१६ ऑक्टोबर, २०२१

"The political warhorse of the past has been checked, martingaled, cruppered, and bestridden by King Cotton."

"But he prances in his new caparisons, and neighs a happy scorn at the old. 'We Democrats,' he avouches, 'are few potatoes in the hill at Washington, and we don't cut much figure;' therefore, let us hold and mind our own cotton at home, 'for the future is bright and promising.'... 'At Washington my policy, which some of the newspapers don't like, has been to get anything in sight for the South when I saw the chance, and I tried to get it, right or wrong, honestly or dishonestly, because the people up there have been stealing from us for so long."
 
That's from "King Cotton and King Grass," published July 10, 1905 in The New York Times. 

If you're reading this blog in chronological order — bottom to top — you probably know why I'm reading that. Writing the previous post, I needed the past participle of "bestride," and it seemed to need to be "bestridden," but I had to convince myself that the word wasn't disqualifyingly silly. 

Have you ever been checked, martingaled, cruppered, and bestridden? Have you ever pranced in a new caparison and neighed a happy scorn? Do you remember when Democrats were few potatoes in the hill at Washington? 

Who was that article about? Ben Tillman. His story is as far as you can get from silliness. Wikipedia summarizes:
Benjamin Ryan Tillman (August 11, 1847 – July 3, 1918) was an American politician of the Democratic Party who served as Governor of South Carolina from 1890 to 1894, and as a United States Senator from 1895 until his death in 1918. A white supremacist who opposed civil rights for black Americans, Tillman led a paramilitary group of Red Shirts during South Carolina's violent 1876 election. 
On the floor of the U.S. Senate, he defended lynching, and frequently ridiculed black Americans in his speeches, boasting of having helped kill them during that campaign. In the 1880s, Tillman, a wealthy landowner, became dissatisfied with the Democratic leadership and led a movement of white farmers calling for reform. He was initially unsuccessful, though he was instrumental in the founding of Clemson University as an agricultural land-grant college. 
In 1890, Tillman took control of the state Democratic Party, and was elected governor. During his four years in office, 18 black Americans were lynched in South Carolina; in the 1890s the state had its highest number of lynchings of any decade. Tillman tried to prevent lynchings as governor, but also spoke in support of the lynch mobs, alleging his own willingness to lead one. In 1894, at the end of his second two-year term, he was elected to the U.S. Senate by vote of the state legislature, who elected senators at the time. 
Tillman was known as "Pitchfork Ben" because of his aggressive language, as when he threatened to use a pitchfork to prod that "bag of beef," President Grover Cleveland. Considered a possible candidate for the Democratic nomination for president in 1896, Tillman lost any chance after giving a disastrous speech at the convention. 
He became known for his virulent oratory—especially against black Americans—but also for his effectiveness as a legislator. The first federal campaign finance law, banning corporate contributions, is commonly called the Tillman Act. Tillman was repeatedly re-elected, serving in the Senate for the rest of his life. One of his legacies was South Carolina's 1895 constitution, which disenfranchised most of the black majority and many poor whites, and ensured white Democratic Party rule for more than six decades into the twentieth century.

२० टिप्पण्या:

Critter म्हणाले...

Another inconvenient truth for Democrats. Of course, this will be hidden from the public as much as possible. Democrats are the party of slavery, Jim Crow, and modern racism.

Bob Boyd म्हणाले...

Never make comparisons of your caparisons. It will only lead to feeling vain or bitter.

gspencer म्हणाले...

The Democrat Party is through-and-through, from its beginning to the present, thoroughly anti-American.

gspencer म्हणाले...

Now here’s the truth on Racism in America—

On September 28, 1868, a mob of Democrats massacred nearly 300 African-American Republicans in Opelousas, Louisiana. The savagery began when racist Democrats attacked a newspaper editor, a white Republican and schoolteacher for ex-slaves. Several African-Americans rushed to the assistance of their friend, and in response, Democrats went on a “Negro hunt,” killing every African-American (all of whom were Republicans) in the area they could find. (Via Grand Old Partisan)

On April 20, 1871 the Republicans passed the anti-Ku Klux Klan Act outlawing Democratic terrorist groups.

Republicans led the charge on civil rights and women’s rights.

from, https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2014/04/charlie-rangel-says-tea-party-does-not-believe-union-won-civil-war-heres-the-truth/#disqus_thread

Democrats OPPOSED the 13th, 14th, 15th amendments. Says a lot, n'est ce pas?

Will Cate म्हणाले...

Clemson has been very busy for the past few years removing Tillman's name from anything visible.

Lurker21 म्हणाले...

No, but I have been checkered, regaled, scuppered and bedridden.

Words that were common in horse and carriage days have been long lost to common usage.

Harsh Pencil म्हणाले...

Ok. Now I am looking up the word "martingaled". Tillman was probably referring to a kind of harness for a horse. So the South was being harnessed in some way.

A martingale, in probability theory, is any stochastic process where the conditional expectation of where the process is in the future is where it is right now. So if you are in a casino which offers fair bets, the amount of money in your pocket (which depends on which bets you make and how they turn out) is a martingale process: If you currently have $1,000 then, on average, you will have $1,000 in hour.

There is also something called the martingale betting strategy, also known as "doubling down." Say you walk into a casino with $1023. You put $1 on a 50/50 bet. If you win, you get your dollar back and an extra dollar and walk out of the casino having made $1 profit. If you lose, you put $2 down on a 50/50 bet. If you win, you get $4 and you've bet a total of $3, so again walk out of the casino having made $1 profit. Keep doing this. You either win $1, with probability 1023/1024 or lose all your money with probability 1/1024.

I read there is some evidence that this use of the word martingale is that it is implying a crazy betting strategy.

But what is the connection between this and the horse harness? I think the answer is no one knows.

Wilbur म्हणाले...

I remember reading about Ben Tillman as he is often mentioned in the Wikipedia birth list when August 16 rolls around. Sounds like the sort of guy that you loved if was on your side and regarded as the breath of hell if he wasn't.

"Tillman tried to prevent lynchings as governor, but also spoke in support of the lynch mobs, alleging his own willingness to lead one." That seems confusing and misleading even for Wikipedia.

mikee म्हणाले...

Eff him, and the martingaled, cruppered, newly caparisoned horse he rode in on.

wildswan म्हणाले...

Any party or group which takes up the attitude that character and intelligence are determined by the color of one's skin will end up behaving like Ben Tillman's Democrats. Ballot stuffing, mob rule, lynching. Injustice will be the rule even if you afterwards truly seek social justice for some group of an acceptable skin color. Accept "all men are created equal" in its true meaning or give up on democracy.

Narr म्हणाले...

Caparison, not comparison. And you, a professor!

Narr म्हणाले...

I see Bob Boyd noticed first. And me, a professor!

Quaestor म्हणाले...

Tillman was also known for the "Maximum Battleship" design studies his committee imposed on the Navy.

Quaestor म्हणाले...

Have you ever been checked, martingaled, cruppered, and bestridden?

The first three are elements of tack, what one finds in a tack room. A checkrein and a martingale are restraints, once common, now frowned up as artificial, cruel, and generally indicative of poor horsemastership. As restraints, I can see those words being applied to persons in a metaphorical sense. However, a crupper is not a restain, and sometimes required due to the conformation of the horse or pony. Applied to a person, even as a metaphor, cruppered seems extremely weak to me.

A martingale was also an article of 16th-century feminine attire. Elizabeth I certainly knew what a martingale was, but I don't. The OED ought to have it defined, but most modern dictionaries do not.

Mikey NTH म्हणाले...

He was also on the naval committee. Look up "Tillman Battleships" if you want to see what extreme means.

Mikey NTH म्हणाले...

Youtube.

Drachinifel channel

And Tillman Battleships will get you a lot of information.

Big Mike म्हणाले...

In 1860 a South Carolina politician opined that “South Carolina is too small for a republic, but too large for an insane asylum.”

He must have known the Tillman family.

Narr म्हणाले...

I did not know of the Tillman BB's, and that's an embarrassing admission.

As for the guy's racism, that was par for his course.

The Dems have been racist since inception (only the out-group ever changes); they chose to lose their sons rather than their slaves; they instituted a racial police-state in the South by way of Jim Crow; they resegregated the Federal civil service; they deported large numbers of American citizens in Wilson's term, and confiscated the property of and imprisoned many more under the sainted Franklin.

They accused Ike of letting the Russkis get ahead of us in missiles, and then committed to a no-win land war in Asia under JFK, and doubled down with Lying Bird Johnson--probably the most psychologically damaged man ever to occupy the Oval Office.

Clinton was a plausible rogue, a lucky man at a lucky period; Obama an earnest empty suit who had the wit to enter open doors. Neither will be remembered for much accomplishment,
which I guess looks pretty good in comparison.

Bush and Cheney are war criminals. I'm fair and balanced.




Joe Smith म्हणाले...

Them's a lot of purty words...

Skippy Tisdale म्हणाले...

"Words that were common in horse and carriage days have been long lost to common usage."

Would Shakespeare be as lauded had he written in modern American English?

"Macbeth can't sleep." makes for a boring sentence.