Okay, so it wasn’t really changing the name of Dixie Cups that one Winston-Salem council member suggested. But he might as well have.
Earlier this week, local news stations in the North Carolina city reported that Winston-Salem Councilman James Taylor Jr. made the suggestion to change the name of the Dixie Classic Fair, which takes place in Winston-Salem each autumn, to something less offensive. Taylor claimed that dozens of people have told him they would not attend the fair because the word “Dixie” in the fair’s name makes them “angry,” as it reminds them of the Confederate era. Taylor submitted the idea at a finance committee meeting after a presentation by consultants who were brought in to recommend improvements for North Carolina’s second-largest agricultural fair.
From the Winston-Salem Journal’s story:
“We do know that the word Dixie was a Confederate battle term and there are a lot of people who are just not OK with that being the premier name of our fair in Winston-Salem,” Taylor said after Monday’s meeting of the finance committee of the Winston-Salem City Council.
Taylor said he has backing on the council for a name change, which he said would not take place until the public has had a chance to weigh in on the idea. He said the name Dixie is “a term that is offensive to many people.”
And from a WFMY News 2 interview with Taylor after he started the controversy:
Taylor said “Dixie” can give people a sense of pride or degradation.
“We no longer want to be divisive in the city of Winston-Salem and if the term ‘Dixie’ is divisive, I feel that we as a community should consider other alternatives. The bottom line is if the community doesn’t want it, I won’t support it,” Taylor said.
But once this story got the attention of local residents who didn’t appreciate his proposition, Councilman Taylor was quick to try to downplay how great of an emphasis he put on his proposal. He told WMFY that this was “one percent of one percent of our discussion last night. It has taken on a major life of its own. It has become extremely divisive, and that is certainly not the intent.” Taylor added,
It may not have been his intent, but divisive it became. Mr. Taylor did everyone a favor by making people aware of the next word that’s going to give fragile, prattling figurines the vapors. He now seems somewhat regretful for having brought up the subject.
“I would issue an apology and say my intent was never to divide us. It was always to unite us. And, we can’t judge people on newspaper articles and on headlines, we have to judge the heart,” Taylor said.
So, where does Taylor stand on this issue? He said at this point, his opinion doesn’t matter, it’s the people’s decision.
“My intentions were never to change the name, but to bring it up for consideration. I don’t get to make that decision. The power should always be in the hands of the people,” he said.
At least one other city council member has offered quite the smart take on the matter.
WFMY News 2 reached out to all of the other members of Winston-Salem’s city council Tuesday evening and heard back from one member, Molly Leight. She said any problem with the word “Dixie” does not resonate with her, but she wouldn’t be opposed to a name change.
“I would support changing the name of the fair because it is indeed a regional fair and I think something like the Piedmont Classic Fair or something like that actually makes more sense. Because we have in fact heard over half of the attendees are from outside the county,” Leight said.
Ermm…okay. “Dixie” doesn’t sound regional enough to her. She should have followed along with her fellow council members and responded with a simple “no comment.”
The public backlash in support of keeping the fair’s name intact has been overwhelming. And one woman started an online petition to preserve the word “Dixie” in the Dixie Classic Fair.
Claudia Baker started the petition on Change.org. While she says she knew there was no official proposal, she said it still called for push back.
“It was the perfect time to sort of pounce on it in its infancy and hopefully not get it to the point where it was going to a vote,” Baker said. “So, that was part of my point was to try to get the word out and hopefully put a stop to it before it went too far.”
Yes, nip that asinine idea in the bud right away. Shut down that line of discussion before it catches on with the Eternally Offendeds, so many of whom are the clueless, sheltered type of folk who dwell to the north of the Mason-Dixon.
Presently, Baker’s petition count stands at 1,152.
Taylor said that his phone has been ringing off the hook from constituents telling him to give it a rest. He’s listening to them. The councilman has decided to take the discussion of changing the fair’s name off the table. Getting rid of “Dixie” in the fair’s name would not have gotten more people to attend. Rather, it would have likely had the opposite effect, as this area resident warned:
“Personally, me, if they go that far and change the name of the fair, I would probably not go out of protest,” said Tony Shumaker. “The fact that it’s even being talked about tells me some people, you can just be so sensitive that it’s ridiculous. It’s very annoying. It’s beyond the scope of my imagination.”
It’s good to know that a great deal of people still have some common sense left and are willing to protest silly notions like this before they get out of hand.
As for those who get enraged at expressions of Southern pride, just cover your ears and…look away…look away…look away…
Rest in peace, Ms. Carter. We’re still allowed to love you if we want. May your memory forever remain unblemished.
