Category Archives: WTF?

Jan 26

um, excuse me?

Kathleen Parker writes two things in her column regarding Southern stereotype that made me give the stink eye.

1) In regards to the media looking for all the Southern clichés (racist, Confederate flag toting, truck driving, good ol’ boys) she writes: “If there were no race-baiters, would there still be racists?” (WTF? Is she serious?) She follows with, “South Carolina is not without racists, of course. Nor is any other state.” To which I say, No Shit. And doesn’t your follow up statement answer your asinine question?

2) After arguing that the locals in the area play up the cliché the media is looking for, by driving their trucks and flying their flags, she writes, “On any other given day, a South Carolinian would have to hire a detective to locate a Confederate flag–other than the one on the Statehouse grounds or flying over a Maurice’s Barbecue.” Oh yeah, other than the one flying on the Statehouse grounds. Outside of that one, you’d be hard pressed to find another. I find this idea patently absurd.

Jan 20

General Lee

So, I convinced my family to go with me to the local tavern that was celebrating General Lee’s birthday (see previous posts for details). We took the Confederate coupon I clipped from the newspaper to get 50% off baby back ribs (for my family’s benefit…I’m the only vegetarian). The atmosphere was friendly and the music was quite good; the Civil War historian/singer had a lovely voice, and it was entertaining to hear the audience sing along to Bonnie Blue Flag. The most interesting souvenirs of the evening took the form of fliers we picked up when entering and leaving the tavern. The handout we picked up on the way in was about Robert E. Lee, since it was his birthday, and in the center was the statement: “Black’s should honor General Robert E. Lee for a little known fact: Robert E. Lee opposed slavery.” (It continued with: “So, if he was against slavery, why did Lee fight?…answer: He opposed ‘Federal’ Dictatorship”). We ate our food, drank our beers/sodas, and left a little while later. Outside the tavern was an amiable woman selling Confederate t-shirts and hats. I saw she had literature available, so I took a flier; she quickly handed me other fliers, and gave some to my husband as well. She wished us a good evening and we wished her the same. In the car, we glanced at the fliers she gave us, and at the top of one was the statement, “Interracial marriage is against God’s law.” And on that note, we left.

 
Get this widget | Track details | eSnips Social DNA
Jan 18

Confederates and Patriots?

I was skimming today’s paper, reading that the White House had acknowledged it taped over backup computer tapes of executive office emails (how convenient), and reading about whether anyone will pay attention to our state’s Democratic primary when, just as I was ready to turn the page, I noticed a Confederate flag in an advertisement for a restaurant. When I looked closer, I saw it wasn’t just one, but three Confederate flags. The banner across the top said “Don’t Miss Robert E. Lee’s Birthday!!” And the text at the center of the ad appealed to “Confederates & Patriots” (“Northern by Birth, Southern by Choice??”…C’mon Down!!”). At this restaurant, someone will be singing Civil War era songs for Lee’s birthday. What does one make of this advertisement? I must have read it from top to bottom ten times in an effort to discern every Confederate reference. Judging from the extensive use of exclamation marks in the ad, I’m sure it is meant to be fun and celebratory (Woohoo! It’s Robert E. Lee’s Birthday!). However, the flag has been on my mind (again) because I recently watched a documentary on the history of the KKK, and the Confederate flag was ubiquitous throughout the film; Klansmen were carrying it or wearing it. So, seeing it in today’s paper as a design element for a local restaurant’s advertisement, I couldn’t help but give the stink eye.

I’m not easily offended, and I’m not exactly *offended* by the ad. I’m sure the restaurant is offering it up with benign intentions (at least I assume this is the case). However, I’m baffled that the flag can be used for two totally different purposes: one to imply racist ideals and one to sell food. I’m interested in understanding why it doesn’t (seem to) carry the same kind of punch that other race-related symbols carry. I guess its meaning has been diluted over the years. For those of you who know me and know of my interest in the symbolism behind the flag, I’m sure I’m starting to sound like a broken record. But, like I said before, I just find it baffling.

Jan 11

Keep your tyrannical, oppressive hugs to yourself, or "We’re All Fascists Now"

I’ve been reading an interview with Jonah Goldberg at Salon in which he argues that fascism is left-wing and not right-wing. The conversation between Goldberg and Alex Koppelman is very interesting and serious, but the following comment struck me as rather funny (I have a tendency to laugh at inappropriate times). Koppelman asks, “Payne also says that a ‘fundamental characteristic’ of fascism was ‘extreme insistence on what is now termed male chauvinism and the tendency to exaggerate the masculine principle in almost every aspect of activity.’ How does that fit in with contemporary liberalism, especially Hillary Clinton, who was at one point in the subtitle of your book?” Goldberg responds with:

“[T]he vision of the Huxleyian “Brave New World” future is one where everyone’s happy. No one’s being oppressed, people are walking around chewing hormonal gum, they’re having everything done for them, they’re being nannied almost into nonexistence. That’s the fascism in Hillary Clinton‘s vision. It’s not the Orwellian stamping on a human face thing, it’s hugs and kisses and taking care of boo-boos. It is the nanny state. That is a much more benign dystopia than “1984,” but for me at least, it’s still a dystopia. An unwanted hug is still as tyrannical or as oppressive — not as oppressive, but an unwanted hug is still oppressive if you can’t escape from it … [O]ne of the biggest distinctions between what I’m calling liberal fascism … and classical fascism, is that classical fascism was masculine and violently oppressive and today’s liberalism is feminine and not oppressive but smothering with kindness.”

Damn those tyrannical, oppressive hugs.

(cross-posted at Incertus)