Sen. Strom Thurmond

[CountryGurl]

Originally posted by Rudey
I thought you'd be happy about his supporting Nixon.

-Rudey
--Almost time for a history lesson.

Why? Nixon was just the lesser of two evils!!

[Rudey]

Originally posted by Bamboozled
Do you know me or something? Please don't make assumptions about my political beliefs.

--You have yet to make any valuable contributions to this thread.

No I don't know you at all. I'm just really smart. It doesn't have to do with your political beliefs. Obviously you don't know some of the contributions the Nixon administration made.

-Rudey
--Now play nice or I won't share my history lesson.

[Bamboozled]

Originally posted by Cream
You don't have to respect him or anyone. I don't respect him either. He is NOT my hero.

I just went back and edited my post because the only lines that were directed at you were the first two (even though I quoted you). The remainder of the post is directed to everyone else. Hopefully someone can answer my questions.

[steelepike]

Good Ol' Strom making controversy even after his death, I will miss that old guy.

So keep arguing because obviously you are all changing the world for the better.

And allow me to take my seat so I can get back to watching this show.

[CountryGurl]

Originally posted by Rudey
No I don't know you at all. I'm just really smart. It doesn't have to do with your political beliefs. Obviously you don't know some of the contributions the Nixon administration made.

-Rudey
--Now play nice or I won't share my history lesson.

Key word being SOME

[Rudey]

Originally posted by CountryGurl
Key word being SOME

In other words you still don't know some of his contributions. You're writing that whole key word thing didn't get across the message you wanted to bring about. You're not good enough. Tisk tisk.

-Rudey
--The Nixon administration championed affirmative action.

[Peaches-n-Cream]

Originally posted by Bamboozled
I just went back and edited my post because the only lines that were directed at you were the first two (even though I quoted you). The remainder of the post is directed to everyone else. Hopefully someone can answer my questions.

OK cool. I posted before I read your edited section.

Peace

[Bamboozled]

Originally posted by Rudey
No I don't know you at all. I'm just really smart. It doesn't have to do with your political beliefs. Obviously you don't know some of the contributions the Nixon administration made.

-Rudey
--Now play nice or I won't share my history lesson.

What? This is not about the Nixon administration. The whole point was to illustrate that Strom used his racist beliefs to not only further his own agenda, but those of other "leaders" as well. I didn't make one comment about the actual "contributions of the Nixon administration", so how can you speculate about what I know? If you want to start a debate about Nixon, start a new thread.

--

[OUlioness01]

wow I can't believe this has blown up this far. Yes Strom Thrumond did do/say some terrible things in his lifetime. Yet, he did do some wonderful things as well. He served his constituents, yet he was very racist (although he did change his stance on that towards the latter part of his life). You cannot summarize his life in a single statement he made or a single group or organization he was a part of (unless that's the government as a whole). My point is that everyone is going to have different feelings about him and we should respect each others opinions. His death should not be turned into an occasion for yet another race argument (we've had enough of that this week), nor is it the time for namecalling and disrespect. Please honor everyone's opinions. We're not all giong to agree but let's at least keep htis civil and not debate through immature remarks and accusations.

[Rudey]

Originally posted by Bamboozled
What? This is not about the Nixon administration. The whole point was to illustrate that Strom used his racist beliefs to not only further his own agenda, but those of other "leaders" as well. I didn't make one comment about the actual "contributions of the Nixon administration", so how can you speculate about what I know? If you want to start a debate about Nixon, start a new thread.

--

What you said still makes no sense. So one of the reasons why Strom was bad was that he supported leaders in his party? In the end, Strom supported an administration that championed affirmative action.

-Rudey

[vanda]

If Strom was truly sincere in acceptance of blacks, he would have apologized for all past evil deeds towards them. Even to his death, he never chose to do so.

[MSKKG]

Originally posted by Bamboozled
Okay, I'm really confused by everyone saying that Strom made amends. Amends with whom? Definitely not the very people he oppressed for so long. What did he ever do to help race relations in the country? Because he did "great" things to further his own cause, is of no consequence to me. And you can't really believe that all of this happened so long ago. Want some more Strom facts? Here ya go:

In 1941, Thurmond was a circuit court judge. He presided over the trial of a seventeen year old black farmer, Samuel Osborne, who shot and killed his white employer with a shotgun in self defense when the man attacked Samuel while the young black man was sleeping. He threatened Samuel with a .32-caliber pistol and a club with which he was known to beat his black employees. Despite the fact that the Supreme Court had already ruled that the exclusion of blacks from juries was unconstitutional, Thurmond allowed Osborne to be tried for murder by an all-white jury and later sentenced him to death.

As governor of South Carolina, he opposed the integration of black and white troops in the U.S. army.

When Strom Thurmond ran for president in 1948, he ran on the 'Sates Rights' campaign, which was a Cival War era term used as a euphemism of 'White Power.' His campaign slogan was 'Segregation Forever'.

When Harry Truman insisted that the Democratic Party abandon racism in all forms, Thurmond left the party, ran as independent and eventually became a Republican.

In 1957, he filibustered for over 24 hours, one of the longest filibusters in US history, against the passage of the Civil Rights act, which would give equal rights to Americans of all races.

He was an avid supporter of Richard Nixon and used his racist stance to rally support for Nixon in southern states.

Thurmond repeatedly voted against laws that would give rights to blacks, gays, or women.

And I'm supposed to give respect to this person??? WTF ever. He's your hero, not mine.

*Edited to add: The only part of this thread directed at Cream is the first couple of sentences.

The things you mentioned are over 50 years ago. How about looking at something a little more recent? This is a quote from The State: "Such segregationist stances still angered many South Carolinians decades later, in part because Thurmond never apologized.

"But many black and white people say Thurmond changed his views on racial issues. He became the first Southern member of Congress to appoint a black person to his professional staff. He voted for the Voting Rights Act of 1982. And he was honored in 1995 by the presidents of historically black colleges and universities or his support of those schools.

"'In most instances I am confident that we have more in common as Southerners then we have reason to oppose each other because of race,' Thurmond once told Ebony magazine. 'Equality of opportunity for all is a goal upon which blacks and Southern whites can agree.'"

[CountryGurl]

Originally posted by Rudey
In other words you still don't know some of his contributions. You're writing that whole key word thing didn't get across the message you wanted to bring about. You're not good enough. Tisk tisk.

-Rudey
--The Nixon administration championed affirmative action.

What I'm saying is yes maybe Nixon did make contributions but my community is still behind when it comes to the contributions given to the white community. Please trust me when I say that there are two communities

[docetboy]

Noone obviously paid any attention to my post on the first page, so I am going to post it again for everyones benifit. Despite your views on his political platform, he was a great American, Soldier, and Statesman who should be held in everyones prayers. For a short time, forget about politics...if that's possible!

(reposted: )
This is an extraordinary loss to the people of America. Strom Thurmond was a great man and a great Senator representing the people of South Carolina for almost 50 years. Despite your views on his political platform, you must respect the man and how much he dedicated for his country. He was a public servant his entire life, from county school superintendent, to governor, to the longest-serving Senator in American history.

He was a great soldier, being awarded five Battle Stars and eighteen decorations, medals and honors for his service in World War II. They include the Legion of Merit with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, Belgian Order of the Crown and French Croix de Guerre.

Despite being exempt from the Draft, he enlisted anyway. He landed on the beaches of Normandy on D-Day, flying past the front lines in order to prevent German reinforcements from reaching the area. Before the end of the war, he helped liberate Paris, fought in the Battle of the Bulge, and helped fight into Germany.

J. Strom Thurmond was a great American and every American should be mourning over this great loss. Please hold his family in your thoughts and prayers.

[Bamboozled]

Originally posted by Rudey
What you said still makes no sense. So one of the reasons why Strom was bad was that he supported leaders in his party? In the end, Strom supported an administration that championed affirmative action.

-Rudey

Well, Strom was bad for many reasons. Surely you're not implying that Strom garnered support for Nixon from the southern states on an affirmative action platform? He was still preaching "segregation now and forever".