My Comments on the C-fed Flag News

Two articles in The State came out recently, and I made many comments there. Many other people commented there too. There are 128 comments on the July 3 letter, “Confederate flag has been tainted by racist groups” by Alan Piercy of Columbia. There are 317 comments on the July 6 article, “Flag fallout: ACC reverses S.C. baseball bid” by Paul Strelow.

My Conclusion:

We should have a statewide referendum and leave the decision up to the voters:

Which flag would you rather fly out in front of the State House, from the flagpole in the area adjacent to the Confederate Soldier Monument?
(a) Our State Flag of South Carolina
(b) The Confederate Battle Flag of the Army of Northern Virginia

My Comments:

Comment on: Confederate flag has been tainted by racist groups
7/8/2009 11:24 AM EDT on The State
This slave ship argument is the most ridiculous one I have ever heard. Our US flag and our SC State flag are our sovereign flags. There’s no confusion about why we fly them. There is immense confusion and vast disagreement about why we fly the Confederate Battle flag of the Army of Northern Virginia on a flagpole out in front of the State House. If you ask people why it flies, you’ll get many, many different answers: 1) honor C-fed soldiers 2) promote racism, 3) fight against tyranny 4) fight for white supremacy 5) balance out the African-American monument 6) tribute to (white) “heritage” 7) promote secession 8) support state’s rights 9) honor the “compromise” 10) respect history 11) disrespect minorities, especially African-Americans ??) and on and on. H-3588 clears up all the confusion. H-3588 completes the compromise with clarity.

Comment on: Confederate flag has been tainted by racist groups
7/8/2009 2:38 AM EDT on The State
BECAUSE the action of flying the Confederate Battle flag every day out in front of the State House CONFUSES PEOPLE about what THE REASON is for why we fly it (we fly it to honor the Confederate soldiers), we should come up with a new plan of action that is CLEAR. Your new plan of action Chesterboy is to get the State of SC to state THE REASON (we fly it to honor the Confederate soldiers) in a resolution. While I congratulate you for realizing that a new plan of action is needed and for coming up with one, I say uncategorically that your plan won’t work. As Sarah Palin said (quoting Elbert Hubbard), “Never explain–your friends do not need it and your enemies will not believe you anyway.”
My plan of action is to get H-3588 passed. This bill flies the Confederate Battle flag on Confederate Memorial Day. Thus this bill takes an action to cement the flag, the monument and the holiday together, making them more solid, not less. This action MAKES THE REASON CLEAR.

Comment on: Flag fallout: ACC reverses S.C. baseball bid
7/7/2009 5:20 PM EDT on The State
Let’s work to have a statewide referendum and leave the decision up to the voters: Which flag would you rather fly out in front of the State House, from the flagpole in the area adjacent to the Confederate Soldier Monument?
(a) Our State Flag of South Carolina
(b) The Confederate Battle Flag of the Army of Northern Virginia

Comment on: Confederate flag has been tainted by racist groups
7/7/2009 5:15 PM EDT on The State
H-3588 is a bill that makes it crystal clear that the one and only reason we fly the Confederate flag from the grounds of the State House is to offer our respect for the service and sacrifice of the Confederate soldiers. We don’t fly it to support racism, division, segregation, or secession. We fly it to support the Confederate soldiers.An official resolution is not sufficient to clarify our intentions. Actions, not words, are needed. The action of flying the Confederate flag solely on Confederate Memorial Day is the action that makes the words believeable.

Comment on: Confederate flag has been tainted by racist groups
7/7/2009 4:57 PM EDT on The State
Chesterboy, why in the world is it the job of the state government of South Carolina to “officially define the meaning of the Confederate flag?” That is the most ridiculous thing that I have ever heard of.

Comment on: Flag fallout: ACC reverses S.C. baseball bid
7/7/2009 1:42 PM EDT on The State
Hey, imaconservative, you’re exactly right on topic: Which flag should we fly and when? I advocate for H-3588, which flies our state flag year-round, except on Confederate Memorial Day (CMD), and on that day, H-3588 flies the Confederate flag. Here [on that day], perhaps your suggestion is best. Or we could go through several units, and each year fly a different one, or at different times of the day (CMD), each unit could fly their flag, who knows.

Comment on: Flag fallout: ACC reverses S.C. baseball bid
7/7/2009 1:38 PM EDT on The State
This third flag flies as part of the Confederate Soldier Monument, people say. But the monument was there for many, many, many years without the flag, and the flag isn’t part of the monument — it’s nearby, sort of, adjacent. So, it’s not a necessary part of the monument. It’s completely separate.

Comment on: Flag fallout: ACC reverses S.C. baseball bid
7/7/2009 1:18 PM EDT on The State
Where do we fly this third flag? Out in front of the State House, at the most prominent location on the grounds — you know, where we put the Christmas tree, and where we should be flying our state flag. Are you serious? Yes.

Comment on: Flag fallout: ACC reverses S.C. baseball bid
7/7/2009 1:12 PM EDT on The State
In South Carolina, we fly the US flag because it’s our national flag, and we fly the SC flag because it’s our state flag. That’s all there is to it. We have a nation, and we are a state, so we fly two flags. Done and done.
Whoops, we also fly a third flag. A third flag? Yes, a third flag. Is it our nation’s flag? No. Is it our state’s flag? No. Whose flag is it? It’s the flag of the Sons of Confederate Veterans. Who? You know, the SCV. Oh, OK, Why does the state of South Carolina fly their flag?
I have no idea.

Comment on: Flag fallout: ACC reverses S.C. baseball bid
7/7/2009 10:39 AM EDT on The State
Exactly right: “the Battle Flag is not the flag of the State of South Carolina and never was.” We should fly our state flag. That’s how this issue is different in SC as compared to GA or MS. We should be flying our state flag, not the Battle flag.

Comment on: Flag fallout: ACC reverses S.C. baseball bid
7/7/2009 8:46 AM EDT on The State
What we’re talking about is not the past but the present and the future. How will we in SC honor and respect the Confederate soldiers today and tomorrow? How will we in SC love and respect our diverse populace today and tomorrow? We made major progress in 2000, and we can complete the so-called compromise of 2000 with the brilliant bill, H-3588.By the way, the myriad legislation in 2000 was called a compromise, but it was not. The NAACP never agreed with the action to fly the Confederate flag from the grounds of the State House. So, if your argument relies on facts that the NAACP got what it asked for and that the NAACP agreed to a compromise, well, your facts are wrong, and therefore so is your argument.

Comment on: Flag fallout: ACC reverses S.C. baseball bid
7/7/2009 8:21 AM EDT on The State
H-3588 is a chance to re-endorse the 2000 actions of protecting the Confederate Soldier Monument, building a flagpole adjacent to the monument, and making Confederate Memorial Day a regular state holiday. H-3588 cements the flag, the flagpole, the monument, and the holiday together in a more solid, not less solid, way.

Comment on: Flag fallout: ACC reverses S.C. baseball bid
7/7/2009 7:50 AM EDT on The State
The questions are, “Which flags should we fly and when should we fly them?” We have a flagpole out in front of the State House, and that flagpole is adjacent to the Confederate Soldier Monument. It was in 2000 when that flagpole was built, that monument was protected, and Confederate Memorial Day (CMD) was made a regular holiday.
Should we fly Bonnie Blue? Naval Jack? 1st Confederate? Battle Flag (of the Army of Northern Virginia)? Our state flag?
Our choice should be what we think will be the best choice to clearly state, so that all the world can hear, (1) that SC honors and respects her Confederate soldiers because they did their heroic duty and (2) that SC loves and respects the diversity of people of SC.
I think the best choice is in H-3588: State flag daily but Battle flag on CMD. Thus we celebrate our state and our Confederate soldiers daily and our Confederate soldiers themselves specifically on their day, Confederate Memorial Day.

Comment on: Confederate flag has been tainted by racist groups
7/7/2009 7:49 AM EDT on The State
The questions are, “Which flags should we fly and when should we fly them?” We have a flagpole out in front of the State House, and that flagpole is adjacent to the Confederate Soldier Monument. It was in 2000 when that flagpole was built, that monument was protected, and Confederate Memorial Day (CMD) was made a regular holiday.
Should we fly Bonnie Blue? Naval Jack? 1st Confederate? Battle Flag (of the Army of Northern Virginia)? Our state flag?
Our choice should be what we think will be the best choice to clearly state, so that all the world can hear, (1) that SC honors and respects her Confederate soldiers because they did their heroic duty and (2) that SC loves and respects the diversity of people of SC.
I think the best choice is in H-3588: State flag daily but Battle flag on CMD. Thus we celebrate our state and our Confederate soldiers daily and our Confederate soldiers themselves specifically on their day, Confederate Memorial Day.

Comment on: Confederate flag has been tainted by racist groups
7/6/2009 7:28 PM EDT on The State
My contention is that people who say that the NAACP supported the compromise are wrong. Your contention that once bills are passed, if someone calls the bills a “compromise,” then no new bills can ever be passed. Seems to me that, if your ridiculous logic were allowed to hold, the US should return to the 1850 boundaries determined by the Missouri compromise.
Anyway, H-3588 is true to the spirit of the compromise because it celebrates Confederate Memorial Day (which didn’t exist as a regular state holiday before the compromise) by flying the Confederate flag on the flagpole (which didn’t exist before the compromise) near the Confederate Soldier Monument.
Finally, the Confederate Soldier Monument did an excellent job of honoring the Confederate soldiers all the years when there was no Confederate flag flying anywhere on or in the State House and its grounds. The Monument honors the dead. And now, with H-3588, the holiday, the flag, and the monument all combine for a special honor!

Comment on: Flag fallout: ACC reverses S.C. baseball bid
7/6/2009 7:07 PM EDT on The State
H-3588 commemorates and celebrates Confederate Memorial Day by raising the Confederate flag at the flagpole that’s out in front of the State House, adjacent to the Confederate Soldier Monument. Nothing’s being gotten rid of. Wake up to the solution to the problem. Call and write your state legislators.

Comment on: Flag fallout: ACC reverses S.C. baseball bid
7/6/2009 6:15 PM EDT on The State
The issue is that our state legislators fly the Confederate flag every day. They did it yesterday. They did it today. They’ll do it tomorrow. Myrtle Beach lost out on the ACC baseball tournament. They lost it in 2011. They lost it in 2012. They lost it in 2013. For how many more days will our state legislators insist on flying the Confederate flag? It’s not our state flag and our state has no business flying it. For how many more years will we lose out on baseball tournaments, basketball tournaments, and football bowl games? Every new day in South Carolina starts with our state legislators raising the Confederate flag. Why not raise our state flag? The solution is H-3588.

Comment on: Flag fallout: ACC reverses S.C. baseball bid
7/6/2009 4:52 PM EDT on The State
H-3588 solves the problem. Call and write your state legislators. Don’t just complain. Do something about it. Solve the problem with H-3588.

Comment on: Flag fallout: ACC reverses S.C. baseball bid
7/6/2009 4:19 PM EDT on The State
All we have to do is pass a bill like H-3588 and we can end the NAACP boycott and the NCAA ban. It’s a respectful bill that completes the compromise with clarity. We fly our state flag instead of the Confederate flag on every day, with the exception of Confederate Memorial Day. What better day to fly the Confederate flag then Confederate Memorial Day!

Comment on: Confederate flag has been tainted by racist groups
7/6/2009 3:49 PM EDT on The State
http://www.thesunnews.com/news/local/story/968457.html

Comment on: Confederate flag has been tainted by racist groups at 7/6/2009 8:28 AM EDT on The State
First, the “compromise” wasn’t a true compromise at all, and the NAACP never supported it; the bills in 2000 were simply spun as a compromise. Second, people, such as Rev. Joe Darby, who want this flying flag issue to finally be solved are being very reasonable: He wants to resolve the issue “so that all South Carolinians can celebrate our shared history and offer appropriate respect to our diverse heritage.” Finally, read the bill H-3588, which is highly respectful to the C-fed flag and to the Confederate soldiers. One could argue that “H-3588 completes the compromise with clarity” by clarifying WHEN to fly the C-fed flag — on Confederate Memorial Day. It’s a wonderful bill that will solve this flying flag problem in a respectful way for everyone.

Comment on: Confederate flag has been tainted by racist groups
7/5/2009 12:22 AM EDT on The State
The flag flies out in front of the State House and adjacent to the Confederate Soldier Monument. The monument honors the dead. H-3588 is the solution to the problem: We fly our state flag there on every day except Confederate Memorial Day. Thus we honor the Confederate soldiers year-round, and we have a special commemoration, complete with Confederate flag raising and lowering ceremonies every year on Confederate Memorial Day.
The issue is simple: The Confederate flag is NOT OUR STATE FLAG. Our state government HAS NO BUSINESS FLYING IT, except on Confederate Memorial Day, as part of a respectful ceremony. If anyone wants to fly it themselves, go ahead — there’s no censorship issue! A vote would be great, and people will choose to fly our state flag — We South Carolinians love our state flag. Let’s fly our state flag!

Comment on: Confederate flag has been tainted by racist groups
7/4/2009 3:21 PM EDT on The State
It would be great for our state legislators to fly our state flag out in front of the State House, and the current flagpole would be appropriate because our state flag also has an important connection to the Confederate soldiers from SC. “The General Assembly adopted the current version of South Carolina’s flag on January 28, 1861. This version added the Palmetto tree to the original design by Colonel William Moultrie in 1775 for use by South Carolina troops during the Revolutionary War.”
“Dating back to 1765, the South Carolina State Flag reminds us of its role in the American Revolution and maintains its place in the annals of the Civil War with a design that was formulated as a National banner when the state seceded from the union on December 20, 1860.”

Comment on: Confederate flag has been tainted by racist groups
7/4/2009 10:56 AM EDT on The State
A museum is not oblivion, and people can fly the C-fed flag as much as they want. Taking it down from the State House is not sending it to oblivion; in fact, taking it down does nothing negative to the C-fed flag. H-3588 celebrates the C-fed flag on Confederate Memorial Day. This bill is a triumph for everyone, and it honors Confederate soldiers and the flag they carried.

Comment on: Confederate flag has been tainted by racist groups
7/4/2009 7:54 AM EDT on The State
Some people, such as Pawmetto, see the Confederate flag as an international symbol against tyranny. Other people see the flag as an international symbol of tyranny. Both groups are arguing that the meaning of the flag has changed from when it was a soldiers’ battle flag.

Comment on: Confederate flag has been tainted by racist groups
7/4/2009 12:40 AM EDT on The State
The current problems are:
(1) we don’t fly our state flag out in front of the State House
(2) we have a Confederate Memorial Day holiday with no special flag ceremonies
(3) our state law says WHERE we must fly the C-fed flag — from a flagpole out in front of the State House — but the law doesn’t say WHEN
(4) our state’s action of flying the C-fed flag defines our state (many people, including our President, refer to our state as “South Carolina, where the Confederate Flag still flies”)
(5) our state’s action on this issue divides South Carolinians against each other
(6) our state’s economy is hurting due to the NAACP’s boycott and the NCAA’s ban — no March Madness and no football bowl games in SC
The obvious solution to all of these problems is H-3588. We fly our state flag every day except Confederate Memorial Day, and on that day we fly the C-fed flag. Please contact your state legislator and support this bill.

Comment on: Confederate flag has been tainted by racist groups
7/4/2009 12:10 AM EDT on The State
The question of whether or not to remove the flag was NEVER placed in front of the voters OF SOUTH CAROLINA. The only thing close to a vote of South Carolinians was the following: During a Republican primary in SC, many years ago, a question was asked about the flag. Now, most voters don’t vote in primaries, and obviously very few Democrats would have voted in the Republican primary. So the results from any question in that context are meaningless. Just to further describe how meaningless such results are, consider the following: If SC had to use the primary results as our final results for the 2008 vote for president, Obama would have beaten McCain 295,091 to 147,283 (note that Obama more than doubled McCain). Finally, as to the difference between the Confederate flag and the Battle flag [of the Confederate army of Northern Virginia], one’s a rectangle and one’s a square (and by the way, a square is a rectangle).

My efforts, successes, disappointments, and hopes

Most of my efforts have been writing, and I began writing about the Confederate flag issue in April of 2007. This was just after South Carolina football coach Steve Spurrier said, “My opinion is we don’t need the Confederate flag at our Capitol” and “I realize I’m not supposed to get in the political arena as a football coach, but if anybody were ever to ask me about that damn Confederate flag, I would say we need to get rid of it. I’ve been told not to talk about that. But if anyone were ever to ask me about it, I certainly wish we could get rid of it.”

The editor of The State, Brad Warthen wrote in a column and on his blog,

“Let’s start a new organization, today, called ‘South Carolinians for the Advancement of All South Carolinians.’

“Our aim will be to make the Legislature hear the voice of the majority of people of all colors in our state, who are sick and tired of this farce of flying that flag on our State House grounds, and fed up with the harm it does us all — not just in terms of how the world views us, but in terms of how we see ourselves, and how we live together as a people.”

I wrote my state representative Bill Cotty and my state senator Joel Lourie. Rep. Cotty told me that a majority of South Carolinians supported the 2000 compromise that he helped to make happen by being a floor leader. Sen. Lourie told me that the 2000 compromise occurred because business leaders were interested in a solution to the issue and that business leaders today are not interested in revisiting the issue. Both told me that the legislative leadership was not interested in the issue and that they preferred to focus on issues on which they could get support from the legislative leadership. Brad Warthen talked to his state representative Ted Pitts and wrote a column in which he said, “‘Our state shouldn’t promote anything that offends a large block of its people,’ Mr. Pitts said, in his strongest statement one way or the other. ‘In 2007, we’ve got a lot of other issues to talk about, but why can’t we talk about this?’” Then he published a reply letter from Rep. Pitts, which said, “Since Mr. Warthen’s editorial I have gotten a crash course on the Flag, the Confederate Monument and the tremendous efforts that were undertaken to arrive at a compromise. … I was not a member of the General Assembly when the flag came off the dome and out of the Senate and House Chambers; but as a South Carolinian I supported moving the Flag and now as a member of the SC House I support honoring the compromise.” So, Coach Spurrier has been told not to talk about this issue, and Rep. Pitts was given a crash course (i.e. taken to the woodshed) for thinking about talking about the issue. Rep. Cotty and Sen. Lourie felt like they wouldn’t be able to have any accomplishments if they revisited the Confederate flag compromise. What in the world kind of state is this where not even prominent people are allowed to speak their mind? They’re afraid?! Then I’m really afraid! All of that was galling, most especially the belief of Rep. Cotty that the majority of South Carolinians want the Confederate flag to fly from the grounds of the State House. That just cannot be true. I began writing comments to Brad Warthen’s blog, and I began emailing him often about his interest in a new organization to take down the flag. Sen. Lourie told me that there was a bill that I might like, H-3588, and boy did I ever! Meanwhile, I was working at Michelin Research in Greenville and living in Columbia. I’ve got a PhD in engineering (theoretical and applied mechanics) from Northwestern University. I enjoy studying, researching, and working with people of all different backgrounds. How is it that international companies like Michelin can be so good at dealing with people from all different backgrounds and yet our state government can’t figure out how to encourage kindness between South Carolinians of different backgrounds? I began volunteering for Barack Obama. I was excited about Barack Obama’s campaign because he had such a clear vision on diversity and because he was organizing a grass-roots effort in South Carolina that would remain in place after he was elected. I also began volunteering for the NAACP, and I really enjoyed the King Day at the Dome 2008. I quit Michelin and began writing a blog called takedowntheflag. Brad Warthen described me as “a regular correspondent here and probably my most ardent regular blog ally on the cause of getting the Confederate flag off the State House lawn” when he announced my blog to his readers. (I was actually down in Decatur, GA, volunteering for Barack Obama at the time.) I was moved to start my blog by The State Associate Editor Cindi Ross Scoppe’s resolution for SC voters, “We must acknowledge that we often get the government we deserve.

“That while we sit around and stew, decisions get made based on the demands of a vocal minority, particularly a moneyed minority. So we resolve to not only expect more but demand more of our state and local governments — and do it in an appropriate way, by telling our elected representatives what we want from them.”

After leaving Michelin and before starting my current job as a mathematics teacher at Crestwood High School in Sumter, SC, I made signs and protested the Confederate flag at the State House. I was field-testing different messages to see what message would resonate with people. One that I liked was “The State House is Not a Heritage Center.” The idea is that if they want a “heritage” center, then they should pay for it with private funds and locate it on private land. The message I settled on was “C-fed is Dead. Take Down the Flag.” And my key message now is that we want to fly our state flag from the most prominent place on the grounds of the State House. We want to fly our state flag. For my writing, I’ve done a lot of research on the issue, on the history, and on activism. I’ve read books by John Coski and K. Michael Prince, and I’ve watched the movie “Confederacy Theory.” I also wrote to the Rev. Joe Darby, who was very kind to reply, and I read articles and letters that he sent me. (I’ve learned that the “compromise” wasn’t a compromise at all and that Sen. Glenn McConnell, President pro tempore of the SC Senate and member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans Secession Camp #4, remains the major roadblock!) Other books that I like are The Children by David Halberstam and Lift Every Voice and The Miner’s Canary by Lani Guinier. My successes are getting Barack Obama elected President and getting Anton Gunn elected as my state representative. In addition, my successes are keeping the blog going, learning so much about this issue (and about politics and about our state government), and meeting so many people. I’ve continued to volunteer with the NAACP whenever I can, especially during the summer and leading up to the King Day at the Dome. I’ve had a very few meetings with some of the state representatives, especially Rep. Bakari Sellers. I’ve been writing my blog since February 2008. My writing has gotten me invitations to NAACP branch meetings in Goose Creek, to appear on the Charles Campbell radio show, and to speak at Ms. Kelly Payne’s Current Issues class at Dutch Fork High School. I’ve also written on Indigo Journal. My disappointments are that the state legislature hasn’t solved this issue and that the NAACP seems to have let this issue drift. A boycott is very serious business. Yet it seems that so many people violate the boycott all the time. Where’s the outcry about enforcing the boycott? What’s the message? Is the NAACP trying to convince everyone that the Confederate flag itself is racist or is it OK to simply ask for it to be taken down? What’s the solution to this issue? Does the NAACP want a Governor to proclaim that all Confederate things are evil or is making H-3588 into law satisfactory? And when will H-3588 be reintroduced? I am very glad that the NAACP has kept up the fight and kept the tourism boycott in place. The NCAA ban on postseason games with predetermined locations (i.e. no March Madness and no football bowl games) also helps our cause. Ron Aiken of the Free Times estimates that the NCAA ban has cost our state $50 million, minimum. Perhaps the NAACP should commission an economic study to estimate the total cost to our state from both the boycott and the ban. Our state’s fiscal situation is troubled. Yet, Gov. Mark Sanford and Sen. Lee Bright (R-Spartanburg) wasted this entire legislative session by playing around with their misunderstandings of the 10th amendment. Gov. Sanford argued that, despite the 10th amendment, the federal stimulus law gave him refusal powers that were unchecked by the state legislature. Meanwhile Sen. Bright argued that a concurrent resolution declaring nullification (and interposition and basically secession) was so important that he introduced it on Lincoln’s birthday and made it a special order when Sen. Brad Hutto (D-Orangeburg) objected. While Gov. Sanford and Sen. Bright were playing around, bills for increasing dental care for children and for decreasing teen smoking foundered. It would have been much better to have spent this past legislative session solving the Confederate flag issue. My hopes are that the people of South Carolina will build on the grass roots organization that Barack Obama generously cultivated in our state and that our state leadership will realize how important it is to find a reasonable solution to this Confederate flag issue. We’ve got a lot of work to do. I hope my writing can help. And I’ll keep working to help elect reasonable people who want to move our state forward! Thank you for all that you do.

Take a Load Off, Rusty

GOP activist Rusty DePass called a press conference to apologize for some racist remarks he made. Hmm, where did he go to hold this press conference?

Ahh.  He went to visit Dr. Lonnie Randolph, President of the South Carolina State Conference of the NAACP.  The look on Dr. Lonnie Randolph’s face is priceless.  He would much rather be somewhere helping people, and rightly so.

OK, so why is Rusty DePass speaking over at the South Carolina State Conference of the NAACP? Hmm, I’m suddenly recalling a group of Republicans at a press conference.  What was that?

Oh, yeah, it was Rep. Moss switching parties to join the Republicans.  Is Rusty DePass switching parties?  I don’t think so.  The people around Rep. Moss seem happy to have him with them.  Not so for the people around Rusty DePass.

I can’t figure out what’s going on.  It’s time to consult the man who understands — the Rev. Joe Darby.  Thankfully, he has written an op-ed in The State, “The silence on the right.”  In that op-ed, he described how many people from the right-wing perspective ordinarily lecture (or insult or ridicule or spew hate at) leaders in the African American community.

As I wrote here, I would love for Rev. Darby and everyone who gets hate mail to publish it.  The trouble is that it’s often anonymous.  But still, it would be worthwhile for people to know what kind of horrific junk mail people such as Rev. Darby get.

Anyway, Rev. Darby made an excellent appeal,

“The election of President Obama allows us a unique opportunity to deal openly and frankly with issues of division that have long kept America from becoming what it should be. I encourage my conservative friends to take the leap of political and ideological faith, embrace that opportunity, disavow those who dwell on the fringes of society and lurk in the shadows of bigotry and hate, and lead their followers to the table of mutual respect, dialogue and understanding.”

OK, so that’s what’s happening.  Rusty DePass is switching over from the table of bigotry and hate to the table of mutual respect, dialogue and understanding.  Excellent.

Now, who of our conservative friends will follow Rusty DePass?  Who will join Rusty DePass at the table of mutual respect, dialogue and understanding?

Rusty DePass was welcomed at the State Conference of the NAACP.  But now we can see the main reason Dr. Randolph looks unimpressed.  He’s asking Rusty DePass, Why didn’t you come here before you had to?  Why didn’t you bring followers?  Are you going to come back on your own?  Are you going to bring followers then?

Rev. Darby and Dr. Randolph are saying, The table of mutual respect, dialogue and understanding is set.  We can be ready with food for nourishing the body, mind and spirit whenever you want.  You can come because you’re forced to or because you want to.  You can come alone or with followers.  But please come, for our sake and for yours.

Sooner, rather than later.  And the more the merrier.

Come Out and Keep Talking

Back on this post, “The Purpose of Reaching Out,” I described a strategy for change that can be summed up by, “keep ‘em talking.”  This strategy, when it was combined with something else, worked well for Harvey Milk, as he defeated proposition 6.  Here, in this post, I describe the something else, the historical challenges for creating change, and a new strategy.

The something else: One key element of Harvey Milk’s strategy, and something that he is well known for, is calling for people to ”come out.”  Leave the closet.  Let people know that you’re gay or lesbian, if you are.  In this way, your plight (in how the proposition would affect you), becomes known to your fellow citizens.  And then they are more likely to support you, a fellow human being, than some hateful proposition.

The new strategy (part one of two): Come out.  Blacks, Jews, gays, Catholics, women, liberals, yankees, everyone who is targeted by the violent intolerants, such as the evil man who shot and killed at the Holocaust Museum, come out.  Let people know about the insults, the hate mail, the bomb threats, the despicable things that you typically ignore or refrain from publishing because you don’t want to be seen as causing trouble.

Do what the awesome Kathy Sierra did when she was faced with something hateful and threatening.  She said, “Death threats against bloggers are NOT ‘protected speech.’”  Publish the evil photos, statements, audio messages, videos, etc.  Let your friends, neighbors, coworkers, everyone know the vile garbage that you are faced with.

Be cautious, sure.  Not every little thing is worth mentioning and calling people racists can often be counterproductive.  The terrific Anthony Palmer described the situation thusly:

Why are some people so reluctant to acknowledge that the issue of race is a bigger and more persistent problem than they may think? (It’s amazing that people are still saying things like “Hang that darky from a tree!” in 2008.) And by the same token, why are some people so eager to tar others as racists at the slightest perceived injustice?

So, I’m advising that you report the facts and that you tell people how you feel. Don’t call people racists.  Report the actions, and let others reach their conclusions.  

The problems (the historical challenges for creating change):  MLK called for direct action as well as legislation and litigation.  He told supporters to fill up the jails.  It worked.  But now, they’ve built more and more jails.  We lock up far too many people in our free country, so many that one could argue that the 13th amendment allows (instead of abolishes) slavery.  The direct action strategy will not work.

Harvey Milk kept the extremists talking.  He challenged them on their home turf, and he trusted the media to report fairly, accurately, and thoroughly.  But now, the newspapers are folding, and Fox News and the right-wing talk radio talk all the time, spinning issues unfairly and inaccurately. 

Even when good newspapers report on people and issues, they focus exclusively on the horse race and function almost purely as PR outlets.  There is no independent reporting that provides people with fair, accurate and thorough information.  The keep ‘em talking strategy will not work.

And we still have to deal with the time-old tactics of our opponents: They lie.  They change the subject.  They seek to confuse the issue.  Here’s the brilliant Leonard Pitts describing the efforts of Newt Gingrich and others to derail Sonia Sotomayor:

Read the mewling of white victimization that rises any time blacks or browns are perceived as having won some victory over discrimination. There is to it a breathtaking cynicism and a willingness to manipulate for political gain one of the rawest places in the psyche of a nation. The goal is not to persuade. It is to muddy the water, confuse the debate. Because when you can’t win the argument, confusing it works almost as well.

The new strategy (part two of two):  We keep talking, anywhere and everywhere we can, and we use the broken record strategy to repeat, repeat, repeat exactly what we want.  We want to fly our state flag out in front of our State House.

Let’s take a second to regain our sense of humor.  Bill Cosby has a great story/joke about one morning when he made breakfast for his kids.  His wife asked him to do it, and he responded by asking her questions, such as “What should I make for them?” “Where are the pots and pans?” “Do we have any eggs?” ”Should I have them drink orange juice or milk?”.  So, he’s stalling, pretending to engage in the issue, but actually trying to avoid doing what his wife asked.

In much the same way, when we ask our fellow South Carolinians to take down the Confederate flag, some of the stallers and confusers respond, “Are you calling me a racist and insulting my great grandfather?”  Um.  No.  I’m saying that the Confederate flag is not the state flag of South Carolina.  Out in front of our State House, we should fly our state flag, not some other flag, regardless of how precious that other flag is to you.  Capice?