Rather I should die a thousand times, and see Old Glory trampled in the dirt never to rise again, than to see this beloved land of ours become degraded by race mongrels, a throwback to the blackest specimen from the wilds.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- The speaker expresses a preference for death over seeing the nation degraded by racial mixing.
- In plain terms
- He would rather die than see the country mixed with other races.
- What can you take from it?
- Racial purity is valued above national survival by this speaker.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How should society handle historical figures with racist views?
- What is the impact of such language on marginalized groups?
Another view
This quote promotes dangerous and discriminatory ideologies.
More from Robert Byrd
Our ideals of freedom, set forth and realized in our Constitution, are our greatest export to the world.
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