Don't blame me, I voted for Jeff Davis

an actual bumper sticker



Well, I hope that everyone had a better Martin Luther King day than we did. When I lived in Virginia right after college MLK day was officially celebrated and recognized on the state calendar as Lee/Jackson/King day. No, really. You might think it odd to honor Confederate generals and a civil rights leader on the same day, like some sort of ill conceived conciliatory agreement similar to the Missouri Compromise, but Lee/Jackson Day had been an official state holiday celebrated in Virginia for many years in January (both men were born in January) before most states began celebrating MLK day. When Virginia decided to honor MLK day it just tacked it onto Lee/Jackson Day, making the new holiday Lee/Jackson/King Day.

Since you can see how people wanting to honor and reflect on MLK and for all he stood might get upset about parades of people dressed in Confederate uniforms marching about firing off cannons and waving Confederate flags, Virginia finally separated the holidays in 2000 and now Lee/Jackson day is celebrated on January 17th.