Senator Strom Thurmond Dies

[Typhoon1244]

Clinton never treated the Presidency with respect and "honor" is a word that will never appear in the same sentence with Clinton unless it is preceded by the words, "lack of."

I agree...but let's not pretend Strom Thurmond was somehow better than Slick Willie. Yes he served honorably as a soldier. He was also the candidate of choice for every Klansman and John Bircher in the nation during the Sixties.

"Speak well of the dead"...but let's remember who and what he was.

 

[46Driver]

Also remember that Slick Willie is literally only half as old as Strom - they grew up in different eras.

 

[Paladin]

I really do not understand how people can try and compare and contrast Bill Clinton and Strom Thurmond. It just makes no sense.

OK, so Strom was for segregation...in that time and in that place so were most white males. Its a part of Southern history that many are not very proud of, including myself. I live in an area of South Carolina where the public school system was not 'completely' desegregated until 1970. The college I went to (Furman) did not integrate until 1965, over objections from the Southern Baptist Convention...which thankfully has nothing to do with the school anymore. Strom Thurmond was a traditional Southern 'states rights' politician. Much like George Wallace, Strom Thurmond saw how his views were old fashioned and, well, just plain wrong. After the Civil Rights Act of 1964 passed he moved away from his support of segregation and began appointing blacks to high positions in government. In fact, in 1969 he was the first senator to hire a black staff member.

I find it amusing to listen to Northerners pass judgement on a man whose history and legacy far transcends certain views which he had forty years ago. I spent the greater part of my teen years up north (Cleveland) and found it to be one of the most racist places I'd ever been....I still find it to be this way whenever I visit. There's a lot of talk down here about Strom and his life, and I find it interesting that when most are asked of their opinion of the man, his support of segregation is not brought up...this from whites AND blacks. Its really not much of an issue here...its over, done with. The man deserves some respect for doing what he believed would better this country and the fine state of South Carolina for over 50 years.

Oh yeah, for the guy who brought up Hitler in this thread (Chprpilot)...get a clue, read a history book, get an education...whatever it takes... your comparison has about as much legitimacy as Sosa claiming to have never used a corked bat before...not to mention steroids.

Cheers,
Markus

American by birth, Southern by the Grace of God

 

[prodigal]

Isn't it interesting that liberals are the ones who argue for the rehabilitation of prison convicts, but at the same time emphatically and instinctually reject the notion that Strom Thurmond rehabilitated himself through an honest change of heart. Their hypocracy has no end.

 

[inline]

Hey Chperplt- What about Democratic Senator "Sheets" Byrd from W. Virginia? The ol' Grand Wizard never gets the same disrespect as Sen. Thurmond. What a constant moral struggle it must be to be a liberal!

Great post! The only racists are the democratic party.

 

[DaveGriffin]

old Onion article on Sen. Thurmond

http://www.theonion.com/onion3112/stromchange.html

 

[DTWFO]

Apparently it's now a crime to be a Democrat??!! I don't know why everyone on here bashes democrats but have you taken a look at the state of our economy now?? As for Strom, it is too bad that he passed away, but I'm not exactly sure you could catagorize him as a great senator. Just because he lived forever doesn't erase his past. I'm sure if you lived to be 100 your views would change also!

 

[Mr. Irrelevant]

My views rest with Chper's. I wouldn't use the Hitler comparison but people like Strom had no place in leadership positions in our government. Strom's change of mind if it indeed did occur, took place because he had to change. Given that Harry Truman was probably only about 12 years older than Strom, why weren't his views as overtly racist in the 40's as Strom's were? Don't use excuses for this guy. We all are responsible for our actions whether we regret them over time or not. He was probably the most racist politician of the 20th century. I doubt he could have won office anywhere outside of the south.

And oh yeah, I'm from the south too! Don't use the northerners reason to explain my viewpoint.


Mr. I.

 

[prodigal]

Apparently the good people of South Carolina, of whom a good percentage are black, didn't agree with you.

 

[chperplt]

Cherplt you should be ashamed

You've got that backwards buddy.. You should be the one ashamed. You should be ashamed at yourself for believing that it is ok for a public figure to behave in the manner that man behaved for so many years.

By your comments, I take it you agree with the now dead senator? You think his views changed over the years, you need to think again. Take a look at how your great senator voted. That is, when he was able to stay awake during the voting sessions. To the very end his votes were anti semetic and blatantly racist.

I hope all the slaves and dead Jews are beating his ass with a stick right now in his afterlife.

I should be ashamed... I'll sleep just fine tonight, thanks.

 

[d328pilot]

Chperplt, I hope you are not trying to say that I am a racist because I think a man that served his country for so many years deserves a little respect? You dont know me, you never met me. Just like you never met Sen. Thurmond.

Public figures not behaving with dignity??? Lets not even go there.

So please enlighten me to the examples you have to prove that he never changed?

- Supported the renewal of the Voting Rights Act
- Supported the establishment of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr's birthday as a national holiday
- First Senator to hire a african american staffer.
- As Governor, pushed through a bill that repealed South Carolina's poll tax
- As Governor, ordered the state's top prosecutor to try men accused of commiting the state's last lynching. No conviction, but no more lynchings either.

Did the man make mistakes??? Sure. Are you perfect? Am I perfect? Can you site his voting record, post '80's, to show where he obstructed futherance of Civil Rights for minorities?

A man who can realize that he is wrong and change, is a bigger man you. I would like to see you when you are 100. I wonder how long you could stay awake? Didn't your mother ever tell you, if you can't say anything nice, then just don't say anything at all.

I say again, Chperplt, you should be ashamed.

 

[chperplt]

You can say it all you want dude. Am I calling you a racist, no. But, there are quite a few racists that have served their country, and that alone does not garner you respect. I served my country as well.

No, I'm certainly not perfect.

A man who can realize that he is wrong and change, is a bigger man you

That may be true.. Just not true for this man. I don't believe for a second that he ever believed he was wrong. I think as he grew older, he grew wiser and thought better about his public persona.

I guess you're probably a David Duke supporter as well?

 

[daedaepilot]

wouldn't it be something if Strom goes to heaven and finds out that God is a black jew

 

[Paladin]

I really loved the cover of The State (Columbia SC's newspaper) today. It had a picture of a thirty-something year old black man placing flowers at the grave/monument site of Strom Thurmond in Edgefield. The PEOPLE of the state of South Carolina respected Strom.

It kills me how people with limited knowledge of a subject suddenly think they're an authority on things just because they have an opinion. There is such a thing as a bad opinion...its called an uneducated opinion. Strom's past is a dead issue here in SC. He was neither a great Senator nor a bad one. He did what was within his power to better the lives of South Carolinians. Sometimes it worked...other times it didn't. No politician represents the entire populations' views. Some of you people are trying to place him in the same boat as KKK members who lynched innocent blacks...you people kill me. We're talking about the 1950's and 60's. Was Malcolm X a racist?? Interesting question considering he too was for the segregation of public schools. But wait, he was black. So God forbid we label a black man as a racist...anything for the advancement of colored people is good, therefore we can't be against it...otherwise we too are racist. This discussion is bordering on pathetic.

Mr. Irrelevant (appropriate screen name), to label Strom Thurmond as the most racist politician of the 20th century not only displays your total lack of historical education, but your complete ignorance on the topic of the Civil Rights Movement, as well. Apparently you slept through both Political Science and 20th Century US History classes in college.

Chperplt, I really don't think your posts are worth the waste of bandwidth to dignify much of a response....I will say this though, to accuse someone of being a David Duke supporter is both naive and obtuse. D328pilot said it best..."you should be ashamed".

Being an American is incredible in that we have the PRIVELEDGE of expressing our views without persecution. Strom did this...and he should be respected for defending this priveledge as an employee of the the American people...elected by American people.

God is a black Jew... My God is neither black, white, red, purple or green. Taking irrelevence to new levels daedaepilot...here's to hoping that was sarcasm (for your sake).

Cheers,
Markus

American by birth, Southern by the Grace of God

 

[ATR-DRIVR]

Markus,
An excellent post. I hope it makes some of the twits on here actually think..
thanks

 

[House_X]

The question is moot.

The guy was an "on the record" racist and a leader in the segregationist movement which was one of the darkest times in American history.

People have brought up that Strom Thurmond "rehabilitated" himself. This is utter nonsense. I didn't see his rasict a$$ marching down the streets of the segregated south hand-in-hand with Dr. Martin Luther King during the 1960's. I guess many of you have forgotten what this man symbolized and what faction HE WAS LEADING. Well, history will never forget.

There are....there were....and there will always be great leaders in this country. Strom Thurmond IS NOT one of those leaders.

Defending this man is an outrage.

House

 

[46Driver]

Strom - WAS - a man of his times. Saying he was a racist during the 50's doesn't narrow things down a whole lot - look at many of the politicians of his era. Why don't you continue to look back in the history of this country? How many of our "Founding Fathers" were racist because they actually owned slaves? However, Strom evolved over the times. If you are from South Carolina, then you would have seen firsthand his change via his re-elections campaigns. Even now, race baiting is not unusual (witness Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton) but for the last quarter century, Strom was the epitome of civility.
Finally, if you doubt how much he was beloved and respected in South Carolina, feel free to go into Columbia and Charleston and start trashing him in public. Better have on your track shoes......

 

[chperplt]

If you are from South Carolina, then you would have seen firsthand his change via his re-elections campaigns.

That says a lot for the people of South Carolina. For years you reelected a man who did nothing but fall asleep during sessions.

 

[Typhoon1244]

Wouldn't it be something if Strom goes to heaven and finds out that God is a black jew?

She is, isn't she?

 

[Chas]

Gotta be kidding

If thurmond was a racist what is Byrd? Byrd WAS a member of the KKK and Thurmond WAS an ex Liberal Democrat I guess he got mugged one day and became a republican like all the others !!

 

[Mr. Irrelevant]

Mr. Irrelevant (appropriate screen name), to label Strom Thurmond as the most racist politician of the 20th century not only displays your total lack of historical education, but your complete ignorance on the topic of the Civil Rights Movement, as well. Apparently you slept through both Political Science and 20th Century US History classes in college.

Paladin,


You'll find I don't use personal insults on this board to prove a point! I'll stand by my statement earlier. We all, politicians or not, are responsible for our actions. From my understanding of history, he was absolutely the number one pro-segregation politician of the 20th century. No other politician I can think of was more vocal in their opposition to black/african-americans being an integrated part of society. Tell me of another politician that ran on a segregationist platform.

I would be very surprised if the majority of the black population in South Carolina voted for him. First because the black population in South Carolina is so poor, very few of them vote. Second, well, let's not kid ourselves, of those black/african-americans in America who voted, 90% didn't vote for Bush in 2000, I doubt Strom carried over 50% of that voting block. I believe that picture in the newspaper simply to be a sound bite on paper. A liberal newspaper could have easily put something inflammatory about Strom on the first page.


Mr. I.


P.S. Let's see if you can respond without an insult this time.

 

[Swass]

I can't believe some of you a$$holes wish death on somebody. or that it should've happened sooner. I don't care who it is, shame on you.

 

[d328pilot]

Other people that ran on a segregation platform?...hum...Geroge Wallace, the entire dixicrat party.

I am in CAE today and they are having the viewing today. It is sure nice to see people come to pay their respects at the capitol. Thats all people, black and white.

 

[FL000]

If you (guys) haven't ever visited his DC office, do yourselves a favor and go meet the best looking staffers on Capitol Hill before his selections are replaced. He had a great eye for the ladies.

I had the pleasure of sitting next to him on a Piedmont flight back in the 80's (the 1980's) from CLT to AGS. He's a funny character...asking for extra peanuts, then stuffing his pockets full of them.

On the way on to the plane, I introduced myself and said howdy (it was during the Anita Hill hearings, so his recognizability, if not already solidified, was extra-high at the time). I fully expected him to grab a seat in the front, but he followed my date and me all the way to the back of the lightly loaded 737. When we arrived at our seats, he tried to claim mine, the one next to the cute, blonde southern belle. He politely backed off as if doing me a favor and took the seat across the aisle from me. There was about 65 years difference between them. We laughed about that one for awhile.

RIP Senator Thurmond.