Well. Isn't this special?
Donna, the obnoxious fuck that's selling the things, has three stores in North Carolina selling them. eBay, to their credit, pulled the shirt from their site. Donna says "Once again our First Amendment Right to free speech has been trodden upon," which means it has no clue what those first amendment rights are or mean.
IMMEDIATELY AFTER POSTING: I delinked the picture from the site. No sense inciting the lurking racist bastards. But here's some history on its creation:
The conflict has its roots in an old dispute.
In February 2003, Yow criticized the NAACP and its influence on county politics, saying at one point he wouldn't vote to hire a county manager who was a member of the group "unless he was very overly qualified."
Members of the NAACP and others took the statement as racist because the civil rights group lobbies on behalf of African Americans. Six months of controversy ended when the commissioners elevated Willie Best, who is black, from deputy manager to manager.
During what was then an ongoing fracas, Yow and a friend came up with the idea for the shirt, which originally circulated among a small circle of associates. Word-of-mouth built demand and a company.
In October, Donna Montgomery of Sweetwater Court founded Free Speak Inc., copyrighted the design and stepped up sales of the $15 T-shirts. Although Yow is not affiliated with Free Speak, he has not backed away from the shirts' message and has helped sell them.
African American leaders and others have said this association is enough to mark Yow a racist and have called on the commissioner to stop the shirt's production, something he has said repeatedly he cannot do.
And Yow's response is what you'd expect:
"I don't owe them the courtesy to sit there while they bash me," Yow said, explaining why he left the room. "I don't owe them anything. They are not my political destiny. The silent majority are."
The "silent majority" responds as well:
Although they were not as numerous as those lashing out at Yow, some defended him or were critical of the NAACP.
"The NAACP to me stands for racism," said Alan Stockard of Greensboro. Stockard added he thought the use of the Confederate battle flag was inappropriate. "That's why I'm not wearing the Yow shirt," said Stockard, who was wearing a shirt with a Confederate battle flag logo.
Keep Alan Stockard in mind the next time someone says the Confederate battle flag is about "persuhvin ouah hur-tige."
