I felt it necessary to write an Op-Ed relative to my previous statements and opinions concerning the thread: Clemson name change. I posted my Op-Ed in the original thread but I don't know if many people read the comment.
I’ve been thinking about this thread all day and have done some serious critical thinking about the topic. I have said in other posts that I appreciate all poster’s points of view, etc and that I change my mind from time to time because some posters bring different views, prospective, etc. to a particular topic. And that is what I love about GamecockCentral is the fact one gets a lot of good information on a number of topics. I don’t want to be considered so bull headed that I never change my mind.
So as I was thinking about this thread today, I tried to put it on a personal level and look at it from a different point of view and try to understand why Clemson University should not be required to change their name.
I was born near the end of WWII and when I was born my mother’s baby brother was missing in action in the US Army somewhere in Europe. So when I was born she named me after him. Well, he was later found along with many of his fellow soldiers that had been captured with him. And that was good. But as it turned out he returned home after the war and just turned out to be a horrible person and I will just leave it at that.
However, I bear part of his name but I am nothing like him, in fact, I am 180 degrees from being the kind of person he was.
And I hope no one holds it against me because of the things he did and the fact I was named after him.
Hence, regardless of what Thomas G Clemson did in the 1800s Clemson University, today is nothing like Thomas G Clemson. Hence the name Clemson should not be looked upon as racist. Again, Clemson does many great things for all minorities; the institution today does not represent what Thomas G Clemson stood for in the 1800s.
With that being said, I still think the Social Justice Warriors will come after Clemson to try and force them to change the name of the university. Whether or not they will be successful remains to be seen. I’ve seen so much in the last few months and years, things I thought I would never see and as we know “never say never”. However, I don’t think Clemson should be required to change the name of the university. There is no rightful justification for that type of action.
I’ve been thinking about this thread all day and have done some serious critical thinking about the topic. I have said in other posts that I appreciate all poster’s points of view, etc and that I change my mind from time to time because some posters bring different views, prospective, etc. to a particular topic. And that is what I love about GamecockCentral is the fact one gets a lot of good information on a number of topics. I don’t want to be considered so bull headed that I never change my mind.
So as I was thinking about this thread today, I tried to put it on a personal level and look at it from a different point of view and try to understand why Clemson University should not be required to change their name.
I was born near the end of WWII and when I was born my mother’s baby brother was missing in action in the US Army somewhere in Europe. So when I was born she named me after him. Well, he was later found along with many of his fellow soldiers that had been captured with him. And that was good. But as it turned out he returned home after the war and just turned out to be a horrible person and I will just leave it at that.
However, I bear part of his name but I am nothing like him, in fact, I am 180 degrees from being the kind of person he was.
And I hope no one holds it against me because of the things he did and the fact I was named after him.
Hence, regardless of what Thomas G Clemson did in the 1800s Clemson University, today is nothing like Thomas G Clemson. Hence the name Clemson should not be looked upon as racist. Again, Clemson does many great things for all minorities; the institution today does not represent what Thomas G Clemson stood for in the 1800s.
With that being said, I still think the Social Justice Warriors will come after Clemson to try and force them to change the name of the university. Whether or not they will be successful remains to be seen. I’ve seen so much in the last few months and years, things I thought I would never see and as we know “never say never”. However, I don’t think Clemson should be required to change the name of the university. There is no rightful justification for that type of action.