John's Blog

It's weird how a post sometimes happens and turns into something you really hadn't planned to touch. I was thinking of pulling together a few nostalgia links when finding a treasure trove of stuff about the 70's at Nostagia Central which has a boatload of information, timelines, and trivia about many other decades and a variety of pop culture stuff as well.

But still fresh in my mind was my post about bullies, from last week. I suppose that everyone has someone who personifies what a bully is from their formative years. In most cases, you grow up, move on, move away and forget about them. This was the case for me as well, until I read a series of pieces about the race riots that took place in the town where I grew up. A brutal ambush that lead to many injuries and much destruction was never adequately addressed when it happened in 1969.

But in 1999, what had been a cold trail finally warmed up, and the case was re-opened leading to a series of indictments, and ultimately convictions. One of those charged was The Mayor (this got much publicity when it happened a few years ago, since he was one of the voices who incited the violence) and another was the guy who I remember as one of my grade school bullies. I'm pretty sure not every bully grows up to be a white supremist, but I find this tragic tale to be of tremendous interest, although I'm sure it's because of my proximity to the original events. Luckily, many young people today probably don't have any idea that this kind of stuff even took place. That's not to say that there is a shortage of "bad stuff" in today's' world, but just a reminder that even in simpler times, evil existed.