Ole Miss Students Vote To Remove Confederate Symbol From Campus

Ole Miss Students Vote To Remove Confederate Symbol From Campus

Student leaders at the University of Mississippi voted on Tuesday night to remove the Mississippi state flag, which contains the Confederate battle emblem, from campus. Once the resolution is signed, it will be up to school administrators to act on it.

Can't blame this on the government or Obama. This is students of Ole Miss making a decision to end a racist symbol.

The university in Oxford, Mississippi, has a long record of racial turmoil. In 1962, it was the site of a violent protest to prevent the enrollment of James Meredith, a black military veteran. But Ole Miss students said Tuesday's decision signals an important shift for the school and the state as a whole.

"Seeing an institution with such an unpleasant history take steps toward progress can have an immense impact on the decisions of lawmakers," said Tysianna Marino, vice president of the University of Mississippi NAACP, prior to the vote. "We have the ability to show the nation Mississippi is not stagnant. We are ready for progress."

It's nice to see that even in places like Mississippi (a state largely known for its racism, trust me I know I used to live there) are trying to put the racism of the past behind them.

At Ole Miss, the flag flies on campus near a monument honoring Confederate soldiers who died in the Civil War. This is the first time in "recent history" that a student government resolution has been introduced to remove it, said Danny Blanton, a spokesman for the University of Mississippi.

Cool, a first pitch home run. Again I MUST stress this is the students who voted for this. Not school officials. Not the government. And ESPECIALLY not Obama. He's not even mentioned in the article.

But top Mississippi lawmakers have continued to ignore national calls to change the design of the state flag.

Ah well, small steps. Can't expect the whole state to turn around at once. The glory here, is that the people who voted to take the flag down are the next leaders of that state. Can't stay in the 1950's forever.

Members of the Ku Klux Klan and Mississippi's League of the South, a pro-secessionist group, showed up after the rally, The Clarion-Ledger reported. Marino told HuffPost that members used "racial slurs and chants."

"They simply answered our questions with more questions, and shouted things like 'Black lives don't matter, whites are more supreme,' and 'This is exactly why we should have remained segregated,'" Marino said.

Because of COURSE they did.

Some conservative members of the Ole Miss student body oppose removing the state flag, including student senator Andrew Soper, 21, who started an online Change.org petition to keep it flying. It received "over 200 signatures in a couple hours ... and then I was made to take the petition down," he said.

Soper did not say who asked him to remove his petition, but there's now a competing Change.org petition calling for his impeachment.

"Politically correct positions should not be forced onto the students of the University of Mississippi by a few liberal leaning students and organizations, and media bias," Soper wrote on Facebook to HuffPost.

I'm pretty sure that students voting to do something isn't forcing any position on anyone. Soper is just mad that he is on the losing side here.

Flags...
My flag is invisible.
Can't ban that.

Yay! Mississippi is now free of racism.

a reply to: Krazysh0t

Democracy in action! That's cool. If they had voted to keep it, I would support that, too. I'm happy that they realize how it symbolizes (to many) ties to a racist past, though.

a reply to: Benevolent Heretic

Naturally. Though if they had voted to keep it, I likely wouldn't have found it news worthy since, coming from Mississippi, it would be more of the same.

Can anyone tell me how taking down a flag will stop people from being racist? Will gay people suddenly turn straight if you take down a symbol? Will I stop being a U.S. citizen if you take down the flag in front of my house? Does taking down a flag change someone's mind? No. They will continue to think the same way, do and say the same things. It's another PC move to make themselves feel better and like they've done something to cure a problem that has no quick fix. "We took down a flag! POOF! Problem solved!"
But, they're right. Let's take down all the little symbols that may hurt someone's feelings. Edit all the history books so no on can ever hear of it again. Let's bury history so deep, no one will ever know it happened.
Because if you hide it well enough, it never did happen, right?

a reply to: Krazysh0t

...whites are more supreme...

It's an easy choice when real world examples of more supreme beings show up

What is that - caucasians with extra sour cream?

Nice to see young people be a part of the change they wish to see - it never gets old

a reply to: DAVID64

The point isn't that it will END racism. The point is that it is a step in the right direction. How can one say they are above racism yet still support a racist symbol? It's hypocritical.

Racism isn't something that ends with one, simple solution and it is incorrect to try to argue as if any cure for racism will be. It takes many small steps to overcome racism. Those small steps accrue over generations, and eventually we've made progress. That's why it took the next up and coming generation to enact change. The older people are mostly still set in their ways.

a reply to: DAVID64
I couldnt agree more with your statement
Funny how most americans dont have a problem with the nazi scientists shipped into the usa after WW2 helping to make usa an economic and military powerhouse, allowing Monsanto to control our food and Big oil and the Petrodollar to allow Usa the high standard of living they lazily enjoy.American exceptionalism at its finest
But its all about the confederate flag!

originally posted by: DAVID64
Can anyone tell me how taking down a flag will stop people from being racist?

It doesn't. Taking down a symbol of racism doesn't keep people from being racist. It just doesn't represent this student body. It sends a statement to everyone, "Out with the old, in with the new".

It's another PC move to make themselves feel better and like they've done something to cure a problem that has no quick fix. "We took down a flag! POOF! Problem solved!"

I'm pretty sure they aren't under the assumption that this will change any minds or hearts, nor solved any problems. But at least, the student body isn't seen to be SUPPORTING it.

But, they're right. Let's take down all the little symbols that may hurt someone's feelings.

It's the same as if you bought your house, and there was a Nazi flag hanging out front, so you took it down and replaced it will the US flag. Would you be doing it because it "hurts someone's feelings"? No. It doesn't represent you. Would taking down the Nazi flag be a PC move?

Edit all the history books so no on can ever hear of it again. Let's bury history so deep, no one will ever know it happened.

Uhhhh, no. No history books are being changed. You're off in hyperbole land. In fact, we NEED to remember our past or we're doomed to repeat it. That doesn't mean we have to proudly display symbols of that dark past.

a reply to: Benevolent Heretic

Uhhhh, no. No history books are being changed. You're off in hyperbole land. In fact, we NEED to remember our past or we're doomed to repeat it. That doesn't mean we have to proudly display symbols of that dark past.

You do realize that was sarcasm?

a reply to: Krazysh0t

In all seriousness, should we be erasing all the scars of our past? Don't these symbols remind us of the choices made by our ancestors. This symbol was a marker showing where a battle for equality was fought. Both sides should be angered by the flag not the just ones that were oppressed.
Maybe a campus is the wrong spot but I should be somewhere.
I'm afraid someday all will just be forgotten and repeated as the old saying goes.

originally posted by: Bluntone22
In all seriousness, should we be erasing all the scars of our past?

What do you mean "erased"? It's not being erased! It's in museums and available to buy to anyone who wants one. MANY people still buy and display the flag on their property, in their vehicles. There's NO chance it will be erased or forgotten.

confederatemuseum.com...
www.coloradoscv.org...
www.latimes.com...

It's all over the place.

LoL the hyperbole and rage are amusing.


Good riddance.

a reply to: DAVID64

Edit all the history books so no on can ever hear of it again.

Not the same thing at all. Taking down a symbol doesn't mean we will pretend things never happened the way they did

But, speaking of editing history books - there are people actively trying to change the curriculum in schools so that the history of this country seems less slave-y :

How Texas is whitewashing Civil War history

THIS FALL, Texas schools will teach students that Moses played a bigger role in inspiring the Constitution than slavery did in starting the Civil War. The Lone Star State’s new social studies textbooks, deliberately written to play down slavery’s role in Southern history, do not threaten only Texans — they pose a danger to schoolchildren all over the country.

There's no reason it should remain as a standard if people decide that standard no longer represents their way of thinking today

It should always be remembered - and it will be

Notice the right hates this..being told what to they can or cannot fly, but when it comes women, Muslims or minorities...they don't mind telling them what they can or cannot do.

Hypocrisy at it's best...

a reply to: Bluntone22

How is it erasing anything? The flag still exists. It just isn't on display like we should be honoring it daily.

a reply to: lucifershiningone

There was a statement earlier in the thread (DAVID64) that made me want to say...

In another PC move, the GOP in Texas has defunded Planned Parenthood, to make themselves feel better and like they've done something to cure a problem that has no quick fix! - "We took down Planned Parenthood! POOF! No more abortion!"

To be clear, no one is being told what they can or cannot fly. ALL removal of the confederate flags have been voluntary or voted on by the people.

Can someone tell me what the big deal is? College students usually aren't the sharpest knives in the drawer, so what they do is small compared to the world itself. They can take down the flag, they can remove it from campus. Heck, they can eliminate all references from their curriculum for all I care.

I've never seen a more self-absorbed generation. Maybe they can do selfies of themselves taking the flag down.

a reply to: Krazysh0t

Students always make the best, informed decisions, don't they? So smart, they are.