These two states once fought a war against each other. For over ten years before the Civil War, abolitionists in Kansas fought with slaveholders in Missouri over the issue of slavery. The Missourians wished to settle in Kansas with slaves, while the settlers of Kansas wished to not have the scourge of slavery in their territory. Groups of settlers went back and forth between the two states in guerrilla warfare over the issue of slavery.
The above shirt celebrates the destruction of Lawrence, Kansas. In 1856, Missourian William Quantrill led a band of raiders known as "Bushwhackers" into Lawrence, where they went on a four-hour rampage and burned the city to the ground. On the back of this shirt is Quantrill's slogan: "Raise the Black Flag and Ride Hard Boys. Our Cause is Just and Our Enemies Many".
Kansas fans have responded with a shirt featuring radical abolitionist John Brown, who led the Pottawatomie Massacre, a retaliation for Quantrill's Lawrence Massacre. Brown's group killed five pro-slavery settlers north of a place called Pottawatomie Creek in Kansas. Brown advocated violence in favor of the cause of abolition of slavery, and was hanged after attempting to start a slave rebellion in Harper's Ferry, Virginia in 1859.
These shirts are kinda funny, but they are really sick. And people think the South is still fighting the Civil War? The South has nothing on these Kansas and Missouri fans. They act as if they still want to fight the war. I've been reading Kansas message boards where fans refer to Missouri as the "slavers". Like people in Missouri would want to bring slavery back. Puhleeze.
Therefore, KU and Mizzou are mortal enemies. Up until this year, both schools have mostly stunk in football. The football game hasn't mattered nearly as much as their annual basketball games, where they have the biggest hoops rivalry in the Big 8/Big 12.
I really don't have a dog in this hunt. My mother was born in Missouri, but moved to Oklahoma as a child. I've watched both schools all my life. As a Sooner fan, it benefits my team for KU to win this game and to be undefeated going into the Big 12 championship game. This game will be fun to watch. I've been geeked up about it for a month.
These shirts, however, are insane.
Special thanks to AOL's Fanhouse for the tip.
4 comments:
I am a Kansas native, but taking a nasty time in history and applying it to games that young men play is atrocious. The John Brown portrait is from a stunning mural by John Steuart Curry done in the Kansas State Capitol in Topeka in the late '30s and early '40s. Curry was run out of Kansas thanks to a bunch of legislators, who listened to critics of Curry's work and forced the artist to leave his works unfinished and unsigned. Curry died of a heart attack in Wisconsin in 1946. That's your Kansas history lesson for today, boys and girls.
Now, back to '07: I saw Kansas play for the first time Saturday against Oklahoma State and the Hawks may actually be a year away. But you have to take advantage of the situation dealt you, and KU has. Mangino could have been run out as another failure in Lawrence, but Lew Perkins knows a winner and stuck with one. How the guy keeps from having a heart attack, I don't know, but hopefully his heart will be filled with joy and he won't be run out of Lawrence like J.S. Curry was out of Topeka, or John Brown eventually was from his abolitionist cause when he was hanged after the Harper's Ferry rebellion in 1859. That guy had 20 kids by two different wives! There's a hero! :)
I have to put blame where blame is due: the Mizzou people came out with the shirts first. They're sick. That's the same school that gave us the Antlers, so go figure.
The Fighting Manginos took advantage of good coaching and favorable scheduling. They played a Snyderesque weak non-conference schedule (whipping teams they used to struggle with) and did not have to play OU or Texas in their Big XII schedule. If their name was Nebraska with the same exact schedule, they'd be #1 in the nation. They're a good team.
Long live the Fighting Manginos. How can anyone not like that guy? I hope they go all the way! (Sorry JD and other OU fans like Cobra and Jr. who never went to that school!)
You are all too correct. This is really sad. Unfortunately, what you are seeing is only a symptom of a much bigger problem.
I live in Kansas City. Race relations have steadily declined here for years. Keep in mind that Kansas City Missouri's schools are still considered to be segregated by the courts to this day. The citizens simply keep ignoring court orders and keep electing segregationist School Boards.
Anyone that drives through the RURAL ozarks will see blantant racism still being openly promoted. Oh sure, near the major highways and near Branson, everything looks wonderful. The landscapes are very beautiful. Get off those major thoroughfares and the conditions some people have no choice but to live in are astonishing.
It is enough to make a grown man weep.
We have a long way to go in this country to reach the lofty ideals the Constitution and Declaration of Independence proclaim!
I'm not saying that everyone in the area is evil. Clearly most people are very sensible and passivly claim to want the best for everyone. Meanwhile almost everyone turns a blind eye to the injustices that still go on. These shirts are nothing compared to the real hatred that still exists.
If you read the fan blogs about this game. The prevailing opposition among many fans has more to do with recruiting more African American atheletes and whether the national exposure of the continuing racism hamper those efforts.
Thank God Saturday's dispute will only be a football game. I plan to enjoy the sporting event as that. At least people aren't using bullets, even if the feelings are still very real.
Jay,
Kansas City
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