The nature of my work has brought me to many dangerous places. I do not say this as a boast, nor do I think of myself as particularly courageous. I have witnessed levels of courage in others that leave me in awe. I’ve seen obvious courage from soldiers and first responders, but also the quiet courage of single mothers working two jobs to provide a better life for their children. I wish only to state that I have witnessed danger firsthand, many times.
I have watched you from my home in Texas it seems my whole life. Watched you in Vietnam when I was just a little girl. Watched you give hurricane reports. Watched you get shafted by the Bush's.
I have always loved Texas, always thought I would always be here. But over the past 4 years watching my fellow Americans turn into liars and monsters, people more like the Germans with Hitler. And I have studied enough history to see where this was going. I thought his defeat would bring people to their senses but nothing has. It just gets worse. I live in Galveston and can't believe the things I see here. Reptiles crawling on our beaches with Trump flags and flipping people off that don't like it.
Well, I am preparing for my escape when the rest of the manure hits the fan. These people are evil and they refuse to see the truth and have plans to further destroy this Country. And January 6th still shocked me to my core! I am far to old to watch the total destruction of Texas and the USA. I am happy you still have hope but I haven't seen this bad since the mid 60's and it broke my heart then and I thought we had come so far but I suppose it was just my Baptist upbringing that made me believe things were getting better. Republicans sicken me like nothing else.
I became convinced that Mr. Trump wanted to be a dictator when I read about testimony from his first wife's divorce complaint. She implied he had read Hitler's book and had underlined key phrases from the book. That in itself gave me a chill. He appears to be taking directions from dictators of the past. This world can not do that again. We must learn from our history.
I live in southern New Hampshire. last year I frequently stood on a street corner holding our nations flag and a Biden/Harris campaign sign. Always stood alone and remained silent. Just watched and listened. Observed thousands of people. I’m an old man, disabled and a veteran. I was spit on, subjected to taunts and insults, challenged to fight, one guy stopped traffic twice so he could tell me to leave or he would kill me, numerous death threats, two people pointed firearms at me, stalked by militia boys, flipped off by young children, old ladies and a few cops. Getting flipped off by a youngster in a backseat booster seat was deeply unsettling. An old women walked up to me, called me a disgusting shameful communist and spit on me... It has been a fascinating year.
January 6th was the day that all the wheels fell off our cart. The attack on the Capital was a forgone conclusion for those who look beyond the trite stories that the media peddles. I reflect on what I have observed and experienced...we have very difficult times ahead.
I am an 80 yr old white woman who has known she lived with "white privilege" all her life. I watched with disbelief the actions of Jan 6, 2021. I also live in Michigan not far from Lansing our Capitol. It came under attack similar to Jan 6, some say it was the "rehearsal". Mutch to my sadness my son was involved in that attack. He is convinced "his rights have been violated by the forced "masking' of Michigan.
At this time "Black History Month" . I am also reading a very worn copy of "Letter from Birmingham City Jail" by M L KIng, Jr. dated April 16, 1963. I was busy at that date planning my wedding for June 29,1993. I was not very aware of who Dr. King even was back then.
I want to share part of what I read written by Dr. King back then. I find it to be true as history will profess. "History is the long and tragic story of the facts that privileged groups seldom give up their privileges voluntary. Individuals may see the moral light and voluntary give up their unjust posture; but groups are more immoral than individuals.
We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; IT MUST BE DEMANDED BY THE OPPRESSED." Of course Dr. King was speaking of the "civil rights" non violent actions of the 1960's the got him put in jail.
The actions of Jan. 6, 2021 - the Oppressors were "white home grown terrorists". Sure the rights of their President D J TRUMP were being violated by "stolen votes" being counted that very day in that very building. They did not use guns but other war like weapons to beat, and maime , and kill those they came across in that building. They call for "Nancy" so they could kill her. They build a hanging tree so they could hang D. J. Trump's VP when they found him. We watched it happen on live TV. It was recorded on film to be viewed over and over for history to retell.
Who were the Oppressed-- elected officials cowering under desks and in lofty spaces as they feared for their lives.
The Oppressors violated desks, paper work, chairs in honored places, took 'selfies' of them in front of statues and wall hangings portraits. Trump's name on flags hung from their shoulders as to honor his directions shouted to them over long months prior to this date.
And most reading this know the rest of the day and the trial that followed to an Acquittal just this past week.
I gave up my "unjust posture" when rudely awaken in 1968 by being abandoned by my husband. He left with " the other woman" he had brought to live under our roof. Our son was just 3 1/2 and daughter just 2.
I recognize the oppressor and being oppressed. What Dr. King wrote back then is so true when applied to the events of January 6, 2021.
So eloquently written. I started watching you as a child over 50 years ago before I knew what left vs right news reporting was. I just wanted to simply hear the truth. You have always delivered that in your reporting and I am grateful to you, especially now. Thank you!
When Trump incited riots during his 2016 campaign, I feared it was a harbinger of things to come.
As a five or six year old child in Little Rock during the late 1950s, I was shielded from the discrimination and events that were occurring until one afternoon my mother came home very upset because a physician had refused to treat our hispanic nanny who was black. I started crying.
I have yet to receive any information about the hate crime that hijacked my life 35 years ago and do not understand the fear that prevents people from talking about one obvious aspect of it. Being powerless to expose it makes one expendable.
Following your subscription, Steady, for me is a decision in building trust. As a Native American I have not seen a lot of presidents, politicians, and so called public servants, act in a manner where I could believe in their word I live in Washington State, in a rural area founded by 'pioneers' who literally swindled native people of their land. Many of these pioneers had no regard for native people, and racism is still alive in schools, colleges, and grange halls. I, myself, have memories in high school, in college, and yes, with local law enforcement, ready to hurt, shoot, and discredit. I need to hear there are decent 'voices' out there, ready to help keep a steady 'flow' of just words and unifying beliefs on this 'turtle island' we share. way' lim linmt , with thanks from my heart - a new subscriber...
I was up near the Capitol for treatment of metastatic breast cancer, and had recently had surgery for a met tumor in the brain. Among My worries were falling, being struck on the head or pushed down and suffering fatal brain I jury or seizures. We were unable to find food at the train station due to the riots and didn't make it home until 3-4 hours after our original tickets would have delivered us there. It was terrifying to inform nearby law enforcement and Amtrak red caps that if I fell down, they needed to call 911 right away. That has been my life since November and I don't know when I get to move past that yet, but it added to the stress of that day for sure. I pray for a time when we have moved forward together towards a better future for our country.
I am a 38 year old single mother born in Idaho. Unfortunately, I saw this day coming and am just grateful that it didn’t end the way it very easily could have! It makes me extremely sad to have to have the conversation over and over again with people I care about as to why these things they believe as facts aren’t so according to how our government works. The number of people that will just take something they are told as fact is alarming to me. I have been a history buff as long as I can remember and know the importance of knowing history; the ability of history to repeat if not remembered. In the 1960s’ we really started questioning the news we were feed yet in 2020 we are going to take something as fact just because it was posted on Facebook? Unfortunately, with every technology advance there seems to be more and more entitlement not of the human race but a perceived entitlement by individuals. We need to start stitching this country back together instead of continuing to make smaller and smaller pieces of confietti that will only blow this democracy to the wind
I subscribed because of the integrity & intelligence your offerings. You have been Present for History & understand its significance and meaning like few others. Among other important things. :) A resounding Yes! Isn’t it something akin to “history forgotten is history repeated.” When I came back to the world, shall we say, after my life interrupted, I began to watch the WH press conferences on COVID. I had early on read on Twitter, from a doctor in Italy, the Reality of what was coming - always understanding the weight & gravity of the term “Global Pandemic.” And, now with my full attention & awareness, as I watched in horror day after day (what I always feared in some way) the Reality that the Leader of the Free World engaging in propaganda - absolute denial of Truth, Science, Facts. And, I was shocked at the astounding amount of the American people Believed this “false prophet” shall we say. Leading what was once the greatest nation in the world into death, poverty, and in January 6, 2021 an attempt by Bigots - an Ignorant & Violent mob - to overturn Democracy. The Electoral College, one could say, was created to nullify an outcome decided by such people. And, perhaps say, the 2nd Amendment - the Right to Bear Arms - to fight a would-be tyrannical autocrat & his call to dismantle the Foundation the US, of our National Treasure, if you’ll allow - Democracy. Unlike no other before. Until now. As you say in your most recent post
“...as our nation is imperiled by internal divisions stoked by those who seek cheap political power at the expense of our democracy...”
I was not shocked at what happened to the US on January 6. I listened to the Ignorant Masses. I listened to Trump. I listened to the Republican Congress who kept alive The Big Lie. I listened very closely. All these “Real Americans” who were actually capable of Believing such Blatant, Obvious, Absurd Lies Are, one can only determine, Capable of Anything. And they are still here & they still Believe.
A thousand times, YES. As hard as it is to watch this again (because it is so tempting to just push it to the back of our memory bin), I bear witness. I will never forget. I will be talking about this for years to come. I will not let the enablers of that former "president" sweep this under the rug or try to ignore it. I will not.
I was listening to a CNN broadcast as I cleaned my house on Sunday. I don’t remember which of the personalities was talking at the time but he (I think it was a “he”) said “during the attack on the Capital...” He went on to describe something but I had quit listening. It suddenly struck me that all the times in my life I had heard those words uttered the person was talking about some far away land, a distant war on other shores. This time, though, it was my country to which he was referring. I am 57 and I now know what it feels like to hear those words uttered about my own country. No longer is it only someone else’s country where the Capital is attacked. It happened here! As unreal as that seems, it’s true. We cannot truly move forward towards that “more perfect Union” until we address the causes, the perpetrators, the aiders and abettors. As far as I’m concerned every single person who incited, encouraged, organized, financially supported, or actively participated is guilty of treason and should be treated as such. I have no desire to “understand” their point of view. Their point of view is one of treason. I see no reason to try to understand that.
“The attack on the Capital” those words have a completely new meaning for me now.
You summed up the insidious nature of today's white supremacy by saying that your frontline reporting found "the threat you cannot see the most terrifying." White supremacy is deeply embedded in what we're taught, what we see and hear, and what we experience in the granular details of everyday life. It is a threat most people cannot see because most people want to get along. Yes, most people I know would vigorously agree with you, Dan Rather, that democracy must win against the white supremacist hate mobs. Yet, these very same people do not at all hold up the mirror and see the threat that they are themselves in their woefully superficial understanding of history and other cultures. Look at world history from the Age of Explorers to the present. White supremacy killed, dominated, exploited and abused people across the world for centuries. Even the most highly educated white people skip over how their ancestors wiped out native populations in North America, dumped opium in China as a huge business to "balance the trade" that brought China to its knees, made the slave trade in Africa the foundation of the early American economy. The list is long. Most white people believe that they saved the rest of the world by bringing to them civilized social and governance principles. Maybe they did, but maybe not. The point is that white people believe in their superiority, manifested every day in ways from the mundane to the grandiose. The threat you cannot see can be the most terrifying. I think the terror will continue to unfold. It's way bigger than about politics and politicians. How can you solve a problem when you can't and won't take a good hard look at the root cause? Dan, maybe you've seen enough over your illustrious career to frame the real problem that poses a terrifying threat to democracy.
Thank you for your objective view of a lifetime mine anyway. I've listened and watched you most of my life Thank you again,,,
I have watched you from my home in Texas it seems my whole life. Watched you in Vietnam when I was just a little girl. Watched you give hurricane reports. Watched you get shafted by the Bush's.
I have always loved Texas, always thought I would always be here. But over the past 4 years watching my fellow Americans turn into liars and monsters, people more like the Germans with Hitler. And I have studied enough history to see where this was going. I thought his defeat would bring people to their senses but nothing has. It just gets worse. I live in Galveston and can't believe the things I see here. Reptiles crawling on our beaches with Trump flags and flipping people off that don't like it.
Well, I am preparing for my escape when the rest of the manure hits the fan. These people are evil and they refuse to see the truth and have plans to further destroy this Country. And January 6th still shocked me to my core! I am far to old to watch the total destruction of Texas and the USA. I am happy you still have hope but I haven't seen this bad since the mid 60's and it broke my heart then and I thought we had come so far but I suppose it was just my Baptist upbringing that made me believe things were getting better. Republicans sicken me like nothing else.
I admire your belief but I hold very little hope.
I became convinced that Mr. Trump wanted to be a dictator when I read about testimony from his first wife's divorce complaint. She implied he had read Hitler's book and had underlined key phrases from the book. That in itself gave me a chill. He appears to be taking directions from dictators of the past. This world can not do that again. We must learn from our history.
I live in southern New Hampshire. last year I frequently stood on a street corner holding our nations flag and a Biden/Harris campaign sign. Always stood alone and remained silent. Just watched and listened. Observed thousands of people. I’m an old man, disabled and a veteran. I was spit on, subjected to taunts and insults, challenged to fight, one guy stopped traffic twice so he could tell me to leave or he would kill me, numerous death threats, two people pointed firearms at me, stalked by militia boys, flipped off by young children, old ladies and a few cops. Getting flipped off by a youngster in a backseat booster seat was deeply unsettling. An old women walked up to me, called me a disgusting shameful communist and spit on me... It has been a fascinating year.
January 6th was the day that all the wheels fell off our cart. The attack on the Capital was a forgone conclusion for those who look beyond the trite stories that the media peddles. I reflect on what I have observed and experienced...we have very difficult times ahead.
I am an 80 yr old white woman who has known she lived with "white privilege" all her life. I watched with disbelief the actions of Jan 6, 2021. I also live in Michigan not far from Lansing our Capitol. It came under attack similar to Jan 6, some say it was the "rehearsal". Mutch to my sadness my son was involved in that attack. He is convinced "his rights have been violated by the forced "masking' of Michigan.
At this time "Black History Month" . I am also reading a very worn copy of "Letter from Birmingham City Jail" by M L KIng, Jr. dated April 16, 1963. I was busy at that date planning my wedding for June 29,1993. I was not very aware of who Dr. King even was back then.
I want to share part of what I read written by Dr. King back then. I find it to be true as history will profess. "History is the long and tragic story of the facts that privileged groups seldom give up their privileges voluntary. Individuals may see the moral light and voluntary give up their unjust posture; but groups are more immoral than individuals.
We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; IT MUST BE DEMANDED BY THE OPPRESSED." Of course Dr. King was speaking of the "civil rights" non violent actions of the 1960's the got him put in jail.
The actions of Jan. 6, 2021 - the Oppressors were "white home grown terrorists". Sure the rights of their President D J TRUMP were being violated by "stolen votes" being counted that very day in that very building. They did not use guns but other war like weapons to beat, and maime , and kill those they came across in that building. They call for "Nancy" so they could kill her. They build a hanging tree so they could hang D. J. Trump's VP when they found him. We watched it happen on live TV. It was recorded on film to be viewed over and over for history to retell.
Who were the Oppressed-- elected officials cowering under desks and in lofty spaces as they feared for their lives.
The Oppressors violated desks, paper work, chairs in honored places, took 'selfies' of them in front of statues and wall hangings portraits. Trump's name on flags hung from their shoulders as to honor his directions shouted to them over long months prior to this date.
And most reading this know the rest of the day and the trial that followed to an Acquittal just this past week.
I gave up my "unjust posture" when rudely awaken in 1968 by being abandoned by my husband. He left with " the other woman" he had brought to live under our roof. Our son was just 3 1/2 and daughter just 2.
I recognize the oppressor and being oppressed. What Dr. King wrote back then is so true when applied to the events of January 6, 2021.
Barbara R Lee
Brighton, Michigan
Dan,
So eloquently written. I started watching you as a child over 50 years ago before I knew what left vs right news reporting was. I just wanted to simply hear the truth. You have always delivered that in your reporting and I am grateful to you, especially now. Thank you!
When Trump incited riots during his 2016 campaign, I feared it was a harbinger of things to come.
As a five or six year old child in Little Rock during the late 1950s, I was shielded from the discrimination and events that were occurring until one afternoon my mother came home very upset because a physician had refused to treat our hispanic nanny who was black. I started crying.
I have yet to receive any information about the hate crime that hijacked my life 35 years ago and do not understand the fear that prevents people from talking about one obvious aspect of it. Being powerless to expose it makes one expendable.
Following your subscription, Steady, for me is a decision in building trust. As a Native American I have not seen a lot of presidents, politicians, and so called public servants, act in a manner where I could believe in their word I live in Washington State, in a rural area founded by 'pioneers' who literally swindled native people of their land. Many of these pioneers had no regard for native people, and racism is still alive in schools, colleges, and grange halls. I, myself, have memories in high school, in college, and yes, with local law enforcement, ready to hurt, shoot, and discredit. I need to hear there are decent 'voices' out there, ready to help keep a steady 'flow' of just words and unifying beliefs on this 'turtle island' we share. way' lim linmt , with thanks from my heart - a new subscriber...
I was up near the Capitol for treatment of metastatic breast cancer, and had recently had surgery for a met tumor in the brain. Among My worries were falling, being struck on the head or pushed down and suffering fatal brain I jury or seizures. We were unable to find food at the train station due to the riots and didn't make it home until 3-4 hours after our original tickets would have delivered us there. It was terrifying to inform nearby law enforcement and Amtrak red caps that if I fell down, they needed to call 911 right away. That has been my life since November and I don't know when I get to move past that yet, but it added to the stress of that day for sure. I pray for a time when we have moved forward together towards a better future for our country.
I am a 38 year old single mother born in Idaho. Unfortunately, I saw this day coming and am just grateful that it didn’t end the way it very easily could have! It makes me extremely sad to have to have the conversation over and over again with people I care about as to why these things they believe as facts aren’t so according to how our government works. The number of people that will just take something they are told as fact is alarming to me. I have been a history buff as long as I can remember and know the importance of knowing history; the ability of history to repeat if not remembered. In the 1960s’ we really started questioning the news we were feed yet in 2020 we are going to take something as fact just because it was posted on Facebook? Unfortunately, with every technology advance there seems to be more and more entitlement not of the human race but a perceived entitlement by individuals. We need to start stitching this country back together instead of continuing to make smaller and smaller pieces of confietti that will only blow this democracy to the wind
I subscribed because of the integrity & intelligence your offerings. You have been Present for History & understand its significance and meaning like few others. Among other important things. :) A resounding Yes! Isn’t it something akin to “history forgotten is history repeated.” When I came back to the world, shall we say, after my life interrupted, I began to watch the WH press conferences on COVID. I had early on read on Twitter, from a doctor in Italy, the Reality of what was coming - always understanding the weight & gravity of the term “Global Pandemic.” And, now with my full attention & awareness, as I watched in horror day after day (what I always feared in some way) the Reality that the Leader of the Free World engaging in propaganda - absolute denial of Truth, Science, Facts. And, I was shocked at the astounding amount of the American people Believed this “false prophet” shall we say. Leading what was once the greatest nation in the world into death, poverty, and in January 6, 2021 an attempt by Bigots - an Ignorant & Violent mob - to overturn Democracy. The Electoral College, one could say, was created to nullify an outcome decided by such people. And, perhaps say, the 2nd Amendment - the Right to Bear Arms - to fight a would-be tyrannical autocrat & his call to dismantle the Foundation the US, of our National Treasure, if you’ll allow - Democracy. Unlike no other before. Until now. As you say in your most recent post
“...as our nation is imperiled by internal divisions stoked by those who seek cheap political power at the expense of our democracy...”
I was not shocked at what happened to the US on January 6. I listened to the Ignorant Masses. I listened to Trump. I listened to the Republican Congress who kept alive The Big Lie. I listened very closely. All these “Real Americans” who were actually capable of Believing such Blatant, Obvious, Absurd Lies Are, one can only determine, Capable of Anything. And they are still here & they still Believe.
A thousand times, YES. As hard as it is to watch this again (because it is so tempting to just push it to the back of our memory bin), I bear witness. I will never forget. I will be talking about this for years to come. I will not let the enablers of that former "president" sweep this under the rug or try to ignore it. I will not.
I was listening to a CNN broadcast as I cleaned my house on Sunday. I don’t remember which of the personalities was talking at the time but he (I think it was a “he”) said “during the attack on the Capital...” He went on to describe something but I had quit listening. It suddenly struck me that all the times in my life I had heard those words uttered the person was talking about some far away land, a distant war on other shores. This time, though, it was my country to which he was referring. I am 57 and I now know what it feels like to hear those words uttered about my own country. No longer is it only someone else’s country where the Capital is attacked. It happened here! As unreal as that seems, it’s true. We cannot truly move forward towards that “more perfect Union” until we address the causes, the perpetrators, the aiders and abettors. As far as I’m concerned every single person who incited, encouraged, organized, financially supported, or actively participated is guilty of treason and should be treated as such. I have no desire to “understand” their point of view. Their point of view is one of treason. I see no reason to try to understand that.
“The attack on the Capital” those words have a completely new meaning for me now.
Thank you for this forum Mr. Rather.
Please, keep on writing about this!
You summed up the insidious nature of today's white supremacy by saying that your frontline reporting found "the threat you cannot see the most terrifying." White supremacy is deeply embedded in what we're taught, what we see and hear, and what we experience in the granular details of everyday life. It is a threat most people cannot see because most people want to get along. Yes, most people I know would vigorously agree with you, Dan Rather, that democracy must win against the white supremacist hate mobs. Yet, these very same people do not at all hold up the mirror and see the threat that they are themselves in their woefully superficial understanding of history and other cultures. Look at world history from the Age of Explorers to the present. White supremacy killed, dominated, exploited and abused people across the world for centuries. Even the most highly educated white people skip over how their ancestors wiped out native populations in North America, dumped opium in China as a huge business to "balance the trade" that brought China to its knees, made the slave trade in Africa the foundation of the early American economy. The list is long. Most white people believe that they saved the rest of the world by bringing to them civilized social and governance principles. Maybe they did, but maybe not. The point is that white people believe in their superiority, manifested every day in ways from the mundane to the grandiose. The threat you cannot see can be the most terrifying. I think the terror will continue to unfold. It's way bigger than about politics and politicians. How can you solve a problem when you can't and won't take a good hard look at the root cause? Dan, maybe you've seen enough over your illustrious career to frame the real problem that poses a terrifying threat to democracy.