It’s all good, lol. I was a kid at the time and all I heard was Walter Cronkite-style tut-tutting about the threatening Black Panthers; it wasn’t until decades later that I started understanding nothing was as it had been told at the time. And the Panthers did not remain the same organization after Fred Hampton’s death, at all, which is why I tend to not equate the group with the man. He had that ability to unite and create a powerful force out of disparate people and interests that aimed toward a common good, which is one of the things that died with him.
But agree or disagree, we should all be thinking about the power structures that dictate the circumstances of our lives, and you’ve certainly given me some things to think about. I very much enjoyed reading your thoughts on the matter. Thank you for taking the time to write them.
It’s all good, lol. I was a kid at the time and all I heard was Walter Cronkite-style tut-tutting about the threatening Black Panthers; it wasn’t until decades later that I started understanding nothing was as it had been told at the time. And the Panthers did not remain the same organization after Fred Hampton’s death, at all, which is why I tend to not equate the group with the man. He had that ability to unite and create a powerful force out of disparate people and interests that aimed toward a common good, which is one of the things that died with him.
But agree or disagree, we should all be thinking about the power structures that dictate the circumstances of our lives, and you’ve certainly given me some things to think about. I very much enjoyed reading your thoughts on the matter. Thank you for taking the time to write them.