Few chose to give an explanation for their vote.
One reader said he held no grudge against Jackson; he just felt such extensive coverage should be reserved for the deaths of national leaders.
“Of course, there wasn’t nearly as many outlets back then, but you wonder if even John F. Kennedy would have gotten as much coverage as Jackson and his family have in the past few weeks.”
Another said making such a big deal of the death of a celebrity — any celebrity — shows disrespect to the true heroes in life.
“We should praise those who used their lives to serve others, not to make millions of dollars,” he said. “We have soldiers dying overseas ever day, yet we hardly even hear mention of it. Firemen and policemen put their lives on the line daily. They are the people whose lives should be celebrated.”
Another reader felt sympathy for Jackson’s family, saying that the excessive press coverage could only make matters worse.
“I know what its like to lose somebody too soon,” she said. “I lost my brother at a young age. I can only imagine how much it pains the family to have their loss exploited by the media, especially the ones who keep bringing up the bad things in Jackson’s life. Let him rest in peace.”
None of the ‘no’ voters chose to make comments.
This week’s question
One of the big sports stories of the past week was the moving of next year’s Atlantic Coast Conference baseball tournament from Myrtle Beach to North Carolina. ACC officials made to move in order to respect a requested boycott of the state’s major sports venues by the NAACP.
Not to use a bad baseball pun, but fans began to call “foul” almost immediately.
One reason for the outrage among local fans was because the tournament was moved to North Carolina where four ACC schools (North Carolina, N.C. State, Wake Forest and Duke) have seemed to hold an undue amount of power in the converence for decades.
But that’s not the issue we’re looking at here.
The NAACP call for a boycott comes from the presence of the Confederate Flag on the grounds of the Statehouse of South Carolina.
For years the Confederate Flag flew with the United States Flag and the South Carolina state flag above the state capital. Many claimed the flag had no political meaning but the timing of it’s appearance — it first flew atop the Statehouse in 1961, when the national civil rights movement was beginning to gain steam — at least brought that point into question.
The NAACP requested the flag be removed several times, but the request was never given serious consideration.
So the national NAACP called for an economic boycott of South Carolina. NAACP members and civil rights supporters asked the nation to refuse to do business with South Carolina until the flag was removed.
The boycott began to hurt the state’s tourism industry, but many South Carolineans favored fighting to the finish on the subject.
Gov. David Beasley, who had supported keeping the flag atop the statehouse, announced he had changed his mind and work to get the flag removed from flying over the Statehouse.
Many attribute his “change of heart” for Beasley’s stunning loss to Jim Hodges in the next election.
Ironically, it was Hodges who worked out a compromise to have the flag removed from flying over the Statehouse. Instead, it would be placed with a Confederate memorial display on Statehouse grounds.
That compromise was approved by state officials and the NAACP. But NAACP officials eventually found that the flag remaining on state grounds was unacceptable.
So our question for this week is, “Should the Conferate Flag be removed from the grounds of the Statehouse?”
Some supporters of the flag feel they have already compromised too much. They see little honor in an agreement that is only accepted for a few years.
They point out that the flag, no longer flying atop the Statehouse, cannot be confused as a sign of sovereignty or allegence to a lost cause. They say the flag represents the brave men who died in the Civil War — and many can name their ancesters who fought in the war. Removing the flag would be a slap in those soldiers’ faces, they claim.
Others simply don’t like the “economic blackmail” being used in the matter. They compare it to a child holding his breath until he gets his way. Rewarding such behavior simply encourages the same tactic being used again.
On the other hand, many feel the battle over the Confederate Flag is indeed a lost cause. They feel that while the flag may have a different meaning to some people, it is seen as a symbol of hate by a significant portion of our population.
They say the flag can be respected inside the walls of a museum. But the Statehouse — both inside and outside — should be focused on a future in which everyone works together to make a better life for all South Carolinians.
They note that with the tough economy, South Carolina doesn’t need anything that may discourage potential industries from considering moving to the state.
How do you feel? Go to www.theeasleyprogress.com and vote. If you want to comment on the matter, send an email to brobinson@theeasleyprogress.com. Be sure to let us know if you want your name mentioned with your comment.
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