Jackson Free Press

Also see JFP cover story: Guess Who's Coming to Jackson, June 24, 2009

State Sen. Lydia Chassaniol's decision to speak at the annual conference of the white supremacist Council of Conservative Citizens last week drew disapproval from her constituents, as well as a defense from her state party chairman. As reported first by the Southern Poverty Law Center's Hatewatch blog, Chassaniol, R-Winona, spoke to the racist, anti-Semitic group about "Cultural Heritage in Mississippi."

Alonzo Lewis, a black minister from Coila, is trying to organize a chapter of the NAACP in Carroll County, which is located in Chassaniol's district.

"I wouldn't associate myself with any hate group," Lewis said. "For someone to do that sends a message to me that they somewhat or totally agree with their agenda."

For Chassaniol, that would mean agreeing with the CofCC's opposition to interracial marriage and "race-mixing" and the claim that black people are "genetically inferior." Columnists in the CofCC's newsletter have hyperventilated that non-white immigration to the U.S. was transforming the country into a "slimy brown mass of glop."

In an e-mail response to Heidi Beirich of the SPLC, Chassaniol described her speech as promotion for the state of Mississippi.

"As chair of the tourism committee in the Mississippi Senate, I felt it was appropriate to invite the members of a national organization to visit our state's tourist attractions," Chassaniol wrote. "I do not consider myself racist, have never before been accused of such, and believe that a person's membership in any organization is a private matter."

Lewis said that he was not surprised, however, to hear that Chassaniol had direct ties to a racist organization. "The politics in Carroll County are such that they want everything to remain just like it was," Lewis said.

"They don't want to move forward. If Senator Chassaniol would align herself with those groups, then, of course, she would never get my vote. I would love to hear the tape. I would love to hear what she had to say."

Heidi Beirich of the SPLC called it "amazing" that a state senator even spoke to the group. In 1998, then-chairman of the Republican National Committee Jim Nicholson openly condemned the group's racist ideology.

"It's not as though I'm speaking from some kind of left-wing radical perspective calling the group racist; that's the position of the Republican Party as well," Beirich said. "I'm sure they represent some votes. I hate to think that a modern politician would want to troll for votes there."

The senator added in the e-mail that she has spoken at the all-black Greenwood Voter's League, which some could consider racist for lacking white members: "I do not abide by labels such as this, and I hope you will forgive me for taking exception to the insinuation that I am racist, because I choose to belong to a conservative organization. Conservative is a term which also applies to fiscal matters."

Mississippi Republican Party Chairman Brad White admitted that he would not have attended. "I wouldn't have went," White said. "Seeing the turmoil that it's caused and some of the bad light that it's put on her—I think unjustly and unfortunately—I wish that circumstances would have been different."

Whatever Chassaniol's intentions, White defended her against charges of racism: "I happen to know Lydia Chassianiol personally. They would never convince me that Lydia is racist or anything like that."

White stopped short of criticizing her judgment, too. "I'm not going to get in the business of critiquing every little trip that our elected officials take," he said.

Chassaniol did not return phone calls.

Previous Commentsshow

Chassaniol doesn't appear to answer emails all that often, either. And lord, did White actually just say "every little trip"? He's 34. He wasn't even -born- yet when they wrote the Southern Manifesto. Why isn't he following Jim Nicholson's lead, following Trent Lott's lead, and condemning this group? This sounds like a parody of what the Mississippi Republican Party might do. Never in a million years... I guess they must really want those votes.

Tom Head

Jul 8 2009

Tom, you are right. But I don't think it's a parody, it is an operating manifesto. But I've gotten into enough trouble this afternoon for saying so.

Lori Kincses

Jul 8 2009

I think that if B. White is correct in saying that Chassaniol isn't a racist, he should reach out to her and tell her to dissociate herself from a group that spews pseudo-science and thinly veiled (if you can call that writing veiled at all) bigotry in the name of hate. Free expression taken into account, Sen. Chassaniol's association with the CofCC is a disgrace and humiliation to Mississippi and Mississippians everywhere should be embarrassed of her decision to speak for this group.

byewren

Jul 8 2009

Lori, Brad White was just given an opportunity, on a silver platter, to prove you wrong...and he didn't take it. I don't know if you're right but you're definitely not wrong.

Tom Head

Jul 8 2009

Tom, to be picky a lot of us were not born when that was written. :) As for his comment... Heck, I'm clueless. But if he's running the MS Republican Party at 34, I clearly need to join and take it from his clueless self. Anyone back me?

Ironghost

Jul 8 2009

"Mississippi Republican Party Chairman Brad White admitted that he would not have attended. “I wouldn't have went,” White said. “Seeing the turmoil that it's caused and some of the bad light that it's put on her–I think unjustly and unfortunately–I wish that circumstances would have been different.”" Exactly. The problem isn't that she exuberantly attended a white supremacist conference, it's that her attendance caused "turmoil" and "bad light".

Brent Cox

Jul 8 2009

Brent: There in lies how this sort of thing is looked at. Reminds me of when Reagan said the Civil and Voting Rights Acts were embarrassing to the South. Not the deeds that lead up to needing them, but that Acts were an embarrassment. Why did'nt the Chairman say that groups like this the problem instead of people's responses to groups like this and people that support them?

Goldenae

Jul 8 2009

Goldenae, don't forget Reagan's campaign speech at the Neshoba County Fair in 1980. It went over well with the murderers of Schwerner, Chaney and Goodman. It's that kind of thinking that has made (I gotten flack for this today but I'm going to say it anyway)the GOP a proxy for the KKK. And yes I KNOW that all Republicans aren't racists, but all racists I have personal experience with vote Republican.

Lori Kincses

Jul 8 2009

"...They would never convince me that Lydia is racist or anything like that.” White said that as if any of us believe he would actually say he thought someone was a racist. What do you think he would say if someone were to ask him to name the people he thought or knew to be racist in the Republican Party? Anyone who does what the Senator did knows how it will be perceived and feels the benefit outweighs the risk.

Goldenae

Jul 8 2009

That reminds me of how when asked whether he had any regrets about his presidency, Bush said it had been a mistake to fly over the Katrina disaster in Air Force One, because it made him look out of touch. Not that he had completely dropped the ball on Katrina. Not that he shouldn't have put Brownie in charge of FEMA. But how he f**ked up the public relations of it. To return to topic, what does it mean when White says he wishes "the circumstances would have been different." As if this was an unfortunate accident that happened. Double speak and hog wash.

Brian C Johnson

Jul 8 2009

Lori: The Republican Party made a conscious decision to go after disgruntled whites after the Voter and Civil Rights Acts passed. The parties basically switched indentities over a long period of time after various incidents. Republicans are willingly lying to themselves when they can not see all the stuff that goes on right in their faces. Look at the folks that were holding up monkeys and signs and the McCain/Palin rallies the racist buttons sold at Republican conventions, etc. Even so called members of the Religious Right peddling Obama Waffles that had him on the cover look like an Aunt Jemima caricature. Instance after instance they claim to be unaware of until it is pointed out to them. There are racist in both parties, but what I will say about the Democratic Party is that its voters generally do not reward candidates that are overtly racist. Republican candidates routinely go racial when things are tight and it often pays off, ask Harold Ford, TN.

Goldenae

Jul 8 2009

As Edmund Burke said: "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." Not speaking out against evil is giving it one's tacit approval. If Chassaniol was truly ignorant of the CofCC's guiding principals, she doesn't win any points by not investigating who the group is before accepting their invitation to be their keynote speaker. One trip to their Web site will tell you everything you need to know about who they are. As a public official, her associations are not private, regardless of her misguided claims to the contrary. If she's actually a member ... well, y'all are smart enough to draw your own conclusions, despite her protestations. Mississippians should be outraged. Brad White hasn't left himself in a much better position, IMHO. He could have denounced the CofCC, but he didn't. He could have feigned surprise that Chassaniol spoke at their conference, but he didn't. He didn't even say he wouldn't associate with the group because they're racists, he's just sorry she got caught and wouldn't put himself in the same situation. In hindsight, that makes him *sound* smarter than Chassaniol, anyway, despite his grammar. As to whether he agrees with the CofCC, he didn't really say, did he.

Ronni_Mott

Jul 8 2009

Thank you Goldenae, that's my point. A fellow archivist was processing a collection that had a copy of an Aug., 1964 copy of the New Republic that had as its cover story a report on the GOP nomination of Goldwater. The reporter mentioned that every time a civil rights agenda was brought up at the RNC it was shouted down. The party of Lincoln became the party of Nixon, Reagan, Bush, et al in that moment. Funny how something I read offhandedly this morning became relevant as the day wore on.

Lori Kincses

Jul 8 2009

The Mississippi CofCC's tagline on their Web site is: "Standing Up For The White Middle Class In The Republic Of Mississippi." Great for tourism, I tell you what.

DonnaLadd

Jul 8 2009

Cool, a toy drive for white kids. Maybe the senator can help go door to (white) door: Upper East Mississippi = Recruiting drives through the month. / Upper East Mississippi Toy Drive for Caucasian children who are living in extreme poverty in Upper East Mississippi. Toy donations are encouraged. Contact Brian Pace at P.O. Box 1479 Booneville, MS 38829 or xxxxxxxx to make a toy donations to help our young people out in these times.

DonnaLadd

Jul 8 2009

And in the Six Degrees of Lydia Chassaniol department, Brian Pace was the guy who took the photo at the CCC convention (for their execrable web site) that I linked in the other thread.

Tom Head

Jul 9 2009

An Open Letter to Brad White, Chairman of the Mississippi Republican Party Posted on July 9, 2009, 6:53 am, by Tom Head. Dear Chairman White: The problem posed by Sen. Lydia Chassaniol's enthusiastic participation in the recent annual conference of the Council of Conservative Citizens calls attention to a problem that is much bigger, and much more dangerous, than one state senator. Earlier today, three experienced activists asked me why I was singling out Sen. Chassaniol when so many white legislators, of both parties, sympathize with the Council's ideology. One of my mentors, to whom I dedicated my recent book, went so far as to say that nobody who had ever spent time working at the Capitol could be truly surprised by what this one senator did. These activists have a point. Even if Sen. Chassaniol were to apologize and resign her committee chairmanship in shame right now, this morning, it would not solve the more fundamental problem of racism in Mississippi politics. It is real, it is thriving, and it is fundamental to voting patterns in our state. But it's also quiet. And I've noticed something about quiet movements, Chairman White: they wither on the wine. I am not as experienced as some activists, but I have seen how weak a movement can be when it's silent and marginalized from mainstream politics, and I have seen how powerful a movement can suddenly become when people raise their voices and get some support from mainstream politicians. The Council of Conservative Citizens, created from the pathetic ashes of the old White Citizen's Council, used to be a force in Mississippi politics. The annual Blackhawk event, held in Sen. Chassaniol's own Carroll County, was emceed by the CCC's infamous Bill Lord and raised money for seg academies in the area. For a long time, gubernatorial candidates of both parties spoke there and had to speak there. But something happened to the Council: ten years ago, Senator Trent Lott called it “racist and white supremacist” and RNC Chair Jim Nicholson asked all Republican politicians to disassociate themselves from it. Since then, it has dwindled and lost influence, slowly drifting toward political oblivion. It doesn't deserve a second act. Regardless of what you say or don't say to Sen. Chassaniol, the Council deserves the condemnation of the Mississippi Republican Party. More importantly, the Mississippi Republican Party deserves to stand for something better than secondhand Dixiecrat frustration. If you allow the Mississippi Republican Party to come across as the organization that segregationists flee to when the Democrats don't want them anymore, you are only undoing the hard work that so many Republicans, white and black, have put into making the Republican Party an institution that bona fide conservative Mississippians of all races can support. The danger posed by Sen. Chassaniol's participation in the Council's national conference is that it might inspire other public officials to openly support the CCC. This is not in the best interests of either party, and it is not in the best interests of our state. Please make a public statement against the Council and its execrable agenda, and ask that Republican candidates and elected officials avoid the white separatist movement like the plague that all Mississippians of good will know it to be. Thank you for your time. Respectfully, Tom Head Jackson, MS

Tom Head

Jul 9 2009

Very well written, Tom. Hopefully, if will get the chairman's attention.

golden eagle

Jul 9 2009

Absolutely disgraceful. She should be ashamed of herself.

deepsouthfugee

Jul 9 2009

I have been following this story since JFP covered it in the June 25th issue. (Excellent investigative reporting and graphics yet again.) That the CofCC has continued to be a highly respected and sought-after organization in Mississippi is a chilling reminder of how much has not changed in Mississippi at all. Many have tried in vain to get others to see this, and now here it is, once again, out in the open. Thank you, Tom Head, for your excellent contributions to the Free Press dialogue and this exceptional open letter to the GOP chair. I am gratified to see that others are as infuriated with this latest development as I am. Yes, Ronni M (and Edmund Burke), you are correct: All that is needed for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing. We must keep the call for the denunciation of this group and its removal from our state loud and clear. To return to the state's painful and violent history is not an honorable way to celebrate that history.

duBois03

Jul 9 2009

If Sen. Lydia Chassaniol had addressed an NAACP event, you would have praised her to the highest heavens. But since she addressed the CofCC, she “must” be driven out of office, out of town and silenced. We must destroy Lydia by using our most lethal weapon, a weapon feared by whites all over the world, the club we have used to silence all our detractors - we must label her a “racist” – and then tell the whole world so everyone will all get on board, and know Lydia is “one of those.” The NAACP works for the advancement of “colored” people, and unabashedly says so. Yet, you have nothing but praise for the NAACP. But when whites form an organization for the advancement of white people, you scream “racist, racist, white supremacist.” So let's see: Working for the advancement of “colored” people – GOOD. Working for the advancement of “white” people – BAD / RACIST. Having a “Black Caucus” – GOOD. Forming a “White Caucus” = BAD / RACIST. Having a “Miss Black USA” – GOOD. Forming a “Miss White USA” – BAD / RACIST. The strategic use of labeling white people “racist” has effectively brow-beaten white people into keeping their mouths shut – at least in public. But don't kid yourselves, millions of white Americans sit around their kitchen tables and talk about hypocritical black journalists, black politicians, black pastors and black leaders – for constantly, incessantly whining and complaining about “white injustice, white privilege, etc.” – and using defamation and character assassination to destroy the reputations of decent white people – for doing nothing more than telling the truth about the double standard embraced and propagated by black people in America. Yes, you've managed to silence white America, but the un-intended consequence has been to drive white America's contempt for black America deeper into their psyche. Blacks will get decent treatment from white Americans – ONLY AFTER forsaking the double standards. Yes, it has gotten you some temporary relief for some real in-justices your forefathers' suffered, but it was only a quick fix. It won't last much longer.

IvanThor

Jul 10 2009

So IvanThor, exactly when was the last time white men were subjected to an widespread, institutionalized discrimination. I'll tell you the difference between the NAACP and white racist groups like the CCofC. The NAACP was formed for the purpose of opposing systemic discrimination against African Americans. And the CCofC, it was formed as a reaction to the successes of minorities and women in dismantling systemic discrimination. Now if you want to debate at what point in time it will appropriate to say that the NAACP has outlived its purpose, then that my be a legitimate debate. But to equate the CCofC with the NAACP is blatant sophistry.

pigbodine

Jul 10 2009

It's not only sophistry–it's patently absurd to say the NAACP is the "opposite" of the CofCC and other white-supremecist groups. Show me, Mr. Thor, where the NAACP is against "race-mixing." (It's remarkable anyone tries to use that phrase in the 21st century!) White America isn't silenced. I am white, and I am perfectly capable of speaking up in this country. That's what makes it great. And thank the good Lord that non-whites are gaining more and more rights all the time. Mississippi is not the same state she was in the 1960s. America is not the same nation it was. We are growing up, thanks to people of all races rejecting nonsensical scare tactics and standing, shoulder to shoulder, against hate, and rejecting all the silliness about "race-mixing." Yawn.

DonnaLadd

Jul 10 2009

IvanThor, The NAACP does not discriminate. They have white members. Go to their website and read their mission statement. The organization is for the advancement of "ALL" people. The same cannot be said for CCofC.

Lori Kincses

Jul 10 2009

The first vice-president of the NAACP was a white man. I am also a white man (well, mostly white), and a proud member of the Jackson unit and the Mississippi conference. "Yes, you've managed to silence white America"? No, sweetheart. Silencing is what happens when you have something to say and people make you stop saying it. What people are doing for the most part vis-a-vis the white nationalist movement is ignoring it, and rightly so. It doesn't have anything of relevance to say in 2009. I'd say more, but I have a policy against arguing race with people who post using the names of Norse gods. Oh, and if you want to start up a Miss White America pageant, be my guest. Considering the current state of white separatism, though, the pickings might be a little slim. I'm just saying: if the swimsuit competition is won by an 85-year-old man, don't blame the NAACP.

Tom Head

Jul 10 2009

I'd say more, but I have a policy against arguing race with people who post using the names of Norse gods. Statement of the week. Of course, this one isn't bad, either: I'm just saying: if the swimsuit competition is won by an 85-year-old man, don't blame the NAACP.

DonnaLadd

Jul 10 2009

I at least respect IvanThor for speaking up, but he represented a very common issue we have when talking about race. A lot of white people do not really understand why things like the NCAAP, Black History Month, etc. came about. They have completely blocked out of their minds that blacks,other minorities and women were systematically excluded from participating in various aspects of society. They do not seem to be able to make the connection between us just getting the first African American President, only having 5-6 African American elected Senators to discriminatory and racist beliefs. How clear it would be to people if they could name every white person in their American History book like I could name all of the Blacks in mine when I was in school. I think it would be very clear to whites if they rarely saw themselves positively represented on television, movies, etc. Blacks think nothing of it to pick up a greeting card with white faces and give it to a family member, but don't you think a lot of whites would avoid giving a relative a card that had black people on it? Whites really do not get the concept that just about everything in society was fashioned after them, so minorities have to establish groups, organizations, etc., to represent their ideas, culture, etc. Honestly, it was an intentional act to paint things from a "European" slant. For example, it really is not important what color He is/was, but it would be hard to say that Jesus looks like the depiction that we often see hanging on the wall. People do that sort of thing to boost themselves and slight the truth. If things had been done correctly, there never would have been a need to create the NAACP or have Black Caucuses, etc.

Goldenae

Jul 10 2009

Ivan, this issue of the Miss Black America pageant and the NAACP keeps coming up. People like you support the historic practice of racial exclusion in the Miss Mississippi pageant, the Miss America pageant, Little League, the Lions, Rotarian's, Chambers of Commerce, and all other academic, business, and civic organizations which denied equal access to blacks in this country. The NAACP, by the way, was established by blacks and whites for the advancement of ALL people who were being excluded on the basis of skin color. In America, if you were not 'white', you were identified as 'colored'. If your skin was dark and you didn't know to identify yourself as 'white', you were classified as 'colored' even if you were Spanish or Italian or Mexican. Your idea that the word "racist" is "a weapon feared by whites all over the world" is absurd. It hasn't scared you, has it? Maybe if you stopped trying so hard, you would be able to see that people are good and life is best lived in respect for each other, not in the domination of one over another. Lydia Chassaniol has the constitutional right to speak when and wherever she chooses. But she does not have the right to speak as an elected official to a separatist group designed to oppress and abuse others. As one who claims to represent the people of Mississippi, she is a disgrace and should be voted out of office.

duBois03

Jul 10 2009

Good point, Goldenae. You're right: White people are taught things from a certain privileged frame, and don't even know how asinine it is to equate the NAACP with white supremacists. I've even seen it done with the Klan! (The Clarion-Ledger, for instance, has used a quote from someone with the NAACP to "balance" a quote by someone in the Klan more than once. Same thing.) Go find yourself a black supremacist group that includes preventing "race-mixing" as one of their "principles," and then we can talk. Otherwise, it's nonsensical.

DonnaLadd

Jul 10 2009

It's also hilarious that the CofCC types still think it will fly to try to brand as "liberal" anyone who doesn't agree with their "principles." Whatcha think of that, Ironghost, WMartin, Bubba? Of course, that's the very same language of the 1960s when people who supported integration and the end of Jim Crow were all branded as "liberals" and "communists." News flash: White folks bought that sh!t better then than now. At least better than *most* of us do now. That's why the senator really ought to catch up with the times and apologize for this mess she has created. Because even here in Mississippi, white people are changing and are willing to speak up about it. And they're not all just "liberals."

DonnaLadd

Jul 10 2009

Running a "NAAWP" would be like redirecting the world food budget from nations where starvation is a widespread problem to the United States, starting with the states that have the highest obesity rate. Injustice already disproportionately benefits whites over members of other ethnic groups, and men over women, and straights over gays, so it's kind of perverse to start groups dedicated to giving whites, males, and heterosexuals an even bigger piece of the pie than they already have. This is why I consider these organizations hate groups... Because the only possible rationale that would justify looking a median black life expectancy that is ten years younger than the median white life expectancy and going "let's make the discrepancy bigger," or looking at a median income that is $19,000/year lower and going "let's make the discrepancy bigger," or looking at the fact that there's only one black member of the U.S. Senate and going "we're too easy on black politicians," or looking at the fact that only four of the Fortune 500 CEOs are black and going "we promote too many black employees." There's a perversity to it, a sadism to it, a hint of Orwell's line about a boot grinding on a human face forever. It's evil incarnate. It is, in the original Hebrew meaning of the word, satanic. Now, celebrating specific majority-white cultures is another matter entirely. I don't see anybody getting upset about the fact that we have CelticFest, for example; I'll probably go this year myself, and I enjoy Fenian's as much as the next guy. But these celebrations don't have any sort of twisted, morally depraved goal like the white nationalist movement does, the goal of increasing human suffering and injustice. And any politician who would willingly make common cause with that movement deserves to be demonized, because the politician is behaving in a demonic way; these politicians deserve to be pushed out of the political matrix, because they're behaving in a way that would push others out of the political matrix. Protesting this sort of behavior is, at its core, an act of political self-defense. This is the kindest we can afford to be. To be kinder towards them would be an act of profound cruelty towards others, and ultimately towards ourselves. I wish people who were so dedicated to celebrating old white European culture would celebrate the good parts of it--the values of, say, St. Francis of Assisi, who I'm sure would have eagerly joined the NAACP.

Tom Head

Jul 10 2009

You're making an excellent point about CelticFest, Tom. I heard a certain city leader once, whom we know and love on certain days, say once that you shouldn't have an African American museum if you didn't have a white museum. What's wrong with that construction? I pointed out to him that we have a Celtic Festival -- doh -- and he's not upset about that one. The problem with celebrating "white"=ness of course, is that the idea of a "white race" came about in the first place as bigotry and racism. In other words, we wouldn't even be talking about whiteness and blackness if stupid-ass white supremacists didn't try to ram down the world's throats that people with our skin color are, somehow, superior to darker people. These are false constructions, and they came from white folks. Trying to blame the whole thing on the people who have long been held down, murdered, harassed, discriminated against and blamed for everything due to their skin color (and the fact that they didn't want to stay slaves to white folks, forever) is completely stupid. And until white society stops blaming non-white society for everything, and stereotyping them, we will continue to have to talk about race. And, yes, that is an act of self-defense for our society. We have to talk about it until we don't have to anymore. A good sign of that will be when white people start living in the whole city again alongside people of color. In a world where many white people in Jackson don't know what, or where, Woodlea is, the work is far from done. The good news is that in an Obama world, we are getting closer. But buckle your seatbelts, because diehard racists aren't going to give up easily.

DonnaLadd

Jul 10 2009

The CofCC can label me a "liberal" if they want, personally I don't give a damn what they think. Donna, your right about it racists not giving up the SPLC says hate groups have increased 50% in the last 8 years. I have read elsewhere their numbers have been increasing steadily since the election. It's gonna get worse before it gets better. Since I am not orginially from around here, What and where is Woodlea? : )

BubbaT

Jul 10 2009

It's a very wealthy black neighborhood in North Jackson. ;-) It's so sad how many white people will not drive into a neighborhood they perceive as "black" regardless of how safe or wealthy it actually is. People, get out and get to know your city! It's a big part of the solution.

DonnaLadd

Jul 10 2009

And Bubba, you're right, if ever an issue *should* transcend partisan politics or ideology, it's blatant bigotry. But there are too many politicians still trying to get the racist vote while pretending not to be racist. Of course, courting the racist vote *is* being racist. For Republicans, it goes back to the Goldwater switcheroo in the 1960s, then the southern strategy of Nixon, Reagan, Barbour, Atwater et al. It is time that even Mississippi Republicans speak out loud and clear against pandering for the racist vote. Their refusal to expel bigots and bigotry from their party speaks loud and clear. Ken Muhlman (sp?) may have apologized to the NAACP on behalf of national Republicans, but how will that play out in state Republican Parties (like ours, where Brad White seems more worried about how outing Chassaniol makes her look rather than how she makes their party look). And by the way, all, don't buy the "Robert Byrd was a Klansman" excuse. Robert Byrd also repudiated it and apologized for it. Don't let the fools leave out *that* part of the equation. Not to mention, back then, the Democrats were the racist party. It wasn't until national Dems started to repudiate the racism that the Dixiecrats fled to the Republican Party (by invitation, thanks to Goldwater, et al). Now, as national Republicans start to repudiate their embrace of racists since the 1960s, and the whole thing plays out once again, it remains to be seen what the Party-of-Strom in the South will do now. The ball's in their court. Are they with the CofCC, or are they with the rest of us? We know Barbour won't stand up to his buddies, but what about younger Republicans? Do they have the courage to stand up and do the right thing? Brad White's comments weren't a good sign, but surely there are others who know that bigotry transcends partisan politics. Right?

DonnaLadd

Jul 10 2009

I at least respect IvanThor for speaking up, but he represented a very common issue we have when talking about race. ~ Goldenae I disagree and agree with this sentence. I don't respect this "man" for speaking up. It's better to keep silent and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt. I agree that he represents a common mind set among supposedly non-racist whites. I used to hear this very same stuff from my Grand Dad. I don't know if they still show the commercials because I rarely watch TV, but I remember watching sports with my Papaw and he would go off into basically the same tirade when a United Negro College Fund commercial would come on. The exchange would go something like this: Grand Dad: OMG! Look at that Crap! ... Blah Blah Blah UNCF Blah Blah Blah NAACP Blah Blah Blah White college fund would be racist, etc... (basically the same, almost verbatim argument as Hitl..err IvanThor made) Me: But Papaw there are plenty of scholarships for white p... SMACK!!! My Grand Paw didn't think he was a racist either. Ahhh the good old days. IvanThor is really taking me back.

WMartin

Jul 10 2009

Yeah, WMartin, if there is anything white Mississippians tend to have in common, it's the grandfathers and uncles (and grandmothers and aunts) who tried to teach us to hate. I had it better than many, but it was still horrifying. And because we live among people who do not have the courage to take a racist symbol out of the state flag, or speak up against the damn CofCC, we are branded as racists because we're white Mississippians, no matter what we do. And it doesn't help that the national media don't want to tell the stories about our efforts to change things. It doesn't fit the script. We're damned if we do and damned if we do. But we still must do. There are too many good, loving people in this state to allow this sh!t to go unanswered. That's the old way, our parents or our grandparents' way. We can do better. And we can prove the world wrong as we do it. I sure hope more white Republicans such as yourself will join us.

DonnaLadd

Jul 10 2009

How about this (y'all feel free to copy and repaste/edit): "I am a white Mississippian, and Sen. Lydia Chassaniol does not speak for me. She should apologize and step down." - Donna Ladd, independent voter

DonnaLadd

Jul 10 2009

I can go along with that. "I am a white Mississippian, and Sen. Lydia Chassaniol does not speak for me. She should apologize and step down immediately." -Wayne Martin, not a Republican :-P

WMartin

Jul 10 2009

Sorry, Wayne, I thought you were a Republican. People assume I'm a Democrat, so I know how it feels. Mea culpa.

DonnaLadd

Jul 10 2009

I don't think IG has seen your question yet. I can, however, say this: I am married to a white male non-liberal, and Chassaniol does not speak for either of us. :)

Lady Havoc

Jul 10 2009

Tell it, Lady. (And *we* know she doesn't!)

DonnaLadd

Jul 10 2009

I am a bi-racial Mississippian and Lydia Chassaniol does not speak for any part of my family tree. She should apologize and step down immediately. Voting Democrat, leaning Independent.

duBois03

Jul 10 2009

Ladd: I will find the quote, but a guy that was fundamental in implementing the "Southern Strategy" admitted exactly what you said. When conservatives saw that using the "N" word and other racial words were not as palatable to the public, they started expressing themselves in abstract terms. They used words like "busing", "integration", etc. I personally think the present practice of calling Obama, "messiah" is a way of saying he is an uppitidy @##@$. They have surely highjacked the term "liberal" to be a catch-all for anything negative. On a side note, I asked Angela McGlowan today on the radio if Black conservatives want to attract more minorities to the Republican Party, why do they seem afraid to address all of the racially inflammatory talk that comes from conservative talk. Her response was something about the "liberal media". Proving my point that they willfully bury their heads in the sand when it comes to overt racism.

Goldenae

Jul 10 2009

Lord, Goldenae. How vacant could her answer be? Blaming the "liberal media" just ain't what it used to be. What-ever. Don't forget: The vaunted Reagan was a genuis at southern strategy code words (coached, in part, by a younger Haley Barbour). One of the worst ever: "welfare queens" Fast forward to Barbour's first governor's campaign here, and the comment about whorehouses and piano benches in regard to Headstart. Barbour is so stuck in the past that it's not funny. It would be both extremely embarrassing and mighty entertaining to see him run for president. When I first moved back to Mississippi, I was flummoxed to learn from my white landlady and a white guy who lived downstairs from my office-apartment (which became JFP office at first) that many white people use the word "Democrats" as code for "black people." Folks, *this* is bigotry. And moronic, to boot.

DonnaLadd

Jul 10 2009

[quote]It's also hilarious that the CofCC types still think it will fly to try to brand as "liberal" anyone who doesn't agree with their "principles."[/quote] He'd better not try and brand me anything. One thing that irritates me more than anything anyone assuming that since I'm white, Male, from Mississippi and lean conservative I must therefore be some type of racist. No matter what view I actually hold, it's the background that people can't see past. "I am a White Mississippian , and Sen. Lydia Chassaniol (or any other elitist/racist organization) does not speak for me. She should apologize and step down immediately." IG, who didn't get permission to shoot idiots.

Ironghost

Jul 10 2009

I am so with you, Iron. It's the burden of being a white Mississippian. Everyone assumes you're a racist, both the racists and the yankees. [smile]

DonnaLadd

Jul 10 2009

There are still a great many things wrong with the world in which we live. We are living in the 21st century and it is high time that we start to act like it. Penn Jillette (better known with '& Teller') recently advocated abandoning all forms of 'tribalism' on his video blog at Crackle.com. In effect, his message is that we have to get past all of the labels that are placed on people: White/Black; Christian/Muslim/Jew/None; Male/Female; American/Immigrant; Gay/Straight - People are People, Period, end of sentence! None of those tags have any real meaning in the world of today, nor will they in the world of tomorrow. That does not in any way mean that I believe we should become a homogeneous society, and that would be quite boring indeed. But, it is the inherent, noble and unique value of each that is paramount, and it is the minimalization of anyone's individual worth that cannot and must not be tolerated any longer! The CofCC. KKK, Thor wannabees or any other bunch of bigots that have an attitude to the contrary can go and piss up a rope for all that I care. I only wish that they could simply be ignored and that they would go away. Sen. Lydia Chassaniol in no way speaks for me, she should resign! A Radical Libertarian! (I agree with ladd and a bow to Tom Head for having a policy of not 'arguing race with people who post using the names of Norse gods.')

Macedonian

Jul 10 2009

Y'all seen Kingfish's blog lately? He done good (even if he had to take a poke at JFP along the way). http://kingfish1935.blogspot.com/2009/07/showing-cocc-door.html The only thing that irritated me was that I commented, ticked an ID and it still showed me as "anonymous".

C.W.

Jul 10 2009

I think this post from earlier in the year from Jackson ex-pat Laurin Stennis includes the quote Goldenae was trying to find. The post is quite relevant to this discussion: http://stennisink.blogspot.com/2009/02/amygdala-strategy.html I think she's right on about everything but the guns. As long as there's an NRA, Republicans will pander to that constituency, as well the homophobe constituency, and yes, the racist constituency.

pigbodine

Jul 10 2009

Ladd: I tell people I know that anyone that is racist, especially a black person should be ashamed of themselves. Without the help of some "liberal" whites, blacks would probably still be in slavery. We had no power to end it in any way. Honestly, I love to see people of other races express pride in their heritage and culture, etc. There is nothing wrong with celebrating heritage, as long as that heritage does not promote hate of other people/races. For the life of me, I can not understand how people can seem so interested in rooting out racism when they are looking for something to tag Obama with for the likes of Hannity and Rush. However, when it comes to hearing the CCC or even Rush's racism , the same people are deaf.

Goldenae

Jul 10 2009

Chassaniol has no excuse, Goldenae. It's rather remarkable to me that, in 2009 in Mississippi, supposedly well-informed people still don't know who the CofCC is! What about the scandals with Barbour, Lott, Fordice ... right here in Mississippi!?! Fordice was the worse; he said much the same thing that Chasseniol said to them, and never showed an ounce of remorse or criticism toward them. Barbour wouldn't ask them to take his picture with Mississippi CofCC leaders off their site, or say very much critical about them at all. Clearly, many Republicans assume they need these people's votes to win -- and that a majority of "conservative" Mississippians agree with them. This is such an insult, such contempt for our state. No wonder the state Republican Party wouldn't condemn the abortion-doctor killer recently; they won't even condemn blatant racism by public officials in their own state! I'm sure happy we've spent the last month trying to raise awareness on this issue (and cheers to Ronni Mott for figuring out they were coming to Jackson in the first place and Jesse Wright for doing the kick-ass cover story that exposed the CofCC to a new generation). Once you click one time onto their site, it's all crystal-clear. And I can only imagine the kinds of things Chasseniol heard them say at that convention! There are two possibilities: She will do anything for votes, or she completely agrees with them. (Or, a third: both.) Shudder.

DonnaLadd

Jul 11 2009

And, C.W., it's great that white bloggers and others are finally condemning the senator and the CofCC, now that the city is buzzing about it. But isn't it remarkable that we live in a time and a state where people actually get excited to see that happen about something so blatant!?! Sarah and Todd Palin are tied to the Independence Party, which is tied to the CofCC, and all these other fringe groups that make no secret of their race views, and many whites would bite your head off if you tried to point out their fringe credentials. (Even as the Internet makes it impossible to argue that you don't know how these groups are networked if you bother to look.) So, let's wait to see the real proof in the pudding for giving anyone extra credit for doing what every decent citizen should be doing -- calling out the fringe every chance we get, and not just when it becomes a big topic in the media (or at least the part we influence). Put another way, we white folks should watch the message it sends when we suddenly start patting other white folks on the back for suddenly stopping ignoring what's been under their noses the whole time. I mean, better late than never, but it's not exactly cause for champagne-popping. ;-) (It reminds me of the Natchez Democrat finally starting to report on the Dee-Moore case after we went down there with Thomas Moore and did it and created a stir about it -- after ignoring the evidence right under their noses all those decades. The Democrat doesn't suddenly get brownie points for suddenly being willing to say the families should get justice. Where were they all those years?!?)

DonnaLadd

Jul 11 2009

If you are part of the new generation without knowledge of the CofCC and its friends, also see these past JFP stories over the years: Palin and the Fringe Our Boy Trent Haley's Choice Mississippi CofCC: Pearl Shouldn't Become Little Jackson And Ronni's most recent: The Tangled Web of Hate (This one points out how these fringe racist groups are a big part of the "conservative" tea parties going on around the country. Hopefully, all the newly enlightened about the CofCC will blast the embracing of the fringe in all its instances.

DonnaLadd

Jul 11 2009

Why is it that Marxists claim to want diversity, yet advocate policies which destroy diversity. Blending the races does not create diversity. The leftist bent of this publication is unmistakable. It represent the opposite of everything America ever stood for prior to 1960; Totalitarianism, collectivism, atheism, controlled speech and thought, etc. ad nauseum. This attack on Ms. Chassaniol's freedom of opinion, speech, thought, and association is beneath contempt.

Tom Penhale

Jul 11 2009

Tom Penhale (who gets bonus points for using something that at least sounds like it could be his real name) writes: "Why is it that Marxists claim to want diversity, yet advocate policies which destroy diversity. Blending the races does not create diversity." Which is more diverse? A restaurant that only serves "pure" food as we have come to know it--bread (which is actually made up of multiple ingredients), wine (ditto), cheese (ditto)--in separate utensils, or... ...a restaurant that mixes them up in countless ways, with enough recipes to satisfy any palate? I can't think of anything duller than a strictly-enforced segregationist approach to cuisine (no mixed foods!), fashion (no mixed colors, fabrics, or weaves!), art (no mixed media!), music (no mixed genres!), etc. And besides, this approach ignores the mixing that has already happened (we're all multiracial if you look back far enough). At any rate, diversity doesn't really exist if diverse people aren't actually in contact with each other. Diversity refers to something that can actually be experienced, not something that you can only see from 30,000 feet. The Earth has always been diverse from a sufficient distance; integration makes that diversity something that we can experience while our feet are still on the ground. "It represent the opposite of everything America ever stood for prior to 1960; Totalitarianism, collectivism, atheism, controlled speech and thought, etc. ad nauseum." I would imagine black Southerners and white non-segregationists who experienced firsthand the brutally-enforced totalitarianism, white populist collectivism, functional antihumanist atheism, controlled speech and thought, ad nauseam of white Southern governments pre-1960 would find your complaint amusing. "This attack on Ms. Chassaniol's freedom of opinion, speech, thought, and association is beneath contempt." Sen. Chassaniol is entirely free to destroy her own political career if she wants to, just as the rest of us are free to point out what she's doing. In your pre-1960 "everything America ever stood for" Southern governments, we might have all gotten arrested, shot, or firebombed for it. I call that progress. You can call it whatever you want...but you can't force people to agree with you. Not anymore. Welcome to America, Mr. Penhale.

Tom Head

Jul 11 2009

Dear Mr Penhale, [quote]This attack on Ms. Chassaniol's freedom of opinion, speech, thought, and association is beneath contempt. [/quote] She's free to associate with whoever she likes. She'd better understand that some of us conservatives are tired as hell of being painted racist because some people don't realize the whole "Civil Rights" thing isn't going away. Either grow up or get out of our way.

Ironghost

Jul 11 2009

No one is arguing over Sen. Chassaniol's right to say whatever the hell she wants to. We are, however, stating unequivocally that the racist tenets of the CofCC do not represent the majority of Mississippians today, and in the sphere of modern political discourse, they are anachronistic, harkening back to the evil, bad old days of white race dominance in the South. As a publicly elected official, Sen. Chassaniol has a duty to represent all of her constituents, not just the white supremacists. Unless she ran on that platform, she's got some 'splaining to do. And what is so damn scary about race mixing? Honestly, you'd think we're talking about breeding horses and lizards. We're not different species; we're just humans of different colors. You know, like green peas and brown peas, white cats and yellow cats, red roses and white roses. Diversity is not just about skin color; it's about different viewpoints, different experiences, different faiths and different cultures, all contributing their best to create something new and unique that would not be available otherwise. Drawing some illusionary line in the sand over skin color makes about as much sense as discriminating against a hair color or an eye color. As to what America stood for before 1960, I suggest Mr. Penhale read some American history, which is filled with examples of abhorrent behavior–including genocide (re: American Indians), slavery (re: African Americans) and domestic terrorism (re: Ku Klux Klan, neo-nazis, weather underground, etc.)–all of which has occurred in various political parties on the left and right. As November's elections made abundantly clear, most Americans are sick and tired of the politics of fear and hatred. Stop already with the silly name calling and reactionary labeling. The right doesn't have a corner on the truth. Sorry.

Ronni_Mott

Jul 11 2009

Well said, Ronni M.!

Lori Kincses

Jul 11 2009

I wanted to respond to Mr. Penhale, but anything further would be superfluous. Other than I'm thankful he used the word "Marxist" rather than the same tired old "Socialist" I've come accustomed to hearing since the election.

pigbodine

Jul 11 2009

This attack on Ms. Chassaniol's freedom of opinion, speech, thought, and association is beneath contempt. Ms. Chassaniol does have the right to say whatever and assemble with whomever she wants and I will defend her right to do so. However, one thing about freedom of speech that we forget about is what you say and do is subjected to being critiqued, especially once it's out in the open and when you're a public official.

golden eagle

Jul 11 2009

Come on now,y'all; might the voice of reason suggest y'all are beeing too hard on our state senator. I bet the Senator is just trying to live out the full meaning of what she stands for. As a politican, I bet she has visited some all black homes without complaining, and that neither made her anti-black or racist. Clearly, she would have preferred some diversity in those homes.

Walt

Jul 11 2009

Walt, I'm trying to stop laughing long enough to answer Donna. He did do good, and good on him for it. A rightie jumping on something like is remarkable, in comparison to what other righties are doing, and for that reason deserves attention. It's the very shockingness of it that draws the attention. ;-) Still it's like a little toe in the door. Sen. Chassiniol appears to be trying to play both ends against the middle; she better watch out, sometimes that leads to unpleasant consequences.

C.W.

Jul 12 2009

in comparison to what other righties are doing, I guess the bar is low, C.W. But don't get me wrong, I'm always happy to see someone change their ways, or get enlightened, on issues such as this. That's better than not.

DonnaLadd

Jul 12 2009

There's shouldn't be such an evil reception to changing. You can't encourage change with chants of "LOSER!" People won't change then, no matter how odious the position is.

Ironghost

Jul 12 2009

It's not an "evil reception" to point out the inconsistencies of people who defend some public officials flirting with extremism (like a Palin, for instance) and blasting others, Iron. Look, it's always a problem in our state of how much to pat someone on the back when they suddenly show enlightenment. It's been pointed out to me by people of color many times that white people often think they/we deserve a medal simply for doing what we should have been doing all along (and some were accusing me of that, I'll admit). So the point is: It's good when people stop ignoring what's in front of their faces, but it can hurt the overall cause of racial understanding to start doing back flips over it, especially until you see that they really mean it. It's kind of like people defending some of our southern strategists for having black staffers (or friends!). OK, that's a step, maybe, but it's what happens over the long haul that matters. Dr. King spoke of the long arc of history often. So, while we're happy to see people display change, let's not start partying like it's 2099 until we see the work really permeate. It's really amazingly easy to criticize the CofCC and Chassaniol in this case (making the corporate media blackout on it even more remarkable). The bigger issue is how sad it is that it take something so blatant to get a rise out of many people on this stuff. Same thing happened when Richard Barrett did the petition at the Fair for Edgar Ray Killen. *That* went too far for them -- not the fact that Killen had been free all these years after orchestrating those three murders. The petition and the outrage it caused made a difference in public perception of that case, but it is vital to put it in perspective.

DonnaLadd

Jul 13 2009

Neither should the reception be one of "Gotcha!" Things are changing, and will change. The more people bash, however, the harder it is. No one likes a sore winner.

Ironghost

Jul 13 2009

It's not "gotcha," Iron. You're framing this in a defensive way. We need to talk about the big picture on these issues; if we don't, everyone goes back to the status quo (saying all that's in the past) once the really, really, really outrageous act of racism has passed from memory. So, yes, I am happy every time someone comes around on, er, "the race questions" and gets more educated, even if it's late in the game. But we must put it into perspective and challenge everyone to work a bit harder than just bashing the obvious. And by the way, I'm not trying to pick winners. I don't think it's a competition.

DonnaLadd

Jul 13 2009

OTOH, I've found people get along great if they don't talk politics: or, ask me what I thought of Henry Kirksey sometime. :D

Ironghost

Jul 13 2009

Fish's blog entry is significant because it's a well-written and well-researched piece, anyone who reads it will know CCC is a pathetic and disgusting organization, and his blog has a conservative and right-libertarian readership that will read it. This means that he's undermining the CCC in a significant way, something that I have been mostly unable to do. I don't really know or care what it indicates about him as a person, beyond the fact that he visibly has no sympathy for the CCC, which is more than I can say for the RNC state chair at this point.

Tom Head

Jul 13 2009

Wow! This got interesting over the weekend! So much has been said already, but the saddest part in all of this is that NO ONE is surprised! (Definitely no blacks are surprised!) I'm not surprised by her attendance or the comments from the Republican Party Chair. Donna- the comment about Woodlea- Older white people know it exists because they used to live there. Like most black neighborhoods in Jackson, it was once all white. Tom- your letter was awesome! You're exactly right, "It doesn't deserve a second act."

News Junkie

Jul 13 2009

baquan, I especially like this quote in the comments under the story you linked: I continue to find it astonishing how so many Americans equate “freedom of speech” with “freedom from consequences”. That's hitting the nail on the head, IMHO.

Ronni_Mott

Jul 13 2009

Whatever else the NAACP may do, it does send a message to little white children with its name - NATIONAL ASSOCIATION for the ADVANCEMENT OF COLORED PEOPLE!!! I have heard many questions from many little white girls and boys about the meaning of that name. Those white kids feel "dis-enfranchised" by that name - and they don't understand why there isn't a NAAWP, "White Caucus", "United White College Fund", etc. Same thing is true with the "Black Caucus," "Miss Black America", "United Negro College Fund", etc. You cannot claim you favor race mixing - while using race-separatist language yourself!!!!! That is hypocritical. You cannot condemn the CofCC for speaking out against race-mixing, while you continue to practice racial separatism yourselves!!!! You cannot complain about whites seeing ONLY your black skin, while insisting that whites always acknowledge your "blackness"!!! You are hypocrites. You can't have it both ways, hypocrite!!!!! If the NAACP works for the advancement of all peoples, then they should change their name. Many whites believe (though they won't dare say it in public) that it is a "PRIDE" thing - Yes an obnoxious, odious "black pride" - which drives black people to DEMAND that whites acknowledge their separate and distinct culture, music, et cetera - but then also demand that whites pretend like there is NO difference between the two races. This BLACK PRIDE has precipitated a perverse form of "social schizophenia" in the minds of white people. In today's Mississippi, white people will contribute strong lip service AGAINST that mean, old, nasty racism -and then feel like they have "earned their place in heaven" for speaking out against those mean, old, racist, paleo-conservative Mississippians. But all the time, they will be quietly making sure they keep their distance from individual black people, moving out of black neighborhoods, attending all-white churches in all-white suburban neighborhoods, etc. This BLACK PRIDE is standing like the old, concrete Berlin wall - forever separating whites and blacks in MS race relations. The black community needs some brave black leaders who will call for an end to the use of these racist organizational names. Concerning white privilege: Obviously you are going to have white monuments, white historical records, white heros, etc. in a nation that started out controlled by white people. But the same thing exists in all the nations of Africa. Go there and you'll see that whites are a minority, and they receive the same kind of treatment blacks got in Mississippi 50 years ago -except in South Africa - where whites are systematically raped, murdered and driven off their lands. And before you start whining about slavery, there is not a single black among you who has ever been a slave - so don't pretend you understand their suffering. Most of you have come of age in a nation that has offered special programs, scholarships, schools, meals, housing, etc. that didn't cost you a dime. You have been pampered on account of the guilt-complex you successfully inculcated into white people. Furthermore, for years throughout the 1990s, black Muslims in Sudan raped, murdered and sold into slavery millions of black Sudanese Christians - and American media personnel (liberal, conservative, independent, whatever) ignored their suffering, and blacked out the entire story. If those Sudanese Christians had received the same media coverage that U.S. media donated to apartheid, it would have ended quickly. If you can make such a fuss over one white, women Senator speaking at a CofCC convention, why didn't you scream and yell about the black Christians in Sudan who were raped, murdered or enslaved by their Muslims neighbors???? You could have used your media power to make a difference. Why didn't you?????

IvanThor

Jul 13 2009

Tom, I think your comment about Fish's blog entry precisely suggests the problem: All individual Republicans are not bigoted racists, but the party as a whole seems to condone bigoted racism and use it to their advantage come election time. Two recent cases in point: 1) The failure of the Mississippi Republican Party to make any public comment denouncing Senator Chassaniol's affiliation with the CCC; 2) The election to the chair of the national Young Republican organization of a member who used racial slurs in on her Facebook page. The Republican party will continue to earn the label "racist" until the party does something that suggests otherwise.

pigbodine

Jul 13 2009

Both parties have earned the label "racist," but the Republican Party has the distinction of having a policy platform that racists actually tend to like--one that supports defunding public institutions (which tend to be integrated), weakening civil rights laws, ending affirmative action, reducing immigration, etc. These are all policies that the CCC must love about the Republican Party. But that doesn't mean Republicans should go out and celebrate the fact and rub shoulders with these scumbags, much less call them "lone voices in the wilderness" and say they "give ... hope." Around 1999-2000, things looked promising--the national RNC Chair told politicians and candidates not to associate with the CCC, and Trent Lott called them "racist and white supremacist" and apologized for past association. That really hit the group hard, because it made it very difficult for them to recruit incumbent politicians for their events. That's why the Chassaniol thing is so awful; it reestablishes the old precedent that a candidate can speak to a white supremacist group with no political consequences. Brad White apparently wants this to be an option, because he has done absolutely nothing in his capacity as RNC chair to discourage it, so the Mississippi Republican Party under White has more or less resumed the wink-nudge dynamic with the CCC that it had before, which puts the Mississippi Republican Party in an optimal position to take advantage of the rise in hate group membership under Obama. This is starting to look strategic and very well-planned.

Tom Head

Jul 13 2009

Tom, don't give Lott too much credit for what he did then. He did it under serious duress, per usual. But at least he did it. It didn't stop him from turning around and crediting Strom Thurmond for having the right ideas when he ran for president (on a segregationist platform), though. He got caught again, and apologized again. But again, better late then never even if the particular comments do not. Also, all, I'm allowing some of Ivan's comments, despite the bumping up against the user agreement, because he is using typical arguments of defensive whites, and I believe the people here are more than capable of taking it and responding to them. And if we leave these kinds of statements unanswered, then Northside Sun columnists, for instance, think they are perfectly valid arguments to write prize-winning columns about. [snark off] I apologize to any they may offend, however. It's in the spirit of raising the conversation to a higher level.

DonnaLadd

Jul 13 2009

Y'know, I don't give Trent Lott much credit in general. I guess I see the most successful politicians as soulless instruments who do the bidding of their supporters, and so I approach them like software--I try to think of what I can to debug them and make them perform in the way I think they should, but I don't expect them to show me anything on their own, or to have anything on their own to show. In this case, Lott performed up to code by condemning the CCC, but I would never in a million years think that he or most other senators of either party could be described as, you know, good people. If they were, they wouldn't have had the natural duplicity and butt-kissing skills they needed to get elected. Democrats tend to vote better because their supporters tend to be better on social justice issues, but if all their support came from, say, the doorbell manufacturing industry, then the most important issue of our time would be doorbells. Of that I have no doubt. So yeah, under heavy duress... But the important thing to me is that he did more than any other policymaker to marginalize the CCC, even if he didn't want to. We had to tinker with the software a lot to get it to work, but eventually it performed. I don't know anything about the state of his soul, if he still has one.

Tom Head

Jul 13 2009

Well, he definitely made it such that any politician in site, or politics-watcher, should be well-acquainted with the "principles" of the CofCC. It's truly remarkable that every Republican in site hasn't condemned them years ago. And some Democrats attended Black Hawk as well, lest we forget. (Some are still Dixiecrats, or try to play one at racist rallies, after all.) But I'm not aware of any who *spoke* to the group, or were asked to. But there may be some. There's a guy out west who tracks the politicians who have pandered to them. If I recall, he's an easy Google away if anyone wants to root that out and add it to the conversation. I know some Dems are on the list.

DonnaLadd

Jul 13 2009

Yep. Here's a 2004 list; I'm not aware of anything more recent but I'd love to see it if anybody has a link. Ronnie Musgrove was allegedly at Black Hawk in 2003, but does not show up in this list.

Tom Head

Jul 13 2009

The SPLC also has a list and a story from the Fall 2004 Intelligence Report on the CofCC. From all sources, State Representatives Rita Martinson (R - Madison) and Gary Chism (R - Columbus) stand out to me, mostly because of some particularly irritating legislation that they have sponsored.

Macedonian

Jul 13 2009

Rita Martinson also happens to be fighting the mosque in Madison. And tell us more about their legislation, by all means.

DonnaLadd

Jul 13 2009

IvanThor: Did you copy that from the handbook or were you operating from memory? Either way, who do you think believes you that "normal" kids are asking you what the NAACP stands for? It is just my opinion, but if a kid did ask you that, it probably came up during an indoctrination session. As for what happens in other countries compared to ours, my first concern is what happens here. We havent gotten things straight here yet, so that makes it a little difficult to act morally superior to other countries. I was laughing at your type today listening to Senator Jeff Sessions(R) of all people making the charge that nominee Sotomayor is a racist. The same Jeff Sessions who has littered the historical record with racist statements. I love hearing your point of view. However, I have the feeling that you really think whites are superior to blacks, but you hide behind discussions like this. I could be wrong.

Goldenae

Jul 13 2009

"Fish's blog entry is significant because it's a well-written and well-researched piece, anyone who reads it will know CCC is a pathetic and disgusting organization, and his blog has a conservative and right-libertarian readership that will read it. This means that he's undermining the CCC in a significant way," Tom, that's exactly it. Donna, I have a list, but haven't added to it lately. I think the SPLC and I have basically the same list - I gathered some from Crawfish (the guy out west, but he's gone to blogging and and I don't think that other site of his is still up), and some from more local sources, then found a few on the SPLC site that I didn't have. http://www.mississippipolitical.com/list.htm Also, Ben at Hungry Blues has some good info: http://minorjive.typepad.com/hungryblues/2004/12/information_on_.html I'll look for Crawfish's site,

C.W.

Jul 13 2009

Well, he still has the site, but I didn't find the list on it: http://templeofdemocracy.com/

C.W.

Jul 13 2009

Donna - Thanks for inviting me to do the research!! ;-( I've included the links to all of the bills that they sponsored in that session, just to show that they are not completely without redemption. The ones that I site are the ones that I, admittedly and personally, find particularly irritating. For my part, even more so when their involvement with the CofCC is considered. Martinson: 2009: HB 132 - Marijuana; conform possession, possession in a motor vehicle and possession of paraphernalia penalties. (which sought to recriminalize any quantity) HB 135 - Vaccinations; allow exemption from school attendance with certificate from physician. HB 447 - Elections; require voter ID. 2008: HB 163 - Katie's Law; require DNA sample upon all felony arrests. Chism: 2009: HB 25 - Education; require disclaimer in textbooks regarding the teaching of certain theories. (i.e. Young Earth Creationism Disclaimer) HB 298 - Immigration laws; state shall enter agreement with federal government to allow state officers to enforce. HB 951 - Voter ID; enact. 2008: HB 226 - Controlled substances; add Salvia Divinorum to Schedule I.(which passed as an amendment to SB2456) HB 350 - Illegal aliens; deny public benefits to. HB1316 - Mississippi Employment Protection Act; create with INS curriculum for Mississippi Highway Patrol. (which passed, in part, as SB2988)

Macedonian

Jul 13 2009

Whatever else the NAACP may do, it does send a message to little white children with its name - NATIONAL ASSOCIATION for the ADVANCEMENT OF COLORED PEOPLE!!! I have heard many questions from many little white girls and boys about the meaning of that name. ~IvanThor I would be willing to bet that the answer you gave them wasn't the correct one. Did you explain that because of systematic exclusion of "colored people" by racist whites they had been socially and economically dis-enfranchised for generations? Did you explain that even in the United States, where we pride ourselves on the founding of our country under the idea that "all men are created equal", that the Jim Crow laws had kept the "colored people" in poverty and without representation in their government for a century after slavery was abolished? That they were systematically denied access to the benefits of our society that "white people" enjoyed simply because their skin was a different color. Did you explain that keeping an entire segment of our people in poverty and ignorance only hurts us all, that we are stronger, as a Nation, when all of our people are educated and healthy, both physically and economically? Did you explain that the need for an organization to assist in the advancement of those colored people was necessary because of white organizations like the CoCC, KKK, and the myriad of other white separatist and supremest organizations are fighting to return to the grand old days of White rule? I would be willing to bet you didn't explain it that way at all. I bet you lied to those little white children. I bet you showed them the hate you have in your heart. It's people like you, IvanThor, that persist in your erroneous beliefs that all but whites are inferior that create the need for the organizations you despise. If you want to see the end of them stop spreading your lies and hate to the most innocent and vulnerable. What's even more sickening than the idea of you educating children is the way people like you wrap yourself in the American flag and co opt labels like conservative for your fascist ideas.

WMartin

Jul 14 2009

I love you, WMartin. Today, anyway. ;-)

DonnaLadd

Jul 14 2009

Whatever else the NAACP may do, it does send a message to little white children with its name - NATIONAL ASSOCIATION for the ADVANCEMENT OF COLORED PEOPLE!!! I have heard many questions from many little white girls and boys about the meaning of that name. Really, now? I will wager that these children you are speaking of are children of parents that belong to your organization. Having kids of my own, and being around other children, I have never once heard a child ask about it.

Lady Havoc

Jul 14 2009

Yeah, left to their own devices, children tend to like each other regardless of skin color. It's adults we have to worry about! Especially ones obsessed with the NAACP.

DonnaLadd

Jul 14 2009

Absolutely! Ask our son about his first kindergarten girlfriend. :D

Lady Havoc

Jul 14 2009

Hey, there's a defector in the mainstream media blackout of this story ... in the Greenwood Commonwealth. The comments underneath are unbelievable.

DonnaLadd

Jul 14 2009

Whoa. That's...that's....oh geez.

C.W.

Jul 14 2009

I wonder if they moderate the comments first? I posted one, but I didn't get a confirmation that it went thru. It's not up - but I don't want to send another one until I see if the first one went up.

C.W.

Jul 14 2009

Look under this Ledger story for the kinds of racist comments they allow. For the most part, bigots have taken over that site. It's so sad. It's what the Ledger sends out to the world about the people who live in this state, even if they're not in the state, or they just run off everybody else because who wants to hang out and talk to those kinds of people. Ew.

DonnaLadd

Jul 15 2009

The Ledger thrives on controversy, so this type of yellow journalism is up their alley.

Ironghost

Jul 15 2009

It's always encouraging to see educated citizenry debating the issues of our day by referring to the Anti-defamation League as an "Israeli crime syndicate tool." That's from one of the many ugly comments in Greenwood, though the CL comments are hardly better. I think that blog commentary is so illuminating, because these papers would not print most of this vomit as letters to the editor. Oh, and can I just say one more time, the Clarion-Ledger's interface sucks. It's so hard to read through the comments when you have to keep scrolling through their story. They need to get on with their 174th relaunch ASAP.

Brian C Johnson

Jul 15 2009

I'm not surprised by the public comments at either site. It's always illuminating to me to read what such people really think when writing anonymously, since they are smart enough not to say it in person in mixed company.

Jeff Lucas

Jul 15 2009

Brian, their site is clearly designed for page views above all else, ironically not to keep readers coming back. Since they changed their site for the umpteenth time, dumping all their reader comments, I've barely looked at their forums and blogs. And I can hardly bare to read the comments underneath. The trash they let through makes this state look like it hasn't changed a bit. That company is truly one of this state's, and city's, worst enemies.

DonnaLadd

Jul 15 2009

If the Mississippi media is bad about being silent when racism is the subject, it is only an indication that the same is true for the whole nation. One had to cross the northern border to see this Vancouver Sun article criticizing overtly racist postings about the President's family on the Free Republic website.

Macedonian

Jul 16 2009

Speaking of republicans saying one thing and doing another one. What's this I'm hearing about Pickering preaching the gospel, arguing the sanctity of marriage, living in Christian housing, and badmouthing Democrats for infidelity, while doing the same thing? Y'all got to be shitting me! My representative came home to be with his family - wife and children. That's what I heard him say and I'm going with that. Otherwise, I'm shocked, amazed and in disbelief. Republicans are the party of family values. There weren't any family values in politics until the republicans put some in it. I refuse to put Pickering in the class with Ensign, Sanford, Vitter and the many other full of crap republicans; otherwise, I would soon question whether any republican politican has a clean booty or whether the two are mutually exclusive.

Walt

Jul 16 2009

Right, Walt. Didn't we all see this–or at least some of this–coming when he suddenly stepped down? What a hypocrite. (Did he vote to impeach that rascal Clinton? Just wondering.)

DonnaLadd

Jul 16 2009

Oh, LORD. I just appeared on the Gallo Show. I knew he was conservative, but had not listened enough to realize that he had been as influenced by Rush Limbaugh's format as he has. I thought we were going to talk about the CCC (one of SuperTalk's producers had read my open letter in the JFP and asked me to go on the program), but he spent most of the time harping about a bio that he'd dug up of me somewhere that was several years out of date. Unfortunately, in correcting the bio I unintentionally threw ACORN and La Raza under the bus--but I mounted a really good defense of my participation in NOW. The good news is that when we did actually discuss the CCC, he said on the air that it was a terrible group and read excerpts from its web site. He also said that Sen. Chassaniol's decision to speak there was "stupid." And he did so in front of a massive Republican audience. Mission accomplished. One experience on right-wing talk radio is probably enough for me for a while, though. The caller who rambled on about "the Jews" was very special, as was the caller who complained that blacks make up 22% of Mississippi elected officials when they make up 14% of the national population (I explained that 37% of the Mississippi population is African-American, which means the 22% figure is actually low). The exchange can be summed up by the closer: GALLO: "Tell me, Tom, what is your biggest accomplishment in all these years of leading liberal activist groups?" HEAD: "My biggest personal accomplishment as an activist?" GALLO: "No, your granddaughter's. WHO ELSE WOULD I BE ASKING ABOUT?" HEAD: "The organizations. Well, I personally haven't accomplished all that much. I attended a banquet several weeks ago--" GALLO: "Your biggest accomplishment was that you attended a banquet?" HEAD: "You didn't let me finish, Paul. I attended a banquet where we honored activists who had done work on civil rights and other issues for 40 or 50 years. Looking at what they've accomplished, I have a hard time saying I've done very much." GALLO: "Okay. Tom, one final question: What's 'genderqueer'?"

Tom Head

Jul 17 2009

What a schmo. LOL. People like this never let others finish. Tom, you should have asked us first. ;-) Todd went on there ostensibly to talk about Gannett's anti-free-enterprise distribution scheme against us, Metro Christian Living, etc., and Gallo started railing about us being "liberal." You can't have a real conversation with people like that who are just trying to divide people for sport and ratings. Why didn't you ask Gallo what *his* biggest accomplishment is?

DonnaLadd

Jul 17 2009

I wish I had known you were going to appear. I would have listened. As much as I can remember about Gallo's show, I think he has always been a Limbaugh clone. Way to go on the mission accomplished part!

WMartin

Jul 17 2009

Ms. Chassaniol's freedom of speech stops when she incites hatred or the possibility of violence. It is the same as crying "fire" in a crowded room. No one has the right to degrade or preach hate even under the mask of serving as a tourism spokesperson. Ms. Chassaniol is a disgrace to the state of Mississippi.

Dr. Arthur Frederick Ide

Jul 17 2009

"Why didn't you ask Gallo what *his* biggest accomplishment is?" BINGO. That's brilliant! I wish I had! And I totally should have mentioned it to y'all first and gotten a heads-up. :o) I never listen to political talk radio if I can help it so I had no idea what his format or methodology was... But yknow, my biggest fear was that I would end up accidentally co-opting this very important issue for self-promotion, and in a way Gallo worked in my best interests by making sure I wouldn't. His listeners may come away thinking "that liberal Gallo had on this morning sure was a loser," but they'll also come away thinking "that Council of Conservative Citizens group sounds really creepy, and why'd that senator speak there?" That's all I really wanted. It was, I suppose, humiliating in the good sense of the word--it kept me humble. Eyes on the prize.

Tom Head

Jul 17 2009

Thanks, Wayne! I didn't tell many folks about it because I wasn't sure how it would go, and if it went really badly I wanted as few people I know to hear it as possible. ;o)

Tom Head

Jul 17 2009

True, good work. I've long ago stopped worrying about what extremists think of and say about me. The words they put around the lies and insults say more about them than they are saying about me and mine. Eyes on the prize, indeed. These guys must be really ornery that so many people in our state are challenging their tiny little world views, eh? I do wish you'd have asked him what he thinks of Chip's C Street Prayer House doings.

DonnaLadd

Jul 17 2009

This story keeps getting picked up and passed around. Why the corporate media blackout on this story in the state? (I also doubt that national media will report that Mississippians, including white and conservative, are speaking out against Lydia and the CofCC. That doesn't fit the narrative.)

DonnaLadd

Jul 17 2009

Nah, they want to keep it simple. All white people are racists in Mississippi. That's how the mainstream media works. Doesn't matter if you're liberal or conservative.

Ironghost

Jul 17 2009

Ironghost, "They" (whoever they are) know that not all white people in Mississippi are racist. But they also know that a whole lot of them are. And because there are still too many, a retaliatory group of black racists have emerged in self-defense and self-preservation. None of this is productive. JFP does a yeoman's job of trying to provide the facts and the opinions to help people of all ethnicities and faiths begin to see one other as human beings rather than as evil "other". "The corporate media blackout in the state" is just that. Often a local commercial is blocking a national story. This is a time-honored tradition among Mississippi media. I remember the old "It ain't us. It ain't you. It must be them." days when the WCC didn't want certain television images viewed in the state. Mississippi was not labeled "The Closed Society" for nothing. Sometimes it still is.

duBois03

Jul 17 2009

The media do stereotype us, Iron, but they are helped along by our own media blackouts and one-dimensional coverage such as the Clarion-Ledger Klucker-in-the-Korner stories.

DonnaLadd

Jul 17 2009

Tom, I feel for ya. I have listened to about 1/2 hour total over of Gallo over the years, and that was about 1/2 an hour too much. God love you, I'd never have the nerve to step into that barracuda tank.

C.W.

Jul 17 2009

I mean I'm slightly conservative and all, but I think I've listened to Rush et al a grand total of an hour in the past 20 years. Most of them tend more towards "Talk" rather than GOP ideologue, in my limited experience.

Ironghost

Jul 17 2009

I know this is an old story, but just ran across a couple of interesting links in a Google alert for the CCC. Somebody may have already posted it, but have y'all seen the Northside Sun on Chassaniol? She better pay mind. http://www.northsidesun.com/pages/full_story/push?article-Conservative+group+pushes+racism%20&id=3011566-Conservative+group+pushes+racism&instance=homeopinion And I got a little giggle to find that Stormfront is castigating the Jackson unfree press over the Chassaniol coverage. I'd put in the link, but I have a feeling you don't want a link to them in here. Oh, btw, Tom, you're mentioned by name.

C.W.

Jul 27 2009