[Peace-discuss] Organize!

Mon Jul 15 22:34:07 UTC 2013

American history is very interesting and the affected reactions of 
people similarly interesting.
Americans really are too sensitive about particular words.

Mencken writes [American Speech, vol. 19 (1944), pp. 161-74)], regarding 
the etymology of "coon":

Coon, though it is now one of the the most familiar designations for a 
Negro, apparently did not come into general use in that sense until the 
80's; Thornton's first example is dated 1891 and the DAE's 1887. For 
many years before that time the term had been used in the sense of a 
loutish white man, and in Henry Clay's day it had designated a member of 
the Whig party. It came originally, of course, from the name of the 
animal, Procyon lotor, which seems to have been borrowed from the 
Algonquian early in the seventeenth century, and was shortened from 
raccoon to coon before 1750. "How the Negro Got the Name of Coon" is the 
title of one of the stories in a collection of Maryland folk-lore 
published by Mrs. Walter R. Bullock, Jr., in 1898, but all it shows is 
that the Negro who is the chief figure called himself a coon, and that 
the name was afterward applied to others. Why he did so is not 
explained, nor when. The popularity of the term seems to have got a lift 
from the vast success of Ernest Hogan's song, "All Coons Look Alike to 
Me," in 1896. Hogan, himself a colored man, used it without opprobrious 
intent, and was amazed and crushed by the resentment it aroused among 
his people. Says Edward B. Marks in They All Sang:

     The refrain became a fighting phrase all over New York. Whistled by 
a white man, it was construed as a personal insult. Rosamond Johnson 
relates that he once saw two men thrown off a ferry-boat in a row over 
the tune. Hogan became an object of censure among all the Civil Service 
intelligentsia, and died haunted by the awful crime he had unwittingly 
committed against his race.

"All Coons Look Alike to Me" was followed in 1899 by "Every Race Has a 
Flag But the Coon," by Heelan and Helf, two white men, and in 1900 by 
"Coon, Coon, Coon," by two others, Jefferson and Friedman, and from that 
time forward coon was firmly established in the American vocabulary.

****
Note (ewj):

All Coons Look Alike to Me sold more than 1 million copies,
and was the first song of the genre called Ragtime,
which name and type was originated by Ernest Hogan,
who called himself the "Unbleached American".

On 07/16/13 2:09, Paul Mueth wrote:
> This is wrong,
>  "stand your ground" was referred to in instructions to the jury, ck 
> Dem Now today.
> It may be standard op in FL, I guess particularly when the accused 
> prep is the son of a judge,
>
> There should be an argument about whether Z used the word "coon" on
> The 911 call or not.
> Chew on this for a while,
> Everything is fine in FL
> http://mobile.alternet.org/alternet/#!/entry/black-woman-gets-20-years-for-firing-shot-at-wall,51b7609bda27f5d9d0dd3c29 
> <http://mobile.alternet.org/alternet/#%21/entry/black-woman-gets-20-years-for-firing-shot-at-wall,51b7609bda27f5d9d0dd3c29>
>
> Sent from my iPhone 3GS, It doesn't chat!
>
> On Jul 14, 2013, at 11:16 AM, "C. G. Estabrook" <cge at shout.net 
> <mailto:cge at shout.net>> wrote:
>
>> '...State of Florida v. Zimmerman is a straight up traditional self 
>> defense case. It has never been pled as a Stand Your Ground defense 
>> case, irrespective of all the press coverage, attention and 
>> attribution to Stand Your Ground. It’s never been Stand Your Ground, 
>> and certainly is not now that the evidence is all in on the trial 
>> record. It is a straight self defense justification defense, one that 
>> would be pretty much the same under the law of any state in the union 
>> including that which you are in, and that I am in, now (so don’t 
>> blame “Florida law”)...'
>>
>> - See more at: 
>> http://www.emptywheel.net/2013/07/11/uncomfortable-truth-the-state-of-evidence-in-the-george-zimmerman-prosecution/#sthash.j89tcZbp.dpuf
>>
>> On Jul 14, 2013, at 10:31 AM, "E. Wayne Johnson 朱稳森" 
>> <ewj at pigsqq.org <mailto:ewj at pigsqq.org>> wrote:
>>
>>> The Martin/Zimmerman incident is not like the
>>> Champaign Police shootings of young black men.
>>>
>>> Zimmerman may be an asshole or not.  I am not sure.
>>> Most but not all cops and wannabee cops are
>>> indeed quasi-assholes.  Not all.
>>>
>>> But clearly Zimmerman was attacked, and on that basis he
>>> has been set free, because of the self-defense argument.
>>> The cause of the dispute betwen Martin and Zimmerman
>>> becomes irrelevant when Zimmerman is attacked.
>>>
>>> It's not like Zimmerman just pulled out his gun and
>>> Oba-nam Style executed him because he was wearing a hoodie.
>>> The law permits people to have encounters and disagreement.
>>> When it erupts into physical violence particularly life-threatening
>>> violence, then a line is crossed.  The situation was
>>> examined very clearly.
>>>
>>> Justice my ass.
>>> It's not justice that they are crying for.
>>> It's blood.
>>> They want an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth
>>> They want blood for bloodshed.
>>>
>>> Well, actually what they want is Money.
>>>
>>> But since there isn't any money available,
>>> they'll settle for a few pints of blood,
>>> and several ounces of testicular flesh if that
>>> becomes available.
>>>
>>> It is really a disgusting distraction for a noble movement
>>> like Occupy! to get down and grub for cooties
>>> with the blood-lust crowd.
>>>
>>>
>>> On 07/14/13 22:02, Karen Aram wrote:
>>>> Rachel
>>>>
>>>> After today's AWARE meeting at 5:00, I will be attending the 
>>>> protest, bringing a neighbor as well.
>>>> Trayvon Marvin represents the many young black men from Emmet Till, 
>>>> Jimmie Lee Jackson, Robert Hall etc., etc. murdered because of 
>>>> their race, with the perpetrators so obviously being acquitted by 
>>>> unjust laws and or decisions.
>>>>
>>>> Karen Aram
>>>>
>>>> From: rachelstrm at gmail.com <mailto:rachelstrm at gmail.com>
>>>> Date: Sun, 14 Jul 2013 03:51:39 -0500
>>>> To: sdas-current at googlegroups.com 
>>>> <mailto:sdas-current at googlegroups.com>; sdas-list at googlegroups.com 
>>>> <mailto:sdas-list at googlegroups.com>; occupyCU at lists.chambana.net 
>>>> <mailto:occupyCU at lists.chambana.net>; 
>>>> peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net 
>>>> <mailto:peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net>; peace at anti-war.net 
>>>> <mailto:peace at anti-war.net>
>>>> Subject: Re: [Peace-discuss] Organize!
>>>>
>>>> Hey folks---If anyone has heard of another demo being planned, I'm 
>>>> happy to send notices out, cancel this one, and redirect people 
>>>> there. I've contacted a number of African-American led 
>>>> organizations in town and can't seem to tell if something is 
>>>> already in the works. Either way, I'm happy to help try and get the 
>>>> word out and then redirect if need be.
>>>>
>>>> Okay, here's what I got to start. 
>>>> https://www.facebook.com/events/206857249471575/?context=create
>>>>
>>>> Please forward widely.
>>>>
>>>> No Justice, No Peace x Protest the Verdict
>>>> Sunday, July 14th, 2013 | 6pm-8pm
>>>> Douglass Park | 512 E. Grove St. Champaign
>>>> "George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer who fatally 
>>>> shot Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black teenager, igniting a national 
>>>> debate on racial profiling and civil rights, was found not guilty 
>>>> late Saturday night of second-degree murder." We will stand 
>>>> together in Champaign-Urbana to demand accountability, to stand 
>>>> against racial injustice, and to protest the verdict that proved 
>>>> the injustice of the system. We stand with Trayvon’s family and we 
>>>> know that we are called to act---to fight for civil rights and for 
>>>> the removal of Stand Your Ground laws in every state, and we will 
>>>> not rest until racial profiling in all its forms is outlawed. Today 
>>>> we mourn, but tomorrow we organize. #blacklivesmatter
>>>>
>>>> Bring your friends, your family, your children, your neighbors. We 
>>>> stand together as a community--all of us. Art, protest signs, 
>>>> candles, and messages of outrage/hope/love/solidarity are encouraged.
>>>> Share on Facebook: 
>>>> https://www.facebook.com/events/206857249471575/?context=create
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Sun, Jul 14, 2013 at 2:36 AM, Rachel Storm <rachelstrm at gmail.com 
>>>> <mailto:rachelstrm at gmail.com>> wrote:
>>>> I think we need an emergency demonstration tomorrow in response to 
>>>> the Zimmerman verdict to show that Urbana community 
>>>> members/activists/folks in solidarity do not stand for this 
>>>> outrageous demonstration of injustice.
>>>>
>>>> Can we plan to meet somewhere very public tomorrow (Sunday) at 6pm-ish?
>>>>
>>>> WHERE?
>>>>
>>>> Rachel
>>
>>
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