On This Day in History Sh!t Went Down

SH!T HAPPENS. AGAIN.

That famous photo of the Loch Ness Monster was faked as an act of revenge against The Daily Mail. Before "Scotty" saved the starship Enterprise a bunch of times, future actor James Doohan stormed the beaches at Normandy to help save the world from Nazis and he got shot to sh!t. Originally known as "Napalm Girl," Phan Thi Kim Phúc survived, escaped to Canada, and now helps child victims of war. The first pride parade was inspired by the New York Stonewall Riots, when the LGBT community fought back against police oppression. When Trump lost the 2020 election, his lapdog lawyer Rudy Giuliani held a press conference at Four Seasons Landscaping, located between a crematorium and a porn store. In 17th-century Italy, when divorce was not at all a thing, hundreds of women married to abusive husbands employed Giulia Tofana to poison them. Iñupiat woman Ada Blackjack, and her cat, survived in the remote Arctic for two years when all the men on the expedition died …

Sh!t goes down every single day of the year, year after year. Sometimes it's a battle that changes the course of history, other times it's a life-saving medical advancement. Bravery is counter-balanced with cowardice. Along with slavery, there is self-sacrifice. History is full of deeds both noble and despicable. Some were motivated by greed, others generosity. Many dedicated themselves to the art of killing, while others focused on curing. There have been grave mistakes and greatness, confrontation and cooperation.

Early in the twentieth century Spanish philosopher George Santayana wrote, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." Yet history serves not just as warning, but encouragement. Humanity is not endless suck. There is inspiration to be found amidst the atrocities.