Random Soapbox for Saturday 6/20/15

I don't mean to go off on a rant here, but ...

... I came across this text of a certain letter written by a certain someone just over 150 years ago, a copy of which I've provided below:

HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA,

April 9, 1865

Lieut. Gen. U. S. GRANT:

I have received your letter of this date containing the terms of surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia as proposed by you. As they are substantially the same as those expressed in your letter of the 8th instant, they are accepted. I will proceed to designate the proper officers to carry the stipulations into effect.

R. E. LEE,
General.

In other words ... why don't y'all take your little loser flag and restrict its placement to the back of the truck of the Bubbas where it "belongs" (?) and/or in museums where it can be a reminder of the hatred and division that "once" (?) separated our fine country.

By the way ... still sore about that loss 150 years later -- some six generations *after* the war ENDED (which is in and of itself demonstrative of how hatred of the "other" gets passed down until someone steps up to break the cycle), may I recommend a move to Montana  (where 2013 statistics show the fewest number of "blacks" live, only 10,536 of said "other" and just 1% of the population).

And finally, since I'm stirring the pot a bit, with all due respect to those slain in the Charleston church this week (thoughts and prayers are most certainly with their surviving family and community), the nine deaths in that one event are just about the average number killed EACH WEEKEND in 2014 in my former hometown of Chicago (but, you know, that's mostly black-on-black violence, so no one seems to care and coverage is a bit sparse).

I haven't given up hope for humanity yet ... and each generation takes small steps toward a world that just might get to be color blind ... maybe in the next 150 years (assuming, of course, that we don't all kill each other first).

Speaking of small steps ... TAKE DOWN THE DAMN FLAG!

NO REALLY .. THAT WAR ENDED:
http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/appomattox-courthouse/appomattox-court-house-history/surrender.html?referrer=https://www.google.com/

SOURCE OF THE MONTANA STATISTIC:
http://blackdemographics.com/population/black-state-population/

SOURCE OF THE CHICAGO STATISTICS:
http://heyjackass.com/category/2014-chicago-crime-murder-stats/