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The Daily Dose/June 5, 2011
By Gaylon Kent
The Writer's Shack
Notes from around The Human Experience...
(Editor's Note: Unable to drum up a topic or two for today's column, Gaylon is please to present a column dedicated solely to On This Date action)
Give Me Liberty, Or Give Me A Type 59 Tank: An anonymous Chinese man - whom History generally refers to as Tank Man - stands in front of a column of advancing army tanks near Tiananmen Square on this date in 1989. After a few minutes of moving with the lead tank, Tank Man would actually climb on the lead tank and appear to talk with someone inside, before returning to his duties blocking their advance. Later, two men would come and escort him off.
No one knows who Tank Guy was or what happened to him. Under the circumstances, it's not completely unreasonable to conclude he was hustled off somewhere and shot. Some, however, claim that the people who went and got him were not government authorities but civilians, and that Tank Man is still alive and well and still anonymous.
Yeah, Well, You Know: The move was symbolic. The Chinese army had moved in the day before and cleared out the protestors, leaving many dead, so Tank Man was more or less making a personal statement on the matter.
He did a good job of it, too. Few images in human history are as iconic as that of the solitary Chinese man blocking the way of army tanks.
What The Hell: But iconic is all it has turned out to be. Tank Man did not inspire his fellow citizens to overthrow their government and China remains as Communist as its been since the middle of the 20th century.
There are over a billion Chinese, and even the most modest research into life in China shows that a lot of them live much like their ancestors have for generations and a little democracy isn't really going to change that.
The Bottom Line: When a billion Chinese want to get around to electing their leaders, they'll make it happen, much like we did when we grew weary of the British.
Conspiracy Theory: it would be funny if it turned out Tank Man, and the whole incident, had been staged by the Communists. Offhand, we can't think of a reason why a Communist government would be desirous of staging an incident that would turn out to be a monument to human liberty and freedom, but they're Communists, so who the heck knows what they're thinking.
One More Thing: It would have been interesting to have found out what was in the shopping bags. Had Tank Man come back from the grocery store? Were there spare parts for his bicycle in them? Perhaps, mindful of government restrictions on the number of children Chinese can have, Tank Man had a couple of sacks of condoms.
Shake, Rattle And Roll: Elvis Presley scandalizes the country by suggestively thrusting his hips while singing his latest hit Hound Dog, on The Milton Berle Show on this date in 1956.
FunFact: Thought it is now referred to as a double-sided single and credited with an 11-week stay at #1, Hound Dog was originally released as the B-side of another Elvis hit, Don't Be Cruel. On their own both would reach #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart.
Great Moments In Assassination: Robert F. Kennedy, then campaigning for the Democratic nomination for president, is shot at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles on this date in 1968.
Kennedy had just won the California primary and had finished addressing supporters and was making his way through the kitchen when he was shot by Palestinian malcontent Sirhan Sirhan.
Entourage: Two writers, Pete Hamil and George Plimpton, and two athletes, Rafer Johnson and Rosey Grier, were among the people who wrestled Sirhan to the ground after the shooting. Kennedy would die the following day.
Sirhan is currently serving a life sentence and comes up for parole from time to time, most recently this past March. He maintains, as he has for decades, that he does not remember the incident, and his parole application was turned town.
Hey Batter, Batter…Walk: Nolan Ryan becomes the all-time walk leader in major league history on this date in 1981. His first inning walk of New York's Frank Taveres is the 1,776th walk of Ryan's career, moving him past Early Wynn on the all-time list. Ryan would finish his career with 2,795 walks, a record that still stands.
It's not even close, either. Ryan is the only pitcher to give up more than two thousand walks. Steve Carlton is second on the list with1,833.
Dry, Technical Matter: Of the top ten leaders in career walks that are eligible for the Hall of Fame, seven have been inducted. Bobo Newsom - who himself held the all-time record from 1952-54 - is sixth on the all-time list with 1,732 walks and is the highest ranking player on the list who is not in the Hall of Fame.
What The Hell's Going On Here? The first AIDS cases in the United States are reported on this date in 1981, as the government identifies five people who have a form on pneumonia usually found in people with weakened immune systems. All five are homosexual men.
FunFact: The term AIDS would not come into use until the summer of 1982, when it was introduced by the Centers for Disease Control. Prior to that it would be known by a variety of names, including GRID, Gay-Related Immune Deficiency.
Thought For The Day: I thought they'd get one of us, but Jack, after all he's been through, never worried about it. I thought it would be me. - Robert F. Kennedy
Answer To The Last Trivia Question: John Montgomery Ward is the only major league player to record at least 100 wins and 2,000 hits. Babe Ruth, a common answer to this question, only had 94 wins as a pitcher.
Today's Stumper: Robert Kennedy is one of two sitting United States Senators to be assassinated. Who was the other? - Answer next time!
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