971
submitted 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) by DxK@lemmy.world to c/theonion@midwest.social
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] pyre@lemmy.world -3 points 4 months ago

it's cope, post hoc rationalization. the person who wrote the poem was a slave owner who believed black people to be an inferior race. it was a threat to black slaves not to flee or fight for the British side (i wonder why they would ever do that).

[-] chiliedogg@lemmy.world 8 points 4 months ago

It was a poem about the bombardment of a fort at the subsequent repulsion of the British forces in the Battle of Baltimore in 1814. It was literally titled "Defence of Fort M'Henry" before it was used as the lyrics to the national anthem.

The context of the poem doesn't jibe with it being about African slaves.

We have lots of bullshit revisionist history that tries to whitewash racism, but this ain't it.

this post was submitted on 17 Jul 2024
971 points (98.4% liked)

The Onion

4504 readers
889 users here now

The Onion

A place to share and discuss stories from The Onion, Clickhole, and other satire.

Great Satire Writing:

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS