"The Best of Royko", a collection of his columns from the Chicago Tribune days, is possible the best book I have ever read. Altho always a hero of mine, and the reason I wanted to be a writer /journalist, this book made me think, laugh out loud and shed some tears. Many here possible do not remember or had the enjoyment of reading Royko daily, and if you think these 20-30 yr old columns are irrelevant for today, you are sooooo wrong. I strongly encourage all on this board to grab a copy and read this book - even if you never had heard of Royko, I can guarantee this book will be enjoyed and seem as if was written for today's time.
Here is an excerpt
[ltr]The below was written on November 19, 1991 - changes the names as you deem appropriate.[/ltr]
[ltr]Duke's Fans Give Hate a Bad name[/ltr]
[ltr]The supporters of David Duke in Louisiana and elsewhere, are owed an apology from me and others.[/ltr]
[ltr] When his campaign for governor began, I wrote that it would serve as sort of a Hate-O-Meter.[/ltr]
[ltr] But I have since been assured that it was nothing of the sort. Hatred and racial and religious bigotry had nothing to do with their feelings.[/ltr]
[ltr] As one Duke supporter, Jim Means of Denton, Texas, poignantly wrote: "No, the vast majority of people that support Duke hates no more than those in other groups. These are average Americans who simply want their country back. A return to traditional values. Even a man with a past as suspect as Duke's provides hope for millions."[/ltr]
[ltr] Yes, a return to traditional values. A yearning for things as they used to be. And a sense that government no longer cares about the average middle-class guy or gal. No hatred. Just a feeling that something has gone wrong.[/ltr]
[ltr] Here are some other letters that reflect this non-hateful yearning. They are typical of the at least 90 percent of the pro--Duke mail I received in recent weeks.[/ltr]
[ltr] "I can see people like Carl Rowan and Vernon Jarrett speaking out against David Duke because they are black bigots," says Walter Kennard of Northlake. [/ltr]
[ltr] "But when people like you stab David Duke in the back, you become nothing but a white traitor that is lower than snail s___. Back in the South, they had what they called field niggers who never came in from the cotton field. What happened to you? Maybe a corn field?"[/ltr]
[ltr] Tony Franco of Las Vegas poured out his humanity too. "What Hitler did to the Jews, I could never do. Still Hitler did not kill all those Jews himself. He had plenty of people willing to help because people in Germany had grown mad over money practices of the Jews. [/ltr]
[ltr] "All the david Duke backers do not live in Louisiana. Hopefully you and other writers will tell the Jesse Jacksons and Al sharptons that the days of race riots are growing near and the niggers with all their guns are not plentiful enough to win."[/ltr]
[ltr] And from R.N. Tarrell of Portland, Ore., another seeker of traditional values: "This guy David Duke (or Donald Trump - my insert) really has the commies in this country running scared. There must be something good about him after all. I'm sure that's how Hitler made it big--people could size him up by what they read in the Jewish controlled press."[/ltr]
[ltr] A desire for social fairness was expressed by Dan Sliviar of Orlando: "There are Americans who feel Duke may be correct and are not bigots or racists. [/ltr]
[ltr] "It appears to me every time I read the paper or listen to the TV it is black gangs, Hispanic gangs, and Asian gangs.[/ltr]
[ltr] "Where are the white gangs? All we have is a mass murderer now and then."[/ltr]
[ltr] And this expression of solid middle class values from Robert Obergfell of Long Beach, Calif.: "If David Duke loves Hitler, why does that make him any worse than you who fawn over Mao, Lenin, Stalin Tito, Ho Chi Minh Castro, Ortega and every other Red tyrant?[/ltr]
[ltr] "Hatred is not dead. It burns brightly in the hearts of the liberals. They have given countless billions to the Red tyrants in the past, an you ain't seen nothing yet. Russia's $300 billion will come out of my pocket.[/ltr]
[ltr] "The man who shot Lincoln did it right and said it right: "Death to all tyrants.' Our country would be a kinder and gentler place if Liincoln, McKinley, Wilson, Roosevelt, Truman, Kennedy and Johnson had never been born."[/ltr]
[ltr] This upbeat message came from Ms. Randi Scott of Northbrook: "Even though your column is against David Duke, I figure it's good because Duke is getting publicity in a major paper.[/ltr]
[ltr]"Besides being a nigger lover, you also love Jews."[/ltr]
[ltr] And Joe Smith, which may or may not be his real name, of West Palm Beach, Fla., offered his version of the game "Jeopardy".[/ltr]
[ltr] "Answer: They greatly influence and partially control the Democratic Party, the Unites States congress, several state governments, American Civil Liberties Union (also know as the American Communist Liberal Union) and script writers for movies, TV and the Media. They are only 2 1/2 percent of the entire Unites States population. [/ltr]
[ltr] "Question: Who are the Jews?"[/ltr]
[ltr] There are many more. But how many cries of middle-class frustration can we hear before we burst into tears?[/ltr]
[ltr] Or grab the passport and run?[/ltr]
[ltr]Mike Royko - late columnist of the Chicago Tribune, as published in "The Best of Royko" Copywright 2018 by the Chicago Tribune [/ltr]
Here is an excerpt
[ltr]The below was written on November 19, 1991 - changes the names as you deem appropriate.[/ltr]
[ltr]Duke's Fans Give Hate a Bad name[/ltr]
[ltr]The supporters of David Duke in Louisiana and elsewhere, are owed an apology from me and others.[/ltr]
[ltr] When his campaign for governor began, I wrote that it would serve as sort of a Hate-O-Meter.[/ltr]
[ltr] But I have since been assured that it was nothing of the sort. Hatred and racial and religious bigotry had nothing to do with their feelings.[/ltr]
[ltr] As one Duke supporter, Jim Means of Denton, Texas, poignantly wrote: "No, the vast majority of people that support Duke hates no more than those in other groups. These are average Americans who simply want their country back. A return to traditional values. Even a man with a past as suspect as Duke's provides hope for millions."[/ltr]
[ltr] Yes, a return to traditional values. A yearning for things as they used to be. And a sense that government no longer cares about the average middle-class guy or gal. No hatred. Just a feeling that something has gone wrong.[/ltr]
[ltr] Here are some other letters that reflect this non-hateful yearning. They are typical of the at least 90 percent of the pro--Duke mail I received in recent weeks.[/ltr]
[ltr] "I can see people like Carl Rowan and Vernon Jarrett speaking out against David Duke because they are black bigots," says Walter Kennard of Northlake. [/ltr]
[ltr] "But when people like you stab David Duke in the back, you become nothing but a white traitor that is lower than snail s___. Back in the South, they had what they called field niggers who never came in from the cotton field. What happened to you? Maybe a corn field?"[/ltr]
[ltr] Tony Franco of Las Vegas poured out his humanity too. "What Hitler did to the Jews, I could never do. Still Hitler did not kill all those Jews himself. He had plenty of people willing to help because people in Germany had grown mad over money practices of the Jews. [/ltr]
[ltr] "All the david Duke backers do not live in Louisiana. Hopefully you and other writers will tell the Jesse Jacksons and Al sharptons that the days of race riots are growing near and the niggers with all their guns are not plentiful enough to win."[/ltr]
[ltr] And from R.N. Tarrell of Portland, Ore., another seeker of traditional values: "This guy David Duke (or Donald Trump - my insert) really has the commies in this country running scared. There must be something good about him after all. I'm sure that's how Hitler made it big--people could size him up by what they read in the Jewish controlled press."[/ltr]
[ltr] A desire for social fairness was expressed by Dan Sliviar of Orlando: "There are Americans who feel Duke may be correct and are not bigots or racists. [/ltr]
[ltr] "It appears to me every time I read the paper or listen to the TV it is black gangs, Hispanic gangs, and Asian gangs.[/ltr]
[ltr] "Where are the white gangs? All we have is a mass murderer now and then."[/ltr]
[ltr] And this expression of solid middle class values from Robert Obergfell of Long Beach, Calif.: "If David Duke loves Hitler, why does that make him any worse than you who fawn over Mao, Lenin, Stalin Tito, Ho Chi Minh Castro, Ortega and every other Red tyrant?[/ltr]
[ltr] "Hatred is not dead. It burns brightly in the hearts of the liberals. They have given countless billions to the Red tyrants in the past, an you ain't seen nothing yet. Russia's $300 billion will come out of my pocket.[/ltr]
[ltr] "The man who shot Lincoln did it right and said it right: "Death to all tyrants.' Our country would be a kinder and gentler place if Liincoln, McKinley, Wilson, Roosevelt, Truman, Kennedy and Johnson had never been born."[/ltr]
[ltr] This upbeat message came from Ms. Randi Scott of Northbrook: "Even though your column is against David Duke, I figure it's good because Duke is getting publicity in a major paper.[/ltr]
[ltr]"Besides being a nigger lover, you also love Jews."[/ltr]
[ltr] And Joe Smith, which may or may not be his real name, of West Palm Beach, Fla., offered his version of the game "Jeopardy".[/ltr]
[ltr] "Answer: They greatly influence and partially control the Democratic Party, the Unites States congress, several state governments, American Civil Liberties Union (also know as the American Communist Liberal Union) and script writers for movies, TV and the Media. They are only 2 1/2 percent of the entire Unites States population. [/ltr]
[ltr] "Question: Who are the Jews?"[/ltr]
[ltr] There are many more. But how many cries of middle-class frustration can we hear before we burst into tears?[/ltr]
[ltr] Or grab the passport and run?[/ltr]
[ltr]Mike Royko - late columnist of the Chicago Tribune, as published in "The Best of Royko" Copywright 2018 by the Chicago Tribune [/ltr]