Mississippi Burning Monologues

Two F.B.I. Agents with wildly different styles arrive in Mississippi to investigate the disappearance of some civil rights activists.

You know, if I were a Negro, I'd probably think the same way they do.

You know, when I was a little boy, there was an old negro farmer that lived down the road from us, name of Monroe. And he was… well, I guess he was just a little luckier than my daddy was. He bought himself a mule. That was a big deal around that town. My daddy hated that mule, 'cause his friends were always kidding him that they saw Monroe out plowing with his new mule, and Monroe was going to rent another field now he had a mule. One morning, that mule showed up dead. They poisoned the water. After that, there wasn't any mention about that mule around my daddy. It just never came up. One time, we were driving down that road, and we passed Monroe's place and we saw it was empty. He just packed up and left, I guess, he must of went up north or something. I looked over at my daddy's face. I knew he done it. He saw that I knew. He was ashamed. I guess he was ashamed. He looked at me and said, If you ain't better than a nigger, son, who are you better than?

No it's not an excuse. It's just a story about my daddy.

My old man was just so full of hate that he didn't know that bein' poor was what was killing him.

Yeah, I do. You know, it's the only time when a black man can wave a stick at a white man and not start a riot.

Now get *this* straight, Shit-kicker! Don't you go confusin' me with some whole other body. You must have your brains in your *dick* if you think we're gonna just walk away from this. We're gonna stay 'till this gets done.

How 'bout you, Deputy. That gun of yours just for show or do you get to shoot people once in a while?

Make no mistake about it, Deputy. I'll cut your fucking head clean off and not give a shit how it reads in the report sheet!

With shithead in there? You know what these small towns are like. A girl spends all her time in high school lookin' for the guy she's gonna marry, and spends the rest of her life wonderin' why.

This is tricky. They make it look so easy, don't they? I got a question for you, Clinton. You don't mind if I call you Clinton, do you? I feel like I know you so well. The way we have it, on the night of the murders… you made a short speech as the bulldozer buried the kids in the dam. How does Lester tell it? "Mississippi will be proud of you. You've struck a blow for the white man." Is that what you said, Clinton? Hm? Is that what you said? It must've been you… because Clayton Townley and Ray Stuckey, they were too smart to be there. And you was too stupid to think anybody'd remember what you had to say. But old Lester, he got a good memory.

I'm sorry. I haven't done this for a long time. Did you make a speech the night that you beat up your wife, Clinton? Huh? Did ya? Did you strike a blow for the white man that night? Huh?

Down here, things are different; here, they believe that some things are worth killing for.

We know that. He was already dead when you put your slug in him. But your buddy sees it differently. He says it like YOU killed the kid. Now either you go on the record with us right now, or it'll be YOUR ass we're talking about, not just the black kid's!

Don't mean shit to have a gun unless you ready to use it.