skeletonotherkin posted:

Just a reminder op, that here in my southern city, it was north eastern transplants who demanded busing be brought to an end.

Raku posted:

Atlanta would be a lovely city had Sherman finished the job

Raku posted:

Atlanta would be a lovely city without all the assholes from outside of the south

Jastiger posted:

This is a post about one of the great American politicians that fell victim to the worst part of the United States, the South. It also exemplifies why I take issue with the South-whenever something awesome starts to rise up and be good, the South makes sure they poo poo all over it. Desegregating schools. Voting rights. The assassinations of JFK, MLK, and the subject of this post. Any time someone realizes what a poo poo show the place is, the South makes sure to squash it before it can take root.

But no, this is a post to celebrate a man who, if I were governor, and replaced his Christianity with my Atheism, would be my arch typical role model:

HUEY LONG



Huey Long (1893-1935) was the fuckin' man. He was born in an extremely poor part of Louisiana to a Middle Class family that could afford to put him into school. You'll note that this area was super poor, but it was also pretty Pro Union. (Notice a trend on how Northern sympathies tend to produce non poo poo Southerners?) He eventually went to law school and took on big oil interests in the name of the common man. He thought it was bullshit that these companies could basically extort communities for millions while leaving nothing for the citizens.

Huey built his career on fighting against Oil and railroad companies because he believed everyone should share in the wealth instead of a few fat cat corporations. When the governor he supported didn't sufficiently fight against corporations, he opposed him and ran himself. He fought against the Ku Klux Klan and despite a loss in 1924, pushed forward for election with the slogan "Every man a king, but no one wears a crown". He knocked doors and promised education and health care reform so the rest of the South could maybe not be so lovely. They saw how not being lovely would actually be good and elected him to office in 1928!

Huey Long fought for the common man and won office because of it, breaking a trend of oil men and railroad men running the state.

Now here is where it gets good:

Huey Long kicked in the door to the state legislature and fired tons of racist assholes that were yes men and corporate cronies. Now, he wasn't without fault; if you took a job with his government you were expected to put in a portion of your salary to the campaign war chest. In essence he was a benevolent dictator and it was awesome for the state at the time. Republican dickheads were like "abloo bloo we can't afford schools and hospitals, lets go ahead and let this oil company set up shop there instead" and Long was like "gently caress you, ground breaks on the new schools tomorrow and you're gonna be there to cut the ribbon", and they fuckin were. He legit went onto the Senate floor unannounced and called out motherfuckers who didn't want to vote for schools until they voted his way. Under Long's tenure from 1928-1932 he boosted literacy, education, access to schools, healthcare, and public works programs. Unemployment dropped and the infrastructure was strengthened, and it was glorious.

His opponents got really mad at him for it though and tried to impeach him in 1929 over some of this citing "blasphemy" and "bribery". There was even a WWE match on the House floor because people were so pissed at Long and his supporters. Brass knuckles were even used, poo poo got REAL. THey eventually did impeach him, but Long was able to convince most of the folks on the hearing committee to never convict him. This ended up making it a meaningless impeachment and he continued on to finish out his term much to the dismay of people who wanted to Keep The South lovely Forever.

After that nonsense with the impeachment, Long continued to bolster public universities and then became known as "The Kingfish". This was meant to be a smear against him comparing him to a black Conman, but Long loved it. Check mate racists. At around this time his Lieutenant Governor tries to stage a coup saying Long was unfit for the position and declared himself governor. This is some corrupt poo poo, and Long didn't stand for it. He claimed the Lt. Gov had resigned inadvertently to which the courts agreed, so Long put in his own man as Lt. Gov and that was that.

After his term as governor, Long went to the United States senate to bring his kick rear end ideas to the entire country, representing a state that until then had been backwards and little more than a note in history books. Long was intent on changing that so the South could be proud of something that wasn't' evil for once. Now, this was during the great depression and times were hard. Long supported Roosevelt and was key in keeping him going to the nomination since a lot of assholes really hated progressive ideals (i.e. most of the South), but Long used his influence to keep them in line. Other key things goons may recognize is that he initially supported the New Deal and Glass-Steagall. Yeah that is right this bad rear end supported all of the things a lot of progressives want today. The intreresting thing here is that he actually broke with Roosevelt over the New Deal though, he said it didn't go FAR ENOUGH. Long advocated redistribution systems to help push Americans out of depression by providing more income to them to stimulate the economy and wanted Roosevelt to support that too. He didn't, so the two became bitter rivals, even though they were on the grand scheme of things on the same team.

This same bombast that has raised him to great heights also led to his fall. In short, he became kind of a dick about things. When he was a Senator, he'd come back to Louisiana and yell at the governor for not doing a good enough job on Progressive policies. He's go to state sessions and interpose himself even though he was part of the US Senate, NOT the Louisiana Senate. This pissed off a lot of people. He'd even strong arm funding away from in-state political rivals as a way to get his way, even as he was in D.C. Adding extra state taxes on newspapers and consolidating political power to the governors office were also some not-cool things Long ended up doing.He also fell in a little bit with the oil companies by encouraging economic development by refunding certain taxes to Standard Oil after they decided to drill in and employ in Louisiana, an infrastructure decision that has lasted to present day.

Long had always had Presidential aspirations and he was even more popular than the current sitting president. Seriously, he was raising more money and garnering more support than anyone else and was likely going to be a serious force, if not win outright, the presidency. Key endorsements in DES MOINES, IOWA (thats right, Iowa again) really propelled him into the National stage. Much like Bernie Sanders, he was coming from even further left of the Democrats and, again like Bernie, could have very well held the sway of the next Presidential election based on where his faction decided to push their support.

But. He was shot. And he died. Much like every other good thing the South had a hand in creating, it quickly swooped in and crushed any Good, though flawed, things that could have come out of it.
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Its fair to say that Bernie Sanders had the same ideals of The Kingfish and look how far he went and how influential someone like Huey Long has been in American politics! He blamed foreign wars on corporate profiteering and fought against any attempt to horde wealth in the hands of the few. He pioneered radio ads and jingles and boisterous endorsements. Long wasn't popular with other Senators, but he was correct loud and strident voice for Progressivism and stood against war and the horrors that it brought. You'll note that this is the absolute opposite of what the South wanted and they are still kicking and screaming about it.

To give you an idea of how relevant the Kingfish is today, here is a quote: " "When Fascism comes to America it will be called anti-Fascism,"

The Kingfish is probably one of the best Southerners to have lived that reached any place of real power and it is a shame that the region still attempts to undo everything he stood for. And that is a backhanded positive post about the South. Be less like the South and more like Huey Long!

A good video from The Kingfisher https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hphgHi6FD8k

ANIME IS BLOOD posted:

Raku posted:

Atlanta would be a lovely city without all the assholes from outside of the south

Nathilus posted:

I've never heard of him and good people don't exist in louisiana, only good food. Stop lying op. The south ia totally, 100% evil.

Jastiger posted:

Did you miss the part where he was cool and good and thr South killed him. The South is where everything loving sucks and if they catch you trying to better yourself they kill you.

Its like that episode of the boondocks about Uncle Ruckus' upbringing

generative grammer posted:

I wouldn't be surprised if this guy supported eugenics, just like any other progressive-minded politician during that time period

vols bitch posted:

I drove through Atlanta at 530 pm on a Sunday about a month ago


Nuke that poo poo rear end city, sherman didn't do enough

de_dust posted:

You didn't mention his last words

"God, don't let me die. I have so much to do."

de_dust posted:

You didn't mention his last words

"God, don't let me die. I have so much to do."

Mycroft Holmes posted:

Every time I drive to my parents house in Raleigh from my college in Greensboro, I see a house with a huge Confederate flag. I want to sneak there one night and burn it.

Mycroft Holmes posted:

Every time I drive to my parents house in Raleigh from my college in Greensboro, I see a house with a huge Confederate flag. I want to sneak there one night and burn it.

5er posted:

If Sherman were resurrected to destroy Atlanta again, he'd just have to see the minimum three wrecks a day anyone can witness on their commutes, and realize his work is already done.

generative grammer posted:

purple balls alabama

psychokitty posted:

but you're from raleigh, yo

sorry that's a joke from a long time ago

why did you choose to go to college in greensboro?

Mycroft Holmes posted:

I got into UNCG?

psychokitty posted:

should have gone to UNCWonderful, dumbass