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Texas athletes petitioning University to replace "The Eyes of Texas" and to no longer require athletes to sing it

Goo Punch

By Goo Punch
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taybo20

taybo20 2887

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Dbeasy said:

I’ll say it. The Eyes of Texas, sung to I’ve Been Working on the Railroad, isn’t the greatest song. Make a new one and make it better. Bring it on.

I agree. Better! Also we’ve talked about it before on this site, but hopefully it also brings about some better game day atmosphere. 

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Deej
Deej

Considering it is sung to the tune of "I've Been Working on the Railroad", shouldn't the Chinese students be the ones with the problem?

NorthLoop
NorthLoop

I'm a Trump hating liberal and hope the Republican party withers and dies before my children are of voting age.  That being said....  The song isn't racist. The bullshit 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon

crash_davis
crash_davis

I don't like some if the demands but I'm not a black athlete representing the University of Texas. I don't know what it's like to deal with the fucked up system that they've grown up under.  Fuck

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Tx74

Tx74 96

Posted
Posted

Coming from an old guy and for the sake of argument, can we please ban rap, hip hop? It is highly offensive on multiple levels to millions of people. How about mandating how pants are worn? Gosh when you get into dictating others likes and dislikes it's kind of fun until it's on the other foot. Just saying.

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Nice Guy Eddie

Nice Guy Eddie 13530

Posted
Posted

The Eyes history seems to have an indirect connection to confederate history but I’m open to hearing more arguments.

From what I can tell is that it’s related to a similar phrase that Robert E Lee said during his time as president of another university after the civil war. Does everything that a former civil war traitor said or did, open to review now? I suppose yes it’s open for review but not sure that it reaches the level to ban it.

as an old white guy, even one who normally votes democrat, I wonder if this is a solution looking for a problem. But as I said, I’m open to learning more.

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EastTexan

EastTexan 662

Posted
Posted
16 hours ago, Sgt Hulk said:

question, before I get wrecked here for asking this.  But did these guys just decide to wake up today and say you know this 100 year song that we've been singling.  I dont like it and im not gonna play until you change it.  Perhaps these are the guys going to chaz next  i dunno. but this should provide quality recruiting ammo against us,  you know if the no draft pic shitty decade donestt work you can use this recent stuf against us 

I don't know, but every university in these United States of America probably has some racist history in its past.

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Neonmoon

Neonmoon 38130

Posted
Posted
2 minutes ago, Tx74 said:

Coming from an old guy and for the sake of argument, can we please ban rap, hip hop? It is highly offensive on multiple levels to millions of people. How about mandating how pants are worn? Gosh when you get into dictating others likes and dislikes it's kind of fun until it's on the other foot. Just saying.

Holy slippery slope fallacy batman 

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CurlyDumps

CurlyDumps 4486

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Dbeasy said:

I’ll say it. The Eyes of Texas, sung to I’ve Been Working on the Railroad, isn’t the greatest song. Make a new one and make it better. Bring it on.

Agree. I’ll go so far as to say it’s an objectively terrible song. If it was written by a college student, that explains a lot.

Gonna start memorizing the words to the Gucci Mane version just in case.

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BevoSwag

BevoSwag 272

Posted
Posted
9 minutes ago, EastTexan said:

I don't know, but every university in these United States of America probably has some racist history in its past.

Banning The Eyes would be painful and to me unnecessary but I'll go with the young folks here. Change has always been difficult.  I remember when you use to hear Dixie every now and then.  

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bullzak

bullzak 422

Posted
Posted

Man, I get the point if youre a black athlete but I never heard any of this before. 

Sang the Eyes a thousand times, but never with this knowledge or intent. 

I suppose that doesn't really count for anything but if we end up killing it that sucks. 

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williemackgarza

williemackgarza 1826

Posted
Posted

FAAZ BLMers should be our new school/mascot name.
I mean the usa was founded by racists so lets not fuck around the bush any longer.
End this bitch.

Charlie still right.
Down fall of society.
And yet these racist little fucks just rolled over when he was here. Coulda put their money where their mouth was yet been lettin stoops/riley (descendants of racist slave owners) run train on them for years.
I wonder why.

When keepin it real goes regard

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Js1

Js1 85648

Posted
Posted
24 minutes ago, CurlyDumps said:

Agree. I’ll go so far as to say it’s an objectively terrible song. If it was written by a college student, that explains a lot.

Gonna start memorizing the words to the Gucci Mane version just in case.

Tom probably supports this, he can bust out his grill 

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Leanderman

Leanderman 2279

Posted
Posted

As an old fart, I can remember the protests in the 1960's. In a sense this is very similar. It brought about some positive changes. If some of the older ex players who have represented the University both off and on the field would speak out, I would support everything asked for except the donations. Let our Congress decide that.

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MrBig

MrBig 5472

Posted
Posted
27 minutes ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

From what I can tell is that it’s related to a similar phrase that Robert E Lee said during his time as president of another university after the civil war. Does everything that a former civil war traitor said or did, open to review now? I suppose yes it’s open for review but not sure that it reaches the level to ban it.

The Eyes of Texas was written specifically for a show where white men dressed up in blackface to mock black people. The context of the lyrics just happens to reference a similar quote from a very prominent Confederate general. But it’s fine because of tradition and all.

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Bruh Man

Bruh Man 3160

Posted
Posted (edited)
8 hours ago, CTC2 said:

The statues should come down and new names be put on the buildings.  No problem.

But, they are overreaching with the demands about the "Eyes".  Overreaching is the kind of shit that will get Trump re-elected.

They should do what they believe is right without any regard for how it affects an election. If it gets Trump re-elected, so be it. It will only further expose how racist and rotten this country's core is. 

Edited by Bruh Man
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workswithseed

workswithseed 2121

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, NoctambulantBrobdingnagian said:

everything they want to get rid of is a symbol

do you value symbols over people?

I want to get rid of OU, they have tortured us with wins, and being general dick gobbling bastards. 

Every time I see the picture of Chris Simms being stopped in the Cotton Bowl, I feel oppressed. I want that erased.

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Murfdogg21

Murfdogg21 4438

Posted
Posted

As a UT student in the 90’s, all I learned was this story below. The song wasn’t created to be racist, it was to mock President Prather but it caught on, not because it was racist. It has been sung for over 100 years, not because it is racist. I didn’t know about the Minstrel shows until this week. Isn’t this an opportunity to educate and condemn the minstrel shows and the general demeaning of any race, without banning everything and everyone associated with it? Where does the banning stop? Don’t tell me they won’t be looking to replace both the Washington and the “C” in Washington DC, because it seems inevitable unless some logic can be injected to condemn and educate without canceling and deleting all of history based on contemporary standards.

“The lyrics are said to be intended to poke fun at University President Colonel Prather. Prather had attended Washington College, now Washington and Lee University, whose president, Robert E. Lee, would frequently tell his students, "the eyes of the South are upon you." Prather was known for including in his speeches a similar admonition, "The eyes of Texas are upon you," meaning that the state of Texas was watching and expecting the students to go out and do great things. Prather enjoyed the song and promoted its usage. He died not long thereafter, and the song was played at his funeral.”

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Lurch

Lurch 5932

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Posted

They want to be free
“Where will it end?”
They want to vote
“Where will it end?”
They want equal access to schools
“Where will it end?”
They want fair pay
“Where will it end?”
They want access to home loans
“Where will it end?”
They want to marry different races
“Where will it end?”
They want equal protection under and from the law
“Where will it end?”
They want to remove the constant reminders of our overt racist history against them
“Where will it end?”

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Nice Guy Eddie

Nice Guy Eddie 13530

Posted
Posted
31 minutes ago, MrBig said:

The Eyes of Texas was written specifically for a show where white men dressed up in blackface to mock black people. The context of the lyrics just happens to reference a similar quote from a very prominent Confederate general. But it’s fine because of tradition and all.

Was it created for a minstrel show?

and just because some racists did X, it doesn’t necessarily mean X is racist. 
 

and I’m ok banning the Eyes if it can be shown to have a racist genesis. Just not sure I believe that yet. Personally I rarely sing it so means little to me

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GHOSTUSER

GHOSTUSER 361

Posted
Posted (edited)
8 minutes ago, Lurch said:

They want to be free
“Where will it end?”
They want to vote
“Where will it end?”
They want equal access to schools
“Where will it end?”
They want fair pay
“Where will it end?”
They want access to home loans
“Where will it end?”
They want to marry different races
“Where will it end?”
They want equal protection under and from the law
“Where will it end?”
They want to remove the constant reminders of our overt racist history against them
“Where will it end?”

Right. Such oppression with the Eyes. Something these players knew shit about until they became unwitting pawns. They’re so brave. Anyone who wants to throw away the history and heritage associated with our Alma mater can go fuck themselves. CDC should say all the right lip service bs about listening to their grievances and then firmly tell them to fuck off we aren’t dropping it.  This will destroy our attendance. It’s going to go over like a lead balloon with our average alum or t-shirt fan.

Edited by Iconoclast Texan
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GHOSTUSER

GHOSTUSER 361

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Posted
4 minutes ago, David Dennison said:

Nothing gets white folks riled up like telling them their traditions are offensive.

My goodness.

Traditions are important. The reasons behind getting rid of the Eyes are flimsy because it was performed at a minstrel show. I would like to see Prof. Gordon’s sourcing and verification 

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TwiceHorn

TwiceHorn 31644

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4 minutes ago, David Dennison said:

Nothing gets white folks riled up like telling them their traditions are offensive.

My goodness.

When the basis of the offensiveness is as contrived as it is here, it's a little troubling.

I totally get that the "white majority" doesn't get to decide what's racist or not or impose its will on an oppressed minority.

But when the majority of people (white or otherwise) have employed a tradition without racial animus for more than a century, and there is no "obvious" racial animus inherent to the tradition, it presents a bit of a quandary.

It shouldn't be mandatory for anyone, nor should it be banned is where I end up, I guess.

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immamac

immamac 43369

Posted
Posted

I don't have a dog in the fight because my diploma is from another school, but my observations from the "outside" on this are pretty straightforward:

  1. Everything in the request letter is great and should be actioned on in some way by the university to turn it into a moment of unity and a big win for moving the culture and reputation of the university forward. This came from the student body and the student athletes used their influence to draw more attention to the issue. Great leadership and good on them for setting an example for other student athletes at schools that have similar reminders of racial injustice in the past.
  2. Everyone who included threats and turned the open request letter into a demand with requirements which if not met would result in negative impact to the team needs to be cut from the athletic program and roster (keep scholarships or whatever). That is not leadership that is "bully" or "mob" justice and shouldn't be rewarded, but rather there should be a punitive measure taken. 

I saw many of the tweets from the student athletes echoing a positive and unifying message that didn't involve "we are going to fuck over the entire football program if you don't do these things". Those are the real leaders.

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David Dennison

David Dennison 18993

Posted
Posted
2 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

When the basis of the offensiveness is as contrived as it is here, it's a little troubling.

I totally get that the "white majority" doesn't get to decide what's racist or not or impose its will on an oppressed minority.

But when the majority of people (white or otherwise) have employed a tradition without racial animus for more than a century, and there is no "obvious" racial animus inherent to the tradition, it presents a bit of a quandary.

It shouldn't be mandatory for anyone, nor should it be banned is where I end up, I guess.

But it does have racial animus for people of color. That's what you are missing. 

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mdmost

mdmost 43074

Posted
Posted

No, everything is not politics. But all your terms like "outside agitators" is exactly the language he uses and you've said before how you're such a huge fan and would give yourself willing to him. Okay, I made that last part up.

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Gigglebush

Gigglebush 107

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Posted

The lyrics arent racist and what the song is about and represents isn't racist in any context. The story I read was talking about the song being offensive because its based on a song (railroad) based on a song ( Levee song) that IS racist. Now I'm hearing it may have debuted at a blackface show? 

I just don't see Eyes being the real issue. If socio economic problems in black communities were solved I dont think anyone would be playing 8 degrees of Kevin Racism with The Eyes.

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GHOSTUSER

GHOSTUSER 361

Posted
Posted
3 minutes ago, mdmost said:

No, everything is not politics. But all your terms like "outside agitators" is exactly the language he uses and you've said before how you're such a huge fan and would give yourself willing to him. Okay, I made that last part up.

Nah it’s complete out of the realm of possibility that our rivals wouldn’t seek to wreak havoc on us. I mean it’s not like they don’t have a playbook on how that was done on a national scale.

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mdmost

mdmost 43074

Posted
Posted
Just now, Iconoclast Texan said:

Nah it’s complete out of the realm of possibility that our rivals wouldn’t seek to wreak havoc on us. I mean it’s not like they don’t have a playbook on how that was done on a national scale.

Ha ha. Okay man. Got any other conspiracy theories to throw out. I just settle in with some coffee and need a good read. 

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MrBig

MrBig 5472

Posted
Posted
6 minutes ago, Iconoclast Texan said:

Traditions are important. The reasons behind getting rid of the Eyes are flimsy because it was performed at a minstrel show. I would like to see Prof. Gordon’s sourcing and verification 

It wasn’t just a song performed at a minstrel show. It was written specifically FOR a minstrel show.

Sources:

The Alcade 1992

The Alcade 2003

 

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SquishMitten

SquishMitten 10451

Posted
Posted

When I first saw this, I thought “that sounds like something from a typical SJW.” The more I read about it and the conflicting viewpoints, I’m not sure how I feel. I’m a white guy who had never heard of this being an issue. The song itself has no racist undertones. But the fact it was written with a racist intent changes that, but at this point I don’t know how much. Maybe I’ll never be able to truly understand. Maybe it’s just not my place to say. It seems that the players are the drivers behind this (rather than SJWs like I’d originally thought) so that has to be considered. Personally, I have a very deep connection to the song and would be sad to see it go. But if a significant number of black folks find it offensive then I don’t know how (or why) we’d defend it.

There’s also a possibility this was included as a hardline negotiating tactic, and it being the last thing on the list kinda supports that. It certainly drew a shit load of attention to something that frankly would’ve largely gone ignored without it. Hell, look at how long this thread is. Look at all the people saying “I’m OK with everything else, but not The Eyes.” If it was for negotiating purposes, whoever came up with that strategy is absolutely brilliant. But if more people come out against it, then I’d say we gotta let it go.

Something similar was said above, but if I know that a lot of people hear it as “Hey, blacks! We’re watching you, and you can’t get away!” then I can’t in good conscience ever sing it again. People can disagree on what it means to them personally, but I don’t think many of us would proudly sing it if we know it was hurting a lot of our fellow Horns.

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