Confederacy loses again, Jerry Patterson loses to George P. Bush for Land Commissioner in Texas

Jerry Patterson interviewed in the Southern Mercury, a racist publication put out by the Sons of Confederate Veterans Educational PAC. That is what the magazine said.

He has been a supporter of the Confederacy.

George P. Bush has been the object of hostility by various pro-Confederate militia and neo-Confederate groups.

https://www.dallasnews.com/news/2018-elections/2018/03/06/sid-miller-wins-gop-primary-ag-commissioner-george-p-bush-headed-win-land-commish-race

Jerry Patterson got 29.7% of the vote versus 58.2% for George P. Bush in the Republican primary.

The Texas Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans had this Facebook posting regarding George P. Bush.

https://www.facebook.com/TexasSCV/posts/1614108091970237

This is the link to the "This is Texas Freedom Force" video during the the primary election day where their leader is expecting to see George P. Bush defeated at the polls.

https://www.facebook.com/1318988724858579/videos/1585502844873831/

They have been against George P. Bush for some time now.  This is their Facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/This-Is-Texas-Freedom-Force-1318988724858579/

This is another #BOOTBUSH posting.

https://www.facebook.com/1318988724858579/photos/a.1319816784775773.1073741829.1318988724858579/1584351781655604/?type=3&theater

Of course the Texas Nationalist movement didn't like George P. Bush. This is one attack article. There are others.

https://texianpartisan.com/bushs-tangled-web-finally-unraveling/

Support for the Confederacy and the Alamo is certainly down when a Republican candidate in a Republican primary can't get 30% of the vote when campaigning on being supportive of both and the winning candidate being castigated as not supporting either. Turn out in primaries is low and in them ideological forces often have the greatest influence. Not in 2018 in this primary.

I am sure politicians will take note of this, that there really isn't much support for the Alamo or the Confederacy in a Republican primary. Also, Republicans are likely to be more concerned with what appears to be a strong shift to the Democrats in Texas this year and being known to being supportive of the Confederacy certainly would be very unhelpful in trying to counter this shift.

Letter about the history of neo-Confederacy sent to Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings

Since the Dallas Task Force on Confederate monuments failed to get any information on the history of Dallas neo-Confederacy, the public hasn't been educated fully as to why these monuments need to go down. So the number of Confederate named streets was a very short list and none or maybe just one or two will be changed. The Confederate monument in Pioneer Park might end up staying. It doesn't look like anything will be done for Fair Park. The Commission on Cultural Affairs didn't vote on the Task Force's recommendations.

So I wrote this certified letter to Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings with copies sent to all 14 city council members. 

Some of the supporting documentation I will put after the letter and some will be inserted into the letter. Further I may have explanatory notes which will be in square brackets [ ].

CLICK ON IMAGES SO YOU CAN SEE THE ENTIRE IMAGE.

Again, I had a brain fade and the plantation house in Oak Lawn park is Arlington Hall. Stratford Hall is the ancestral mansion of the Lee family. 

October 15, 2017

                                                                                    Edward H. Sebesta

                                                                                    

                                                                                    edwardsebesta@gmail.com

Mayor Mike Rawlings

City of Dallas

Mayor and City Council City of Dallas

1500 Marilla St.

Dallas, TX 75201

Dear Hon. Rawlings:

The Task Force on Confederate monuments did not research or investigate or report on the history of neo-Confederacy in Dallas and Texas.

This has had the unfortunate result in that the public hasn’t been educated and doesn’t know the motivations of the people who erected these statues and what was the ideology behind them. There were presentations about the fact that Dallas was a white supremacist society during the period in which they were put up, but the historical record of the beliefs of these organizations and supporters of the monuments has not been examined.

This results in some not really taking seriously the reason to remove these Confederate monuments. The need to eliminate Confederate street names is not taken that seriously and rationalizations are given to only change some. As of 10/15/2017 it is unclear what will be done with Fair Park. The one-third replica Lee plantation house, Stratford, isn’t being discussed, the remaining memorials that seek to honor Confederates aren’t addressed.

So I think it would be useful that you and city council get a sampler, a small sampler of what neo-Confederacy stood for in Dallas.

1.       The United Daughters of the Confederacy in 1934 and 1935 campaigned against a play Jute that was planned to be performed by the Oak Cliff Little Theater. The UDC opposed it since it was planned to use an interracial cast to perform it. The performance of the play was prevented and the Oak Cliff Little Theater closed down. The Texas Division UDC President in the UDC convention minutes reported it as a triumph in the defense of the South.  The Dallas Morning News reported on this multiple times: “Interracial Body Meets Opposition of Confederates,” Dec. 4, 1934, page2; “Quince to Revive ‘Jute’ on June 4 at Cliff Theater, April 27, 1935, page 10; “Title Role of ‘Jute’ Still Remains Uncast,” May 13, 1935, page 6; “Cast for ‘Jute’ Already Complete,” May 17, 1935, Page 14; “Confederate Daughters Oppose Playing Whites and Negroes in Drama,” May 18, 1935, page 6; “Another Confederacy Chapter Opposes Two Races in Theatricals,” May 23, 1935, page 6; “Guarantee No ‘Social Upheaval,’ Quince Asks Protests to Cease on Mixed Cast for Play ‘Jute,’” May 24, 1935, page 2; “Quince Drops ‘Jute’ In Face of Protests,” May 27, 1935, page 7; “Oak Cliff Merges Membership with Dallas Little Theater’s,” May 28, 1935, page 14.

2.      Walter White of the NAACP came to speak at a YWCA against lynching in 1937. [Correction, 1938] The campaign against his speaking engagement was so ferocious that it was moved to a different Y for safety, a police guard had to be assigned, and White had to fly in at 3 pm and fly out at 6 pm for his own safety. The campaign was led by Walter E. Hurt, Commander-in-Chief of the Texas Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans.

3.      An extract for John H. Reagan, from the Dallas Morning News, April 28, 1897, page 1 in which Reagan explains that the restoration of white supremacy after the Civil War was more meritorious than any of the Civil War battles that the Confederates fought.

4.      A report on a speech made by the Historian General of the Texas Division of the United Confederate Veterans at UCV meeting in Fort Worth asking that all African Americans be sent back to Africa and giving forth on his biblical theories of racial inequality. It is from the Confederate Veteran, Vol. 24, No. 12 pp. 529, Dec. 1916.

5.      Selections from the John B. Hood Journal of the John B. Hood SCV camp in Dallas in 1965. The raw rancid racism really shows what Confederate “heritage” is all about.

I could supply a lot more. I want you and the city council to understand the motivations behind these monuments and other Confederate items of the built environment of Dallas and not be inclined to be lax in addressing the issue involved instead of strenuously de-Confederating Dallas.

                                                                                    Sincerely Yours,

                                                                                    Edward H. Sebesta

This is from the Texas Division UDC annual convention minutes. I extracted into a page the Texas Division President's comments from the year book. It succinctly summarizes the attitude of the UDC.

CLICK ON IMAGES TO SEE ENTIRE IMAGE.

The article was mailed. You can get this article from the Dallas Public Library. It is from the Dallas Morning News, April 29, 1938, pages 1, 12. I sent the entire article with the bibliographic note. The headline was, Protest Made Agasint Negro Speech Plans: Earl E. Hurt Says White People Should Guard Racial Purity."

Walter White, historically famous leader of the NAACP was scheduled to speak in Dallas before the Dallas Interracial Commission against lynching. A campaign was led against his speaking. This really shows what Confederate "heritage" in Dallas was about. 

The intensity of the protest was such that the speaker had to be guarded by police and the venue moved. This is from the article, "Police Guard Appearance of Negro Speaker: Antilynch Work To Save Black Bodies, White Men's Souls," Dallas Morning News, April 30, 1938. 

Walter White had to be flown in at 3pm and flown out at 6pm by airplane for his safety. 

This is the raw racism of the Sons of Confederate Veterans at that time. Earl Hurt said that he speaks for the organization and other organizations. .

This is from John H. Reagan, Confederate veteran and former member of the Confederate cabinet at the dedication of the Confederate monument which later was moved to Pioneer Park.

Reagan finds restoration of white supremacy glorious – Ed Sebesta 10/10/2017

In this section of a speech given by John H. Reagan, former member of Jefferson Davis’s cabinet, given at the dedication of the Confederate monument in Dallas in 1897, we see that Reagan regards as more glorious than the battles of the Civil War the restoration of white supremacy after the Civil War. Note his racism in reference to “a servile race” which makes “reconstruction worse and more humiliating than war.”

From “Men Who Wore Gray,” Dallas Morning News, April 29, 1897, page 1, Newsbank. (The image of the original text is on the following page.)

“… The strife of the war is over, peace has been restored. It is true that in this restoration we had to pass through a period of reconstruction worse and more humiliating than war ---“

(Here the speaker was interrupted by the arrival of Mrs. Hayes and family, who were enthusiastically received.)

“But we have the fruits of peace, and it is one of the grandest things connected with the memory of that struggle and of what followed. Our country’s resources were exhausted, our property sacrificed, the bravest and best of our men slain upon the battle fields, denied the privileges of self-government, subjected to military power, the attempt made to subject us to the control of a servile race. With all of this, the highest compliment that could be paid our people seems to me, better than all the victories of battle, was that under such circumstances we were able to preserve the organization of society, to re-establish organized government, to restore the industries of the country and to establish constitutional laws which protect and vindicate the rights of a free people.” (Applause.) [Bold face added.]

The restoration of white supremacy, the overthrow of Reconstruction, the maraudings and terror of the Ku Klux Klan, Red Shirts, White League and the Knights of the White Camillia and just general violent white terrorism is according to John H. Reagan is “the highest compliment” that is “better than all the victories of battle” in the Civil War.

It was generally understood in the early 20^th century by Confederate and neo-Confederate groups, such as the United Daughters of the Confederacy and the Sons of Confederate Veterans, that the Ku Klux Klan of the Reconstruction period, as well as other white terrorist groups was the effort of the ex-Confederate soldier.

The Confederate Monument at Pioneer Park is a monument to white supremacy. It needs to go. 

This is the image of the extract referenced above.

This is a speech asking that all African Americans be sent back to Africa. Also, it says that Indians are the result of hybridization with animals. It is from the Confederate Veteran, Vol. 24, No. 12, pp. 569. The lecture is by the Historian General of the Texas Division of the United Confederate Veterans. 

Selections from the John B. Hood Journal of 1965 of the John B. Hood Sons of Confederate Veterans camp.

This is the review of the material. The photos follow.

 JOHN B. HOOD CAMP SONS OF CONFEDERATE VETERANS (SCV) JOHN B. HOOD JOURNAL

Compiled by Edward H. Sebesta 10/18/2017

The John B. Hood Journal was the publication of the John B. Hood Camp of the Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) and the Dallas Public Library (DPL) has a bound copy of four issues from 1965. They show the blistering racism of the SCV and which is representative of the mentality of neo-Confederates then and now.  This is what so called Confederate “heritage” is really about.

Notes: The pages in the bound volume are unpaginated. The page numbers in this document do not correspond to any pages in the document. They are just for internal reference in this document only.

NOTABLE ITEMS:

This directory is to point out some of the more notable pages using the page numbers of this document. Additionally red arrows are added to point out these notable items. This is a short selection of some of the anti-civil rights items in the bound volume.

1.       Page 5: “White only” stickers offered for sale by the Journal. “Think of the possibilities. On your personal bathrooms, etc., anywhere they are still legal.”  Enlarged view on page 26.

2.      Page 9: Praise and support for right wing radio personality Richard Cotton attacks on the civil rights movement. Page 34 Enlarged view.

3.      Page 11:

3.1.   White supremacist quote of Thomas Dixon from “The Leopard Spots,” one of his novels.

3.2.  Quote of Abraham Lincoln supporting white supremacy.

3.3.  Two condemnations of the Supreme Court decision, one Florida Legislature, one Georgia Legislature.

4.      Page 12: “The Negro 23^rd Psalm.” What is interesting is that neo-Confederates in the 1950s and 60s will have these long discussions of the Constitution and then next to it these rabid rants which give away the whole game. They are so racist that this doesn’t even occur to them.  Page 45. Enlarged.

5.      Page 14: Various racist statements.

5.1.   Robert Toombs explains that Robert E. Lee demonstrates white superiority.

5.2.  Condemnation of “Sammy Davis” who is called “Negro agitator.”

5.3.  Short item asserting that God supports segregation.

6.      Page 15:  Essay explaining that there is no place in the SCV for someone who supports civil rights.  Specific complaint about President Lyndon Baines Johnson’s support for the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act.

7.      Page 16: Various racist statements.

First Domino falls, San Antonio takes down Confederate monument in Travis Park overnight

The San Antonio city council voted to have the statue removed. The vote was 10 to 1.

http://www.kens5.com/news/local/monument-glorifies-a-lost-cause-council-votes-to-relocate-confederate-statue/469702993

https://www.sacurrent.com/the-daily/archives/2017/08/31/san-antonio-city-council-votes-to-remove-confederate-statue-from-travis-park

The city wasted no time to get the monument removed. The removal was within hours of the vote.

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/San-Antonio-removing-Confederate-statue-in-Travis-12165970.php

This is a video footage.

https://www.ksat.com/live/watch-live-confederate-statue-removal-from-travis-park

The city was sued during the debate to prevent the removal of the monument.  Claim was that the city would be violating the free speech rights of the Texas Division Sons of Confederate Veterans and that the city of San Antonio didn't have title to the property. Their attorney was Kirk Lyons.

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/City-sued-as-debate-over-Confederate-statue-12163921.php

Now the issue about the title might have some merit. I am sure that the city of San Antonio is looking into it. For something really old records can be lost or the means of possession might have been forgotten. Perhaps the land is on permanent loan or something. I am not saying this is the case, but it isn't unreasonable. I sure the city is doing research now.

The Federal judge refused to issue a stay on the removal. See link below.

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/Judge-denies-motion-to-block-city-from-removing-12165180.php?cmpid=artem

So down it went.

The Texas Division Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) has a "WARFRONT" posting on their Facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/SCVTexas/posts/1447242635323451

Their web page has a lot of name calling. They must realize that their usual tactic of threats of retaliation at the next election is of little worth. They made a point of having two out of three speakers at their rally for the monument be African American. So now they realize the H.K. Edgerton strategy doesn't really work. The support that they get from right wing publications is of no value, because if Confederate monuments were widely identified with the politics of Breitbart they would likely go down faster.

This is Texas Freedom Force, ("This is" is part of their name), says they are still involved but they are tied up with the hurricane but say they are still involved with the fight to keep Confederate monuments. (See link below.) They say they are going to have a recall effort. I don't think the recall effort is going to have much effect. Even if they remove one or two city council people, and I doubt they will, it still won't get the monument back up. It might highlight how lacking in influence they are.

It strikes me that they are somewhat delusional as to their importance. I don't think they will ever quite realize that they are not representative of mainstream opinion in Texas.

However, I do agree with the speaker that the removal in San Antonio will get other militia groups fired up for the fight. It could be that they really didn't realize how much opinion has turned against Confederate monuments.

https://www.facebook.com/This-Is-Texas-Freedom-Force-1318988724858579/


IMPLICATIONS FOR TEXAS

If you live in Texas you know that a lot of Texans live in a Texas-centric world.

So this is a really important precedent. Also, the fact that it was voted down by 10 to 1.

So in about 12 to 15 months people will wonder why their city hasn't gotten rid of its Confederate monument if it hasn't already done so. Given that the vote by the San Antonio city council was 10 to 1, people will have an expectation that the removal of a Confederate monument should be quick and relatively straight forward. If their city hasn't removed its Confederate monument or in the progress of doing so people in that city will be wondering what is wrong with its city leadership and coming to a realization what type of leadership it is.Others elsewhere in Texas will begin to draw conclusions about what type of city it is. There will be discontent and severe criticism of cities which don't remove Confederate monuments.

So for the cities that are hold outs, there will be  slow process of one monument here, one monument there being removed, showing that a sustained campaign will remove the monuments and encourage the efforts in hold-out cities to continue. It will make hold -out cities seem more aberrant and subject to ridicule.

Now the next key thing is for another monument to fall since that would be the start of a trend. Some officials might hope that San Antonio is just a fluke, but if more cities start removing Confederate monuments, city officials that would hope to avoid the issue, will realize that they just need to get it behind them.

Dallas Mayor Rawlings must be wondering if his whole task force thing is a mistake and city council members are probably realizing that a vote for quick removal is probably a better political strategy. Who wants to be on record as voting for a delaying strategy when city council decides that it is simply time for the monuments to go?

As monuments go down in Texas it will apply pressure for monuments to go down elsewhere. If conservative Texas takes down monuments people will wonder what is wrong with their city if they don't take down Confederate monuments.

I think also that the movement to remove Confederate monuments will continue. Progress might stall in other cities, maybe some national effort will slow it down, but then one city will get a Confederate monument removed and efforts in other cities will be encouraged and pressure will increase on the remaining cities. The issue might quiet down for a week or two, but then in some city the contest will bring to the fore the issue for the nation.

I think we are seeing the neo-Confederacy go up the spout.

Texas Division Sons of Confederate Veterans Facebook calls me evil. UPDATE: Kirk D. Lyon's Comments. UPDATE2: Some music videos

There was a Facebook posting with a photo of the Dallas Morning News edition Viewpoints section with our letter asking that Confederate monuments be taken down.

https://www.facebook.com/SCVTexas/photos/a.264003920314001.69905.180884138625980/1433289023385479/?type=3

There are a variety of cranky statements.

These are some of the comments. I think they show the true spirit of Confederate "heritage."

Greg Loren Durand stated:

They can't seem to be able to spell my name correctly. I am not a Marxist. Durand should contemplate that after the Lee statue is removed and the park deConfederated, there will be Gay Pride celebrations there once a year.

However what was really interesting was that the Texas Division Sons of Confederate Veterans declared me to be "evil."

I will have to take my Gothic vampire cape to the dry cleaners tomorrow.

Then there is this hope that I die.

The supporters of the Confederacy are reduced to a raging residual, a Confederacy of cranks.

Tracking this struggle to get rid of Confederate monuments is also like watching a insane comedy.

UPDATE:

Kirk D. Lyons has this little homophobic comment. I am called the crawfag. I used to use the name Crawfish A. Crustacean as an online name.

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1091960527605290&id=378823865585630


UPDATE2: Some music videos. Might as well have some fun with these clowns.

https://youtu.be/L1u2WuaStrc
Bach's Toccata & Fugue in D Minor. You have heard this before.



Nothing is really as impressive as this piece by Bach, but that is my view. There is a lot of Gothic type organ music on YouTube but I feel it is largely derivative from this piece by Bach.

These are some other classical music pieces.

Then there is Danse Macabre by Camille Saint-Saens.

https://youtu.be/YyknBTm_YyM



There is Suite Gothique by Leon Boellmann.

https://youtu.be/G0Fj3UD8gBI



Of course I think that Mussgorsky's Night on Bald Mountain, Fantasia would be a worthy addition.

https://youtu.be/SLCuL-K39eQ

This Is Texas Freedom Force working with the Texas Division Sons of Confederate Veterans planning on rally in defense of Confederate statue in San Antonio. Counter protest planned. UPDATE: They are working with people in the DFW area to have a pro-Confederate rally in Dallas.

UPDATE: The This is Texas Freedom Force is evidently working with groups in the DFW area to have a rally for Confederate monuments in Dallas. See my blog posting that follows this one.

http://newtknight.blogspot.com/2017/08/protest-by-reactionary-groups-planned.html#.WYpvZFGGOiM

It seems the contest over Confederate statues is going to be very different than Richmond and New Orleans. It isn't going to be a country club tea party (Richmond) or a simple removal in the face of threats of violence (New Orleans.) 

Texas is a state in transition from a reactionary Republican state to a multiracial Democratic state. We have the issues of immigration and a large Hispanic population. In my daily life I hear Spanish all the time. Reactionary groups here are bonkers over immigration. 

I feel that the situation is potentially explosive. I don't want to be alarmist, but I also feel that I always want to underestimate the potential outcome of a situation. So many people are alarmist on the Internet you can develop an instinctive aversion to saying that a situation is something that people should feel alarmed about. 

So this is what is happening. 

This is the Facebook link for the counter protest event.

https://www.facebook.com/events/1505121909570936/

This is the Facebook link for the pro-Confederate protest. 

https://www.facebook.com/events/1744805639151436/

You can see that they use as their image a combined Texas/Confederate flag. 

This is the Facebook page for This Is Texas Freedom Force

https://www.facebook.com/This-Is-Texas-Freedom-Force-1318988724858579/

This is their web page.

http://www.titff.org/

The Texas Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans is planning on giving this event their support, and I think they are planning on giving them their full support.

In this post the Texas Division states that This Is Texas Freedom Force needs to be supported and reposts This Is Texas Freedom Force posting for the rally. 

https://www.facebook.com/SCVTexas/posts/1432226226825092

In this post the Texas Division says that they have 134 members committed to showing up. 

Further they are mobilizing their membership to show and are asking that each SCV camp commander be called to get persons to show up. They hope to double the number of attendees to over 250. The Texas Division is going all out to support this pro-Confederate event. 

https://www.facebook.com/SCVTexas/photos/a.1230244337023283.1073741832.180884138625980/1433104453403936/

What type of group is This Is Texas Freedom Force? 

This photo states "This is how TITFF handles parking lot logistics." Which shows soldiers with machine guns. 

https://www.facebook.com/1318988724858579/photos/rpp.1318988724858579/1392534844170633/?type=3&theater

From their web page pictures I see persons carrying guns and machine guns and persons dressed in fatigues. I am assuming these are members of This Is Texas Freedom Force. 

It is very revealing that the Texas Division SCV is willing to work with This Is Texas Freedom Force. I think it reveals who they are.

Further I think this issue will surface the reality of Texas.