R.I.P. Howard Zinn

We zombies, even though its friday (see Gucci Mane video below ;P) would like to ask for a moment of silence (a bit of a 40 poured out?) or however one would wish to show their respect in honor of Howard Zinn. It is quite unlikely that any of our readers do not know who he is, but if you don't then read up.  Mr. Zinn was a soldier who had first hand experience in learning the horror of war, a great historian and a true genius.  He devoted his academic career to exploring important subjects where he felt too little attention was paid by too many.  He wrote from a historians point of view on the relevance of human and civil rights and had no fear of changing or challenging how events were viewed in honor of those who suffered injustices.  He supported the struggles of working people for proper respect and wages through union organization, participated in and spoke in favor of protests, and much more.  His career was dedicated to increasing the awareness of wrong doings in the name of (if nothing else) bad history not repeating itself.   The power to change things of the people was a subject he revisited many times in his writings and he authored one of the most famous books on American history while doing this.  Howard Zinn was a brilliant man for these reasons and a loud voice in favor of establishing global peace.  He died on Wednesday (January 27th) and will be remembered for not just his famous books, but as a true voice for using common sense, even in tough times, and prioritizing human equality.  



(The quote below is from Wikipedia)


He said he'd like to be remembered "for introducing a different way of thinking about the world, about war, about human rights, about equality," and "for getting more people to realize that the power which rests so far in the hands of people with wealth and guns, that the power ultimately rests in people themselves and that they can use it. At certain points in history, they have used it. Black people in the South used it. People in the women's movement used it. People in the anti-war movement used it. People in other countries who have overthrown tyrannies have used it."


There are no winners without losers, and remembering those who have lost anything from their rights to their lives is equally if not more important then those who take credit for "winning" and sadly hog the space in our textbooks.  At least that's what I learned from reading Howard Zinn's books.  I'd recommend them to anyone.  He obviously has a lot of "haters" but the facts are the facts, and from what I could tell while getting my degree, hearing my family member's experiences and doing personal research, he wrote and spoke them with the best.  The truth is the truth and his career opened many eyes too it, may God bless his soul for that, and may others continue to carry his torch well into the future.


R.I.P. sir,


-Schmootzie


note:  We zombies don't do the religious thing on here, so the "may God bless his soul" is just something that I feel, and in no way is intended to offend any of our readers.  We won't ever push anything religious on you guys, you can believe that!