On October 16, 1793...

[47of74]

On October 16, 1793, the wife of French king Louis XVI, Marie-Antoinette was guillotined.

[white_wolf]

1. October is just a revolutionary month isn't?

On October 25th 1917 the October Revolution took place.

[rbnyc]

2. Look out 1%!

Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it.

[malaise]

5. LOL

:rofl:

[hfojvt]

3. sad

I have always been fond of the Hapsburgs.

[Motown_Johnny]

4. Why am I suddenly in the mood for some cake?

[Laelth]

6. Let us hope that the guillotines will not be needed this time.

Of course, I am not ruling them out entirely.

-Laelth

[Buns_of_Fire]

7. Or, as the WashingtonCritters like to say, "everything is on the table..." nt

[zazen]

8. I dunno--her persecutors were pretty monstrous

They screwed with her kids' heads, and got her son to testify that she incested him before they executed her. And then after killing lots of innocent French people out in the villages during the great terror, they were guillotined themselves and then a megalomaniacal emperor came to power.

I guess a Gandhi or MLK-led movement wouldn't have disrupted the French nobility. Maybe that level of violence had to occur. Luckily we have more humane ways of proceeding these days.

[Poll_Blind]

9. Worst thing about a guillotine is what represents: Mechanized execution on a mass scale.

Total social breakdown. Madness. If you've a strong stomach and an inquisitive mind you watch http://vimeo.com/23405739">this excellent episode of "Filthy Cities" which covers Paris and, later in the episode, the butchery of the revolution.

The documentary is from 2010/2011 and has exceptionally high production values. But don't forget that bit about needing a strong stomach to watch. Whew. Oh, and it's a very nice reminder that revolution or change through peaceful, nonviolent means is really the way to go.

PB