Yesterday, 06:31 AM
I should add this, for honesty's sake: when Sands was going through that for which he is mostly remembered, I had no idea he was a Marxist. I was about 23 at the time and had the media given a fuller report, I cannot say with honest candor that I would have held the same opinion of him. Communists/socialists/leftists/otherformsoftyrannicalvermin were perhaps the major reason for my life being what it had been at the time. They'd murdered much of my family in the ways in which we are most of us well familiar in the days between 1914 and 1946. You might imagine I was no fan of the Soviets, Red Chinese, NAZIs, Democrats, and so forth. I exclude Republicans just to be a dick. Thankyouverymuch.
Had I known about his leanings, it may have mitigated my respect for his courage, though I cannot say it is so with certainty. Even in those days I endeavored to give credit where due, even to people I'd have otherwise seen tossed into a woodchipper, and there were several such stellar characters whose acts and/or openly expressed intentions for humanity or some subset thereof, merited such regard.
Holding uniformly equitable habits of regard for all is not an easy task. Giving due credit to an enemy can be challenging, particularly if you have not been trained to treat them as honored guests. I am grateful for having been so trained. Being the better man is always the right choice.
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