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.
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