On "B.G."

In the last century a certain gentleman from a southern state rose to high levels of public prominence. His initials were . . . "B.G." An opportunist, this fellow leveraged severely compromising alliances into what he thought would be a great deal of good. Folks from far and wide—a vast diversity of constituencies—recognized his achievements and went to great lengths to honor him. It seems that many folks wanted to be associated with a guy like this who demonstrated tangible fruit for his labors and maybe even leveraged his influence to help them out along the way. Educational institutions, in particular, liked to name things after him. Apparently, lots of folks were willing to overlook the warts of his compromised alliances in order to give tribute to his achievements. Maybe that was repulsive compromise on their part. Or maybe it was a form of stewardship.

Yes, the story of Bibb Graves and the people who honored him is a fascinating one. You can read all about it here.

Or, did you think I was talking about someone else?