Beefmalone, what in the world does anyone being liberal or conservative have to do with taking the symbol of slavery and segregation out of our state flag!?! That makes no sense and, in fact, tars conservatives unfairly. I know plenty of conservatives who don't want that flag up there. I think it's high time we stop mixing up conservatives and racists. They're not one and the same.

And you're absolutely wrong about what yankees will think of us if we do the right thing (and how could you know, being that as a state, we've so seldom done the right thing on race, poverty, education and so many other issues!?!).

I get as frustrated as any southerner about the prejudices out there against southerners from people overlooking problems in their own backyards. But we've published this newspaper for over a decade and have gotten immense, respectful national and international attention for efforts to do the right thing--from helping put an old Klansman in prison to calling out the costly boondoggle of voter ID for exactly what it is.

When Mississippi decides to courageously stop forward and own our past enough to stop celebrating the symbols of its worst parts, the whole world will notice. It will help our business climate, it will bring NCAA championships here, it will help drop our brain drain, and it will make younger Mississippians much prouder to call this place home. And here at home, it will make us stronger because divides will narrow. There's a whole lot to be said for white Mississippians simply acknowledging the pain that our past, and the public symbols of it many whites still demand, causes for black Mississippians. That alone will do wonders for our state.

And, no, a black power emblem does not belong in the flag anymore than the symbol of the Confederacy does. We can agree on that.

We have the power to show the world what Mississippi is capable of, and we must use it. I promise you, the world will notice.

If anyone reading this wants to help form a think-tank to figure out how to get the flag changed once and for all, shoot me an email: [email protected]

To paraphrase Medgar: If not us, who?

As The Clarion-Ledger scrambled today to catch up on the above story that Tyler Cleveland broke Tuesday night and then followed up several times yesterday, I guess they couldn't take time to edit today's story by Brian Eason. Look at this "sentence":

> Hearings were held this week on a
> 10-page complaint filed withHosemann’s
> office that alleges Watkins
> fraudulently diverted $587,000 in bond
> proceeds from the Metrocenter mall
> revitalization to help close a real
> estate deal in Meridian, where Watkins
> was building a police station to lease
> to the city.

Obviously, it's nonsensical run-on sentence that you have to read three times to understand.

Secondly, the first chapter of it includes not one, but two, passives (a writing no-no that The Clarion-Ledger specializes in). In addition to just sounding lazy, the majority of passives make it sound as if the writer has no idea who actually did what so they're covering up lazy reporting by leaving out the subject. For example, above: Who held the hearings? Who filed the complaint?

Beyond that, this writer needs to slow down and insert some periods. Or, at least do it on rewrite. And if he isn't willing to do that, it is his editor's job.

As for reporting, Eason might have bothered to attend the hearings of the last two days and quote what was actually said as Tyler managed to do.

Class dismissed. ;-)

I come from Neshoba County, Miss., First Lady. Y'all are stuck with me, girlfriend. Mississippi bred me and so many others who think exactly as I do about the flag.

And I'll "come with" any attitude I damn well please. People with attitudes like yours don't own Mississippi or the South, although the rest of us and the world have believed it for far too long. It's our home, too, and we're not going anywhere, nor is it up to you to try to silence us. You're barking up the wrong Magnolia tree over here.

swalker, we are not doing anything to Mr. Watkins. We don't know what the truth is. It's the secretary of state, and others, who are investigating him. It's our job to report as thoroughly as possible about that.

I can straight-faced tell you that I've never had or witnessed a single problem on West Capitol Street in years of going to the zoo, holding and sponsoring events there, and doing stories and distributing papers in that part of town. Not one.

I've certainly never had someone chase after my car as I drove in the area! This whole conversation is patently absurd.

I don't know if y'all remember when the goofball David Horowitz ran apologist ads for slavery in college newspaper around the nation. Much of the same uninformed rhetoric pops up in racist talking points about why slavery wasn't as bad as some of us make it out to be. Here's a great response to his talking points by students at UMass:

http://www.umass.edu/afroam/hor.html

No, Darryl, that's not actually what you did (whether you know it or not). You used a typical response that slavery apologists make: that other cultures do it, too. And you used it in response to a black woman who was stating the obvious point that slavery and racism are intricately wound in our state/nation. That's offensive, whether you know it or not. Call that "deep-diving all off the deep end" all you want. My response is that some of you have your heads so far down in the deep end of denying the existence/effects of racism that you will say anything regardless of how it makes you look.

Cheers, Js. We do agree now and again. ;-)