 7:10.) We started at the bottom and worked our way up to the top floor, as the museum is designed. When we were approaching the end of the flow, someone near us pointed to a photo and said, "Oh look, there's Suzanne!" (I don't remember her actual name.) A minute or two later, a woman comes up the stairs and her friends all say, "Look, Suzanne, they have your picture here!" She said, "I didn't know they had that photo," and proceeded to tell all her friends plus anyone else who was lucky enough to be nearby, as we were, the full story of how she and a few other people managed to escape from the rubble of the collapsed World Trade Center on 9/11, as shown in the photo. I went back to the hotel riding on a cloud and crying at the same time. Truly a remarkable experience.
This "virtual tour" was fascinating. BTW, I had the pleasure of shooting Pam Grier (with a video camera) in New Brunswick, NJ, when she was there several years ago for a play at the Crossroads Theater. I really miss that little theater--it was a techie's dream! <3
As usual, cruelty is the point. What’s more cruel than trying to make people you don’t value unimportant and invisible (short of exterminating or spiriting them off to black ops prisons, of course) - it’s cheaper and less work.
Listening to your substacks with the very dry AI woman’s voice is my new favorite hobby. Aside from reading your words firsthand, listening to your writing in her tone really hits the nail on the comedic head. Also, YES to the MAGA nicknames. Always more of that 😊👌🏼
“Trump and his crew prefer white failure to Black success.” Uuf, truthiness
I grew up, in part, in Fairfax County (VA) while Dad was at the Pentagon, and my brother and I spent every weekend on the National Mall getting lost in the museums. This was the early 80s. We were both in grade school, but rode the metro into DC ourselves, no cell phones, etc.
Sometimes it snowed both ways, you know.
In retrospect I can’t believe we survived without ICE and ATF and the Ohio National Guard to protect us. But anyhoo…
I was a Natural History kid and Philip all about Air and Space. So we split up, often. My kids would be dumbfounded by that, as we never let them out of sight at same age.
Philip went on to be a chest surgeon at Walter Reed and his wife Cristina a cancer researcher at NIH. Both got out of DC before January, but their son still lives in the area.
What Trump has done to the Capital will never be undone. The stain will never come out. The sense of ownership we had as citizens and ease of exploration now only he and his lackeys have.
But the sense of wonder we knew, they’ll never know.
WTF YOUR COUSIN IS N. K. JEMISIN?!?! How long have you been sitting on that name drop?!?! 🤯 THE BROKEN EARTH SERIES? THAT WON THE HUGO 3X CONSECUTIVELY, FIRST BLACK WINNER OF THE AWARD, N. K. JEMISIN! I told everyone who would listen that they gotta read that series.
I'll shut up, I'm just geeking out. But yeah, your family is clearly awesome stock, you, your mom, N. K. Jemisin 👍🏻 please regale me with more awesome, casual family mentions 😂
Thanks for sharing such a personal story with us. And I love how your posts inspire others to tell their stories as well.
The NMAAHC is my favorite museum in DC. First because of the subject matter and the wealth of information I learned. Also because of the clever, intuitive way in which the museum was designed and curated. It seems cutting edge.
But mostly because it showed me that the country I love could create such a thoughtful, appropriate and inclusive public space to learn more about and celebrate a vital community in our society. We are all inextricably intertwined and it is only hate and insecurity that blinds us to that.
See you on 12 Sept in Chicago!