Newspaper Page Text
8A
Tribune & Georgian
Thursday, September 7,2017
Spencer
from page 1A
faced when the state leader
ship decided to change the
design of the state flag about
15 years ago.
It now looks like the Gen
eral Assembly will be dealing
with these questions during
the 2018 legislative session,
but Spencer said his work has
already begun. On Tuesday,
he was heading to the state
capitol to address this issue,
which has loomed over him
for the past week.
National, state issue
The violent protests that
surrounded the removal
of a Confederate memo
rial in Charlottesville, Va.,
during early August spurred
a national debate on historic
preservation of monuments
elsewhere.
This led Stacy Abrams,
Democratic candidate for
Georgia governor, to call for
the removal of Stone Moun
tain.
“We must never cele
brate those who defended
slavery and tried to destroy
the union,” Abrams said via
Twitter.
Stone Mountain, one of
the state’s busiest and most
popular tourist destinations,
features the likeness of Jef
ferson Davis, Robert E. Lee
and Stonewall Jackson.
Spencer says it is the
“Mount Rushmore of the
South” and said he takes ex
ception to Abrams’ charac
terization of the monument
as “blight.”
He feels Stone Moun
tain is at risk in light of the
recent national debate on
monuments. The argument
centers on those monuments
that are maintained using
state or local tax dollars.
Spencer said that just as
he is offended when public
money is used to fund abor
tion, he said there are those
who are just as offended by
using their money to fund or
maintain these statues.
“These Confederate mon
uments are low-hanging fruit
for the left,” said Spencer,
later clarifying that he faults
the “hard left,” which he said
includes militant groups like
AntiFa, Black Lives Matter
along with communist/so
cialist activists.
If government leaders give
in to those who want the
monuments removed, Spen
cer fears “the hard left” will
make a move to defund sites
like the Washington Memo
rial or Arlington National
Cemetery (once the private
property of Robert E. Lee)
because they have a connec
tion to former slave owners.
And then there is the Dec
laration of Independence,
which also was written by a
slave owner.
“Where does it end?”
asked Spencer. “That moun
tain ... needs to be pro
tected.”
He said this faction of
Americans would not be sat
I regret that my choice of words in warning LaDawn
about the possibility of violence has been
misinterpreted as a threat against her, or anyone
else who would like to see historic monuments to the
Confederacy removed. I was trying to warn her that
there really are people who would harm
others over the issue.
Jason Spencer, state representative
isfied until they remove all
trace of our history and her
itage, which is something he
doesn’t believe most Ameri
cans really want.
Facebook post goes viral
Last week, Spencer began
posting photos on social
media of himself at state
historic sites, like the Jef
ferson Davis Memorial and
the Martin Luther King Jr.
monument, with the words
“This is Georgia’s history.
#DealWithIt.”
In one of those posts, for
mer state legislator LaDawn
Jones encourages Spencer to
enjoy those sites now before
they are “torn down.”
“Are state tax dollars going
to this? If so, I need to take a
closer look at the state bud
get. I’ll deal with it, but don’t
want to pay for it,” Jones
wrote.
Spencer then said he sits
on the Game, Fish and Parks
Committee and the mon
uments are not going any
where.
Jones then responds: “Yea
put your hoods and your
Tiki torches away. We are
no longer afraid. We will not
let you hide hate behind her
itage. My suggestion... move
your idols to private property
and erect statues that make
you feel powerful. Because
on state property the end is
near. Even if it’s 10,20, or 50
years away that part of Amer
ican history is over. We will
win. We will never give up!
“White people, Black peo
ple, and everyone in between
are joining in and you can’t
defeat that we know what
those symbols REALLY
mean! THIS is not a warn
ing. Reality is .... there are
people who are mad because
there are successful folks liv
ing lives of comfort despite
race and those who feel like
they are entitled are because
of race are still struggling ....
so grab your guns and your
pick up trucks and drive in
circles with your confederate
flags while we buy up your
land and MAKE AMER
ICA GREAT for once. Lock
those photos in your mem
ory because we are about tear
that sh** down!”
Spencer then suggests that
south Georgia residents will
not tolerate those actions
from those in Atlanta.
“Hate for others and
American history (good and
bad) drives your quixotic
journey to erase history like
the Bolsheviks. Looks like
you are afflicted with the
same poison you claim to
fight against. I can guaran
tee you won’t be met with
torches but something a lot
more definitive. People in
South Georgia are people of
action, not drama,” he said.
Spencer later added,
“They will go missing in
the Okefenokee. Too many
necks they are red around
here. Don’t say I didn’t warn
you about ’em.”
Jones commented that
it sounded like a threat of
physical violence, which
sparked outrage among oth
ers, eventually resulting in
the Atlanta Journal-Consti
tution publishing an article
about the online exchange.
National media outlets like
The Washington Post, Huff-
ington Post, The Raw Story
and Essence also picked up
the story.
Antonio Merrick, who bills
his podcast, “The American
Mentor Show,” as “nonpar
tisan political commentary,”
is among those who have
taken Spencer to task over
his comments on Facebook.
A former resident of
Woodbine, Merrick said
Spencer is the reason that
black Americans do not vote
Republican, even in the rural
south where most are social
conservatives. While work
ing with the GOP in Wash
ington, D.C., Merrick said
there is a real effort to con
nect with people of all races.
“They are working hard
to really be able to reach out
to African Americans,” Mer
rick said in a recent podcast.
“The problem is that on the
local level, they can do what
they want to do.”
When Spencer alerted his
Facebook followers about
the impending story, Jones
posted on Spencer’s page,
“I got a call. I explained we
fight like bros and sisters —
and had a unique relation
ship as seatmates. Even if the
word choice was not ideal.”
Spencer and Jones had
shared a desk for four years
while working together as
state legislators — she as a
Democrat and he as a Re
publican. She is no longer
an elected official and is cur
rently working as an attorney
in private practice.
Jones is a Democratic
strategist who was the state
director for the Bernie Sand
ers presidential campaign
and appears frequently in the
national media.
Spencer said despite their
differences, they have a great
deal of mutual respect for
one another. He also issued
a press release in response to
the exchange.
“I regret that my choice
of words in warning LaD
awn about the possibility of
violence has been misinter
preted as a threat against her,
or anyone else who would
like to see historic monu
ments to the Confederacy
removed. I was trying to
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warn her that there really are
people who would harm oth
ers over the issue. In light of
the recent tragic murder of a
woman in Charlottesville, I
believe that a certain degree
of caution is necessary. I still
do,” Spencer said.
He continued, “I condemn
racism, ‘white supremacy’
and any group from the
yesterday’s Klan to today’s
neo-Nazis, who espouses
such vile beliefs. They should
not be tolerated. Provok
ing such hateful people is to
deliberately invite violence
with them, and that should
not happen in America in the
21st century.”
Spencer said he regrets
that the candid discussion
took place in a public forum,
but said he believes that
healthy debate — between
those who care about each
other as people — is the
path to mutual understand
ing.
“People like me and LaD
awn are the ones who will
have to lead the way” if
Georgia is to move forward
with unity, he said.
“We don’t have to call
each other names,” he said.
“We are Americans and we
are better than that.”
Illegal, for now
Many Georgia citizens are
unaware that it is already ille
gal under state law to remove
or conceal a military memo
rial or monument, including
those honoring the Confed
eracy.
Former state Rep. Char
lie Smith Jr., who was floor
leader for Gov. Roy Barnes
in the early 2000s, said he
co-sponsored a bill to change
the Georgia state flag. Smith
opposed the new flag design,
but signed on to the bill re
vising O.C.G.A. 50-1-3 be
cause it had language that
was protective of the state’s
historic monuments.
That bill effectively re
moved the monument issue
from the hands of local de
cision-makers, who may feel
that something in their town
square no longer reflects the
values of their town. The
state law also can be changed
through an act of the Gen
eral Assembly.
Spencer said he will not be
surprised if that part of the
code is repealed next year
as legislators give in to fears
of being labeled racist and
pass the buck to local county
commissions and city coun
cils.
However, he said, whoever
decides the fate of individual
statues and monuments will
have to consider how those
sites were established and
funded. Each has a unique
story behind it and the de
tails of each will need to be
considered on its own merits,
he added.
Spencer said he is not as
concerned with the vari
ous sites around the state,
but intends to fight hard to
keep Stone Mountain safe.
He said the state legislature
should transfer it to private
hands, where it will be less
vulnerable to political pres
sures.
However, Spencer said,
race relations in Georgia
and throughout the U.S. is
the worst it has been in his
lifetime and healing that di
vide will not be as easy to
fix. Silencing the debate, he
believes, will only further po
larize Americans.
Memorial Sign Dedication
In honor of Annie Lou Qlover
For Spur 25/East 10th Street
Woodbine
September 13, 2017 6:30 p.m.
Woodbine City Hall
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