The USSR will be somewhat limited in their immediate ability to exploit this, because the Party leadership is busy conspiring to oust Kruschev next year.
Something Serious Has Happened on Air Force One (a Tl/story by Geon)
- Thread starter Geon
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The USSR will be somewhat limited in their immediate ability to exploit this, because the Party leadership is busy conspiring to oust Kruschev next year.
They could always multitask. Maybe they'll use this as a means to clam Kruschev down and swoop in for the kill when he's at his most vulnerable.
Maybe the Malcom X stand in could have predicted this if the deaths of the three voting people in those fields were of any indication. Is there a chance he could've placed his people there beforehand and hand powerful weapons to black citizens in secret? He must have known this could happen, and the news said that black gunowners are fighting back. Maybe this is connected?
Maybe, maybe not. Black Veterans in the South tended to have guns of their own as a matter of course. I guarantee that if their community was under attack, they would return fire regardless of whether they were organized or not (much like the "Roof Koreans" of LA Riots fame).
President Carl Albert in February 1964? Keep in mind that he was a drunkard and wouldn't want the job so he'd either refuse or just serve until the inauguration of the next president.
Well I was hoping for Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy to succeed his brother as President after the President, Vice President, Speaker of the House, President pro tempore of the Senate, and most of the entire cabinet died.
Could get even worse; the massacre you said might result in McCormack going the Johnson route and sending federal troops into the South, which could lead to a scene where Army soldiers are doing riot control to protect African-Americans from a white mob, a shot gets fired, and the Army ends up firing on the white group...
I know we like to just assume the absolute worst-case scenario in literally every timeline we read, but maybe we could, you know, take a break from that? We’ve already have seen people in this timeline showing signs of being human beings (such as the police force that protected that black woman from the Klan, or that one Klan member who turned himself in out of guilt for bombing a church). Maybe DON’T just assume that there will be a race war now?
Yes, this TL has showcased that individual human beings are capable of empathy and good behavior, however when individual humans are in groups it can become much, much darker.
Unless a late-stage miracle happens, and it does seem like Geon has some setup for it, then this is going to lead to a race war.
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Indiana Beach Crow
Monthly Donor
In all likelihood there aren't any black National Guardsman on the scene in Macon or anywhere else in the South for that matter.
From an article on the blog Task and Purpose: "In 1969, 42 percent of Mississippi’s population was Black. Yet of their 10,365 National Guardsmen, only *one* was Black."
I doubt the Georgia National Guard is any less selective in who they decide to admit.
That, and people are too flustered to think clearly. Hatred can make you insane.
I strongly suspect that he was shot by three different guns. For those who say it's a bad way to go--better than a lynching, being choked to death by a rope.
With all hell breaking loose in the South, I would half expect some border, or even northern, states to be calling up their national guards preemptively.
I would also almost expect some people to go north to eliminate "Yankee n***** lovers" who are "misreporting the conditions and contributing to unrest by urging people to forget their places." It might not take many, but even one state governor or anti Jim Crow newspaper editor getting his brains blown out would escalate things. For that matter, what happenes when someone fleeing from the Redneck tyranny seeks a desperate goal--the shining north--and gets chased into the north. Somehow, I don't think soutehrn cops would let a little thing like a border stop them.
In fact, I think the best option would be to send the northern states NG or regular army to the south. The military was integrated by now, and black and white soldiers telling both black and white citizens to step off might be just what's needed now.
The candidates are all having new speeches written, and there may be some new candidates coming up due to this, or one or two bowing out because it's 'not the right time' (id est, 'there is no way that being in charge next year will work out well for me').
Chapter Forty-One: Appeals for Calm
Geon
Donor
Well, I seem to have some extra free time at work today so that means all of you might have a few new updates coming.
Here is the first.
Washington, D.C: The Oval Office; February 7, 1964, 8:45 EST:
At 8:45 p.m. President John McCormack addressed the nation.
Here is the first.
Chapter Forty-One: Appeals for Calm
Washington, D.C: The Oval Office; February 7, 1964, 8:45 EST:
At 8:45 p.m. President John McCormack addressed the nation.
“Good evening my fellow Americans.”
“As I come to you tonight the city of Macon, Georgia is ablaze because of growing seething racial unrest that has been brewing in the South and elsewhere in the past few months. What is happening in Macon is not simply the result of local tensions there. It is the result of growing tensions throughout the South caused by extremists on both sides if the color barrier.”
“The past few months have seen the bombing of a black church in Alabama, the fire bombing of a Woolworth’s whose owner decided to allow black people to eat at his lunch counter, and a riot in the same town as blacks and whites attempted to peacefully protest the racial divide that has separated this nation for so long.”
“Individuals on both sides of the color barrier have attempted to use these incidents as an excuse to resort to violence. In Meridian, Georgia three white men who were allegedly members of the Ku Klux Klan were murdered in a gas station. Their murder triggered the murder of three members of the Southern Christian Leadership Coalition who were helping with voter registration throughout the state of Georgia.”
“A few days ago, the owner of a car dealership in Macon, Georgia was found murdered, he also was a purported member of the KKK. His murder triggered the present senseless brutality we are witnessing tonight.”
“The First Amendment of our Constitution guarantees the right to peaceably assemble. The Second guarantees the right to keep and bear arms. However, neither of these guarantees any right to behave as we have seen many of the citizens of Macon behave from yesterday morning until tonight. There is no excuse for this behavior regardless of what color you are.”
“I commend the quick action of Mayor Frank Merritt and of Governor Carl Sanders in working to restore order in Macon, Georgia. It is my fervent hope that the National Guard will be able to restore order in that community. But if they are unable to do so I am fully prepared to take the next step.”
“I have ordered Federal troops of the U.S Army to stand by for deployment to Macon and other parts of Georgia if the situation there does not improve or if it deteriorates. As of now, I will not send these troops in without the permission of Governor Sanders or Mayor Merritt, but make no mistake, if the situation does not improve, military units will be sent in to restore order.”
“To the people of Macon, I have this message. You have a choice. You can either behave like civilized human beings and be treated as such. Or you can behave like lawless savages and be treated accordingly. The choice is yours.”’
“One hundred years ago, Abraham Lincoln said, ‘a house divided against itself cannot stand.’ As your president I pledge I will do all in my power to ensure that the forces that are attempting to divide this nation are the ones that will not stand.”
“Thank you and good night.”
Chapter Forty-One (Part 2):
Geon
Donor
Birmingham, Alabama, 16th Street Baptist Church; 9:00 p.m. EST:
In an unprecedented move the networks all carried a speech broadcast by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 15 minutes after the President’s speech. Dr. King was shown standing at the pulpit of the 16th Street Baptist Church as he began to speak.
In an unprecedented move the networks all carried a speech broadcast by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 15 minutes after the President’s speech. Dr. King was shown standing at the pulpit of the 16th Street Baptist Church as he began to speak.
“First I wish to thank all three of the major television networks for allowing me time to speak during this crisis.”
“I want to begin by building on what was said by President McCormack a short time ago. For the past few months, the situation here in the South has been building to a crisis point as the result of extremists on both sides of the color barrier.”
“There are those on one side of the barrier who feel threatened because they feel the status quo is threatened. They are afraid that if their neighbors are given the same rights as they are they will lose their jobs, lose their homes, there will be an increase in crime, that their neighbors will demand vengeance for years of injustice. These fears are unfounded. We seek nothing more nor less then the rights guaranteed to us in the Constitution of this great nation.”
“There are those on the other side of the barrier who fear that the tactics we have used thus far are inadequate. They fear that if we do not act more forcefully even violently our voices will not be heard or heeded. They are tired of waiting and are willing to use violence to demand what they feel are their God-given rights. Yet, they should understand that giving in to this sort of fear and resorting to violence will only have the opposite effect.”
“In both of these cases we are dealing with fear, fear of the unknown. We cannot allow this fear to guide us. We cannot allow it to motivate our actions. We cannot allow ourselves to be swallowed by it. For if we do, we shall all black people and white fall into an abyss from which there will be no return.”
“I call upon the people of Macon to remember the words of the beloved disciple John when he said that ‘perfect love casts out fear.’ White man do not be afraid! You are not threatened by your brother who only desires to enjoy the freedoms you have. Black man do not be afraid! Do not let you soul give into despair and violence. Change is coming and already here. We will see a new day dawn when all of us will truly be able to go where we want to go, and be what we are called to be.”
“It is time to put down our weapons. It is time to come together. Let us snuff out these fires of hate and instead kindle a new fire of liberty, brotherhood, and love. It is time to reach across this barrier and break it so that we no longer see the color of a man’s skin but the quality of his heart.”
“Put down your guns. Look at your neighbor. See him for who he really is.”
“Thank you all, and God bless you and keep you this night and always.”