From Dixie with Love...?

I returned to Memphis today from the Land of Cotton. You know the place where "old times there are not forgotten." If you aren't catching the reference, here you go:

Oh, I wish I was in Dixie Away, Away,
In Dixieland I'll take my stand to live and die in Dixie.
For Dixie land, where I was born,
early lord, one frosty morn,
Look Away, Look Away,
Look Away, Dixie Land.

Oh, I wish I was in Dixie, Away Away,
In Dixieland I'll take my stand to live and die in Dixie.
For Dixieland, where I was born, early lord one frosty morn,
Look Away, Look Away,
Look Away, Dixieland.

Glory, Glory, hallelujah.
Glory, Glory, hallelujah.
Glory, Glory, hallelujah.
His truth is marching on.

So hush little baby, don't you cry
You know your daddy's, bound to die.
But all, All my child's lord, will soon be over.

Glory, Glory, hallelujah.
Oh, Glory, Glory, hallelujah.
His truth is marching on.
His truth is marching on.

The lyrics posted above are what the University of Mississippi refers to as "From Dixie with Love" and what Elvis referred to as "The American Trilogy."

For over 20 years, the Pride of the South Marching Band at Ole Miss has used this combo of Union and Confederate battle hymns as their fight song at sporting events and pep rallies. "So what?" you might say if you aren't keeping up with Ole Miss news whether in Oxford or nationally as of the past couple of weeks.

So the new Chancellor, Dan Jones, has decided to remove it from our band's repertoire for our upcoming football game against the Volunteers of Tennessee and put the song on an indefinite hiatus because of the controversial ending that students have added to it.

You see, at the end of the Battle Hymn of the Republic part, a vast majority of students have decided that instead of chanting "His truth is marching on," that they will instead shout, "the South will rise again."

Most of you reading this, if you didn't know Ole Miss students did this, are probably a bit perturbed by the meaning behind it. The South rising again? What would that entail? What do these students really mean? Could race be involved? Let's delve into the meat of it for a bit.

First, let's look at what many people claim is the meaning behind the phrase. These people claim to love the South. Fair enough. I love the South. A lot. They claim that if it rises again, that the region will once again come to prominence in national affairs. That we will return to being respected by the nation as a whole as opposed to being last in most of the important categories (education, obesity, crime, etc.) people pay attention to when evaluating a city or region.

All of these claims are fine. If that is what people mean by saying, "the South will rise again," at the close of our fight song, and what everyone else interprets it to mean, then by all means, let it continue. But why is a fight song at a football game the proper place to voice such strong opinions about wanting the South to succeed as apparently it once did? Why are these inebriated, boot clad, white Rebel fans yelling this at a game instead of becoming active in or even starting organizations that can make these claims of future Southern prosperity happen? Why can't they start a group that promotes a true desire for the Southland to become the center of the country, the heart of the nation?

It's simple. Because the people that say that the aforementioned stuff is the real reason why they yell TSWRA at the top of their drunken little lungs are full of crap. Sorry to be blunt, but this is beyond a lost cause. I cannot find a single reason why this should be acceptable. When people hear TSWRA, they hear slavery, segregation and hate. Plain and simple. It doesn't matter how you might mean it, people won't hear it your way. When our games are broadcast on national television, do you think the sportscasters who hear it think, "Oh. Ole Miss is so progressive. They want to move their region ahead in the world."? Hell no they don't. They hear what appears to be a bigoted student body yelling a phrase that completely discredits the efforts of some to attempt to build bridges and tear down barriers over the past two centuries.

What if I were talking to a friend, a good friend, and we had lots of inside jokes. Say that right when you walked up to the conversation, I got this crazed look in my eye and yelled in his face as loud as possible, "I hope your mother gets cancer." You might think I'm a psycho. Sure I might not mean what I said, but it sure comes across that way to you.

So say you don't mean TSWRA to sound racist and full of hate all you want. Nobody will believe you. I don't believe you. If you tell me that you don't mean it that way, I'll think you a liar. You're lying to yourself if you yell that phrase and don't think it's hurtful.

Dan Jones took away our fight song after a few trial weeks. During those trial weeks he told the student body that if they didn't stop yelling TSWRA, he would take away the long standing tradition. The student body didn't stop. So who do they have to blame for losing a real Ole Miss tradition over a silly, would-be tradition? Themselves. I mean, "great idea students!" Play chicken with the Chancellor, the most powerful man on campus and see who wins. Good call.

The word tradition has been thrown around a lot over this issue the past couple of wee..., mont..., years, and it's not even a tradition. I read a letter to the editor in The Daily Mississippian a few weeks back. In it, the author said that he remembers coming to games as a child and hearing the phrase chanted then. He is a senior. Twenty-two years old. By most accounts I have read or heard, the phrase didn't start being yelled until 2004, when that senior was 17, far from a child. I'm pretty sure five years doesn't qualify something as tradition. Pretty sure a 66 Mustang is going to sell for more than a 2004 Ford Focus. Why? Because it's an antique, an American tradition.

I'll close with two anecdotes to further prove my point.

First, this past weekend I went to the Ole Miss/Northern Arizona game. Before the game, the band played "Slow Dixie" as some call it, just like usual. A very drunk young man behind me made no bones about disregarding the Chancellor's request and screaming TSWRA. But five minutes later when the "Star Spangled Banner" began, he sat down to talk on his cell phone. Being a little upset by this, I turned to him and politely told him to stand and show some respect for his country. He told me he was too drunk. Great way to start moving the South ahead fella. I'm sure people fighting for our country would really think the South is a wonderful place if they witnessed our little run in.

And secondly, I can remember vividly the tour I was given by Ole Miss as a high school senior. It was a dreary day, but I was just glad to finally see Oxford and the campus. My tour guide spoke of traditions of the university and the town. The Walk of Champions, William Faulkner, Double Decker, the Honors College, great baseball and football, the Greek system, and more all were discussed. Never once, did she say, "Oh. And at football games, a good number of students scream 'the South will rise again,' at the close of our fight song." The reason she didn't tell me that is because it's embarrassing for the university. If she, or any other tour guide were to tell people about that, our enrollment would drop exponentially. And for good reason.

"The South will rise again," is not tradition. It's not positive. It's a hateful statement whether you think it is or not. It's a black mark on what I think is the best public university in the country. I hope it goes away.

As for Dixie, maybe it will come back, but with a student body that truly are a bunch of rebels, it doesn't look too promising.