ON THIS DAY IN WEIRD

On This Day in Weird, March 1...

1780: Pennsylvania becomes the first U.S. state to ban slavery, but only applies that freedom to newborn babies. That odd hypocrisy strikes me as relevant today, although it has nothing to do with cryptozoology, since multiple members of Congress and sundry state legislatures—all Republicans—have recently risen to speak in defense of American slavery, extolling its "virtues," blathering on about how it was "good" for captive Africans, etc. Most Americans don't realize that Mississippi only ratified the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, banning slavery, in 2013, 148 years after it became law. The rising tide of bigotry—including statements from our president alleging that Jews themselves have attacked, vandalized, and threatened their own institutions, should catapult concern for civil rights to the forefront of every citizen's mind.