Racism, hate and intolerance
Doug Thompson October 14, 2007 - 6:31am.
Recent events surrounding Floyd's annual arts and crafts fair, the presence of a self-professed and discredited civil war "author" and "historian" and reactions stirred by the protests of local residents highlight the unfortunate existence of hate, racism and intolerance in our community.
At Café del Sol Saturday, I ran into one of those who protested and learned she and her husband have received hate mail at their home because they raised concerns about the presence, at the fair, of a Wytheville-born "author" who tries to paint slavery in a sympathetic light. I contributed to that debate with an earlier article on this site and area bloggers Fred First and Colleen Redman have also commented.
The Floyd Press covered the situation and Christian Trejbal of The Roanoke Times joined the fray today. His take:
Gary Walker has been a regular vendor for years. He's an amateur historian who self-publishes books about the Civil War and sells them at the event.
He's also a racist.
His revisionist history warms the hearts of some modern Confederates. After wading through his book, "The Truth about Slavery," I only felt dirty.
I've read the book along with others self-published by Walker. Like Trejbal, I felt the need for a long, hot, cleansing shower after wading through his muck of poorly-researched, undocumented revisionist history.
As a journalist, I easily recognize opinion posing as fact and hasty conclusions passed off as research. As an American I understand that Walker and those like him, along with others who oppose him, have a right to express their opinions in a free society. As a Floyd Countian, I am ashamed he did it here.
His presence, indeed his publishing not only of books of elementary-level grammar and sentence construction, along with a coloring book that promotes slavery, reveals the level of racism that remains in our region.
The Ku Klux Klan still holds rallies at Burnt Chimney in Franklin County and still tries to march in parades in Hillsville and other communities. The "n-word" still flows freely in conversations in Floyd County and other places. Amy and I have heard it tossed around in conversation more often in our three years here than in 23 years of living in the Washington, DC, area. I've seen it on bumper stickers on local pickups and on t-shirts at the annual Carroll County Gun Show and Flea Market.
When a local resident cannot protest the presence of a racist "author" at a local fair dedicated to arts and crafts without receiving anonymous hate mail then racism and the ignorance and intolerance that accompany it still infects our community.
When I wrote about the situation a couple of weeks ago, some 63 comments - pro and con - followed the article. I deleted a greater number, unfortunately, because they contained racial epithets, hate or threats of violence.
I've lost track of the times that a local has approached me at a sporting event or in a downtown restaurant and asked: "Why don't you write about all the Mexicans who are committing crimes and ending up in court?" Others inquire: "Why don't you do something about the illegal aliens who are living on welfare in the county?"
When I try, patiently, to explain that the vast majority of cases that hit Floyd County courts involve the same locals from the same families who have been in trouble for generations they turn a deaf ear and walk away.
The folks at Social Services tell me that residents of Mexican descent, for the most part, take care of themselves and don't ask for handouts from the government. Again, it's the locals who take the food stamps and apply for assistance.
Sadly, the distrust of those who are different or whose skin is a darker shade remains. I see racism in the upcoming election, where our mailbox overflows with candidate literature containing inflammatory language about immigration. And I see, unfortunately, the same old "us vs. them" rhetoric used by those who claim this latest debate was driven by "outsiders" and not "true Floyd Countians."
As a "Floyd Countian," I see positives out of this mess. While this situation has given a wannabe author more attention than he deserves and his books more consideration than they merit, those negatives are far outweighed by the positive of shining the light on intolerance and racism, both passive and active, that is still part of the undercurrent of life here in Floyd County.
If all of this allows us to recognize, confront and deal with those failings in our community and in our treatment of others, then all this upheaval is worth the disruption.
Well put, Doug. Keep up the
Well put, Doug. Keep up the good work - sunshine is always the best disinfectant.
I was present for the
I was present for the confrontation between Mr. Walker's group and Rob Neukirch and his wife. Mr. Neukirch approached the booth and started asking questions of Mr. Walker. He was immediately surrounded by a gang of confederate-flag-button-wearing men who started shouting at Rob and his wife and it went downhill from there. Mr. Walker had no interest in debate. He immediately demanded that the women's club call the sheriff's department to escort those who disagree with him from the high school gym. This disgraceful display left me wondering why the Floyd women's club allowed Mr. Walker to determine who was or was not welcome at the fair and why they turned a blind eye to his rogue confederate band of toughs whose only purpose was to intimidate anyone who dared challenge Mr. Walker. They caused far more trouble than Mr. Neukirch yet they were allowed to remain. I'm a native Floyd Countian whose is ashamed at our women's club for bringing disgrace upon our community and for practicing a double standard. They preach about free speech but it appears to me that they only want freedom when it agrees with their narrow view of the world. I do not know if any of the members of the club are racist or not but, by their actions, they give the impression that they are. They are guilty of a despicable double standard. Shame on them!
Amen Doug. Very good points
Amen Doug. Very good points and eloquent too.
My husband and I stopped
My husband and I stopped doing business with Shooting Creek Quarry because the drivers couldn't deliver a load of gravel without a racist tirade as part of the service. When I went there to pay my bill I hard the "n-word" at least a half dozen times before I got out the door. We don't do business with those who practice racism.
Passive Agressive Racism
Thanks for pointing us to Trejbal's article, Doug. He did a great job of clarifying the difference between overt racism and the covert passive aggressive kind. The second is almost more dangerous because it's not as immediately obvious to some.
The Floyd Woman's Club, by
The Floyd Woman's Club, by its actions, has established itself as a racist organization. It can stand behind the false curtain of free speech until the cows come home but its actions outweigh the false claims of its members. Passive racism is still racism and such hypocrisy is now explosed for everyone for see.
Sadly the women's club has
Sadly the women's club has brought shame to Floyd County through its passive racism and support through cowardice of this pseudo-author. Any of us who attended and supported the fair share in this shame. By our actions we condoned the inclusion of a racist in a community event. The club has done much good for our community but all the good in the world can be wiped out by a single, stupid, senseless act. I urge the women's club to do whatever is necessary to make sure this man never appears at another of their events in this county. Let us celebrate the arts and crafts of the area and let those who wish to rewrite history to try and justify the squalor of slavery spread their lies elsewhere.
Thank you Doug for dealing
Thank you Doug for dealing with the racism that still prevails in our area. I have heard too many stories about African American children beging taunted by white students in our schools and the School Board looking the other way. I've seen the looks of disapproval from white residents when a mixed-race couple walks into a local restaurant. I've noticed the lack of color not only in our governmental agencies but also in the appointments made by those all-white entities. We should have moved beyond that by now but we have not. One of my relatives dropped the "n-word" in conversation at our dinner table recently and when I said such language was not appreciated in our home she responded by saying that "I come from a different time and attitude and I'm not going to change." Such rationalizations should have disappeared from our culture long ago.
I approached a member of the Woman's Club recently to try and discuss the issue but she dismissed me with a comment that "this is just trouble caused by newcomers who don't understand our county." I informed her that I am a ocunty native who believes racism has no place at the arts and crafts fair. This is not a newscomers vs. natives issue. It is an issue of human decency.
I wonder if the women's club
I wonder if the women's club would be so determined to defend free speech if a local photographer or artist decided to display erotic art or adults engaged in explicit sexual activity? Based on those I know in the club someone would start screaming "commumnity standards." This begs the question: Is it an acceptable "community standard" in Floyd to allow a racist, self-published, author to sell a book that distorts history? As a parent I would not want my child exposed to this man's coloring book on slavery.
A history teacher's perspective
I've taught history for 33 years so I decided to check out Mr. Walker's book after reading the comments here during the earlier debate. From the point of view of both a historian and a son of the South, I can say without hesitation that Mr. Walker's perverted view of the history of slavery is fantasy rooted in chicken-fried racism. His conclusions lack documentation or historical reference and his revisionist views are laughable at best.
There are many reasons why you do not find Mr. Walker's books in libraries or used as reference materials: they are inaccurate, sloppily written, amateurish attempts at history. For him to attempt to pass these materials off as serious historical research is nothing less than literary fraud.
To compound his illiterate felonies, he has issued challenges to find errors in his book and then failed to deliver on his promises when those challenges were answered. He said he would not attend the Floyd fair if anyone could find a single error in his book. A Mr. Chris Prokosch found several but Mr. Walker broke his pledge and attended anyway. I see this morning that he has repeated that lie on the discussion forum on the Roanoke Times web site. It does not matter if someone accepts his challenge because he will fail to keep his word when his work is exposed as a fraudulent effort.
As a native-born Southerner I am offended by Mr. Walker’s attempts to whitewash slavery, and the pun is fully intended. As a historian I find his work below par for even an elementary level history student. He not only is a phony and a fraud, he is also a liar. His actions bring dishonor on many proud traditions on the South. He is a disgrace to the memories of the brave Confederates who died to defend their causes. He distorts history and dishonors their memories.