Editorials / Opinions

I recently watched the 1971 made-for-TV movie Brian’s Song for the first time since 1971. It was amazing how I remembered scenes and even individual lines after 55 years. Brian was Brian Piccolo, an extroverted rookie running back with the Chicago Bears in the mid-60s, who became great friends with Gale Sayers, the soft-spoken and extraordinarily talented fellow rookie running back. The former was 2nd string, and the latter won awards and accolades. Piccolo was white with a trace of redneck while Sayers was black, and the movie was primarily about the deep relationship they developed. There was a lot of football itself and the love of playing it, as compared to the love of money and celebrity in the decades since.

It was a positive movie that took place during a time when Jim Crow was receding, and black and white people could indeed find not just racial tolerance, but go well beyond it: as Piccolo was hospitalized dying of cancer at the age of 26, Sayers had to attend an awards banquet, and as he received an award for bravery (overcoming a severe injury) he declared, “I love Brian Piccolo,” followed by clarifying who truly was brave. This was the movie that gave men permission to cry.

Sayers and Piccolo were assigned to be roommates, which was pretty radical for the time, and there was a suggestion they received hate mail. In one scene Piccolo pretended to read such a letter: “How dare you share a room with a black person. What kind of low-life person were you raised to be? I find it disgraceful! Love, Mom.” There was gentle use of what we can now refer to only as “the N word,” and what would now be regarded as a racist joke: as Piccolo lay dying talking on the phone with Sayers, there was a mention that Sayers had donated blood, to which Piccolo stated, “Now I know where I got a hankering for chitlins.”

Brian’s Song was an inherently sad movie, but 55 years later there is another sense of sadness that, while we came so close, we lost the chance to become a society not just of tolerance, but of mutual respect and equality, that a person should not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. The ideals of peace, tolerance, and harmony proved to be at odds with the goals progressive racialists- wealth and power- and, as they gained the cultural upper hand, they did what they do: sow division, distrust, and discord and incite conflict.

In regards to black people, the goal is convincing them they are hapless, dependent victims, and to be grateful for the beneficence of those who protect them from what they created. Prominent white Democrats like Chuck Schumer, Jamie Raskin, and Elizabeth Warren tell black people they simply aren’t capable, for example, of obtaining ID, and any requirement they do so is just like Jim Crow. They are backed up by obsequious elite black democrats to spread the word- believe what we tell you to believe because you can’t think for yourselves, and keep dancing to whatever tune we play. Your characters are by nature substandard, so you need to let us exploit the color of your skin because otherwise you simply don’t have what it takes. Trust us, and keep giving us the power to protect you against your many short comings as humans.

In 2002-2003 I was a volunteer medical director (PA) at a remote clinic in East Africa. This was during the peak of the soul-wrenching East African AIDS epidemic, superimposed on the never-ending endemic of blood destroying (literally) malaria. Everyday was one of death and suffering, but that’s for another time. I had become friendly with an older guy who worked at the facility as a watchman. One dark night I was walking back to my cottage when I almost ran into him. I exclaimed, “William, you scared the heck out of me.” He replied, “Mr. Reid, I saw you coming from 100 yards away.” He then offered everything we need to know about race relations: “You are a white man, and I am a black man.” Simple yet profound, and anything beyond that is just posturing and selfish politics.

The Democrats are doing their predictable fearmongering, targeting susceptible blacks claiming that ID requirements for voting is “Jim Crow 2.” I spent a fair amount of time in the deep south during the moribund days of Jim Crow 1 in the late 1970’s. I did meet one or two literal KKK hate-filled types, but for the most part the racist-inclined whites didn’t feel animosity towards blacks. As long as black people stayed in their place they were treated with kindness. It was understood that blacks were childlike, that they could perform simple tasks with appropriate guidance, and that they could be held only to the lowest standards. This was the benign form of progressive racism, and it never disappeared, rather it evolved into the Democrat progressive philosophy we see today. Warning of “Jim Crow 2” is patently absurd and exploitative, and paradoxical because Jim Crow 1 remains alive and well in the minds and actions of of the Democrat establishment, who think black people are too stupid to obtain ID.

Sincerely,

Reid Fitzsimons, Thompson, PA

For more than 50 years, the first Monday after Thanksgiving served as the traditional opening day of statewide firearms deer season, drawing families, friends and sportsmen from every corner of the state into our forests and towns. But that tradition was upended in 2019 when the Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC) moved the opener to the Saturday after Thanksgiving, a decision that has had unintended and harmful consequences for local economies.

That’s why I’ve joined with Sen. Lisa Boscola to soon introduce legislation that would restore the traditional opening day and revitalize the economic engine that this annual event once provided for rural Pennsylvania. Let me be clear: this legislation is not about wildlife management or interfering with PGC’s authority to regulate deer populations.

The Game Commission plays a critical role in managing our wildlife resources, and nothing in this proposal changes that. This effort is focused solely on the economic impact in communities like those in my district that rely on the traditional structure of rifle season.

When rifle season opened on the Monday after Thanksgiving, communities across the state saw a concentrated burst of economic activity. Families planned weekend getaways, local businesses stocked up for increased foot traffic and volunteer fire companies that often depended on seasonal fundraisers benefited from well-attended events built around the opener. In many rural towns, this spike in commerce helped bridge the gap between Thanksgiving and the slow economic period of the long winter ahead.

Since the switch to Saturday, many small businesses like taverns, diners, hunting supply stores and local markets have reported a profound decline in revenue. With hunters heading into the woods earlier and having less time after the holiday to prepare, there are fewer overnight stays, fewer meals eaten in local restaurants and less participation in community fundraisers that relied on traditional timing. One volunteer fire company in my own district saw turnout at its annual fundraiser plummet from hundreds to just a few dozen last year.

Some will argue that the change was intended to boost license sales or increase participation. Yet there’s strong evidence to the contrary that this shift did not deliver on that promise in any meaningful way and the missed economic opportunities for communities that depend on hunting season suggest that the cost has been too high.

This tradition is part of the economic fabric that sustains rural Pennsylvania. Outdoorsmen, businesses, local governments and families from every background have told us they want a return to the structure that once worked so well.

This bipartisan legislation puts common sense first and ensures our policies reflect what works best for the people and local economies. Pennsylvania’s hunting heritage is storied, and its economic impact is profound. By restoring the traditional opening day of rifle season to Monday, we can reinforce both.

Sincerely,

Sen. Gene Yaw (R-23)

Sen. Gene Yaw was elected to represent the 23rd Senatorial District consisting of Bradford, Lycoming, Sullivan, Tioga and Union counties.