2024 will quite possibly be remembered as the final stand-off between two visions of US identity. And no, I do not believe the two-party system serves these visions in any meaningful way. As someone who turns 60 this year, I’m just about old enough to have witnessed the ebb and flow of USA politics […]
Old Mix Americans are often brought-up hearing family lore speaking of some indigenous American ancestry somewhere in the tangled branches of their family trees. In this age of culture and identity wars, claiming any indigenous ancestry while presenting a “white” appearance and living within mainstream American culture can lead to attacks from both The […]
Pre-Christian folklore with no clear origin can inspire a range of feelings. Wonder, fear, awe… “The Green Man” of Britain is one such character – is he the spirit of nature itself? Is he benevolent, malevolent, or terrifyingly indifferent? Is he in, or of, the woodlands and trees, or just their protector? Is he […]
Almost everyone is guilty of it – some more than others. The common belief that “things ain’t what they used to be”, and in most cases, a wistful belief that things were better “back in the day”. There are a million arguments to be had concerning exactly what part of the past was better, […]
Some people think the English invented punk rock in the mid-1970s with bands like The Sex Pistols and The Clash. Good bands. Bad history. Others think that punk was born somewhat earlier in CBGB’s nightclub in New York, with groups like The Ramones. Maybe? Still others find the roots of punk in American garage […]
A “saint” who was never made a saint by the church which claims him. Culturally he was almost certainly a Welshman. Or more specifically, he was “Romano-Welsh”, born in about 386 CE to wealthy parents who lived and prospered at the outer British fringe of the Roman Empire. In 386 CE, Wales encompassed lands […]
Widespread use of large language model AI is going to distort public education, research, and general knowledge in ways scarcely imaginable. Most people are utterly unaware that even an “old-fashioned” Google search is subject to opaque ranking methods and keyword “auctions” which affect the search results we see. Large language model AI […]
Henry Louis Bouquet was born in Switzerland in 1719. Joining the military at the age of 17, he served the Dutch Republic and the Kingdom of Sardinia before fetching-up on the shores of North America, where he achieved the rank of Colonel during the Seven Years War (1756-1763). This conflict could quite rightly be […]
Britain and the USA support the “right” of people to re-occupy an Eastern Mediterranean land lost to the Romans over TWO THOUSAND years ago. Yet meanwhile, The Great Orange Buffoon pledged during his disastrous term in office to build a wall to stop Mexicans entering a land which was MEXICAN much less than TWO […]
In 1969, I started first grade in one school, moved house for the fifth time in two years, got pneumonia, and finished first grade in another school. I think my love of books began with that severe bout of pneumonia aged 5, which kept me bedbound for some time. Color TV was for families […]
Copyright © 2024 Brian Halpin – Before We Were White
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