[Gocamino] Matajudios????

[Grant Spangler]

My My,
 
First, may I say, it's good to hear from Rosina, our long lost matron d'chemin.
 
Next, it seems that whenever religion is mentioned, the swords come out of their scabbards.
 
Third. History is all apologist. History is all revisionist. Nobody has a lock on “WHAT REALLY HAPPENED”.
 
I would, however, offer you to pay attention to what we can currently observe. In realtime. Ponder today’s interaction of Muslim on Muslim, Muslim on Jew, and Muslim on Christian. Not a pretty picture. No apologies or explanations required. It’s rather ugly. I would venture nothing much has changed in the last 500 years. People keep being people; cultures keep doing what they do best, ethnocentrically viewing the universe from their turf. I would surmise the myth is that ‘Everyone lived in peace and harmony in ancient Spain’. Don’t believe it, not for a moment, thankyouverymuch. Matamoros, Mataindios, Matajudios, Matafrancos, Mataperros, Mataratos, Matarepublicos, Matayomama. Whole lotta mata goin' on. Is this to say the Church was justified in it’s actions? No way. Nor the Crown. Nor anybody else on the playing field. The Spanish Inquisition was a textbook Machiavellian power struggle. I get yer stuff cuz God sez. Top that. Was Isabel the perfect monarch? No, but she did a damn fine job for the cards she was dealt. I’d reelect her.  
 
The Generalissimo Franco tried desperately to unify Spain with his heavy-handed techniques. That lasted until 1975. Then the demi-kingdoms once again split and the languages and cultures once again blossomed. Basque, Galego, Catalá, Asturianu, Extremeño, and all the others were patently illegal. Could not be spoken, written, or even mentioned. Spain is, and really always has been, a disparate loosely consolidated group of kingdoms and cultures. Don’t ya just love it? It’s dynamic. It’s culture. It’s Spain. It’s Humanity. It’s US.
 
Et Viola. Le diatribe d'Grant.
 
 
Sane Camino,
 
Grant
 
Grant Spangler
GASpangler at hotmail.com
http://www.ElCaminoSantiago.com
http://community.webshots.com/user/ElCaminoSantiago