Big Win for Ku Klux Klan as Dolly Parton Statue is Dead
UPDATE: Author of Dolly Parton Statue Bill Addresses Concerns
Congratulations, woke Twitter. You have officially blocked the effort to erect a statue of Dolly Parton in the Tennessee State House in Nashville, certifying that the current statue of Ku Klux Klan leader and Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest remains ensconced in its position in the Tennessee Capitol indefinitely. Welcome to the world of unintended consequences.
Democrat State Representative John Mark Windle formally brought forward House Bill 135 on January 13th for the creation of the statue for Dolly Parton’s work in both the arts and philanthropy in the state. The proposal was met with overwhelming bipartisan support across both political and cultural lines. Obviously, Dolly Parton is a very popular figure, is most certainly worthy of such a statue as a native Tennessean, and is an appropriate figure to be honored in her home state’s Capitol.
The effort was started by an individual named Alex Parsons who launched a petition last year specifically aimed at the Tennessee State House looking to replace Confederate-era statues. It was an anti-racist movement from the start that used Dolly Parton as the replacement specifically to draw interest and popularity to the cause. The petition received over 25,000 signatures, and is one of the reasons Tennessee House Bill 135 was able to move forward.
But a misguided notion that took root primarily on Twitter after the statue proposal was announced proclaimed that Dolly Parton was not worthy of a statue in the Tennessee Capitol. The idea became prominent enough primarily among music journalists and media members that Rolling Stone Country even wrote a story denouncing the proposal. Along with the strange discounting of Dolly Parton’s legacy by a country outlet, and the false notion someone should be dead before we can erect statues to them, the assertion by concerned individuals was that the Nathan Bedford Forrest statue should be replaced by a black icon, not Dolly.
Placing aside the fact that if it wasn’t for Dolly Parton’s name being involved in the statue in the first place we may not even be discussing a replacement, what the individuals also opposing the statue didn’t account for is that if the motion to honor Dolly Parton failed, so would the effort to replace the Nathan Bedford Forrest statue.
Well, on Thursday, February 18th, Dolly Parton, as is her nature, recused herself from the controversy by saying she didn’t want to be considered for the honor anymore, asking for legislators to remove the bill from consideration. Parton said in a public statement:
I want to thank the Tennessee legislature for their consideration of a bill to erect a statue of me on the Capitol grounds. I am honored and humbled by their intention but I have asked the leaders of the state legislature to remove the bill from any and all consideration.
Given all that is going on in the world, I don’t think putting me on a pedestal is appropriate at this time. I hope, though, that somewhere down the road several years from now or perhaps after I’m gone if you still feel I deserve it, then I’m certain I will stand proud in our great State Capitol as a grateful Tennessean.
In the meantime, I’ll continue to try to do good work to make this great state proud.
Don’t hold this against Dolly Parton. Her recusing herself for consideration for the statue is one of the very reasons she was proposed to be the one to replace the controversial statue in the first place. It’s similar to her not wanting to receive the National Medal of Arts from now President Biden after she refused the medal twice from President Trump due to logistical reasons. In an era when nobody seems to be able to see the bigger picture or reach out across divides to build consensus, Dolly Parton proves once again to be the bigger person.
But the end result is the same. Unless a bill in the Tennessee legislature can garner enough popularity to pass, the bust of Ku Klux Klan leader Nathan Bedford Forrest remains in place. And sorry, even though I’m a strong personal proponent of pioneering black harmonica player DeFord Bailey—who was one of the first performers ever on the Grand Ole Opry—it’s going to be tough to find a plurality of Tennesseans who even know who his is to create enough public consensus behind him or anyone else to get a statue funded, built, and through the political process.
It’s not that the idea of replacing the Nathan Bedford Forrest statue with a Civil Rights Leader or black icon is a bad one. In fact as Saving Country Music proposed, perhaps you could have included Dolly Parton in the proposal to win widespread popularity, while honoring a Civil Rights icon with a second statue as well. Now by interjecting identitarian ideology, removing the context of how and why the Dolly Parton statue even came to be proposed in the first place, and refusing to see the bigger picture, the end result is the extension of a Ku Klux Klan leader being honored in the Tennessee Capitol.
What Rolling Stone Country and many Nashville-based journalists got wrong is even something The New York Times got right. As columnist Margaret Renkel said earlier this week, “Even so, this troubled moment in history may be the perfect time for our state legislature to consider honoring Dolly Parton, a Tennessean who brings people together, someone whose creative work and public generosity remind us of what is good in human nature, someone whose very life prompts us to recall that what we share with one another will always be greater than what we allow to come between us.”
The Nathan Bedford Forrest statue eventually will be replaced. That’s just the way these things are going. But its demise could have been measured in days. Now it might be months, or years.
This story has been updated.
Nick
February 18, 2021 @ 12:04 pm
No matter what you do, you will never please everyone.
Didn’t they remove a statue recently in Boston of Abraham Lincoln because he didn’t do enough for black people?
Stephen Goldsmith
February 19, 2021 @ 6:50 am
No they didn’t. The perception was that the statue gave black Americans no credit for their role in “shaping the nation’s freedoms,” according to the mayor’s office. Remember that 180,000 black Americans served in the civil war. I’m not saying they were right or wrong in that judgement.
CountryKnight
February 20, 2021 @ 6:49 am
The mob also knocked over a bust of General Grant.
They always eat their own.
William
February 18, 2021 @ 12:12 pm
We almost had racism on its back until Barry and Big Mike got into office. We will never be the same country that we were prior to those two ….
Whiskey_Pete
February 18, 2021 @ 12:28 pm
I just can’t wait until they remove the Pyramids of Giza and that racially insensitive sphinx statue. I mean is it a lion or a person?
They are symbols of systemic racism 2550 to 2490 B.C.
#neverforget #myeyesareopen
John Dowling
February 18, 2021 @ 12:37 pm
I agree with your essay overall. But I would point out that John Lewis was one of the main organizers of the Nashville lunch counter sit-ins in 1960 for which he got knocked around and arrested. It was an important moment for Nashville, for the civil rights movement, and for Lewis. Though admittedly maybe not statue-worthy.
Trigger
February 18, 2021 @ 1:56 pm
I would think ideally it would be a Tennessean who is ensconced in the Tennessee Capitol. I don’t mean any disrespect to John Lewis at all, and if he is who the people of Tennessee choose to replace Forrest, more power to them. But the bigger point I keep trying to emphasize here is that Dolly Parton was a name that could get this done. The Tennessee legislature is predominantly Republican. They may not be for a KKK figure and Confederate General, but they will generally be against the removing of statues. That’s why the pick of Dolly Parton was so genius. Not only is she universally-beloved, but you can play chicken with legislators to vote AGAINST a bill erecting a statue of Dolly Parton, and see how that plays with their constituents. This was the idea of the original petitioner. And it’s very strange that the people that got in the way of this were not Civil Rights advocates, it was supposed country music journalists who felt it was an opportunity to signal on Twitter as opposed to allowing something to be substantively done about a problematic statue, and in a way that honors a country music icon who has also done a tremendous amount for Civil Rights.
Trigger
February 18, 2021 @ 2:06 pm
Also, I just removed the two sentences about John Lewis. It was only slightly germane to the discussion, and is working as a distraction from the greater points, and folks on Twitter (surprisingly) are using it as a way to undermine the entire article in a vacuum of other relevant counterpoints.
Di Harris
February 18, 2021 @ 2:11 pm
Why in the hell are you worried about what people are doing and saying on Twitter?
Serious question.
Trigger
February 18, 2021 @ 2:24 pm
Because people on Twitter directly influenced a statue of Dolly Parton getting erected at the Tennessee state Capitol. And strangely, these people are supposed country music journalists and personalities.
If there was ANY question that these people are nothing more than political operative hacks posing as country journalists, this moment should leave no doubt in people’s minds. They’re not here to promote country music, or even to cover it objectively. They are here to actively undermine it.
Di Harris
February 18, 2021 @ 2:33 pm
What i am trying to say is, Do Not retract sentences from what you originally wrote.
There will always be political operative hacks.
Do not bow down to these liars Trigger.
Write your piece, stick to it.
If you want to consider/reconsider your position later, fine.
But do not retract what you originally wrote.
STAND YOUR GROUND
steve
February 18, 2021 @ 1:06 pm
Are there any country artists currently honored with a statue in the capitol? If not, I’m not sure Dolly should be the first. Tennessee natives Roy Acuff or Eddy Arnold would seem like logical choices as two of the earliest superstars of the genre. Maybe Chet Atkins, as well. I’m not saying Dolly doesn’t deserve a statue (she does), but I’m not sure she deserves it before those who were around before her and helped make Nashville Music City.
strait county 81
February 18, 2021 @ 1:14 pm
In other news BLM is probably erecting a Luke Combs statue as we speak.
Christopher Bubb
February 18, 2021 @ 1:15 pm
I guess I don’t understand why people feel it has to be an either-or thing. Why it couldn’t have been Dolly AND a civil rights icon. I wouldn’t have argued with John Lewis, who is one of my personal heroes, but my first choice probably would have been Ida B. Wells, who was one of the founders of the NAACP. Anything to get rid of Forrest, whom I consider one of the most truly evil people in all of American history. His statue should be removed even if there isn’t going to be an immediate replacement.
Anyway, it’s moot now since Dolly has refused the honor. Which is another example of the humility and down-to-earth nature for which we love her.
Trigger
February 18, 2021 @ 1:59 pm
My thought from the beginning was to include two statues. Dolly Parton brings popularity, attention, and consensus to the effort, and a Civil Rights icon helps right the wrong. I think it’s a good point and a fair discussion that if you replace Forrest, do it with an African American. But you have to get the bill passed. You have to raise funds for the statue. You have to get the public behind it. Fair or not, that’s just the environment in Tennessee. And Dolly Parton helps you do that.
Matsfan/Jatsfan
February 18, 2021 @ 1:16 pm
Shallow thinkers cannot see unintended consequences.
King Honky Of Crackershire
February 18, 2021 @ 1:16 pm
Trigglonius Maximus,
What this boils down to, is that the Pasty-Whites want a statue of a black leftist to replace the statue of the white leftist that is currently standing. It’s more about an anti-white, anti-American sentiment, than it is a pro-black, or pro-good-for-black-people sentiment.
The mere thought of putting up a statue of that vile race-pimp John Lewis, who spent the second half of his life selling his own people down the river to white, neo-lib corporatist scum like the Clintons and Bushes, would be laughable, if it weren’t so objectively sad…like, terribly sad.
If the Pasty-Whites are really pro-black, then let’s see them advocate for a statue of Frederick Douglass.
And you’re right about Dolly. She doesn’t seem politically motivated; she’s just trying not to piss off more people than she has to.
Chris
February 18, 2021 @ 1:16 pm
Trig – You assume that General Forrest is honored at our State Capital as a result of his being in the Klan as opposed to defending our state and others from an invading force.
When he died in Memphis, there was a 2-mile parade which included thousands of black Memphians.
Although he had been in the Klan in the post-war South, he repented and worked toward trying to permit former slaves to enter the free work force.
Read his speeches from later in life. He was invited by blacks to speak at events. His speeches are eloquent. I read one and did a double-take, because it appeared to have been written by someone who was an early civil rights pioneer. He repented from his horrible ways.
Whenever I hear about former KKK leaders being venerated, former Sen. Robert Byrd, of W. Va., comes immediately to mind.But he, by all appearances, changed his thinking and went on to have a very successful political career. I can’t tell when he had his epiphany, since he filibustered and voted against the Civil Rights Act of 1964. And his name is ubiquitous in his home state and is plastered all over public buildings.
Sen. Byrd is certainly not the only segregationist whose name is publicly venerated. The Russell Senate Office Building is named after Sen. Richard Russell, of Ga., who was a staunch segregationist.
John Newton, the author of Amazing Grace, worked on a slave ship and had repudiated his Christianity. But he repented and changed.
So did General Forrest.
My wife’s great-grandfather fought under General Forrest. Her family had neither money nor slaves. He did not follow General Forrest into the Klan. But our states (MS and TN) were under invasion. Ironically, my great, great, great grandfather was a member of the Klan and he was a source of embarrassment for our family, but we were all from Illinois – not the South.
People can change entirely and you fail to mention that.
Trigger
February 18, 2021 @ 2:12 pm
Chris,
Fair points. Most certainly, the legacy of Confederate personalities all deserve a more detailed and nuanced discussion when we talk about the totality of their legacies, which is currently missing in the extremities of ideologies that are clouding thought at the moment. That said, Forrest definitely had a key role in the KKK initially. I’m not writing a history on Nathan Bedford Forrest here. That’s for someone else. I’m just trying to help folks navigate through an issue involving a country music icon. If the Nathan Bedford Forrest statue is to be removed—which I think at this point is inevitable—then as a country music advocate, I’m going to advocate for a country music performer to replace it, especially if it’s directly up for debate.
Blackwater
February 18, 2021 @ 3:02 pm
Jesus Christ, YES. There’s far too much Confederacy equals evil conversations with absolutely zero discussion regarding contexts or individualistic ideals. Too many lazy journalists and people that need a 5 second blurb to mold their ideals on.
John Dickinson
February 18, 2021 @ 7:20 pm
Trigger,
You speak of nuance. Well, here’s a big one. The original KKK was an incredibly different organization than the second and third incarnations that happened in the 20th century.
After the war, the occupied South was being pillaged by the occupying Union Army. White officers frequently employed Union Leagues and Loyalist white paramilitary groups to harass, attack, and kill former Confederates and their families in areas where loyalist sentiment had been strong during the war. Tennessee was one such place. The KKK was started as group to fight back. Yes, they were violent, but so were the people they fought. In accomplishing their goal, they eventually went too far. Forrest then officially disbanded them. Unfortunately, that did not stop many of the former dens from becoming what we know of them today; but even they did not last long and ended by the 1870s. Please read the primary sources of this period before you pass judgment on a man who died a hero to both black and white Tennesseans.
Adam S
February 18, 2021 @ 11:21 pm
This is revisionist BS. He led an organization filled with racist hatred, that was only stopped by an act of congress. The “Ku Klux Act” was necessary to stop their terrorism. They were just as hateful and racist as later incarnations.
John Dickinson
February 20, 2021 @ 11:48 am
Again, this is what I’m talking about. People need to know their history before they just assume that what they gather from wikipedia is gospel.
Forrest officially disbanded the KKK in January of 1869. By then, the KKK was in the process of transforming from attacking the violent groups such as the Union Leagues, to wanton destruction of innocents. In other words, it got too big and successful too fast and Forrest could not control those dens that targeted people simply for their race.
The KKK Act of Congress, of which you speak, was passed over two years after this, when the KKK was not nearly as powerful, but was comprised of unofficial independent dens that were racist and malicious. All you have to do is read primary sources of the period to know this.
If nothing else, use common sense. Why would thousands of blacks line the street to pay tribute to Forrest during his funeral?
And here’s another lesson: the Second KKK, which numbered around five million in 1920, and included Harry Truman as a member, was a completely different organization. It was founded after the movie Birth of a Nation. The original KKK ended in 1869. Also, the Second KKK targeted Jews and Catholics more than blacks. That is why it was as much a Northern organization as it was a Southern. It also was affiliated with many of the Progressive politicians of the time (e.g. Woodrow Wilson) who favored Prohibition and the notion of eugenics.
Trigger
February 20, 2021 @ 12:02 pm
Yeah, but Forrest still started the KKK. So yes, you have to look bigger picture and give context. But it’s still fair to say he started the KKK, which is a pretty damaging resume point.
Adam S
February 21, 2021 @ 2:17 pm
The KKK started as a racist organization. They did not change significantly in their first two years, Forrest led the racist group as they attacked new freedmen during the election of 1868, the year after he joined and became leader.
Chris
February 19, 2021 @ 6:03 am
I think your hyperbole was over the top.
I know one who wants to venerate the Klan or slavery,
As someone who grew up in Memphis and still spends a lot of time there, and who had spent most of the last 40 years in Knoxville, I’ve got a pretty good handle on the zeitgeist of East and West TN.
Over here in East TN, Dolly is deservedly revered by one and all.
And I’m cool with placing her statue wherever we can squeeze one in.
We love her universally over here.
And not just her music. She is incredibly generous in an area which has considerable endemic poverty.
Nick
February 18, 2021 @ 2:24 pm
I’ve watched many videos on youtube from an elderly man named HK Edgerton. He was part of the NAACP as well as chapter president I believe, HK has defended Nathan Bedford Forrest in his interviews.
Adam S
February 18, 2021 @ 11:58 pm
He was also suspended from the NAACP, and defended slavery as an “institution of learning” for black people.
King Honky Of Crackershire
February 18, 2021 @ 3:17 pm
Chris,
If we operate under your premise, that my beloved South was under invasion(I think that’s a misguided view, personally.), then I believe the question we should ask is, why were we under invasion? If you answer that question accurately and honestly, without allowing feelings of nostalgia for a revisionist version of history to creep in, I don’t see how saying that Forrest fought against an invading force, can be considered a moral argument in support of him or his legacy.
Furthermore, men like Robert Byrd never changed how they viewed black folks; they simply changed their strategy for keeping them in subjugation.
Chris
February 19, 2021 @ 5:49 am
You make some good arguments and points.
I am not a student of the Civil War by any means, but I would have fought to defend my state back then and I would today as well.
You’re dead on about the Senator who rather immodestly referred to himself as W. Va’s billion dollar industry. The man was such an unctuous ass. I couldn’t stand to see him or to hear him lecture me.
The Original WTF Guy
February 19, 2021 @ 11:12 am
Chris, it’s pretty obvious you are not a student of the Civil War, but thanks for at least acknowleding it.
I get the romantic appeal of “Lost Cause” thinking, but the fact that you state you would fight to defend your state given the true reason for the Civil War frightens and confuses me.
I remember watching The Red Badge of Courage as a kid in KY and even then, while my heart was with those in grey, my head knew they had to lose.
Jake Cutter
February 18, 2021 @ 1:33 pm
You know it’s gotten bad when even the French of all people are now taking about woke (puritanical) Americans.
I do believed I called this in a past comment.
Blackh4t
February 18, 2021 @ 2:01 pm
Good on Dolly. So much respect for that lady.
Human society wasn’t designed to be so connected. Seriously, this decision could have been made by a city council under some guidelines, and even if some mistakes are made, it should only be worth a bit of a laugh. Freedom includes people and organisations making mistakes, and mistakes include well- meaning people accidentally doing things that could be perceived as unfair. But to forgive is fine.
Now, for some reason, I live on the other side of the world and think this is relevant to me. It isn’t. If we could just back to doing things locally, we might get things done.
Also, listening to Will Overman ‘The Winemaker’s Daughter’, very nice.
Loretta Twitty
February 18, 2021 @ 2:04 pm
So. sick. of. it. all. If a Dolly statue can piss one off, damn. Leave NBF & every other statue. You have issues if you get shook looking at a statue from a time you werent even born in.
glendel
February 18, 2021 @ 2:12 pm
split the difference — replace nathan forrest statue with one of racist, but not hardcore racist, two term louisiana governor jimmie davis, who popularized “You Are My Sunshine” and other tunes in the early 1900s. [apparently he took credit for sunshine, but didn’t write it].
Penn Central
February 18, 2021 @ 2:17 pm
Perhaps, the basis of the Dolly statue proposed was beyond the scope of her being a musician, with her statute as a humanitarian, an almost universal entertainer and a positive symbol of the state. Without question Tennessee is cradle of Country music, steeped in tradition and home of the some of the greatest musicians of the genre..
Trigger
February 18, 2021 @ 2:21 pm
Definitely. Her humanitarian work, her efforts with the Imagination Library and other things were directly cited in the bill why she should be honored with a statue.
DownSouthJukin
February 18, 2021 @ 2:39 pm
I see the usual suspects are up in arms about this article on Twitter. And of course they focused on one line about John Lewis instead of the article as a whole. Maybe you could have worded your point better, but I understood it just fine, and I’m betting so did they. I see you’ve removed it and I understand why, they were just trying to steer the conversation to be about your alleged ignorance/racism/whatever else they accuse you of rather than your point. But they got their woke points already and as this whole fiasco has proven, nothing is ever good enough for them. I say that as a dirty liberal who probably agrees with most of their stances (though never their tactics) and also supports a Tennessean black civil rights icon or musician to replace Forrest. But as you said Dolly would’ve helped getting such a change passed and it’s a shame they couldn’t see that either. Is it fair or just that it would probably take a famous (and universally loved) white lady to make it happen? I’d say no. But that’s reality, not Twitter reality.
Kind of amusing that they tried mocking you going by Trigger a while back when it’s obvious you easily trigger the hell out of them
DownSouthJukin
February 18, 2021 @ 2:43 pm
And just to be clear, I’m not saying Dolly doesn’t deserve a statue there, nor that she doesn’t deserve to be the person who replaces Forrest. Her life and humanitarian/social achievements clearly show she does.
Big Pete
February 18, 2021 @ 2:47 pm
Being woke is not about social justice, it’s about chasing clout. If today’s SJW’s were born during the era of Nathan Bedford Forrest, they would have been KKK. It’s the kind of irony you can put in a sock and knock someones lights out with. I am sooo f**king tired of politicts seeping into everything, especially music, turning everything into a statement
King Honky Of Crackershire
February 18, 2021 @ 3:27 pm
Big Pete,
I’ll drink to that, sir. Best comment on this article thus far.
Big Tex
February 18, 2021 @ 2:50 pm
Nathan Bedford Forrest deserves a place in the Capitol Rotunda. He was a great general, although the historical record reflects that he was not remotely as good a singer as Dolly Parton, and was not nearly as attention-grabbing when riding his horse at full gallop as she is.
King Honky Of Crackershire
February 18, 2021 @ 3:22 pm
What positive impact did Nathan Bedford Forrest have on Tennessee? What good came from something he did? Not being rhetorical here. Maybe you know something I don’t?
Number 8
February 18, 2021 @ 5:46 pm
NBF loved Tennessee. He funded the first Army of Tennessee himself. He started the war a private and ended the war a General with no military training. The only in american military history to do so.He treated men fairly no matter their color. People from all over the world have studied his tactics. He was a rags to riches story in a different time. Dolly deserves her statues. NBF deserved his too. Both lived for Tennessee. Pick up a book on Forrest. It will blow your mind.
King Honky Of Crackershire
February 18, 2021 @ 6:32 pm
Hello Number 8,
I’m an Old No. 7 man myself, but I digress.
You didn’t really answer my question. Being a skilled General doesn’t automatically mean that he made a positive impact on something. In fact, one could very skillfully and mightily fight for an immoral or evil cause.
Also, he founded the domestic terrorism arm of the Democrat Party, known as the Ku Klux Klan. Knowing that, how can you assert that he treated men fairly no matter their color?
Number 8
February 19, 2021 @ 6:12 am
He wasnt a founder of the Klan. He was elected to be the first grand wizard back when it stood for southerners rights against carpetbagging. When he saw it turn into radical racism he denounced it and left. All I’m saying is NBF got a bad name from yankee newspapers the same way the liberal left paints pictures on social media. Forrest was a great tennessean.
John
February 18, 2021 @ 9:55 pm
He was also responsible for the massacre of Union prisoners of war at Fort Pillow, an event that would get him imprisoned by the Hague today.
Stephen Goldsmith
February 19, 2021 @ 2:56 am
An event that seems to have been forgotten by some of his defenders here. And they were African American troops. He was a war criminal.
CountryKnight
February 20, 2021 @ 6:52 am
General Sherman was a war criminal too by his actions in Georgia and South Carolina.
But he fought on the right side so his actions are seen as necessary.
(Saying this as a Sherman fan. The man was great. He hated politicians. My favorite kind of general.)
King Honky Of Crackershire
February 19, 2021 @ 7:54 am
…..”He wasnt a founder of the Klan. He was elected to be the first grand wizard”…..
You are correct on that. I must’ve played out a game of Telephone in my own mind, and lost.😆
Anyhow, that really doesn’t change my overall point. NBF fought for, and was involved in a lot of tyrannical, immoral behavior.
Your view of him, I believe, stems from a revisionist view of the Confederacy. In the early to mid 20th century, there was a movement to romanticize it. We probably don’t need to go down that rabbit-hole here, but are you aware of that?
NattyBumpo
February 18, 2021 @ 3:19 pm
A bunch of statues that should not have been torn down or replaced should still be standing and here’s one that should be replaced yet it still stands. Our “culture” in America is trash. The world is waking up to it. Save yourself world from America if you can before we impose our democracy and crappy music on you by any means necessary.
Dave F
February 18, 2021 @ 5:38 pm
Dolly herself contacted the Tennessee legislature and asked them not to consider the bill. She felt there were more pressing needs currently, and she’s not wrong. See her post on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/DollyParton/posts/10158239409434755
Trigger
February 18, 2021 @ 5:44 pm
Yes, that’s the same exact statement posted here.
I agree there are more pressing needs. I made that point in my original article on this subject. Why we’re gabbing about statues in the first place is beyond me.
Wobblyhorse
February 18, 2021 @ 5:51 pm
This is the problem with social media. It’s easy to tweet your virtue signal, but the same people would never actually go to the capitol and protest this. How is our political system being run by Twitter trolls?
Trigger
February 18, 2021 @ 7:14 pm
Good point.
A guy named Alex Parsons had the idea for a Dolly Parton statue. He put forth the effort to start a petition and promote it to get the 25,000 signatures required to proceed further. Democrat State Representative John Mark Windle wrote House Bill 135 and brought it to the floor in the Tennessee legislature. There was then a private fund set up to pay for the statue. These people and others put out effort to get a Dolly Parton statue built. And what did the people on Twitter do? They simply worked to tear that work down without offering any sort of solution or replacement. Where is the petition for a John Lewis statue? Where is the bill and private fund for that? There is none. Instead, the people that killed the Dolly Parton statue are celebrating their victory on Twitter. But again, the true victory is for the bust of Nathan Bedford Forrest.
What also is frustrating is that years ago, a story like this would have taken off on social media. People would come to the defense of Dolly Parton. Now, people are so afraid of speaking out, losing their jobs, being cancelled, etc., people are afraid to say any word of dissent on social media about anything. And that’s how these people continue to win.
This is a big moment. A proposed statue for Dolly Parton was killed by politicizing a previously universally appreciated effort to get it built. What will it be next?
Jimmy
February 18, 2021 @ 9:31 pm
Maybe they can put up a black statue of Dolly Parton? (Wrap your heads around that you fucking Twitter clowns and then run for your safe space.)
Shawn tackett
February 18, 2021 @ 10:31 pm
so sorry for Dolly. would have preferred her much more.
I.M Brute
February 19, 2021 @ 2:07 am
If they ever do erect a stature of Dolly, I hope the engineers anchor it securely in its pedestal for safety’s sake. Might be a bit top-heavy.
thegentile
February 19, 2021 @ 7:09 am
maybe i’ve been misinformed, but i thought this was a music site.
Trigger
February 19, 2021 @ 9:22 am
It is a music site. It’s called “Saving Country Music.” I can’t imagine an issue that embodies the spirit of that phrase more than throwing support behind the erection of a statue in tribute to Dolly Parton, especially when it’s to replace a dubious character in history. This issue is the very essence of Saving Country Music. It is why I founded the site.
???
CRay
February 19, 2021 @ 9:07 am
Trigger dont you have enough on your plate trying to save country music?
Trigger
February 19, 2021 @ 9:20 am
Not sure what you mean. Wouldn’t trying to push forward the effort to erect a statue of Dolly Parton be under the charge of “Saving Country Music”?
CRay
February 20, 2021 @ 11:03 am
Absolutely but bringing up the klan and social justice wokeness changes the focus of the article. I get your point but when that crap is forced on me I change the channel.
Corncaster
February 20, 2021 @ 6:45 am
Trig as usual is right, and I hope the worm continues to turn against the vindictive spirits among us. They contribute nothing.
God bless those black union soldiers, DeFord Bailey, Dolly Parton, and all good Americans who want to build each other up instead of tearing each other down.
Woogeroo
February 20, 2021 @ 8:51 am
Morons, they coulda started with Dolly, and it wouldn’t hurt for more people to try to do some good in the world like Dolly… then they coulda moved on to replacing other statues.
It was really a no brainer way to get the ball rolling on making some changes that would include everyone, with people who represent a lot more postivity.
I guess we can’t have that right now with the narcissistic world we live in now.
Lance
February 20, 2021 @ 12:35 pm
Thats the woke and fragile left. A bigger bunch of attention needing cry babies will never be found.
Trenton
February 21, 2021 @ 6:48 am
They should just erect a statue of Jolene instead 😂