Wait a Minute, Man

I always a bit suspicious when old, honorable, terms or names are given to new groups or causes. Why don’t they pick a name that describes their own cause rather than borrowing the goodwill of another? The Minuteman has an honored place in our history from over two centuries ago. There is nothing wrong with using the name in fun, like when my beloved Mary calls me the minute man. However, in the mid 1960's the name was attached to a right wing hate group that tried Klan like intimidation on those who spoke up for anything they hated, which was nearly everything. I was 17 when Eli Leflar, a local lawyer who spoke out against them, received a flyer in the mail with a circle with crossed perpendicular lines in it and a caption that told him that “the cross hairs are on your neck” and that they were watching his every move. I got cold chills when I held it in my hand and wondered if I would have his courage. We now have the Minuteman Project, another right wing group which gives me chills anew. See, Minutemen Project volunteer begins gathering signatures for Washington initiative 946: Decline to Sign.