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In reply to the discussion: This message was self-deleted by its author [View all]merrily
(45,251 posts)quoted something about Adlai Stevenson.
I used to post on a very small board of Dems.
For some reason, some Dems insist on praising Eisenhower. I do not happen to be one of those Dems.
So, when one of the Dems on this little board said something nice about Eisenhower, I posted what I saw as some of Eisenhower's biggest faults, one of which was racism. And, I posted a lot of links which were not easy to find because, as you know Google is not easy to deal with on stuff that is over 50 years old, especially when you don't have exact words. Plus, things that incriminate Presidents seem to disappear from Google sometimes. But, I did back up my claim of racism enough so that it could not be denied.
So, the reply took another tack entirely. The reply was condescending. (I was the only female on that board, so I took the condescension as sexist). And it was pulled straight out of the poster's ass. Something about times being different then and everybody being racist then, so I should not hold racism against Ike.
Hell, not everyone was racist in 1789, when there were abolitionists, let alone everyone being racist in the 1950s.
So, I googled Adlai Stevenson because I knew he had run against Ike. I found several decidedly non-racist quotes, including this one:
"True patriotism, it seems to me, is based on tolerance and a large measure of humility. There are men among us who use "patriotism" as a club for attacking other Americans. What can we say for the self-styled patriot who thinks that a Negro, a Jew, a Catholic, or a Japanese-American is less an American than he? That betrays the deepest article of our faith, the belief in individual liberty and equality which has always been the heart and soul of the American idea."
http://www.adlaitoday.org/samplecomparision.html
Message board posters being what they are, I never got any reply whatsoever, though one poster did pm me to congratulate me.
A couple more experiences similar to that one, including the condescension--never observed when the men replied to each other; and I got the message and lleft the board.
Okay, so now you have a beautiful speech from two liberals. I won't take up any more of your time because I have to go now.