HATTIESBURG AMERICAN


Tuesday, April 3, 2001
State flag evokes shameful images

I travel all around the country in my line of work, and need I tell you that the stereotypes of the Southerner are still alive and well for most people who live outside of the South. 
My Southern accent automatically lowers my IQ by 50 points as soon as I meet someone from non-Southern states. When I say that I am from Mississippi, the worst of stereotypes come out, such as I must be married to my cousin, chew tobacco, and live in a rusted-out trailer down by the swamp. 
But the worst assumption is that I am a bigot and a racist. 
I ask you all to consider voting for the flag change. I ask you to break the stereotype of the rest of the country. I ask you to show them you are forward-thinking people who recognize that this change is a sign of our willingness to break away from the ways of our past. 
Would you have advised the Germans after World War II to keep the swastika as a part of their flag because "it was a part of their past?" 
Or would you have advised them to change their flag and reshape their image for the future? To many, the Confederate battle flag has the same image. 
Just as it is for them, our past will always be our past. Vote to change the flag. Leave the symbols of hate in the past where they belong and let's all proceed into the 21st century together as one people and one state. 
Robert Williams, 
Hattiesburg 

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HATTIESBURG AMERICAN


Friday, April 6, 2001
Flag vote won't help state's image

Robert Williams' letter to the editor ("State flag evokes shameful images," April 3), implies that Robert is concerned that he doesn't meet the politically correct image that others have established for his conformance. In contrast, my travels around the country have found folks who love my Southern accent, most being Southern "wannabes," and who can't wait to retire and move here. 
With all due respect, I personally don't think that changing our flag will change any stereotyping, no matter the area of the country from whence it comes. 
Could it be that that which needs changing is Robert? 
Armond "Si" Simmons, 
Pell City, Ala.