I've got some BITCHING' to do RE: World Net Daily

[pepperbear]

edit: MODS: I meant for this to be in GD!

I shouldn't be surprised by now.

My hometown is Williamsburg, VA. Some of you might know it as the second capitol of VA after Jamestown, which was settled in 1607 primarily as business venture:

http://www.apva.org/history/


We're also home to the college of William and Mary, the second oldest college in the US and the site of a recent spat over the removal of a cross from the non-denominational chapel (non-denominational as in one of my best friends even had his Bar Mitzvah there). Of course , the usual suspects weighed in:

http://www.savethewrencross.org/blog/index.php?catid=2&blogid=1

The cross was restored to a museum quality glass case and is now to be represented rightfully as one of the legacies of the college. Of course, this was after one of the richest high and mighty of the God fearing alumni threatened to withhold 12 million from the school:

http://content.hamptonroads.com/story.cfm?story=120319&ran=42509

OK, so all's well that ends well, right?

Wait a minute, not so fast!

Now, fundamentalists WHO DON'T EVEN LIVE HERE are trying to tell the world THAT JAMESTOWN IS FOSTERING REVISIONIST HISTORY by claiming that the famous colony was settled first and foremost as an investment opportunity and that we (GASP!!!!) invaded!

What they want Jamestown to say is that the settlers came here PRIMARILY to spread that ever popular chestnut, the "Good News", to all the natives (and, of course, to share the land).

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=54603

Citing as one of their reasons the fact that two "politically correct" events had already been held:

For America's 400th birthday, what should be a celebration of gratitude to the Lord is fast becoming an homage to revisionist historiography and political correctness," Phillips said.

For example, an event called, "State of the Black Union 2007: America's 400th Anniversary: The African American Imprint on America," already has been held. Its goal was a conversation about "how African Americans have made this nation great and how we must continue to fight to make the state of Black America a more perfect union."

Two other discussion headlines have included: "A Concentrated Diversity: The Maroons of the Great Dismal Swamp, 1619 to 1860," and "The Ecology of Jamestown – Origin of Environmental Injustice in America."

....so natually they demanded equal time for their misdirection and lies. Forget about the fact that after the discovery of a fantastic new money maker:

http://www.beyondbooks.com/ush72/2d.asp

it became apparent that the "Good news" wasn't all the colonists were spreading, which of course pissed the natives off:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Massacre_of_1622

Someone needs to tell these skippies that the guys in the funny hats with the buckles who came here from England to escape religious persecution (so they could set up there own free and openly diverse society) arrived 13 years later and hundreds of miles NORTH:


http://www.plymouthguide.com/pilgwalk.html

Thankfully, our hometown paper:

http://www.vagazette.com/

ran a nice front page story about it (you won't find it there, but please check the paper out anyway :hi:)

AND Jamestown is having NONE of it.

This pisses me off because it isn't anything more than a power play, an attempt to foist their beliefs on to others by literally CHANGING HISTORY!

I will try to post a sampling of what area readers say about it in the coming days.

[Erika]

1. World Net Daily = World Nut daily

No one takes them serious anymore. The fringe right wing is out.

[IChing]

3. I read them but only to debug the story

and trace the roots down to the real story.

Don't forget they did that breaking news on

"SOY IS MAKING KIDS GAY!"


http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53327

[madeline_con]

2. Thanks for the rundown!

This sounds like it could get really interesting before things settle down. :popcorn:

[TreasonousBastard]

4. I feel your pain, that...

correcting mistaken historical inaccuracies is, well, "revisionism."

Gives ya a great snorking headache, innit?

[underpants]

5. For God's sake don't ask them how long the Spanish had been here

I knew this was going to happen. THEY were going to revise history to try to claim this.

Jamestown was a nasty violent horrible place- pretty much what you would expect from people who were willing to go someplace with absolutely nothing promised to them.