When we first wrote about Mayoral Candidate Joe Morrissey’s plan to remove the Jefferson Davis monument from Monument Ave, we thought he had a pretty good argument as to why it should go and others could stay.
When we first wrote about Mayoral Candidate Joe Morrissey’s plan to remove the Jefferson Davis monument from Monument Ave, we thought he had a pretty good argument as to why it should go and others could stay.
Then, when he retracted that statement and suggested modifying the monument, we called him out for being a puss and a going back on his promise. But a friend of mine pointed out just how incredibly silly his idea really was and how comparable his idea was to a famous South Park episode.
The short version of RVA’s story real quick: Morrissey, who continues to lead in the polls around the city despite some moral ineptitude, held a press conference in late September where he promised to remove the Jeff Davis statue because he was the only non-Virginian of the Confederates represented on the famous stretch of road.
Then, about two weeks later, he retracted the idea and instead offered to add “Union Black soldiers and Confederate Black soldiers.”
“And I think that upon further reflection is a better course of action,” he said in an amazing act of flip-floppery.
And while we were pretty steamed at his retraction, a friend of mine pointed to another piece of pop culture which could better explain the scenario we’re currently facing.
A South Park episode from season four called “Chef Goes Nanners.” Check out the clip below for starters:
Obviously the town’s flag, featuring a Black man hanging from a noose, surrounded by White people, is an exaggerated version of the Confederate flag, but you get the idea. And that is what some Black people, and the rest of the rational world, sees when Ol’ Dixie is blowing in the wind or when Jeff Davis proudly extends his arm to the sky in the name of “state’s rights.”
The show, per usual, does a great job of showing how decisive the populace is on the issue:
Before long, in an effort to lift blame off their own shoulders, the town government has school children debate the issue and come up with a new flag. In a particularly touching moment, the show’s main characters have a realization when Chef has to explain to them that the flag is offensive because of the racist crime being portrayed. Chef agrees to a compromise and the whole town celebrates.
So how does this relate to Morrissey? Well, have a look at the new flag:
Much like Morrissey’s ‘add some Black soldiers’ idea, the town of South Park decides to change up the races gathered around the hanging Black man into “Black, White, Yellow, Brown or whatever.”
This works on TV, with the crowd and the town’s sole Black person (Chef) rejoicing at their compromise.
But it doesn’t work in real life. The statues are still there. They represent a time and era that would fill a normal person up with shame and disgust, and so far there are no real plans to remove or address them.
So consider Morrissey’s South Park solution when you enter the Ballot booth on 11/8.
