Here is the group’s announcement:
Observations:
- “Antebellum” means, literally, “before the war.” Any war. The Trojan War. In the U.S. is most often used to refer to styles, often architecture, “occurring or existing before” the Civil War.
- The term does not refer to slavery, nor does it evoke slavery, unless one is unhealthily obsessed with slavery.
- Writer Noah Berlatsky tweeted, “Lady Antebellum just dropped Antebellum from their name. No one wants to be associated with racism anymore, not even country musicians. It’s really something.” Yeah, Noah, it’s really, really stupid. I guess the next step will be to try to ban the dates from 1619 to 1865.
- Hey! This gives U.S streaming services another excuse to ban that “Fawlty Towers” episode! “Don’t talk about the war!”
- I don’t know where the dumb idea came from that using the first initial of a word in place of the word magically makes that word mean something else. “F-word” still means “fuck.” The “K” in KFC still stands for “Kentucky.” U.S. still means “United States.” What does the “A” in “Lady A” stand for? I’m stumped!
- I guess Dixieland bands will soon be calling themselves “D-Bands.”
History teaches us that some cultures become too stupid to exist, and this phobia about a rich, complex, fascinating and conflicted historical period is an ominous sign.
I’m going to sit back, sip a Mint Julip, and watch “Gettysburg” now, but first, here’s my all time favorite rendition of one of my all-time favorite songs, memorialized here before its banned:
Ethics Alarms 
Dixie cups, plates etc.
Anyone want to take bets on Dixie State University in SE Utah?
If we eliminate all the statues, flags, people and all other references of the Confederacy does that mean slavery never existed and there would have been no oppression and no need for reparations?
Haha. Slavery, what slavery? I identify with the historically washed history that has none of these uncomfortable things in it. Let the Ministry of truth begin.
If owning slaves is our original sin what do we call the behavior of those who captured and sold their African brothers and sisters into bondage?
Or the native American tribes who raided other tribes and routinely took slaves? Well before 1619, too.
And…….what about the D-Chicks?
Or maybe both words in their name are verboten. Let’s welcome the D.C.s!
AC/DC may have an infringement cause of action against the group formerly known as the Dixie Chicks if they do that.
As we erase all vestiges of slavery, let’s not overlook that along with the flags, monuments, forbidden words, and place names, we also must get rid of another set of entities, those known as South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina, and parts of some others as well.
Cut ’em loose. Let ’em form their own country, if they want.
It’s a good thing Stephen Foster has already been largely forgotten.
Him, maybe, not his songs. “I Dream of Jeanie With The Light Brown Hair”…”Beautiful Dreamer”…”Oh Susanna!”…The Camptown Races”…He’s not called the Father of American Music for nothing. And they still always play “My Old Kentucky Home” at the Kentucky Derby!
“Tis Summer, the darkies are gay.”
The way this freakout is going, I’m not sure there’ll be another Kentucky Derby. White women wearing essentially Ante Bellum outfits drinking bourbon served up by… servants. I doubt any network will be brave enough to broadcast it going forward. Speaking of sports in the South, how will NCAA football be able to function going forward? All white fans watching all black teams duke it out on the field before the players get flunked out of school at the end of the semester? When are black college athletes going to get organized and strike? How can white guys continue holding down all the lucrative coaching jobs?
Foster was a big deal in grade school in the ’60s. He was Americana personified. I just wonder if he is even acknowledged any more.
Not sure, but the University of Texas at Austin Black students made a demand on the University of Texas:
This was published in the Houston Chronicle, which is a God-awful newspaper that doesn’t deserve to be purchased. How those bastards think their content is worthy of an internet paywall is a mystery to me. The 3rd largest city only has one paper. ONE!!!!! How is that possible? The Houston Chronicle is a perfect example of why monopolies are bad things: once you own the market you get lazy, cheap, and stupid. So, someone else cut this from the article:
From the University of Texas student athletes, “’We aim to hold the athletic department and university to a higher standard by not only asking them to keep their promise of condemning racism on our campus, but to go beyond this by taking action to make Texas more comfortable and inclusive for the black athletes and the black community that has so fervently supported this program.’
“Among the student-athlete’s demands:
-The renaming of several buildings. (Robert Lee Moore Hall, Painter Hall, Littlefield Hall, James Hogg Auditorium)
-The replacement of statues with more diverse status on campus designed by artists and sculptors who are people of color.
-The inclusion of modules for incoming freshmen discussing the history of racism on campus and providing racial injustice awareness
-An outreach program for inner cities
-A permanent black athletic history exhibit in the hall of fame
-The UT athletics department to donate 0.5% of their annual earnings to black organizations and the Black Lives Matter movement
-The renaming of an area of Royal-Memorial Stadium after Julius Whittier, the first black football player at UT
-Replace of The Eyes of Texas with a new song without racist undertones and the lifting of the requirement of athletes to sing the song.
“The school fight song has existed for more than a century and is traditionally sung at every Texas sports event, win or lose. But the song itself is steeped in racism, originally performed by students covered in blackface at minstrel shows.
“The student athletes have asked to have those issues addressed ‘through implementation or a plan for implementation at the start of the fall semester.’ Though they will continue to workout and participate in all required team activities, without an official commitment the athletes will ‘not be participating in the recruiting of incoming players or donor-related events.'”
By the way, that .50% of athletics revenue would represent about $1,100,000 in 2019 dollars. No small change, eh?
jvb
About that demand to drop The Eyes of Texas:
I say, keep the tune, and replace the lyrics with:
The Eyes of BLM R on U
All the muthafuckin day.
The Eyes of BLM R on you;
U shall not have a say.
Do think every Whitey’s racist.
Whiteys deserve eternal scorn.
The Eyes of BLM R on U
Till no Whiteys R born.
King’s Dominion has a roller coaster called “The Rebel Yell”. Do you think they’ll change it to the “R.Y.”?
Probably my favorite ride at KD. For its duration, negative g’s, and of course the initial drop. Poor Billy Idol – who knew he would sing such racist lyrics?
The song does refer to the “midnight hour” . . .
jvb
They already have, about 2 years ago. Rebel Yell was renamed Racer 75 in 2018
Thanks for that. I obviously do not keep up with my amusement park political correctness news. “Rebel Yell” was a GREAT name for a roller-coaster. “Racer 75” sounds like a bad Anime series.
This is what plebes at the US Naval Academy wear during plebe summer. Care to guess what they’re called?
http://darkroom.baltimoresun.com/2013/06/the-naval-academy-class-of-2017-induction-day/bs-md-naval-academy-induction-day-p18/#PhotoSwipe1591925620474
Bands:
Old Dominion = OD
Florida Georgia Line = FGL
And of course the classic Lynyrd Skynyrd song: Sweet Home A
G on my Mind. The Midnight Train to G. Patti Page’s old hit, the T Waltz. Jolson’s “C in the Morning”…
Oh man…. G on my mind. Is there a song any more sweet and perfect?
Well possibly. I’m now listening to Etta James.
Every time stupid stuff like this happens I’m moved closer to buying a giant Confederate flag and putting it up in my backyard.
How about a Confederate flag patch on your MAGA hat?
… worn with pride in the Seattle Autonomous Zone?
I had the same crazy impulse, and I’ve never owned a confederate flag, tiny or large, in my life, despite being southern born and bred.
Honestly, I hardly know my neighbors, but the one I do talk to pretty often is a black man. So I guess the “C-flag” is out — I wouldn’t mind offending the Gen Z’ers across the street, but I value my relationship with him, such as it is.
Once again, my impulse to non-reactive sanity carries the day. I wonder if one day it will not be enough…
Funny how some want to rename Ft Bragg, Fort Hood and others because of their namesake ties to Confederate military personnel yet no one seems bothered by all the buildings and statues of the Grand Kleagle and Exalted Cyclops of the Klan Senator Robert C. Byrd of WVA. If I recall correctly he was a Democrat and several well known Democrats and current politicians eulogized him at his funeral.
Robert E Lee was asked to head up the Union Army but declined because he felt he had a higher duty to his sovereign state of Virginia and so many want him banished from American history yet no one has even referred to the portrait of the long serving senator from West Virginia that adorns the halls of Congress who actually used his political privilege to terrorize blacks.
Shhhhhh! You’re not supposed to mention that! Don’t make them sent the reeducation people to your house.
I keep hearing people talk about secession as treason but we have to remember that the nation was still forming and the ideals of state sovereignty were significantly more important than today. Nowhere in the Constitution does it say that once ratified by the state the state is forever barred from rescinding that acceptance. What would happen if an election resulted in having a packed supreme court decide that the president could eliminate private ownership of capital using tax policy. Would it be treason if states decided enough was enough and opted out.
Sumpter, notwithstanding, secession decisions were not to overthrow the Northern state’s government and to impose its government on all but to ensure the liberties of the confederate states were not encroached upon by more populous ones that had differing resources from which to create wealth.
Lincoln’s goal was to preserve the Union not to end slavery. Slavery just happened to be a factor that affected representation in Congress which the northern states wanted to limit in the south.
It is not a stretch to think that secession may never again be contemplated if some states used its electoral muscle to bully small states into submission.
Maybe the band could re-name themselves “Lady Reconstruction?” Of course “Lady” is pretty darned problematic as well. Totally binary and hurtful.
And boy, is that ever some schlocky music that group plays. Humorless, morbid, Taylor Swift-like dreck. How do I unhear it?
Yeah, but did you listen to those words? Poetry. Shakespeare move over. Lady A is in the house!
jvb
There is no more effective method to recruit for the Stormfront White Nationalist Community than to exaggerate the meaning of racism past the point of incoherence.
These racism-exaggerators are more effective recruiters for Stormfront than Stormfront itself.
Now *this* is how you appropriate!
https://www.rollingstone.com/pro/news/lady-antebellum-lady-a-country-blues-1013919/
It feels wonderful to report that there already is a Lady A, and she’s not pleased:
https://www.rollingstone.com/pro/news/lady-antebellum-lady-a-country-blues-1013919/
Dang, ELiz had it first.
Yeah, just heard them talking about this on the radio.
Maybe they can be Lady B, since they’re second
Beat me by that much.
Ol’ Billy Shakespeare wrote about being hoisted with one’s own petard. Lady Antebellum makes a grand showing of their virtue, supporting Black Lives Matter, and the next thing you know, it turns out they appropriated a Black blues singer’s identity. Just desserts? Is that some ironic reversal or what?
jvb
PS: Wow. Two Shakespeare references in less than 10 minutes. I am on a roll!
Has this band of sisters resolved their naming problem yet? It seems easily solveable: People With Vaginas…? I think “1619 Resist” would be best. You know: to protest all the atrocities that have victimized Africans and their descendants since the first delivery of a boatload of slaves into the “New World.”
Just hearing from you made my day.
Thanks, Dear Sir! Your response made MY day!
(am not using my more familiar computer here)
Welp, they are suing blues singer who has gone by that name for much longer. Way to squander what little good will they have gained.