Thanks for letting me know about the voting I have cast mine.
__________________ "Any people with contempt for their heritage have lost faith in themselves and no nation can long survive without pride in its traditions"
Winston Churchill
Sorry, Garrett:
I commend your efforts and cheer you on, but I have no right to vote in a matter that clearly belongs to Texans.
Ole
__________________ I never knew a man who wished to be himself a slave. Consider if you know any good thing that no man desires for himself. A. Lincoln
I voted a "no" on that one Garrett. It looks like 88% who've voted feel that way too.
Terry
__________________ "In this great struggle, this form of Government and every form of human right is endangered if our enemies succeed. There is more involved in this contest than is realized by every one." Abraham Lincoln - August 18, 1864 Speech to the 164th Ohio Regiment
What are the wishes of the students, faculty and members of UT?
If the majority of this group wishes the statues removed, why can they not be permitted to do so?
Those who support the SCV and Southern Heritage seem to be employing the same tactics they decry about such organizations such as the NAACP when they object to the Confederate Battle Flag flown on a flagpole near a Confederate monument in South Carolina, so near the SC State Capital.
In my opinion, that fight is over too, just as the fight over the State flag in Mississippi is over because a majority of the people there said we're keeping it and that's that. In both cases, a majority of the citizens of the state supported the results of that issue (i.e., the removal of the CBF from the top of the SC State House and the keeping of the current state flag in MS.)
We have been directed to a web site where every Tom, Dick and SCV supporter from outside Texas and UT can voice his well-defined support for Confederate heritage and symbols, but what do the people there at UT want?
Again, it simply appears that a vocal minority is just trying to have its way over an issue it considers important and will not hesitate to run roughshod over anyone who disagrees. Sometimes I think anyone who belongs to an organization with capitol letters to represent them (SCV, NAACP, etc.) belong to organizations who use the same tactics to inflict the alphabet upon us (i.e. PC comes to mind).
To me, it boils down to one thing. What do the students and faculty of UT want to do. Period. It is they who should decide, without all the outside agitation and distraction. In effect, the SCV seems to be saying to the students and UT, you're not smart enough, infomed enough, nor Southern enough to voice your opinions.
Unionblue
__________________ "The American people and the Government at Washington may refuse to recognize it for a time but the inexorable logic of events will force it upon them in the end; that the war now being waged in this land is a war for and against slavery." Frederick Douglass
"Loyalty to our ancestors does not include loyalty to their mistakes." George Santayana
If the majority of this group wishes the statues removed, why can they not be permitted to do so?
We have been directed to a web site where every Tom, Dick and SCV supporter from outside Texas and UT can voice his well-defined support for Confederate heritage and symbols, but what do the people there at UT want?
Neil, you are at the very least blessed with nobility. To your first question above, I had the following meager thought. Any state supported university, including South Carolina, Mississippi, Middle Tennessee State (home of the Blue Raiders) and Wisconsin and Montana are projects of the people, many generations prior to the students and crazy faculty who may reside there at the present. It's a public thing. The minds, for instance, who decided to place the name of N.B. Forrest on an ROTC buiding at MTSU, or place these statues on the Texas campus, did so for reasons that the students may not have stopped to consider nor taken time to comprehend. It has been obvious that our MTSU folks haven't given much effort to learn Forrest's history, though much of that has been exposed to the public through the last discussion process (still ongoing, as hopefully the Texas issue will. One of Forrest's 1862 raids actually removed the city of Murfreesboro from Union control. Hence he is honored as a war hero, not for his occupation of farmer/railroad owner/slave dealer.) The larger community (supporters, alumni and even football players) at the Texas school should have an interest and a voice. Hopefully all will be heard. A snap decision from a student group might not be the best choice. I'm out of that area as you alluded to earlier. My dog probably would cast his vote on Jeff Davis' foot, given the opportunity. As for me, I'm not offended by his presence. Are you now advocating 'states rights'??
__________________ Ancestors in US Army: 13th TN Cav; 10th TN Cav; 3rd NC Inf
Ancestors in CSA Army: 48th VA; 63rd VA, 5th NC Cav; 37th NC
Wife and Grandson's CSA: 15th AL, 51st GA, 41st TN; 36th TN; GA Mil 1197 Dist
Last edited by larry_cockerham; 01-13-2007 at 10:40 AM.
No, I am standing by my previous convictions, the majority rules.
Again, the students attend the UT campus, they live there, study there, and hopefully learn there. The debate over the statues is nothing but helpful.
Let them decide and join the rest of us out here in the real world.
Sincerely,
Unionblue
__________________ "The American people and the Government at Washington may refuse to recognize it for a time but the inexorable logic of events will force it upon them in the end; that the war now being waged in this land is a war for and against slavery." Frederick Douglass
"Loyalty to our ancestors does not include loyalty to their mistakes." George Santayana
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