Category: History

Where is Tank Man?

Protest Tanks China

On June 5, 1989, on the morning after the Chinese military had used force to crack down on the Tiananmen Square protests, a lone man who would become known as “Tank Man” created one of the most iconic images of the twentieth century. The man stood in front of a row of military tanks, one person defying a mighty army in Beijing, China.

In today’s Internet world, we seem to think everything can be caught on camera, telling us everything about everybody. But surprisingly, the world still knows little about the man who stood in front of the tanks, even decades later. Although some reports had named him as 19-year-old student Wang Weilin, others reports disputed that claim. As for what happened to him, there are various theories ranging from him being executed to living a quiet life somewhere.

In the extended video, at the end, a couple of men take Tank Man away from the tanks. But even that remains in dispute, as some see it as him being arrested while others believe the men were protecting him. Whatever happened to Tank Man, we thank him for the reminder of what one person can do.

What do you think happened to Tank Man? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    “Nebraska” and the Death Penalty

    Nebraska Death Penalty The Nebraska unicameral legislature in 2015 voted to abolish the death penalty, following a number of states that have come to realize that capital punishment is ineffective and a waste of resources. Although Governor Pete Ricketts vetoed the action, the legislature overrode his veto, making Nebraska the eighteenth state (in addition to the District of Columbia) that does not sentence human beings to death. According to a recent book on the history of the death penalty, states that have stopped sentencing people to death in recent years also include Connecticut, Illinois, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, and Maryland.

    One of the great songs about the death penalty is Bruce Springsteen’s “Nebraska,” which Springsteen based on Terrence Malick’s movie Badlands.  And that movie was loosely based on the real-life case involving Charles Starkweather and Caril Ann Fugate.

    The song, in the voice of the condemned, offers no straightforward judgement on the death penalty.  Springsteen would address the topic again years later in his song “Dead Man Walking.”

    But by taking the voice of the condemned man in “Nebraska,” Springsteen challenges the listener to find some humanity in the narrator. By the time the singer/condemned tries to explain why he did the horrific things he did, all he can come up with is “I guess there is just a meanness in this world.” Taken on its face, one might find little sympathy for the killer. But the way Springsteen sings the words, you believe that the condemned is not a personification of evil.  Instead, he comes across as someone unable to understand the world because he has been on the other end of that meanness his whole life too.

    Thus, it is not surprising that in the real world, Bruce Springsteen is opposed to capital punishment. Below, following an introduction about how the album Nebraska focuses on the downtrodden, Springsteen performs the song “Nebraska” on a 12-string guitar with harmonica from a benefit show in Los Angeles in November 1990.

    The real Starkweather grew up with a birth defect and a speech impediment, and he was a slow learner. Nebraska executed Charles Starkweather in the electric chair, just like in Springsteen’s song.  Starkweather died on June 25, 1959 at the age of 20.

    The young teenaged girl who went with him on the murder spree did not die in his lap.  She was eventually paroled in 1976 and lives in Michigan, which is the first state in the United States to abolish capital punishment.

    Check out our posts on other songs about capital punishment.

    Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    Jim Thorpe, Great American Athlete

    Thorpe James Francis “Jim” Thorpe was born around May 28, 1887 near the town of Prague, Oklahoma. Because there was no birth certificate, different sources list different birth dates.  One official website lists the May 28, 1887 date while Wikipedia lists the birth date as May 22, 1887. The Bio website lists the birth date as a year later on May 28, 1988. Either way, the Native American would grow up to be regarded as one of the great — if not the greatest — American athlete of all time.

    Thorpe’s athletic career included two All-American honors while playing college football (1911 and 1912). He won the pentathlon and the decathlon at the 1912 Summer Olympics. He later played professional baseball and football, even doing a stint on a basketball team.

    Despite his great talents, he faced great difficulties in his life, including ongoing racism, a controversy about his Olympic medals, alcoholism, and struggles to make a living wage. Even after his death in 1953, his body has not been able to rest in peace, as battles continued about his remains, which were bought by a Pennsylvania town named after the athlete as a tourist attraction.

    But Thorpe left a lasting legacy, continuing to receive honors after his death.  For example, in 1963, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

    Below is a short video about Thorpe’s career. Below is Part 1.

    Here is Part 2 of the documentary from ESPN.

    Regarding longer feature films, Jim Thorpe had a cameo in Knute Rockne, All American (1940), and Burt Lancaster played Thorpe in Jim Thorpe – All-American (1951).

    Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    International Space Station

    This time-lapse video shows the Earth from the perspective of the International Space Station. European Space Agency astronaut Alexander Gerst took a large number of photos during his six-month Blue Dot mission on the station.

    Check out the video of our home.

    For more on the the video, head over to Salon.

    Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    William Howard Taft: From the White House to the High Court

    Taft Birthplace

    On February 3, 1930, William Howard Taft stepped down from his position as Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. The resignation ended what was an impressive run in public service, as Taft is the only person to serve as both head of the Executive branch of government as President (1909-1913) and as head of the Judicial branch, as Chief Justice (1920-1930). By most accounts, he enjoyed his time as a Justice more than he did his time as President.

    As president, Taft faced the problem of succeeding the popular Theodore Roosevelt, who initially supported Taft as his successor. But eventually, Roosevelt would challenge Taft when Taft ran for reelection in 1912, splitting the vote and giving the victory to Woodrow Wilson.

    I recently visited Taft’s childhood home at the William Howard Taft National Historical Site near Cincinnati, Ohio. Taft came from a relatively powerful family, and the house showed that the family did well for themselves, even if they were not extremely rich.

    The home is worth visiting. The tour of the house takes around 30 minutes, and there is a film about Taft’s life. The National Park Service and the people who worked on the house to restore it to its current state did a great job. At one point, the building had been converted into apartments, but now it is easy to imagine the Tafts living there. For example, in addition to the historic furniture, many rooms have the same carpet and wallpaper designs as when the Tafts lived there.

    In contrast to presidential homes like those of Abraham Lincoln or of Franklin D. Roosevelt, there is no aura of awe and wonder. But a visit is a nice modest introduction to Taft’s political and public service career.

    Taft Cincinnati

    When Taft resigned from the Supreme Court in February 1930, he had been facing medical issues for some time. He had several heart attacks in 1924 and he had memory problems in the years after that. At the beginning of 1930, he experienced hallucinations, and after his retirement was often semi-conscious. He died on March 8, 1930, only about a month after his retirement from the Supreme Court.

    Photos of Taft home by Chimesfreedom. Leave your two cents in the comments.

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