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Resistance See other Resistance Articles Title: Protest of Obama’s election stirs Huntsville (Arkansas) Obama’s presidential victory upset James and Linda Vandiver. So, on election night, the couple — owners of the historic Faubus Motel in downtown Huntsville — walked outside, lowered Old Glory and raised the Confederate battle flag in its place. It’s remained there ever since, flying high in silent protest of election to the nation’s highest office a politician the pair says is a “Marxist.” The newly adorned flagpole, which sits on Arkansas 23 next to Wal-Mart and Pizza Hut, has not gone unnoticed. So far, people have sent more than 20 letters to the editor of the local paper; a Methodist pastor preached against it during Sunday service; and talk of the flag dominates discourse in Huntsville, the Madison County seat. It’s the biggest debate to hit the Ozark Mountain town of about 2, 000 since a Huntsville High teacher killed a raccoon with a nail gun and skinned it during class last November, said the Madison County Record’s editor, Kyle Mooty. “[The flag’s ] definitely gotten everybody’s attention,” said Terry Long, a Huntsville alderman who represents the Vandivers ’ ward. “Everyone has an opinion, and most are rather strong.” The Vandivers bought the motel, which is two blocks from the downtown square, in 1996. The motel maintains the name of its former owner, Gov. Orval Faubus, although there’s no remaining association between the Faubus family and the business. Faubus’ first wife, Alta, sold the motel in the 1980 s. A Faubus Motel sign, however, still stands near the front office. Orval Faubus — an ardent, lifelong Democrat and proponent of states’ rights — is known for sending the Arkansas National Guard to Little Rock’s Central High School in 1957. Faubus said he called out the National Guard “to maintain... the peace and good order of the community” and directed the Guard to prevent nine black students from entering the school, notwithstanding a court-approved desegregation plan. The Vandivers said they didn’t raise the Rebel flag to protest a black man moving into the White House, as many of their neighbors assume. Instead, they did it because they believe the country has abandoned the principles of its founders by electing Obama. Linda Vandiver said the Democrat is a Marxist who wants to turn America into a socialist country. Obama wants to redistribute wealth by raising taxes on the rich, create a universal healthcare system and institute a global tax aimed at eliminating worldwide poverty, she said. “We think socialism is deeply rooted in him, and we’ll see it manifest in all areas,” Linda Vandiver said. “This doesn’t have anything to do with despising Mr. Obama’s color. We’d like to celebrate the fact that for the first time we have a black president. But we can’t.” Obama is also a friend to terrorists, James Vandiver said, referring to Obama’s association with William Ayers, a former member of the Weather Underground. The group bombed public buildings during the 1970 s. “If Obama was just a regular Joe Citizen, he would not be able to get security clearance to get in the White House,” James Vandiver asserted. “This is the only way I know to send a message to the people of our country that we are in protest of someone like this being in the position of president.” But like all symbols, the Confederate flag carries different meanings to different people. And the timing and location of the flag’s raising ignited a hot debate in the otherwise sleepy mountain town. Orval Faubus’ granddaughters, Ellen Kreth and Fara Faubus own the Huntsville-based Madison County Record, though they live in North Little Rock. Both declined to comment but were quoted in a Record article written by Mooty on Nov. 12 as saying that they “do not agree with the Vandivers’ political views or the flying of the Confederate flag at the motel.” In the three weeks since Election Day, the Record has gotten 20 to 25 letters to the editor about the flag, Mooty said. Most weeks, the 5, 275-circulation weekly is lucky to receive two letters. Mooty published 11 of the letters. Many of the others are unprintable or unsigned, he said. For Steve Maher of Whorton Creek near Huntsville, the Rebel flag is an “offensive symbol.” Maher wrote to the Record that townsfolk should boycott the motel, the City Council should condemn the action publicly and the town chamber of commerce should revoke the Vandivers ’ membership. “I respect the freedom of speech, but this symbol of racism can’t be allowed to represent our community,” Maher wrote. “If we do nothing, we are silently supporting or at least accepting the symbolism of that flag.” For Loy Mauch of Bismarck in Hot Spring County, the Confederate flag is a symbol of America’s Christian roots, from which he believes the nation has strayed. “The government has lost its moral authority over God-fearing Americans and I wish more patriots like James Vandiver would take their stand for what the Confederate Battle Flag truly symbolizes,” Mauch wrote. Long, the alderman, said raising the flag at the Faubus Motel on the day of Obama’s election hurt Huntsville’s reputation outside Madison County. The county seat already is thought of as a “backwoodsy and redneck-type community,” Long said. “Him flying the Rebel flag is just making the situation worse,” Long said. Heath Bradley, pastor of Huntsville United Methodist Church, asked his congregation the Sunday after the flag first flew to send the Vandivers letters asking them to lower it. He’s also called for the Vandivers to take the flag down in a posting on his church Web log. “Regardless of his motivations, it’s going to be seen as a racist symbol,” Bradley said “And as followers of Jesus, we feel any symbol of racism... cuts against the grain of our faith.” “We do see it as a blemish on our town.” However, James Vandiver said all the feedback he’s gotten has been positive. Steven Fowler, an accountant from nearby Alpena, which sits on the Boone-Carroll county line, called Vandiver to tell him that he supports what he’s doing after he read about it in the Record. The Battle Flag of the Confederacy, with a version of St. Andrew’s cross emblazoned across it, is a symbol of Christianity first and foremost, Fowler said. But it also represents the supremacy of the states over the federal government. By flying it, Fowler said, the Vandivers are warning against an Obama presidency that he believes will expand the federal government by nationalizing health care, redistributing wealth and broadening the welfare system. “And it’s not just Obama. [GOP candidate John ] Mc-Cain would do the same thing. The trend is toward centralizing power,” Fowler said. “The [Confederate ] flag is a symbol of defiance against tyranny and centralization of power. I urge everybody to learn what the flag truly represents and fly it.” Van Owens, the Arkansas chairman of the League of the South, called James Vandiver and offered him membership in the group after hearing about what he had done. The league advocates peaceful Southern secession and “an end to federal tyranny in every area of our lives,” according to the group’s Web site. Any Arkansan “regardless of race, creed or color” can join the league, Owens said. Vandiver didn’t join the league, Owens said, but will let him advertise his motel at no cost on the group’s Web site. Owens flies a Confederate flag at his home in Mammoth Spring in Fulton County. He said he considers himself a Confederate American being held against his will by an oppressive federal government. Owens said he thinks the majority of people in Huntsville understand why the Vandivers are flying the flag and have no problem with it — they’re just afraid to say so. “There was a time when Americans were free to do what they wanted. But now we have to measure up to some politically correct ideal,” Owens said. “People ought to take [James Vandiver ] at his word. He has a right to make a statement against a political figure.” Linda Vandiver wrote in a letter to the Record printed Wednesday that blacks, gays, Democrats — even liberal filmmaker Michael Moore — are all afforded a right to freedom of speech and political protest. So why not white, Southern Christians who are disenchanted with the incoming administration ? “Our statement in raising the flag is ‘ Barack Obama is not our president, ’” Linda Vandiver said in an interview. “If the Democrats can say that about President Bush, then we can say that about Barack Obama.” How long will the protest go on ? James Vandiver wouldn’t say. That’s up to God and the American people, the hotel’s proprietor said.
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#1. To: X-15 (#0)
What a crack up. Good for them!
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