Jacksonville, the GOP convention, and Aug. 27 "Ax Handle Saturday"

[soothsayer]

In the “you just can’t make this stuff up” file.

So... the GOP convention — which might take place in Jacksonville— runs to aug. 27, which just so happens to be the anniversary of Ax Handle Saturday.

https://myfloridahistory.org/frontiers/article/32

https://www.firstcoastnews.com/article/news/ax-handle-saturday-a-dark-day-in-jacksonville-history-occurred-56-years-ago/77-309628839

Snip:

August 27 marks the anniversary of one of the more horrendous events in Jacksonville's history. It was 56 years ago when the brutal attack that became known as "Ax Handle Saturday" occurred.

That infamous Saturday, The Youth Council of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was participating in a peaceful protest, sitting at a whites only lunch counter until they were spit on by attackers.

According to The Florida Historical Society, things escalated and 200 white people chased them through the streets of downtown Jacksonville, beating them with ax handles and baseball bats.

Though the attack was originally aimed at the protestors, it soon began to include any black person in sight, according to the FHS. Authorities stood idly by until members of a black street gang called "The Boomerangs" tried to help those being attacked, at which point some members of the police joined in the beatings.

[Iliyah]

1. Florida have been hiding their numbers concerning COVID-19. . .

Just saying . . .

[redstatebluegirl]

2. One of my Black friends who I have known for 40 years said he would rather live in the south

where you know who the racists are, they are in your face every single day. He said you have to watch out for the "under the covers" racists, who swear they aren't but won't hire a Black person, or any other minority, or they sit on the school board or other local board and quietly support racist policies. He reminded me the other night that this is why we can't trust polling right now. Those under the covers racists will tell a pollster that they won't vote for Trump and then turn around and in the privacy of the polling booth they will vote their racism.

Many republicans have managed to stay "under the covers" for years, using dog whistles and voting their racism but just enough to keep some of their suburban voters who would leave the party if the racism was in their face, like it is now.

The current party is clearly "out from under the covers" so we can clearly identify the racists. Choosing Tulsa for his first rally since the lock down, a town with a horrible racist past in the Wallstreet Massacre and then Jacksonville for the convention where Ax Handle Saturday is still an open wound on our country, are not a coincidence, it is in your face racism.

[Laelth]

3. Trump is doubling-down on his "fire up the base" strategy. n/t

-Laelth

[MagickMuffin]

7. Two Words STEVEN MILLER

He is behind most of the racism in this MalAdminstration.

[bigtree]

4. we used to regard issues of race and racism as special interest politics

...but Trump republicans have made racism and bigotry their primary appeal, challenging the rest of the country to stand and be counted against them.

[WhiteTara]

5. My God, Stephen Miller must be orgasmic

from the absolute joy of unleashing his most heinous inner dreams and aspirations.

[soothsayer]

6. Right?

[IcyPeas]

8. so first Juneteenth, now Ax Handle Saturday

this cannot be a coincidence. it's disgusting.

[soothsayer]

9. Although as others have said...

Might be hard to find a date where there WASN’T racial unrest in the south.

But this is pretty spot on.