On Reagan Passing....

[AKA2D '91]

You're not alone.
I guess I"ll have to find someothing to do during the day until they lay him to rest. All of the channels will be covering the services....

[9dstpm]

I agree with all of ya'll. Regan was not that great of a president, and as an actor he was marginal. I feel for his family and having Alzheimer's is total hell, but the man was 93. He did good to live that long. I just hope that they are not going to pre-empt Passions or any of my other shows for more coverage of his life. Like CNN, MSNBC, and FOX News haven't already saturated the TV enough this weekend.

*poking my lip out becaue they pre-empted the Family Plots marathon on A&E for Regan's Biography*

[kiml122]

Originally posted by ladygreek
I'm not feeling the barrage of media coverage nor the revisionist history of the Reagan Era.

Me either, and this morning on the readio they were talking as if the man's life was short. I mean damn he was 93 years old...

[Sistermadly]

Originally posted by Munchkin03
I lost all respect for him when he REFUSED to even say the word AIDS until late 1985, when he was already re-elected and didn't have to worry about his Radical Religious Reich friends lashing out at him.

I'd forgotten about that! Thanks for the reminder. Pardon me if I don't shed a tear that that evil sumb*tch is gone.

[Eclipse]

I certainly had no love jones for Reagan. One of the saddest/funniest things I read in Sunday's paper was that during both terms of his presidency he never once visited HUD offices. In addition, on one situation where his HUD Secretary, Samuel Pierce who was black, was visiting the White House he greeted him as "Mr. Mayor". He didn't know who the man was!

That being said, I think it is STILL important for us to be respectful of the people, who for what ever reason, supported him and mourn now. Saying things like "evil sumb*ich" only serve to polarize us. I can only imagine how we would react (me included) if some of our "friends" on this board said the same thing about one of our icons, say Martin Luther King.

In other words, kinda like what my grandmomma useta say...."If you can't say nothin' nice, don't say nothin' at all."

ETA: I am NOT saying you need to pretend to agree with the man or talk about how great he was. I DO think it is important for people to tell the truth about Reaganomics (I loved explaining this in a Econ class I taught for a certification program!) and some of his other programs, or lack thereof, but I think it is all about the way we do it and the language we use.

[Sistermadly]

Originally posted by Eclipse
That being said, I think it is STILL important for us to be respectful of the people, who for what ever reason, supported him and mourn now. Saying things like "evil sumb*ich" only serve to polarize us. I can only imagine how we would react (me included) if some of our "friends" on this board said the same thing about one of our icons, say Martin Luther King.

I see your point Eclipse, but I also respectfully disagree. Respect is earned, not automatically given, and while Reagan might have achieved some things that changed the face of history, in my mind, he did precious little that warranted my respect.

Martin Luther King isn't only a Black icon - he's a human icon. But even if someone said something disparaging about one of "our" icons (and the concept of 'black' or 'white' icons is, IMO, more polarizing than calling Reagan out of his name) that's the speaker's right, and that's what the First Amendment is all about. They don't have to like what I say or how I choose to say it - but as long as they support my right to say it, we're cool.

ETA - but if the ladies of AKA would rather not have such strong words in their forum, I support their choice to moderate as they see fit.

[Steeltrap]

Originally posted by Eclipse
I certainly had no love jones for Reagan. One of the saddest/funniest things I read in Sunday's paper was that during both terms of his presidency he never once visited HUD offices. In addition, on one situation where his HUD Secretary, Samuel Pierce who was black, was visiting the White House he greeted him as "Mr. Mayor". He didn't know who the man was!

That being said, I think it is STILL important for us to be respectful of the people, who for what ever reason, supported him and mourn now. Saying things like "evil sumb*ich" only serve to polarize us. I can only imagine how we would react (me included) if some of our "friends" on this board said the same thing about one of our icons, say Martin Luther King.

In other words, kinda like what my grandmomma useta say...."If you can't say nothin' nice, don't say nothin' at all."

ETA: I am NOT saying you need to pretend to agree with the man or talk about how great he was. I DO think it is important for people to tell the truth about Reaganomics (I loved explaining this in a Econ class I taught for a certification program!) and some of his other programs, or lack thereof, but I think it is all about the way we do it and the language we use.

I can see this point and SisMad's points, too. I guess that's the squishy, fence-sitting Libra in me.
This post is coming from deep in "Reagan country" -- Orange County, Calif. Dude was revered here, even by socially moderate GOP folks.
I was 16 when Reagan was elected and I'm not surprised that he never visited a HUD office. Remember, in some ways he was the culmination of backlash that began in the 1960s with the Silent Majority concept. For instance, he did a campaign rally somewhere near Philadelphia, Miss.

[GeekyPenguin]

I am happy to see this thread - it's always sad when somebody dies, and he is owed the respect of the office of the President, but NINETY THREE? That was a nice long life in which he accomplished a lot. I'm just glad his suffering is over and am pleased Nancy has chosen to speak out about stem cell research.

[lovelyivy84]

While there is not the level of dislike I had for Strom Thurmond upon his death, I certainly feel nothing above apathy.

I feel the same sadness I would feel on the passing of any human being.

Okay, maybe a lil less. Too bad, so sad.

[Special1920]

He lived longer then any other president, so that's saying something right there.
Most people on GC were babies or minors when he was the president, so understandable that his death might not impact your lives, but he was the president and that should be recognized, if not respected.

[WenD08]

several positives have come from Ronald Reagan's illness and passing:

1. he raised awareness on Alzheimers, an insidious disease.
2. Nancy Reagan and her children seem to be much closer, which is a good thing. they were estranged for a long time.
3. if you are a federal/bank/postal worker, you have Friday off for the Natl. Day of Mourning.

now we have this whole week to mourn him. unfortunately, that's not working for me and i wish all this coverage would stop (cutting into Y&R really irked me). i didn't support him in my Catholic school's election (Infant Jesus of Prague, 1980)
and i stand by my vote
as a human being his passing is sad but as a liberal, registered Democrat, this coverage is overblown

[abaici]

Originally posted by lovelyivy84
While there is not the level of dislike I had for Strom Thurmond upon his death, I certainly feel nothing above apathy.

I feel the same sadness I would feel on the passing of any human being.

Okay, maybe a lil less. Too bad, so sad.

Ok, get out of my head. I feel the same way, except my level of dislike for him is higher.

Like Ladygreek, I am just not looking forward to the eulogizing. This man did a lot of harmful things. While a certain group of people in this country loved this man (his economic policies helped a lot of folks), I cannot say that I feel the same. The nicest thing that I can say is that he always knew his speeches (thanks Hollywood!)

I am so happy to see the wonderful responses in this thread.

Makes that dumb bitch calling me ignorant earlier (because I don't believe everyone should lower their flags if they don't want to) sound so much better.

[abaici]

Originally posted by OohTeenyWahine
I am so happy to see the wonderful responses in this thread.

Makes that dumb bitch calling me ignorant earlier (because I don't believe everyone should lower their flags if they don't want to) sound so much better.

Well, people do not know how to disagree without being disgreeable.

I personally think it's ignorant to criticize someone for exercising their rights as Americans. Heck, I don't even OWN a flag. What does that make me...oh yeah, un-patriotic.

[Steeltrap]

Originally posted by OohTeenyWahine
I am so happy to see the wonderful responses in this thread.

Makes that dumb bitch calling me ignorant earlier (because I don't believe everyone should lower their flags if they don't want to) sound so much better.

Generally speaking, this is how we do things on the Ave. We do have people who disagree on things, but we don't devolve into tasteless personal attacks.