Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Of course you can have champagne before noon. That’s why orange juice was invented.

You cannot shame the shameless.

Washington Post’s Catch and Kill, not noticeably better than the Enquirer’s.

In after Baud. Damn.

Take hopelessness and turn it into resilience.

Republican obstruction dressed up as bipartisanship. Again.

This really is a full service blog.

“That’s what the insurrection act is for!”

Innocent people don’t delay justice.

Israel is using food as a weapon of war. Unforgivable.

“But what about the lurkers?”

When do we start airlifting the women and children out of Texas?

When you’re a Republican, they let you do it.

That’s my take and I am available for criticism at this time.

Everything is totally normal and fine!!!

This fight is for everything.

And now I have baud making fun of me. this day can’t get worse.

The real work of an opposition party is to hold the people in power accountable.

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

“woke” is the new caravan.

Too often we hand the biggest microphones to the cynics and the critics who delight in declaring failure.

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

Dear Washington Post, you are the darkness now.

Come on, man.

You are here: Home / Politics / America / On the Now Far Too Many Days That the Ideals That Are the Real America Are Tested, It Is Important To Remember When They Are, or Have Been, Actually Lived

On the Now Far Too Many Days That the Ideals That Are the Real America Are Tested, It Is Important To Remember When They Are, or Have Been, Actually Lived

by | 122 Comments

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Last night in the comments to my post on the Rittenhouse case and trial, Cacti posted this comment:

There are two types of people who become lawyers.  Those who do it because they believe in the system, and those who do it because they don’t.

I’ve seen plenty of legal pros move from group 1 to group 2 the longer they practiced.  I’ve never seen anyone move from group 2 to group 1.

And I posted this reply:

I’ve moved from group 1 to group 2 over the past 6 years as a national security professional!

As a result of my disillusionment, it is nice to be reminded of when we actually live up to and live the ideals that are the real America, rather than the degraded dregs of white supremacy unfortunately deeply interwoven into our structures and institutions and those who see nothing wrong with this unfortunate reality that we saw so clearly on display yesterday.

Here’s a great example provided to us by the folks at Canadian Forces in the US. I’m going to put most of this below the read more widget as it is a LONG thread and I know on older machines that how Twitter’s code interacts with our code can cause people problems:

Captain Symington’s report to his squadron commander, Rear Admiral Johnson, from 6 DEC 1917 is below the jump followed by the rest of the thread:

Commander Powers Symington, Commander, USS Tacoma To Rear Admiral Marbury Johnston, Commander, Squadron Two, Cruiser Force

U.S.S. TACOMA,

December 6th 1917.

FROM: Commanding Officer

TO:   Commander Squadron Two, Cruiser Force.

SUBJECT:  Report on disaster in Halifax.

  1. Shortly after 9:00 a.m., on December 6th, 1917, the U.S.S. TACOMA was fifty-two miles from Halifax, when a heavy concussion was felt, so strong that the Officer of the Deck immediately went to Quarters. A great column of smoke was seen to rise in the air in the direction of Halifax.
  2. This ship proceeded into Halifax and anchored off the city at 2:00 p.m. The U.S.S. OLD COLONY and Coast Guard Cutter MORRILL were in the port, and the U.S.S. VON STEUBEN anchored at about 2:30 p.m. While passing up the harbor, it was seen that a great fire was burning in North Halifax; that none of the houses facing the harbor on either side had any windows or doors; that the side of all the piers were burst open; several ships were ashore and others looked badly battered.
  3. As soon as the ship anchored, I proceeded at once on board H.M.S. HIGHFLIER to tender my services to the Senior Officer Present Afloat. From there I went to the dock yard, and after considerable search, I found the Captain-Superintendent1 who had been badly wounded. I tendered my services to him and asked him if he would call on me for anything I could possibly do. I found the U.S.S. OLD COLONY tied up alongside the coal wharf, and that they had already started to do hospital work. I thereupon returned to the ship and ordered the Doctor of the TACOMA2 to take his whole force and equipment to the OLD COLONY and lend a hand with their work. As Doctor Hayes was the senior officer present, he took charge of the hospital work and handled the situation very well. I am forwarding herewith a copy of the report made to me by Doctor Hayes.3
  4. I went ashore again to call on the American Consul-General, but could not locate him, so I proceeded to the office of Rear Admiral Chambers, R.N.,4 who is the Senior British Naval Officer in this port. He is in charge of convoy operations, but has nothing to do with the dock yard or the Canadian authorities. I tendered my services to him, and he accompanied me to the office of the General Commanding the District.5 To him I also offered any assistance which we could render. He informed me that the situation was very much confused, and that owing to the fact that the front of all stores and buildings were broken in, he was afraid there might be looting during the night and that as his men had been on duty all day, he would be very grateful if I would take over the patrol of the business portion of the city during the night so that his men could get some rest. I informed him at once that I would land two hundred men and would patrol the city from 8:00 p.m., to 8:00 a.m., the following, and, in conjunction with Commander Moses6 of the VON STEUBEN, we organized a patrol force, which force went on duty at 8:00 p.m., and patrolled the city until 8:00 a.m., the following morning when the force was withdrawn.
  5. Early the next morning I reported to the General Commanding the District and asked if I could be of any further assistance. He informed me that mechanics were badly needed for putting up shelters for homeless people, so I organized gangs of five men each, headed by an artificer, supplied with tools for doing rough mechanical work. These men worked all day putting in windows and assisting anyone who was willing to work.
  6. At 6:00 a.m., on this date, a very bad blizzard started, and blew all day until midnight the following night. While this blizzard was blowing, shipping in the harbor became very much demoralized and the dock yard authorities asked me for assistance. I detailed the Coast Guard Cutter MORRILL for this work and she went out the harbor to try and assist the American Steamship SARANAC which was reported ashore. While the gale was in progress, the Steamship NORTH WIND drifted into collision with the VON STEUBEN. Commander Moses tied her up alongside and held her there.
  7. In the morning I was informed that the authorities would be very grateful if I would lend a hand in searching the ruins. I again landed a large party equipped with pioneer tools to assist searching the ruins. By Saturday, relief trains were coming in and I considered our services were no longer required, although the VON STEUBEN landed two hundred men on Sunday to continue the work of searching.
  8. The circumstances prior to the explosion appear to be as follows. French munition ship MONT BLANC appears to have been loaded in the forward hold with picrates. Her No. 2 hold carried T.N.T. She appears to have had a deck load forward of benzol. Her cargo is supposed to have included between three and four thousand tons of T.N.T. She was coming out of the Bedford Basin through the Narrows at the same time that the Belgium Relief Steamer IMO, flying the Norwegian flag was passing through the Narrows in the opposite direction. The IMO appears to have been too far on the right hand side of the channel. There is some conflicting testimony as to the maneuvering of the two ships which can only be settled by a Court of Inquiry. The fact remains that the IMO rammed the MONT BLANC. The Captain of the MONT BLANC7 reports that almost immediately dense columns of smoke came up out of No. 1 hatch where the picrates were loaded. He saw at once that he was unable to cope with the fire and immediately abandoned ship. He got his crew into two boats and had sufficient time to get ashore on the Dartmouth side which took about ten or twelve minutes before the explosion took place.
  9. H.M.S. HIGHFLIER, which was at anchor not far away, sent a boat to investigate. This boat was destroyed and the second in command and seven of the men killed. A big explosion took place at about 9:10 a.m., and the effects were terrific. A gun from the MONT BLANC was found three miles from the explosion. All of North Halifax and the suburb of Richmond were completely destroyed. Every building in the dock yard was wrecked. Hardly a house in Halifax or Dartmouth escaped injury. Great numbers of people were wounded by the flying glass and almost every window in the district was broken. Within ten minutes from the explosion fire started in all part of the wrecked district and very shortly the ruins were burning fiercely.
  10. No estimate could be made up to the time I left of the property damaged or the loss of life.8 I am of the opinion that the dock yard will be of no further use before next summer, if then, and that the port of Halifax has suffered such a serious blow that it will very seriously interfere with the operation of the convoy fleet from now on.
  11. Therewouldseem to be three very obvious lessons to be learned from this accident. FIRST.heavy shipment of high explosive should not be permitted in any populous district. TWO.Benzol and picrates should not be loaded on the same ship with high explosives. THREE. When shipments of high explosives are underway, all traffic should be rigidly controlled so as to avoid the danger of collision.
  12. I beg to invite your attention to the fact that the officers and men of the TACOMA, VON STEUBEN, MORRILL and OLD COLONY all worked hard in this emergency with a cheerfulness and a sense of discipline which was admirable. I believe that our efforts were appreciated by the people on shore, and needless to say we were very glad to do what we could.

/s/ Powers Symington

Open thread!

Reader Interactions

122Comments

  3. 3.

    Nicole

    I read some highlights from the thread to my husband and had to keep stopping because I was starting to cry.  Thank you for this.  I also had not heard of it before.

  4. 4.

    CraigM

    Thanks for this. It’s a sad commentary on our times that a story about a massively lethal munition ship explosion is a day-brightener, but so it goes….

  5. 5.

    way2blue

    Adam—Thank you for this reminder of innate decency, empathy & generosity. (I hope you find your way back to group 1. Or at least, use group 2 to navigate the nat’l security system such as we find it… )

  6. 6.

    The Moar You Know

    It’s easier to mock people than help them. We used to help people. Quite a lot.

    I see this less as a political problem and far more of a basic morality problem. Americans are selfish, mean, greedy grubbing small people, and we didn’t used to be.

    Can’t remember if this was the largest non nuclear man made explosion or the one at the Mare Island armory during WW2. This one assuredly killed a lot more people.

  8. 8.

    Omnes Omnibus

    That is a great story. I’ll just point out that the people of this blog do this for one another on a regular basis. Not just the political fundraisers that are going on now which might not count because we are all hope for a tangible benefit, but people here have reached out with far more than thoughts and prayers anytime someone connected with the blog has needed help. In the midst of all the shitty things that happen, that shouldn’t be forgotten.

  10. 10.

    Kalakal

    Thank you for posting this. I knew of the event but only in vague terms.

    Thats how we can and should be

  11. 11.

    E.

    @The Moar You Know: “I see this less as a political problem and far more of a basic morality problem. Americans are selfish, mean, greedy grubbing small people, and we didn’t used to be. ”

    I completely disagree! What is a “basic morality problem”? Have people just suddenly become bad because they are . . . bad? I believe this is 100 percent a political problem. We have a politics, a culture, and a comprehensive ideology that day by day is growing more cruel, more self-centered, and less rational.

    And I think it is worth asking ourselves why this is happening.

  13. 13.

    sab

    @sab: That nobidy remembers  him makes me doubt the whole BJ concept. We are not actually a community. Just a bunch of people on line,

  14. 14.

    SiubhanDuinne

    Robert MacNeil (late of the MacNeil Lehrer News Hour) wrote what I recall as a really compelling novel, Burden of Desire, about the 1917 explosion and its effect on Haligonians. The title is a bit steamy, but MacNeil has always been a fine storyteller. I recommend it if you enjoy realistic historical fiction. I don’t even know if it’s still in print, but if it isn’t it should be readily available in good condition used copies.

  17. 17.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @sab:

    Maybe people remember him, just not his Nova Scotia connection. If you posted his nym, I’m sure some people would recognise it.

  18. 18.

    Mike in NC

    Thanks for this reminder on the Halifax Explosion. We visited Nova Scotia 20 years ago to research family that came from there. Halifax is an awesome city.

  19. 19.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @sab: ​
    Why don’t you remind people of the commenter’s nym and see if the penny drops? Not everyone remembers everyone immediately.

    ETA:  It is interesting that you went immediately in a different direction with your thoughts than I did.

  20. 20.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    I’m in a small Messenger chat group with a few friends. One of them, who is planning to move abroad in the next couple of months, posted this yesterday after the Rittenhouse verdict came down:

    Still another reason to leave this violent, gun obsessed, racist, shit-hole country.

    I blew up at him.

  21. 21.

    KM in NS

    It’s a big deal for the family whose tree is chosen to go to Boston every year. Pre-COVID there was a big send off from Parade Square in Halifax. It’s quite  an event that brings the old guard and newcomers together.

    if you’re ever up in Halifax, visit the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. Not only is there a standing exhibit on the Halifax Explosion, but also about the Titanic.

    I’m so proud of my chosen city!

  23. 23.

    Kent

    I think it is accurate to say that *some* Americans have always been selfish, mean, and grubbing.  While the majority have not been.

    Unfortunately what we have seen in recent decades is the elevation of this selfish, mean, and grubbing minority for political gain, by Fox, Trump, and the GOP.  Trump never had the approval of more than about 1/3 of the American population.  Yet apathy, gerrymandering, and undemocratic institutions elevated him to power.

  25. 25.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @SiubhanDuinne: I wonder how many people who thing that way have actually lived in another country long enough to get to know the real life of the country, the local bigotries that we don’t see when we visit, their versions of the racist uncle, etc.  The grass is always greener.

  26. 26.

    scav

    Ah, the pre-disappointment never good enough tendency is still running strong.

    But thanks for the Halifax story!

  27. 27.

    Adam L Silverman

    @sab: His nym here was Scotian. He and I used to email back and forth about things that caught his eye – on Balloon Juice and elsewhere.

    I haven’t previously recounted this here, though TaMara and Cole know the details, but at his request to me by email, I was in touch with him by text until he passed. In addition to his family and friends in Nova Scotia who sat it in person, I sat the death watch with him virtually/electronically. At the end I was texting him without receiving any replies for the last several hours of his life as he was no longer conscious and crossing to the nether shore. I didn’t know that until he passed, I just figured like at other times that last week of his life, he was resting and eventually my phone would ping at some odd hour with his reply. I have all of those texts, as well as the last couple of texts and emails from his widow saved.

    He’s gone, he’s not forgotten.

  28. 28.

    Matt McIrvin

    It used to be socially and politically allowed for white Americans to be generous to other whites while treating everyone else like complete shit. When it became established that this was wrong, white Americans responded as a people by becoming small-hearted and ungenerous toward everyone, so as not to be forced to accept the unacceptable.

  29. 29.

    Mary G

    @sab: I remember and miss Scotian, as well as General Stuck, green not green, Schlemazel, and of course the great and good efg. Probably more who are not coming to mind immediately.

    ETA: My crap memory didn’t bring up Alain, who of course tended many other’s memories more than we have in the past. Bad Mary.

  30. 30.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @sab: If it is who I think you are talking about: 1) I didn’t happen to know that commenter was from Nova Scotia, 2) While I appreciated that commenter’s choice to share so much and the many people who were touched by it, I was not one of them.  It was a journey I did not not want to take with them.

    ETA:  After reading Adam’s comment above, I see that I was thinking of a different commenter.  But, still, everyone in a community is not always touched as deeply by any one individual or event as others.  It doesn’t make it less of a community.

  31. 31.

    Villago Delenda Est

    @The Moar You Know: ​

    Americans are selfish, mean, greedy grubbing small people, and we didn’t used to be.

    Some Americans are, not all. They follow a vile narcissistic sociopath who lives in a shithole mansion in Florida.​

  33. 33.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Villago Delenda Est:

    They are led by a vile sociopath who lives in a shithole mansion in Florida.

    You’re going to have to be more specific. We’ve got DeStupid. We’ve got Stone. We’ve got Jared. We’ve got Jr. and the woman who is being paid to sleep with him and pretend to be his girlfriend. We’ve got Mike Flynn. We’ve got Bannon. We’ve got Stephen Miller. We’ve got Rick Scott. We’ve got the entire Gaetz clan. We’ve got BingoBongo Bogino. I’m going to be here for about a week making this list if you can’t narrow it down for us a bit.

  34. 34.

    joey5slice

    Thank you very much for sharing. I have been feeling very low since yesterday and wondering if I am wrong to continue feeling like we can make a positive difference. This is a much needed reminder.

    Now I fear I must take my allergy medication, as my eyes have become quite watery…

  37. 37.

    Adam L Silverman

    @joey5slice: I wanted to get the the uplifting post in early before I do the post about Putin’s plans to try to grab more of Ukraine, as well as a chunk of northeastern Poland, and as much of the Baltics as he can. That’s for later! Gives you something to look forward to.

  38. 38.

    Almost Retired

    What a wonderful story about an incident of which I was only dimly aware.  Sort of a reverse “Come From Away,” in which Americans come to the aid of Canadians,  although this would be difficult to stage as an uplifting musical.

  40. 40.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Almost Retired: What if they cast the Rock as Captain Symington and have Lin-Manuel Miranda do the songs and act as his voice coach? With a big CGI fight between the Rock and the explosion in Act 3? Would that work?

  42. 42.

    Mary G

    @Omnes Omnibus: This. I cherish this community which will maintain its tiny light whatever dark shit goes down in the world. I was originally hooked in by one of John’s posts about Little Feat, but have found so many other things I have in common with people here and received so much help and moral support.

  43. 43.

    Josie

    @Kent:
     This. The 1/3 of the country that is undesirable has always been with us. They are just louder now as they have been made to feel justified in their meanness. The rest of us elected a really great guy as president and are working our asses off to pull things back together. I truly resent anyone who tries to lump us together with that 1/3. The doom and gloomers out there need to get a grip.​
     ETA: I’m not talking about you, Adam. I appreciate your honest and thoughtful posts.

  47. 47.

    stinger

    @sab: I remember Scotus. I assume that’s who you mean. Think of him from time to time and regret his absence.

    ETA: Ah, reading further, I see I’ve misremembered Scotian’s name. Still not clear to me why you think no one here remembers him at all.

  51. 51.

    zhena gogolia

    @Adam L Silverman: Talking to Russian friends, I said my local Stop & Shop told me this morning they could not get me a turkey breast for Thanksgiving. I said, “Our Stop & Shop has become like a Moscow grocery store in 1991.” She said, “You sound like Putin.” That shut me up. I guess VVP is crowing about our SUPPLY CHAIN PROBLEMS.

    Price Chopper has them, tho.

  53. 53.

    CaseyL

    This is a wonderful story, and thank you for sharing it.

    Here’s the thing: People who feel like their own lives are going well can be generous. I don’t mean they have to be “rich,” but they do need a sense that they have enough so they can give others. Not just money, but time, attention, and caring.

    People who are continually battered, who feel their own space crumbling, and who don’t see things improving any time soon, if ever, are not generous – not with their money, not with their attention, not with their caring. The circle of things they care about, people they care about, narrows more and more until it includes only their own neighbors and family.

    Since the GOP declared war on the US government when Reagan was elected, people have lost more and more of their resilience. Everyone here knows how that was done; many of us have lived it and lived through it. The GOP has created a government that serves only the donors, a legal system that serves only the white and wealthy, and an economy at once parasitic and predatory. 40 years and counting, Democrats, when we get into power at all, keep needing to use those brief times cleaning up the mess we inherit, with very little space to actually return the wealth of the country (in resources, attention, and care as much as actual money) to the citizenry at large.

    Yes, there is a rancid tide in the US. But it doesn’t come from an innate evil in the population. It comes from the evil of the ultra-wealthy who bought a whole political party to be their wrecking ball.

  55. 55.

    Cermet

    @Adam L Silverman: Baltics? Please explain – for better or worse they are part of NATO and frankly, the Russian conscripted military is vastly inferior compared to the battle tested US military that has vastly better equipment, fire power and night vision fighting abilities. Don’t see putin being crazy

    Oh, a a great post about Halifax explosion and the Christmas tree in Boston.

  59. 59.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @sab:

    And yet you apparently refuse to share (or don’t remember?) his nym so I can check it against my own memory. Okay then.

  62. 62.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Adam L Silverman:

    Oh, yes, I do remember Scotian. How good of you to sit with him (however virtually) in his last hours. Although he wasn’t able to respond to your texts, I’m sure at some level he knew you were there.

  63. 63.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @sab: Okay, I just got to this comment so I’ll cut you some slack. I’m sorry about your friend. And I really get that close friends/family getting seriously ill or dying can make us cranky. I’m worried sick about my brother — he’s not critical but he’s not improving — and I’m also furious with him for not getting the vaccine. I have two brothers, neither of whom could be arsed to get vaccinated, both of whom got Covid. So I’m snarly myself.

  64. 64.

    WaterGirl

    @sab: @SiubhanDuinne:

    I got heartily jumped on once because someone mentioned Reality Winner and I asked who they were talking about.  I was accused of not giving a shit about the terrible thing that happened to her.

    I knew the story, and of course I cared, I just hadn’t connected it with the name Reality Winner.  It happens.

    Happily, I am not a grudge-holder, and I have already forgotten who it was that jumped on me.  I highly recommend that path to both of you in this case. :-)

  65. 65.

    Just One More Canuck

    As neighbours, the relationship between our two nations can be testy at times, but we know that you always be there for us in our need, and we will always be there for you in your need.

  70. 70.

    Brachiator

    What an interesting story about Canada and the United States!

    I had never heard any of it before.

    This has been a tough week personally. Reading this story was just what I needed.

  72. 72.

    debbie

    Thank you for this reminder. Not being in contact with family members since, umm, November 2016, and isolating since whenever that started, it’s hard to remember there is such a thing as a decent person.

  74. 74.

    Yutsano

    Speaking of long lost Nova Scotians: If anyone remembers RedKitten, she’s also from that part of Canada. She’s also on Twitter so I sent that to her.

  76. 76.

    opiejeanne

    @Mary G: And I remember the moral support you gave to one of our posters who felt he was at the end of his tether. I don’t know how you located him, but I’m so glad you did.

    I really miss him, with his name punning on the boson particle.

  77. 77.

    Elizabelle

    @sab:   It was David, right?

    ETA:  Yes, Scotian. But I think his given name might have been David?  Lovely guy.

  78. 78.

    Old Man Shadow

    I really want to believe that America is still or can be fundamentally decent. It’s just really hard when there are so many assholes and racists and fascists being loud, proud, and trying to take over and so many people that wish to empower them with their votes.

  79. 79.

    opiejeanne

    @zhena gogolia: I remember Scotian, although I did not identify him from the remark. My memory is crap these days and now I can’t remember how long he has been gone.

    I did not follow his death closely, for reasons of my own.

  85. 85.

    opiejeanne

    @WaterGirl: That was it! I couldn’t remember the configuration but I figured that would identify him.

    I really liked Scotian, and I love this blog (is there help for people like me?) but there were times when I needed to step away from all of politics and just be here, just exist. Do some gardening, work on that damned novel, reread some Terry Pratchett.  What I’m saying is, I don’t remember him dying but I’m aware that he has been gone from us for a while. There are distractions in my life, including the one that worries me a lot right now: whether I’m becoming forgetful, losing cherished memories as well as terrible ones. It can come with age, and some of my family has had dementia start at roughly my age, noticeably to anyone who was paying attention.

  86. 86.

    Jay

    Thank you for posting this Adam, to Canadian Armed Forces in the US for creating the thread,

    and for talking about and remembering Scotian.

  89. 89.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Old Man Shadow: Honestly, that’s what they want you to think.  Don’t give them the satisfaction.  Look around, actually keep an eye out for good things.  You will see them, and, if you don’t see enough, do some yourself.

  91. 91.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @sab: I have deleted three response to this comment because you are obviously having a tough time, but come on….

  94. 94.

    Dahlia

    @sab: I remember Scotian.  I hope his companion is doing well.  He was concerned about her toward the end.

    He was a good man and I was sorry to  hear of his passing.

  100. 100.

    tam1MI

    There’s another reason why Boston got that Christmas tree.  Many of the trains heading towards Canada from New England had to turn back because the area in between was struck by a terrible blizzard that piled snow 6 feet high on the tracks.  The Boston train, however, did not turn back.  Every time they hot a portion of track that had been snowed over (and it was a lot of times), the passengers all exited carrying shovels and dug the way clear so the train could continue.

  101. 101.

    stinger

    @opiejeanne:

    becoming forgetful, losing cherished memories as well as terrible ones

    Just the idea of that is frankly frightening. I’ll hold hope in my heart for you.

  102. 102.

    WaterGirl

    @opiejeanne: There are periods for most of us where we just aren’t at BJ much for awhile.  That was me 8 years ago when the tree hit my house and it was under construction for the next 6 months.  And again when I was spending all my time on the site redesign.  It happens.

    If I were you, I wouldn’t connect not remembering a period of time on balloon juice with the dementia issue.  It can be hard not to worry about things, though.

  105. 105.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Booger:

    Sorry to say I’ve never read that one, though I’ve long been aware of it. I should, one of these times. I think MacNeil’s book might have been a kind of homage to it.

  106. 106.

    Nutmeg again

    My grandma & her 8 brothers and sisters came from the area.* That’s a very known thing, that disaster. One horrible effect that’s not often mentioned is how the blast shock wave shattered so many plate glass windows inland, and blinded hundreds (thousands?) of people who were looking towards the sea. Just horrifying. eta, My grandmother was born in 1886, and her sibs were either side of her. So, they were all young adults when this happened.

    *Although they were born in StJohn NB, most moved around, landing in Halifax, or, in the case of my Grandmother, emigrating to the US. (Still not enough to get me into Canada permanently anymore. Funny, they don’t want more old sick people, even if we speak French and had a Canadian Gran.)

    ** Also too, if you want to meet some tough, salty folks, try Maritime Canadians. Yep.

  107. 107.

    Professor Bigfoot

    @Kent: actually, most white Americans detest the idea of sharing the bounty of this nation with Black people.  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

    Americans could help the Haligonians because they were white people helping other white people.

    When dealing with other white people, Americans can be wonderful.

    With anyone else, *not so much.

  110. 110.

    Don K

    I have read a bit on the tragedy, but never knew about the response of the U.S. Navy and of ordinary Americans. The bit about the Christmas tree is really touching.

    I know Yanks and Canadians can get really annoyed and exasperated with each other (and residents of SW Ontario haven’t gotten over the whole invasion thing in the War of 1812), but we really do have each others’ backs in a pinch.

  113. 113.

    SiubhanDuinne

     

    @brantl:

    I agree, this country is damaged — badly damaged. But I continue to believe it is not damaged beyond repair, and I will not abandon it. My choice is to stay and do whatever I can in my small way to make it less racist and shitholish.

    (I don’t condemn people who decide they’ve had enough and move to Portugal, like my friend. And of course I recognise that a great many people don’t have the resources to up sticks and leave the country even if they want to.)

  117. 117.

    NorthLeft12

    Adam, thanks for posting this. As a Canadian I am familiar with the events of that day, but completely ignorant of what happened after. Nice to hear how Nova Scotia’s neighbours to the south immediately stepped up and helped.
    I just finished reading a recent history of the Burin Peninsula of Newfoundland (The Wake by Linden MacIntyre) and part of the book details the grounding of the USS Truxton and Pollux in 1942 along that coast. The people in that area risked their lives and gave everything they had to save, shelter, feed, and heal the one hundred and eighty-six survivors from the four hundred crew. They did this even though they were desperately poor themselves, and were struggling to feed their own families.

    The US Congress had a hospital built in the area in gratitude for the efforts of those families. More than the Canadian or Newfoundland governments ever did.

  118. 118.

    Krista (formerly RedKitten)

    @WaterGirl: Hello! I’m as well as anybody can be in all this crazy shit. Job’s good, kids and man are great, and I live in an area with an 84% double-vax rate, so I really can’t complain at all. How have you been?

  119. 119.

    ljdramone

    @KM in NS: My wife and I went to Halifax and Cape Breton Island ten years ago after we tied the knot 15 years after we met (got married for health insurance reasons.)
    Anyway, Halifax and Nova Scotia were awesome, and the maritime museum was great *.  I suspect my wife may not have been as interested in touring HMCS Sackville as I was though. **

    * the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic has an actual deck chair from the Titanic on display.

    ** HMCS Sackville is the only surviving Flower-class corvette in the world, a British ship design used to escort North Atlantic convoys in WW2.

  120. 120.

    currawong

    While researching my family tree I discovered that my great great grandmother was one of those killed in the explosion.

    My great grandmother was married in Halifax and we visited the Fairview churchyard where they were married. It’s where a lot of the Titanic victims were buried.

  122. 122.

    Ruckus

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    You likely will never see this but…

    It doesn’t make it less of a community.

    I agree with this. We don’t all connect in the same way because we are not all alike, don’t have the same histories and life experiences. I believe that it in fact makes us a stronger community, because we can actually have different connections, we aren’t of one hive mind. Sure that means that we don’t all connect on all the same levels but it also means there are many levels to connect on.

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