Well! Things have changed in Michigan, that’s for sure. The January 13, 1893 Argus had a little article about what our friends in Lansing were up to:

• Representative Mills was on the committee for the Michigan Institute for the Deaf and Dumb
• Our own Senator Clark was on committees including Immigration and Reformatory
• Representative Kline was on the committee for the Upper Peninsula Prison
• Mr. Kline also introduced a bill providing that one be hanged if one was found guilty of 1st degree murder by nine people on a jury. He plans to later introduce a bill calling for electrocution instead of hanging.

We no longer have capital punishment in Michigan, and we don’t call anything an institute for the “deaf and dumb”. Looking back at those antiquated and rather disturbing things makes me queasy, but also very glad that we’ve evolved beyond such things.

I wonder if someone will be sitting in this town, in 100 years, and writing about how disturbing it is to read about how Michigan didn’t allow marriage equality, women were harassed and abused online (and IRL), people were discriminated against just because of their race…what will that person feel queasy about from this time?!