Let The Governor of Mississippi Know Your Thoughts

Some of you may know that I was born, raised and educated in Mississippi.  My state has taken it's lumps and it is sometimes hard at Essex County Dinner tables to hear people start about how things are "down there."  Especially when things are pretty bad up here too!

That said, I helped found The Mississippi Picnic in Central Park over 30 years ago to assist my state to temper its public relations profile.  We've been successful on many fronts.  Key among them the first event in history that the historically Black Colleges in Mississippi worked jointly with schools like Ole Miss to plan and implement student recruiting during the Picnic!  I'm proud of that.

Then the current Governor, Phil Bryant, signs this completely unnecessary law that is a crude effort to set himself up with his base for a run at a Senate seat in the future.  He is learning today that he has caused a firestorm.  Please take a minute and let him know via his website what you think of this "Religious Liberty" law that has been signed.

Just what we need in The Senate: Another Christian Conservative Zealot!

http://www.governorbryant.com/contact/

Other leaders in Mississippi are beginning to speak out:  

http://www.wlox.com/story/31652514/local-residents-and-city-leaders-react-to-house-bill-1523

Best Regards,

Ron Carter

One more item, here's a wonderful posting from a fellow Mississippian:  

McGhee Monteith 21 hrs · 

Dear Mississippi,
We are in a very dysfunctional relationship. I defend you, stand by you, promote you all over the world, and you’ve made yourself, once again, indefensible.
Tennessee Williams was your son…a gay man who wrote of your mighty river and deeply complex characters. Now, he could be denied a cup of coffee by a so-called “religious” business.
Muddy Waters and BB King were your sons. They gave us sounds the world had never heard, but you called them “boy” and wouldn’t let them ride your buses. You also used religion to defend this position.
Cat Cora is your daughter. She celebrates your blended history in her food, while your other daughter, Tig Notaro, reinvents story telling and makes us laugh at the same time. They would not be welcome in your restaurants or your theaters.
Nina Simone wrote a song about you in 1964. Do you remember? Your name was in the title, so you should. She said “All I want is equality for my sister, my brother, my people, and me.”
Have you learned nothing?
You are last in education, yet you focus your resources on hateful and unproductive legislation, rather than educating all of us.
You have more churches per capita than any other state in America, yet you are the least Christ-like in your voting, and you continue to exclude those who you deem different and undeserving of your love and freedoms.
You will continue being the butt of the joke. You will continue to lose big business and enterprise. You will eventually lose all of us, Mississippi. You will one day wake up, and your special sons and daughters will have left you. All alone to grow old, surrounded by hate you have mistaken for heritage, which slowly, but surely, will rot away with you. Meanwhile, we will change minds, tell stories, laugh, kiss, and make new homes that celebrate and appreciate us. Our new homes will not be ashamed of us. Nor will it persecute us because of who we love, the color of our skin, or our gender. We will find community and home with those who celebrate our hearts and souls. We will continue to leave you, not because we wanted to, but because you kicked us out of the house.
Don’t claim the special you have exiled once they achieve greatness. They have done it in spite of you, not because of you.
It is with great sadness that I write this letter to you. I hope for an awakening and a change, but until then, I cannot defend you any longer.
Your Daughter,
McGhee

^WOW.  Beautifully written.

This governor like several others is nothing but a racist bigoted redneck.  Simple solution, do not buy products produced there and let companies know that you will not patronize them until they leave this shythole of a state.

The people who are there and voting are the only ones who can change things.  Keep voting in guys like that and you get what you get.

I'm not sure that a bunch of us citified libs sticking our noses in the business of Mississippi will produce the result you are seeking. 

Write letters to Nissan (largest employer in MS) and Ashley Furniture (3rd largest).

RobB said:

Write letters to Nissan (largest employer in MS) and Ashley Furniture (3rd largest).

That is probably a more effective strategy.  What does the governor care about the thoughts of Jeff in NJ?

jeffhandy, I understand your point but I think he's as needy as Trump and likely to read every email...

Please take the time...

Best Regards,

Ron Carter

Why not politely remind the governor of Mississippi of the negative economic impact a similar law is having in North Carolina, which must have thought it had solid enough progressive credentials to get away with the new legislation. It isn't about city versus country or liberal versus conservative; the legislation creates an unwelcoming climate for contemporary business activity, which even conservative Republicans may care about. North Carolina stands to lose hundred if not thousands of new jobs and millions of dollars of business income, Mississippi could too.

I have a hard time imagining that the governor of Mississippi is worried about the opinions of NJ folks with no connection to his state.  Based on my knowledge of how things go in my home state (Texas), I would guess that our criticism might well be taken as validation.

sac,  If it weren't for The Freedom Riders and those who came to get people registered to vote...  (Many were from New Jersey!)

Trust me they were all viewed as "Outside Agitators" but they had a major impact and helped move things forward!  

Doing nothing does nothing.  

"And while good people stood by in silence..."

Best Regards,

Ron Carter

grayhill2 said:

Why not politely remind the governor of Mississippi of the negative economic impact a similar law is having in North Carolina, which must have thought it had solid enough progressive credentials to get away with the new legislation. It isn't about city versus country or liberal versus conservative; the legislation creates an unwelcoming climate for contemporary business activity, which even conservative Republicans may care about. North Carolina stands to lose hundred if not thousands of new jobs and millions of dollars of business income, Mississippi could too.

Why on earth do I care about economic prosperity of the people who put this cretin in office?  States compete against each other for jobs.  If this is the methodology of the state of MS, I say stand by politely and let them fail on their own.  This is the unfortunate reality of a global economy.  

I just had to.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7fgB0m_y2I

LOST said:

I just had to.

Oh, my!  I've never heard that song.  He certainly doesn't mince words.  

Red_Barchetta said:

grayhill2 said:

Why not politely remind the governor of Mississippi of the negative economic impact a similar law is having in North Carolina, which must have thought it had solid enough progressive credentials to get away with the new legislation. It isn't about city versus country or liberal versus conservative; the legislation creates an unwelcoming climate for contemporary business activity, which even conservative Republicans may care about. North Carolina stands to lose hundred if not thousands of new jobs and millions of dollars of business income, Mississippi could too.

Why on earth do I care about economic prosperity of the people who put this cretin in office?  States compete against each other for jobs.  If this is the methodology of the state of MI, I say stand by politely and let them fail on their own.  This is the unfortunate reality of a global economy.  

Actually MI is Michigan and MS is Mississippi.  I definitely don't agree with this position, although I question the value of out-of-staters submitting protests to the Mississippi governor.  But it's easy enough to do, so I'll consider it.

mjh said:

LOST said:

I just had to.

Oh, my!  I've never heard that song.  He certainly doesn't mince words.  

Phil Ochs never minced words.

Miss Phil Ochs. And on a lighter(!) note

Mississippi.We're even worse than North Carolina.

Compare and Contrast

http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/ca31c914a7/mississippi-anti-gay-tourism-video?_cc=__d___&_ccid=false

http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/8c36175bbc/north-carolina-s-anti-gay-tourism-commercial?_cc=__d___&_ccid=c922c749-959e-4a6e-a890-cd494b85e69e

sac said:

Actually MI is Michigan and MS is Mississippi.  I definitely don't agree with this position, although I question the value of out-of-staters submitting protests to the Mississippi governor.  But it's easy enough to do, so I'll consider it.

Thank you for pointing it out.  While my home state of Michigan has not been a beacon of inspiration for good governance with Gov Rick Snyder in office, to have it equated with Mississippi made me feel a little ill.

jeffhandy, Pay attention there is enough sadness to spread around.  Learned a lot about MI while I was in the US Army in the early 70s. Lot's of problems of it's own...  Yet some Michiganders were very quick to be dumping on "The South."  There are serious problems in every part of our country and nothing is gained by scapegoating any one area as worse than any other area.   There are many problems to be solved in every area.  Let's work on the problems, not the blame!  We are all equally responsible!

Best Regards,

Ron Carter

sac said:

Red_Barchetta said:

grayhill2 said:

Why not politely remind the governor of Mississippi of the negative economic impact a similar law is having in North Carolina, which must have thought it had solid enough progressive credentials to get away with the new legislation. It isn't about city versus country or liberal versus conservative; the legislation creates an unwelcoming climate for contemporary business activity, which even conservative Republicans may care about. North Carolina stands to lose hundred if not thousands of new jobs and millions of dollars of business income, Mississippi could too.

Why on earth do I care about economic prosperity of the people who put this cretin in office?  States compete against each other for jobs.  If this is the methodology of the state of MI, I say stand by politely and let them fail on their own.  This is the unfortunate reality of a global economy.  

Actually MI is Michigan and MS is Mississippi.  I definitely don't agree with this position, although I question the value of out-of-staters submitting protests to the Mississippi governor.  But it's easy enough to do, so I'll consider it.

Fair enough, and thank you for the correction.  Perhaps I'm being a little extreme, but no way will I encourage a politician from another state to change unless that effort is already being led by his or her constituents.  

I too miss Phil Ochs.

Red Barchetta, they are speaking out and up!

More Leaders Step UP and OUT on this issue.
Mississippi, Oh Mississippi, please do not do this to yourself.
Aren't the past issues enough to not be creating new ones? 
Please surprise me and lots of others by undoing this sad piece of misguided and frankly, baldly political legislation!
You are so much better than this.
A great minister I knew would say that "As a Christian" you so so much Bigger than this!
Now, Stand Up, Man Up, Christian Up and do away with this silliness!
-Ron Ron Carter

http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/weblogs/politics-blog/2016/apr/06/corporate-ceos-call-bryant-gop-leaders-repeal-hb-1/

Red_Barchetta said:

grayhill2 said:

Why not politely remind the governor of Mississippi of the negative economic impact a similar law is having in North Carolina, which must have thought it had solid enough progressive credentials to get away with the new legislation. It isn't about city versus country or liberal versus conservative; the legislation creates an unwelcoming climate for contemporary business activity, which even conservative Republicans may care about. North Carolina stands to lose hundred if not thousands of new jobs and millions of dollars of business income, Mississippi could too.

Why on earth do I care about economic prosperity of the people who put this cretin in office?  States compete against each other for jobs.  If this is the methodology of the state of MS, I say stand by politely and let them fail on their own.  This is the unfortunate reality of a global economy.  

And how does this help the US?   

Do you think that economic outcomes are zero sum?  In other words, do you think that Mississippi's failures help NJ?  

One of the best aspects of Mississippi's impact on culture is the sheer number of writers of both import and commerce who have come from those roots.  An extensive listing of them spoke out today about the law.  The drumbeat continues.

http://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/2016/04/11/notable-mississippi-authors-release-statement-against-hb-1523/82891792/

Besides the writers, as you can imagine, the tourism group is doing its best spin:

http://mstourism.com/

Tourism is the 4th largest industry in the state.  Over 115,000 employees!

Best Regards,

Ron Carter

You can still speak to the governor:  http://www.governorbryant.com/contact/

http://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/davidbadash/breaking_mississippi_democrat_to_introduce_bill_to_repeal_broad_anti_gay_law_signed_by_gov_bryant

Making progress to end this

We had to act, just not our vision for our event:  

The New York-Mississippi Society press release in-full reads:

We, the founders of the Mississippi Picnic in Central Park and the New York-Mississippi Society, are officially canceling this year’s picnic in its 37th year.
As a result of the unfortunate adoption of House Bill 1523, we have been informed that several concerned groups in New York City intend to demonstrate in protest of the passage of this law. Due to the controversy, the protests, and our own intensely felt dismay over HB 1523, we deeply regret that the Mississippi Picnic cannot go forward.
Our mission back in 1980 was to showcase a positive image of the state of Mississippi, and over the past 36 years, we have celebrated such cultural icons as writer Tennessee Williams, food critic Craig Claiborne, and opera singer, Leontyne Price. This year we were planning to honor the great blues musician, B.B.King.
For almost four decades, The Mississippi Picnic in Central Park has consistently celebrated the best of Mississippi, without regard to race, religion, or gender orientation. We took pride in sharing our rich heritage and diversity with the rest of the world through these annual gatherings. Any law such as HB 1523 that discriminates against even a single member of our community cannot be tolerated, and therefore we have decided to stand up for all Mississippians by canceling the 2016 picnic in the park.
Respectfully,
The Founders: 

Ron Carter

Vicki Carter 

Rachel McPherson 

Diane Wiltshire

Best Regards,

Ron Carter

i couldnt care less if someone is ogling my junk in the men's room.  In fact, it might make me proud.

just heard coverage of this on 1010WINS . Sad to see such an event have to be cancelled like this But the right thing to do . Too bad the governor said he was disappointed in the cancellation. Maybe he should've thought harder about signing the bill

Two postings reflecting on The South and being Queer.   Louie is my neighbor, friend, and a sort of mentor in East Orange.  I hope you will take the time to read these two essays as the South is a rich, deep and most curious place.  Not so simply called backwards...  Like The Dew is a great site with lot's of southern writers.

http://likethedew.com/2016/04/21/queer-southerners-reflections-on-race-a-starter/#.VxqQmfkrIvg

https://www.salon.com/2016/04/18/dont_write_off_mississippi_before_you_dismiss_us_as_a_garbage_state_listen_to_the_queer_southerners_youre_leaving_behind/

Best Regards, Y'all,

Ron Carter