Speaking Ill Of The Dead
Check out the first line of the New York Times’ article about the death of Jesse Helms:
Jesse Helms, the former North Carolina Senator whose courtly manner and mossy drawl barely masked a hard-edged conservatism that opposed civil rights, gay rights, foreign aid and modern art, died early Friday.
Helms wasn’t always my cup of tea, but it can hardly be said that he opposed civil rights. He opposed things like affirmative action (see Helms’ famous “Hands” campaign ad), and I hardly think that government programs which mandate preferential treatment based on skin color have anything to do with “civil rights.”
Also, interesting that the Times draws a distinction between “gay rights” and “civil rights.” That’s going to surprise the hell out of gay advocates who are fond of comparing their movement to the civil rights movement headed up by Martin Luther King.
