Spurrier: Take that damned flag down

I'm not sure why the flag has to come down. It is a part of our history and frankly represents a part of American history that is pretty ugly -- by very important as well. This incessant need to sanitize our history is really a disservice to younger generations. I flipped through my son's history book the other day and to hear them tell it slavery wasn't all that bad and it really didn't last that long and as soon ole Abe Lincoln came along everything was OK again.

It is really sad what is happening in this country.

That flag represents a lot of history -- and unlike the Nazi flag which I'm sure someone will compare it to -- it has a history in this country that is very relevant and real.

 

Good point, but it belongs in museums and history books. Not in someone's yard, and certainly not on any government property.

 

But we've done a whole lot of evil and awful and racist stuff under the cover of the stars and stripes as well. The history of that flag has a lot of blood and persecution on it too -- should we not fly it either?

 

I went to Ole Miss and the flag was all over the place when I was in school, but it didn't have anything (or much of anything) to do with race. The flag was essentially the school flag until the administration finally decided (and fought like hell against the alumni) to get rid of it at sporting events.

Tom Petty, for me the reason the flag is bad boils down to one simple thing -- the Klan carries it when it marches. Any symbol the Klan adopts isn't one I want around me.

 

You make interesting points, but I think it's apples and oranges. When was the last time you saw a truly non-racist person waving that flag? I'm not saying it stands for nothing but hate ... but the bad far outweighs the good. Unlike our nation's flag, the rebel flag pretty much carries no modern symbolism other than ignorant hate.

 

Yes.
Because there is no difference between the United States of America and the Confederate States of America.
Don't even bother replying.

 

The idea that Spurrier is being really brave for taking a stand on this issue is a little silly. Even if he feels very strongly about the issue, it's not as if he's in a minority of one. As someone said earlier, the Confederate flag issue is probably coming up whenever he tries to recruit a black athlete.

Spurrier is speaking up for the same reasons Lou Holtz and Tommy Bowden spoke up. One reason may well be they all believe it's wrong, as I do. But another important reason is it's bad for their business.

And amazingly, I'm 100 percent with F_B here. The Confederate flag is a symbol of treason. Take it down and burn it.

 

Fenian, why do you hate America?

 

Obviously, I'm from S.C. I say take the flag down. Why? If it's offensive to somebody, it needs to come down. Hang it in your yard. Hang in your house. Hang it on the back of your pickup truck. I don't give a damn. But if it bothers people so much, then take the damn thing down. It's a flag. Yes, it represents history and all that good stuff, but if you take the flag down, does that history disappear? No.

South Carolina does have a lot of racists. I don't know if it's the East Tennessee/Southwest Virginia level I've seen. I will always remember working on a pretty big enterprise story in Southwest Virginia. I got to the little town around 9 a.m. and visited businesses and local places all day. Our photographer met me at a McDonalds right off the highway at 4 p.m. He gets there, I'm inside eating a late lunch and he walks in. I point to the parking lot and there's a black family with a Uhaul truck. I turn to him and say, "You know, those are the first black people I've seen all day." He looks at the Uhaul truck and says, "Yeah, looks like they're getting out of town." South Carolina has pockets of racism. The most evident is in these small towns that have private schools that were essentially established so the white kids wouldn't have to go to school with the black kids. But like anything, time changes things. There are a few of these all-white private schools that have black kids there now. I'll never forget walking into the gym of one of the schools to see three black kids playing basketball. I asked a buddy there if they were seeing an increase in black enrollment at the school. He looked at the three kids and said, "Yeah, we've increased our black enrollment by three since the school opened."

 

Winger --
In a democracy, the right things always get done for the wrong reasons.
(Drew Pearson said that.)

 

East Tennessee tried to stay with the Union. Many wanted to form their own state, like West Virginia. Tennessee was the last state to secede, and the first to be allowed back, and most East Tennesseans didn't want to leave.

UT's Condrege Holloway was the first black quarterback in the SEC, and he is one of the most beloved athletes in state history.

I'm not saying there are no racists in East Tennessee. Just dropping some facts to defend my native land.

 

I'm not talking about the Civil War. I'm talking about now. I spent 10 months in eastern Tennessee. Not Knoxville. East of Knoxville. Like I could see North Carolina from where I was standing. And the level of racism there was amazing. But even more shocking was there were hardly any black people. Sure, in the bigger "city" there were times I'd go a week without seeing a black person. Having grown up in Charleston, S.C., which is a little more diverse than people would think, it was really kind of shocking.

I don't remember the name of the town, but isn't there a small town in eastern Tennessee that has a statute of an elephant and a racist story behind it?