Comments on: Was That Really Necessary, Mr. Councilman?

By: Ray O'Hara

Ray O'Hara — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 02:21:42 +0000

I went to HS with a girl whose father was a Hauptman in the German Army in WWII, would it be appropriate to place a swastika flag over his grave at Memorial Day? after all he was just a Landser doing his duty to his country.

By: Charles Bowery

Charles Bowery — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 14:02:34 +0000

Kevin,
The Confederate cemetery in Knoxville, TN is also in a predominately African-American section of that city. My mother-in-law is a UDC member and they honor the Decoration Day there with First National flags, not battle flags. I don’t believe they have encountered this problem. You are probably right- politics at work here more than contested memory.

By: Charles Lovejoy

Charles Lovejoy — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 19:34:15 +0000

Interesting story ? I don’t feel that taking flags or anything else of f of graves is a wise thing to do. As a Voudu practitioner I would never do anything to a grave that was in any way disrespectful regardless who the person was or how I felt about the person. This person may incur repercussions from the spirit world.

By: Eric A. Jacobson

Eric A. Jacobson — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 03:12:53 +0000

This clown really does take the cake. Nothing but a race baiter is my impression. I work at Carnton where 1,481 Confederate soldiers are buried and the local UDC puts the mini-flags up on the first Sunday of each June. They have a brief ceremony and remove the flags at the end of the day. I’ll tell you what, if a joker like this tried such a stunt there I’d be the first to haul him by the belt loop right out of the cemetery. And I’m a Yankee by birth, so no Southern bias here.

Eric

By: jawjablonde

jawjablonde — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 01:28:45 +0000

I attended the memorial in Columbus at Linwood Cemetery held by the UDC and was amazed at the classiness of the event. No mention was made of hatred or racism. Instead this was a day to honor these men above all as soldiers who were brave enough to leave their homes and families into inevitable defeat against the North.
I think what the councilman did was disgusting! You don’t see white councilman walking around yanking African flags from public places during Black History month! The point of this is…he was deeply offended by the site of the Confederate flag because he automatically associated it with hatred. I’m appalled he had the nerve to remove things from someone’s grave. If I was the family I would press charges… Maybe next year the family will consider using another style of the Confederate flags…perhaps the Bonnie Blue? Bottom line I see Dixie flying and I have a sense of pride swell inside me of being Southern…unique and rich in culture unmatched by any other.

By: Ken Noe

Ken Noe — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 21:19:54 +0000

Stuart, I will not serve if elected. Indeed, I will hide under the bed.

Kevin, my seminar discussed Bill Blair’s Cities of the Dead yesterday. Talk about politics, power, and contested space.

By: Richard Phillips

Richard Phillips — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 17:48:39 +0000

This is scary stuff. It will give some nut an excuse to do something crazy.

By: Stuart Sanders

Stuart Sanders — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 14:58:23 +0000

Ken Noe for city council.

By: Kevin Levin

Kevin Levin — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 12:36:05 +0000

Ken,

Are you suggesting that politicians use the memory of the Civil War to further their own interests?

By: Ken Noe

Ken Noe — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 12:31:44 +0000

Rev. Dowdell’s short tenure on the council has included two very close elections in his ward as well as a federal investigation involving a student loan check. Call me crazy, but there just might be some political calculation involved here.

By: Kevin Levin

Kevin Levin — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 12:04:43 +0000

Ken,

I was hoping you would chime in on this one. You are probably right that there is much more going on than what the paper reports. I should have made this more explicit in the post, but I agree that there is nothing glaringly problematic about the decoration of the graves.

By: Ken Noe

Ken Noe — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 12:01:03 +0000

Gee, I leave town for one day and this happens.

Auburn city politics being what they are, I suspect there’s more to this. One thing’s for sure, Pine Hill may be located near the center of town, but you can’t see it from the junior high or really much else unless you want to go down back streets. You have to make an effort to get there. Among the dead Confederates buried there are Gen. James Henry Lane and many Texans who died in in 1864 in Auburn’s “Texas Hospital.” No one’s asked me, but if they do, I’ll say that I think it’s perfectly appropriate to mark their graves, as has been done for a century. I also suspect that the ultimate result will be a lot more flags flying this weekend. The heritage folks in town are pretty moderate actually, but that’s not always so farther out in the counties. And here I am in Tuscaloosa of all places!