Posted on 02/22/2019 6:56:32 PM PST by massmike
An LA Times column that called for the removal of John Wayne’s name from California’s Orange County airport is stirring up a lot of debate on social media.
It all started after a 1971 interview the late actor did with Playboy magazine resurfaced earlier this week. Here are excerpts, via Mercury News:
In the Playboy interview, Wayne, then in his 60s and fresh off his Oscar win for “True Grit,” discussed a range of topics, from working in Hollywood to race and sex. One of the more noteworthy quotes in the interview came up in a discussion about African-American political activist and academic Angela Davis.
“With a lot of blacks, there’s quite a bit of resentment along with their dissent, and possibly rightfully so,” Wayne said. “But we can’t all of a sudden get down on our knees and turn everything over to the leadership of the blacks. I believe in white supremacy until the blacks are educated to a point of responsibility. I don’t believe in giving authority and positions of leadership and judgment to irresponsible people.”
[…]
Also in the interview, Wayne, whose Western films like “The Searchers” were accused of perpetuating stereotypes about Native Americans, accused Native Americans of “selfishly trying to keep (North America) to themselves.”
The Times columnist, Pulitzer Prize winner Michael Hiltzik, wrote in a Thursday piece that the “outspoken racist and homophobe”‘s views no longer represented Orange County. But more than that his argument seemed to boil down to being more about something else.
See if you spot it:
It may have had something to do with Wayne’s status as a rock-ribbed Republican conservative, which was Orange County’s self-image in that period.
But that Orange County no longer exists. That should be evident from the results of November’s election, in which voters turfed out the county’s last remaining GOP members of Congress — some of whom had embraced Donald Trump in a fruitless effort to save their careers–and elected an all-Democratic congressional delegation.
Orange County today is such an economically and ethnically diverse community that it’s hard to justify asking any member of that community to board planes at an airport named after an outspoken racist and homophobe, with his strutting statue occupying a central niche in front of the concourse.
Get it? This is really about politics to Hiltzik. The good Democrats of Orange County shouldn’t have to put up with being subjected to seeing the name and image of someone who was known as a “rock-ribbed Republican conservative” every time they have have to fly out of the county. Because safe spaces and stuff.
For anyone reading this who thinks, “Hey, this isn’t a big deal. It’s one columnist!” – remember this: It only takes one person to start a movement. Consider the fact that this interview resurfaced thanks to a guy on Twitter who has less than 1,000 followers. The Sunday tweet where he references the nearly 50-year-old interview has over 11,000 retweets as of this writing. And a national conversation on the “issue” has now started.
So if you live in Orange County you might want to, as Joe Biden would say, “gird your loins” and prepare for the “REMOVE IT!” movement. It’s coming.
Because in spite of the strong likelihood that the vast majority of people who fly in and out of that airport are not offended by Wayne’s name and image, you will be made to care.
We are probably going to move to Natchez MS temporarily.
Two of my Wife’s Siblings retired there years ago along with her Mother. Now her Mother is in declining Health so she wants to be close to her.
We will probably stay there for a year or so then buy a Home somewhere else. As of now, we are thinking of the Gulf Coast or South Carolina near Hilton Head. We were even thinking of Southwest Idaho at one point but dealing with Snow is not on
my Wife’s list of favorite things to do, or mine to be honest. LOL
We have no Family living near us at the moment. I took care of my Elderly Parents and an Aunt for years, but they have all passed away. Typical Old People taking care of Older People scenario.
Best wishes with whatever you do.
I have a lot of family in California, but do not want to move their myself.
I will leave New Jersey and I am considering Prescott, Arizona. It is not California, but close enough to family for me. Then again, I am also considering Asheville, North Carolina and Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.
I have friends in Prescott and the Housing is affordable.
Nice place but even AZ is going Lefty. We (as in I) were considering Flagstaff at one time but the Wife put the kibosh on that Plan. Elevation is too high and the Snow thing.
Have some Family in Colorado, but it’s just become California with thinner Air nowadays.
I think we Conservatives are being Herded into kill Pens.
Don’t get me wrong, Southern CA, especially S. Orange County is probably the nicest place in the Country to live.
Great Weather year round, no Bugs and it is just beautiful.
We are ten minutes from Laguna Beach and the Blue Pacific.
Unfortunately toxic Liberalism and their Open Border thinking has ruined it.
When my Family moved here from New York in 1960, it was truly The Golden State and the Land of Opportunity. Hard to believe Reagan was our Governor at one time. You would never know it nowadays.
I know S. California. Grew up there from 1956-1968 - a little town called Rialto, next door to San Berndardino. I predicted to relatives that Reagan would be governor, and some day president BEFORE he officially announced his canidacy for his 1st run for governor. I heard his speach at the 1964 Goldwater nominating convention and knew then what he could do.
After military service I did not return to reside in California, but with parents (both deceased now) and siblings (and then their kids) there, I have kept going back often enough to see all the changes. And yes, most of my relatives who are still there, like you, hate the political changes, but age, family, and finances being what they are none are thinking of moving soon. They know I will not join them there.
I will gladly take every Confederate and conservative monument or statue these jerks get their panties into a twist over.
How about “Pravda on the Pacific” instead?
Blacks were apparently the most competitive demographic in the U.S. in the middle of the 20th Century. Perhaps Wayne didn’t know that part.
I would too. Then charge these idiots to see them. What a bunch of losers
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