Hey Southern States! Give It Up....You Lost!

Who won the Civil War?  Anybody can answer that right?  Well, before you answer that, take a step down South where they not only excessively pay homage to the lost cause of the Confederacy but also praise and honor those that tried to divide this country 150 years ago.

In the south, we still have people that display the Confederate flag and some towns and even states (yes, you South Carolina) fly the flag on town greens and over official state/town buildings.  This practice has been a long standing tradition and it seems as this “tradition” will continue to go on.  Also, in South Carolina they celebrated being the first state to secede from the Union 150 years ago.  Last week they organized and held a very controversial Secession Gala that included a re-enactment of actual secession events and a dinner that cost $100’s a head.  Here’s a link to the event that sparked controversy (http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/civil-war-150th-anniversary-south-carolina-secession-gala/story?id=12441116).

I’ve read that the South memorializes the Civil War far more than the Northern states do because they feel like they are honoring a “Lost Cause” for the struggle of states’ rights and a celebration of a now lost way of life.  The Northern states actually try to forget or minimize the amount of appreciation for the war that divided the country because they feel like I do, that while it was an important historical event, it wasn’t necessarily a cause for celebration.  This year, has been different because of the 150^th anniversary but if you noticed not a lot of the Northern states didn’t really do anything.  You know why Southern states?  It’s because it’s over and we won and not only that but what you are “honoring” is racism and hatred.

There are two main reasons why the South should give it up and stop celebrating the Confederacy.  The biggest being that the Civil War was mostly about slavery and promoting a cause that was pro-slavery in this day in age is just really bad taste.  Southern state apologists have long argued that the Civil War was not about slavery and instead about individual states’ rights.  These claims are false however.  The historical records show that the biggest “states’ rights” issue they were promoting was the individual state right to own slaves.  The government was slowly putting a plan together to outlaw slavery in the entire United States.  Southern states did not like this idea and tried to fight this action by claiming that individual states’ rights were being threatened by the government.  Nice try but when you’re fighting for a historically bad “right”, we can’t be behind you.  Here’s a great article that deals with some myths about why the South seceded (http://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/five-myths-about-why-the-south-seceded/2011/01/03/ABHr6jD_story.html)

The second reason why the South should let it go and start embracing unity and equality is that embracing the secession of the South and the Civil war is like being stuck in a past era that really shouldn’t be embraced.  Memorializing the Confederate way of thinking and is essentially promoting an exclusive White Power structure.  The modern United States is a multicultural nation, a nation where black, Hispanic and Asians will soon outnumber the white population.  Positioning and promoting yourself as a sympathizer and supporter of White power is not in the best interest in the South’s plans.  It’s not a good way to do business with the United States population or the world as a whole.

It’s not the 19^th century anymore, let’s embrace the future.  Maybe it’s me but Southern States, it’s time to let go of the Civil War and embrace the future.  You lost, your ideas and way of living was wrong and it’s time to move on!  Take down the Confederate flag and support the multicultural living the world has come to be!

Promotion, Promotion, Promotion!!! You Have to Get It Right!

Yesterday I went to a Civil War re-enactment to celebrate the 150^th anniversary of the Civil War.  Connecticut has been working on this weekend of Civil War history for over three years and I can honestly say it was pretty impressive.  Too bad there were more “soldiers” there than spectators.  It’s a shame too because they had really great people involved that not only knew their history but also were passionate about it and answered any questions you had.  The re-enactors had different companies set up throughout the park with a pond in the middle of it separating the Union forces from the Confederates.  They camped all weekend like their ancestors would have during the Civil War.  If you don’t know, but Saturday was very cold, rainy and pretty nasty at night and these “soldiers” still camped and acted as if they were fighting a real war with the forces across the pond.  Speaking to these people, you can just see how passionate they are and how much they really love this hobby.  Some came all the way from Florida just to be a part of this event.

So where the hell were the spectators?  The event started at 10 a.m. with a cool Vintage Baseball Game with also demonstrations of camp life during the Civil War from both the Union forces and Confederates.  I arrived with my son and father and about 30 other people.  Yup, that’s right, 30 of us.  It was a disgrace.  After a couple hours, the event did get a little busier but even at the start of the re-enactment there were probably only 100-150 people.  Just a real shame because the event was not only cool to watch and participate in but these people gave 110% to put it on.  They slept through the nasty wind and rain, on the cold ground and lived as if they were really in 1865.  They deserved better!  They deserved crowds the crowds that probably went out and supported a shitty ass movie like Hop or Arthur.

So who’s to blame?  It certainly isn’t the re-enactors, I lay most of the blame on whomever was responsible in promoting this event.  The only reason I knew anything about it is because they had a banner hanging at the Old State House in downtown Hartford (by the way, the event was held at Central CT State University – in another town).  Where were the advertisements on the radio, television or newspapers?  My buddy said he heard 1 advertisement on a radio station the entire week leading up to the event.  Where were the news stations to broadcast from the event to give it a little extra attention?  I didn’t see any on either day (the event was Saturday and Sunday).  Promotion for this event really was not existent and it truly is a shame because not only was it informative but it was also a really fun time.

Maybe it’s me but with the right promotion this event could have been a real crowd gatherer.  Who doesn’t like to see cannons blasted off that echo throughout the park and rumble the ground?  Who doesn’t like to see a 150 year old battle play out right in front of them, rifle smoke in the air and bodies everywhere?

My biggest problem is that the state is trying to re-vitalize Hartford and generate a buzz in the state’s capital.  So why not have this even in Bushnell Park?  Why not promote the hell out of it and have a huge event right in the capital city?  Get people down to Hartford with a cool event like this.  It could’ve worked Hartford.  Bushnell Park is plenty big enough and it really could’ve been a cool event for people to come to.

Maybe it’s me, but those “soldiers” deserved better than that.  They were informative, passionate and energized in their hobby and more people SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE!  Shame on you promoters, you really missed the boat!

What is the big deal with Twitter?

Do you guys use Twitter?  I registered and poked around the site awhile back and yesterday logged back in and again tried to get into it.  The problem is, I just don’t get it.  I don’t really care what people are doing and what’s on their mind 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.  I don’t care where a celebrity is eating and what my old friend from high school thinks about Manny Ramirez getting suspended for using PED’s.  I also don’t think anybody gives a shit what I’m thinking, where I’m eating and what I’m doing during my days on this Earth.

I guess I just don’t really care all that much.  The problem is I’m in the minority here.  People love “following” their favorite sports stars, celebrities and friends.  I see the benefit in that you get to find out personal information about people you normally wouldn’t know anything about but at the same time I really don’t think half of the stuff they put out there to be 100% true.  Maybe where they are and what they’re doing but their “personal” thoughts I’m sure are all PR related and calculated into getting you to support whatever they’re saying.  Most of their posts I'm sure are their new business ventures or tweets to promote whatever they're trying to get you to buy.  It's a gimmick for advertising.

Some of my friends follow sports casters and other news style “celebrities”.  I get that I guess as they’re getting information quicker than those that do not follow that particular person.  I guess I don’t mind because I’ll get the information sometime, just not the second the sports/news caster finds out.  Whoop-dee-doo, I have to wait a whole 5 minutes longer.  Trust me, I can wait, I don’t need to “follow” a hundred different people.

My main beef with this whole social networking tool is that we’re supposed to be teaching our kids and other young adults to be leaders and not “follow” the in crowd.  Yet, the basis for Twitter is to “follow” people and live their life.  I’m sorry, but I can’t get behind that.  I’m all for Facebook’s “what’s on your mind” feature as you don’t have to “follow” them to see it.  If you’re a friend with that person and care to hear what’s on their mind, then you can.  Maybe they should change the whole “following” tagline.  Instead, make it “friends with” or “listening to” or “hanging with”.  Whenever I hear a celebrity, important person, company or ad say, “Follow us on Twitter for more information” I cringe.  Maybe it’s me but Twitter really is just a big marketing tool designed to get you to “follow” celebrities or companies into their next money grab.  Hey kids, don’t follow me, be a leader and guess what if that means I lose you on my Twitter account, so be it!!!

Twitter Sucks and while I’m all for Social Networking, this site just doesn’t make much sense to me.  I also wish I had thought of it first as boy are the creators raking in the dough, pretty much every person and company has a Twitter account.  I found the strangest people on Twitter that I feel shouldn’t have people “following” them at all.  Do we really need to know what’s on Jose Canseco and Andy Dick’s mind?

Maybe it’s me but stop with the “following” of people and live your own damn life!

PANIC in Boston!

We’re four games into the baseball season and the Boston Red Sox are 0-4 and Red Sox Nation is in a state of PANIC!!!  As I’ve discussed many times on this blog before, I’m a huge baseball fan and follow the Red Sox as my favorite team.  If you follow baseball you probably know the Red Sox have a great team this year and many have predicted them to not only win their division but also the American League and World Series.  Unfortunately through these first four games of the season it just hasn’t gone all that well.  They’re not hitting and they’re starting pitching is getting beat up pretty bad.  The hitting has been almost non-existent with six players batting under .200.  The starting pitchers have given up about 11 home runs and haven’t registered a win in the first four games.  They also haven’t really been able to go 6 innings in an outing.

With all that said, Red Sox Nation, please step off the ledge and put down the gun.  It’s only 4 games and guess what there’s 158 more to go.  If the Sox are going to slump, don’t you think it’s better to slump NOW then in late July, August or September?  I’m not saying these four games are meaningless, in fact, I think the first 3 against the Texas Rangers hurt a little because they will be one of our main competitors come September but these four games are also non-divisional games and can be made up as the season progresses.

This team is too good not to turn it around and win 90-95 games.  They have the lineup that most teams would drool over and their starting five is very strong.  The bullpen looked great last night and I expect that to continue through the season as well.  The team is just in a funk and slumping right now.  All teams go through it in a season and you know what, I’m fine with them starting this way.  Remember, it’s not a sprint, the baseball season is a marathon and most of the time, it’s all about how you finish that’s important.

Maybe it’s me, but it’s a bit too early to panic in Boston.  See me in mid-May when they have hit their stride and are playing like the team we all knew they were.