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PLA6POLE APRIL 24, 1 996
SOUTHERN CULTURE: O n
T-fie SKit? S ?
A revolution is brewing right here in Athens. A new student
group called the Southern League has formed on the UGA cam
pus. With a keen eye to the past, the local chapter is part of a
growing national organization that seeks to reclaim Southern
heritage and to explore the possibility of eventual secession. The
national group has chapters in 24 states, including some as far
north as New York.
“Our main objective," said UGA Chapter President Nick
Mrvos, “is to advance the cultural, social and economic well
being of all Southerners.” In its literature, the Southern League
pieces together a case for the legal right of secession by relying
on historical facts. Besides students, its national membership also
includes current and former academics from a number of univer
sities and colleges.
At a recent meeting of the UGA chapter, Dr. Don Livingston,
a philosophy professor from Atlanta’s Emory University, spoke
to a group of about 20 students on the history of secession in the
United States. Livingston argued that states are "sovereign” and
have the right to secede under a truly federalist government. He
asserted that this right existed from the foundation of the United
States. Citing Thomas Jefferson and John C. Calhoun, he lik
ened the American Revolution to the Civil War. He also stated
that the United States Constitution was not a permanent con
tract but rather a “compact” to which the states "acceded" and
from which they may freely secede. He argued that the North
was an invading army during the Civil War and needed to use
force to put down the South’s legitimate desire for secession.
During his 90-minute lecture, Livingston presented the case that
states have the right to secede, but failed to mention any reasons
why Southerners should want to secede.
When asked about differences between the North and the
South, Mrvos said they were strong enough to lead to secession.
However, he could only point to diet and dialect as dividing
Northern and Southern cultures.
“Here’s a lot of integration as far as what people eat every
where, but up North they tend to eat more oatmeal, and down
here they tend to eat more grits,” he said. Still, he asserted that
the Southern culture is distinct enouth to make secession the
SL’s "number-one job.”
While it shares conservative positions toward taxes, tradi
tional values, and the welfare state with other states rights groups
and even the Republican Party, Mrvos said the SL’s “ultimate
goal, to have a free and independent South” makes it different
from other state’s rights movements in the United States. “There
are a lot of other Tenth Amendment movements, but what they
fail to talk about is the right of secession and a true federalist
form of government. They say we want these rights,
but they don’t even mention secession,” he said.
Mrvos said the group’s opposition to big gov
ernment, coupled with the “cultural renaissance”
the SL is working toward, will move people to con
sider secession. He argued that “once people have
the culture, and they are tired of all this federal
intervention, they’re going to want to do some
thing about it.”
However, the SL’s appreciation of Southern
culture has caused some to label the organization
as racist. Pointing to a Confederate flag in the
room, Mrvos said, “When you look at the flag, some
people are going to say, ‘You must be racist.’ People
have to get over the fact that we do not accept the
flag as being racist. It was a flag that represents our
heritage, and it still is.”
He explained attacks on the SL from the left,
saying that when people “do draw these compari
sons, they know nothing about our group. If you
look at our membership pamphlets, [they] have
no box to check for race. We don’t care. If any
body shares our views about states rights, less fed
eral government, more local control, it will ben
efit every single ethnic group in the United States.”
Some white supremacy groups have tried to
pull the SL into their fold. Several groups, includ
ing the neo-Nazi Stormffont, added hyperlinks
from their homepages on the World Wide Web to
the SL’s homepage, Dixienet (http://
www.dixienet.org). The group was quick to request
that these links be removed. It also added a docu
ment denouncing "hatemongers,” saying that it
believes these links were placed “out of the mis
taken perception that Southerners who take pride
in the unique heritage of the South and who fly
the Confederate flag do so to express a view of
white racial supremacy.” Mrvos also denied that
the group is racist.
“We don’t want to sound like a white or Aryan
group, because we’re not,” he said.
Distancing itself from groups that promote a
“race-hate agenda,” the SL includes the NAACP
among them. It equates the NAACP with Aryan
Nation and the KKK, labeling the civil rights or
ganization a "black racial extremist” group.
Mrvos explained this view: “Bctweenjessejack-
son and Rev. [Al] Sharpton, guys like that, they
want to inflame people in the black community just
like the Klan and the Nazis want to do with the
white people. They’re both trying to feed the fires
to create controversy because that keeps their or
ganizations running, that generates money.
Mrvos proudly showed off a scrapbook of ar
ticles that had been written about the SL. One
was from the University of Alabama student pa
per, The Crimson White. In late October, the Ala
bama chapter’s president had sent a list of demands
to the president of the university. Among these
demands, the group insisted that it receive fund
ing equal to the school’s African-American stu
dent group. Mrvos indicated a desire for similar
action at the University of Georgia.
At UGA, the SL has taken a stand against a
proposed multicultural requirement. Mrvos said,
“We do not object to having people of different
origins and different countries here. That’s not a
problem with us, but the only thing we see is with
the multicultural diversity requirement."
He indicated that he felt the requirement
would be largely unnecessary, “because pretty
much when you look at the classes, people are
going to take those voluntarily." He also said that
it would be unfair since classes on Southern his
tory are not being given equal priority. "Nobody
says, ‘Well here’s a Southern history requirement
you have to do,’ but all of a sudden we’re the ones
who have to take the multicultural requirement.
I just don’t think it would be appropriate for the
University of Georgia."
Mrvos mentioned that the SL has even en
tered politics. “We’ve already got candidates run
ning in Louisiana and Arkansas under a South
ern League Banner. That’s where it gets started.
So there will be a lot of our members starting to
get into politics, and you never know what can
happen."
Until that day, he said, the SL will continue
to focus on letting “people know this is your heri
tage. Read it. Claim it. Be a part of it, and be proud
of it."
I owanson
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