Skarlet has pointed out that my hasty assessment of Ben “Cooter” Jones was, well, hasty. and based on a snarky mention of the fact in mark morford’s column, truth be told.
interesting article, excerpt follows, but reading the whole thing might be interesting for you southern folk.
Southern — and Proud of It (washingtonpost.com)
“Specifically, Wilder is upset because Jones, a former actor, occasionally campaigns in the car popularized on his old TV series, “The Dukes of Hazzard.” The car — a prop for fictional characters — has a Confederate flag painted on top. Although Jones explains that his pride is in his Southern ancestors “who fought nobly on the wrong side of history,” Wilder insists the flag sends a subliminal racist message.
The non-subliminal facts?
Jones is a lifetime member of the NAACP. While protesting for civil rights in the 1960s, he had ammonia thrown in his eyes, was shot at by a Klansman and was arrested by police. It is as likely that he displays the Confederate flag to convey racism as it is that Mother Teresa wore a cross because she hoped to ward off vampires.”
images matter don’t they? Matter so much that often people will find a message in the image without ever hearing the messenger.
Good thing for us, kd delves deeper.
And for the record, I still find the symbol of the “battle flag” as the people who insist it’s not a racist symbol call it, to be repugnant. Back in the summer we drove by Jones’ place and he was home. I really wanted to drop in and chat but we were on our way to meet my parents. I’ve regretted not popping in ever since. I’d really like to hear from the horse’s mouth, as it were, the reasoning for this use of the symbol – not mediated by the media, you know? I don’t think he’d change my mind, but I’d really like to talk about it with him.
My brother-in-law (who teaches southern lit and culture) and I have endless arguments about the symbolism of the flag and how people use that symbolism, so I know not to get wound up here or I’ll write a dissertation. lol. Interestingly, he’s now quite close with cousins who he found while doing family history – they’re the descendants of his family’s slaves and are big in Civil War re-enacting. As confederates.
I highly recommend the book “Confederates in the Attic” by Tony Horowitz if you want a taste of how bizarre these issues can be. It’s a really fascinating book.
hmm. that would be Skarlet. i think i stopped, rather prejudicially as it would happen, at the first page of his campaign site where he introduces himself ‘you may remember me as Cooter’, combined with his statement as quoted in my previous post, and assumed, well, i assumed he was just a redneck.
however, i still say he should rethink tying his image so closely to the Dukes of Hazzard. that’s where my line of thinking went astray. and it would have stayed there if not for Skarlet.
bloggigng as mind-opening tool. hmm.
The “he” with the cousins being my brother-in-law, not Ben Jones, btw. I’m having pronoun difficulties beyond my control today.
Look on the bright side: At least it’s the Dukes of Hazzard he’s associating with, and not David Duke…