Folks will come to Knoxville on Saturday to march and pray in support of their vision of America. Tim Burchett has “disinvited” neo-Nazis and members of the KKK, and I stand with Tim. My dad fought Nazis in Europe. We don’t want or need these rabble-rousers in our town.
Bill Young says it best in this letter he wrote to KnoxTNToday.com:
I live in the “zone” of this deal on Saturday.
Family has called and made me promise to stay put. They fear for my safety.
And the little things. Go to the grocery store every Saturday morning. Can’t. Some buddies always come over every Saturday afternoon for beers, hot dogs and baseball. That’s off.
So all week … had to call my taxi guy to change day for grocery shopping. Call my buddies to call off beers, hot dogs and baseball. And then talking to family fearing for my safety.
My point is, all week, I’ve had to explain the deal on Saturday. Been a little unsettling and a whole lot of odd.
Dad grew up on Highland Avenue, just a block from the thing Saturday. He and his brother fought in WWII. Makes me sad that swastikas will be parading by there.
I listened to some religious music the other day.
Mahalia Jackson singing “Jericho” before a Martin Luther King sermon.
Etta James, “Oh Happy Day.”
I was raised Episcopalian. Every Easter I always loved the hymn “Jesus Christ Has Risen Today.” Nobody can do hymns in the Anglican way like the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
While listening to that beautiful hymn I thought about Dad and those goddamn swastikas parading by the house he was raised in … and I cried.
Peace be with you,
Bill Young