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

[cabowabo 4487]

1 hour ago, Gigglebush said:

 If socio economic problems in black communities were solved I dont think anyone would be playing 8 degrees of Kevin Racism with The Eyes.

No shit. I don’t think the Eyes of Texas or some name on the building is the root of the problems for the black community. Not having children out of wedlock and kids knowing their fathers would do a lot more. 

[Apex73 313]

28 minutes ago, David Dennison said:

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

My goodness.

I mean the eyes of Texas isn't just special to white people.  This is just mob justice.  Not thought out at all.  Ignorant like your comment.

[The_Great_Hornsby 3241]

Just now, Apex73 said:

I mean the eyes of Texas isn't just special to white people.  This is just mob justice.  Not thought out at all.  Ignorant like your comment.

Dont waste your breath, he is a political hack

[Bruh Man 3160]

1 minute ago, cabowabo said:

No shit. I don’t think the Eyes of Texas or some name on the building is the root of the problems for the black community. Not having children out of wedlock and kids knowing their fathers would do a lot more. But, we can’t talk about that. 

Is that what your friends at stormfront/brietbart say? 

[GreenspointTexas 9645]

Some of yall need to visit/should have been raised in Greenspoint

 

its not even the ghetto, but its clear many of yall have never interacted with or even met a single black person

[stone oak 639]

The silver lining to all of this is that Herman is pretty much 100% gone now if he doesn’t manage to win the Big 12 this year. If there’s even football played in 2020.

[Lurch 5931]

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.

Sometimes threats like this have been necessary to force change. Bus Boycott for example. It is brave and leadership.

[stone oak 639]

Just now, GreenspointTexas said:

Some of yall need to visit/should have been raised in Greenspoint

 

its not even the ghetto, but its clear many of yall have never interacted with or even met a single black person

Ballgame!!!! Says the dude that lives in the fucking whitewashed Houston Heights. Jfc.

[David Dennison 18922]

Just now, Art Vandelay said:

This is not a "fact" -- that is the issue. There was no racist intent behind the song, regardless of where/when it was first performed.

It was written for a minstrel show. Minstrel shows were known for mocking black people. That matters in the context of The Eyes of Texas being played at athletic events involving African American student athletes.

[Apex73 313]

2 minutes ago, Bruh Man said:

Is that what your friends at stormfront/brietbart say? 

I mean he's not wrong.

[NoctambulantBrobdingnagian 530]

16 hours ago, ChiTownDoc said:

Sooners do the upside down horns to protest racial oppression and stuff.  

Jesus fuck, I'm laughing with the sooner

[UDontKnow 10447]

12 hours ago, Sgt Hulk said:

It wasn’t that long ago we hated each other for not wearing a mask. Those we’re the days 

Given the current state of affairs in Texas, some of us still hate others for not wearing masks and behaving like everything is normal.

[GreenspointTexas 9645]

3 minutes ago, stone oak said:

Ballgame!!!! Says the dude that lives in the fucking whitewashed Houston Heights. Jfc.

Bwahahahah “white washed” 

 

You know nothing about Houston, jfc. 

[Apex73 313]

1 minute ago, David Dennison said:

It was written for a minstrel show. Minstrel shows were known for mocking black people. That matters in the context of The Eyes of Texas being played at athletic events involving African American student athletes.

So in all of it's years of existence nobody gave a shit about that until now.  In fact you should quit using the term African American.  Most of them are born and raised Americans and have never been to Africa.  I wouldn't call myself German American even if that is my ancestry.  Btw a lot of black people were singing right along with the eyes of Texas for years.  So this is just more virtue signaling.

[David Dennison 18922]

1 minute ago, Apex73 said:

So in all of it's years of existence nobody gave a shit about that until now.  In fact you should quit using the term African American.  Most of them are born and raised Americans and have never been to Africa.  I wouldn't call myself German American even if that is my ancestry.  Btw a lot of black people were singing right along with the eyes of Texas for years.  So this is just more virtue signaling.

I don't think it's going to be up to you.

[Lurch 5931]

So in all of it's years of existence nobody gave a shit about that until now.  In fact you should quit using the term African American.  Most of them are born and raised Americans and have never been to Africa.  I wouldn't call myself German American even if that is my ancestry.  Btw a lot of black people were singing right along with the eyes of Texas for years.  So this is just more virtue signaling.

 

Many of us, of all races and backgrounds, didn’t know the history. Now we do.

 

Some people DID give a shit, but they weren’t heard.

Now they’re heard.

[Telegraph_it 3357]

7 minutes ago, stone oak said:

Ballgame!!!! Says the dude that lives in the fucking whitewashed Houston Heights. Jfc.

Sheeeeeeeeeit. 

[David Dennison 18922]

12 minutes ago, Apex73 said:

I mean the eyes of Texas isn't just special to white people.  This is just mob justice.  Not thought out at all.  Ignorant like your comment.

As far as I can tell, it's thoroughly thought out and researched.

The song has racist origins. 

[Apex73 313]

2 minutes ago, David Dennison said:

I don't think it's going to be up to you.

No clearly the mob has spoken and it doesn't matter what individuals think about anything anymore.  It's just a fascist way of thinking and acting.

 

[David Dennison 18922]

Just now, Apex73 said:

No clearly the mob has spoken and it doesn't matter what individuals think about anything anymore.  It's just a fascist way of thinking and acting.

 

You can sing The Eyes of Texas whenever and wherever you want.

[Lurch 5931]

Sometimes the mob is just right.

[Art Vandelay 1712]

3 minutes ago, David Dennison said:

It was written for a minstrel show. Minstrel shows were known for mocking black people. That matters in the context of The Eyes of Texas being played at athletic events involving African American student athletes.

“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.”

That was the intent of the song, which again has nothing to do with race. Scrapping it because it was played at a minstrel show once or twice 120 years ago -- and then sung thousands upon thousands of times by generations of UT students and alumni -- of all colors -- as a unifying show of support and appreciation for their school makes no sense at all.

[Telegraph_it 3357]

2 minutes ago, Apex73 said:

No clearly the mob has spoken and it doesn't matter what individuals think about anything anymore.  It's just a fascist way of thinking and acting.

 

Stop feeding the political hack and troll. He gets off on his witty one liners that add no value to anything. 

[stone oak 639]

6 minutes ago, GreenspointTexas said:

Bwahahahah “white washed” 

 

You know nothing about Houston, jfc. 

I lived in the Heights for 3 years dude. It’s one of the most whitewashed neighborhoods in the whole city, save for the enclave cities like West U or Southside Place. 
 

Whites pushing out all minority “holdouts” as fast as possible in the name of rapid gentrification. That’s the Heights.

[Apex73 313]

All of this is just a bunch of pussies that want to be heard.  And when they get this accomplished they are going to go home thinking they've done a good job.  And the same problems are going to exist in the black community that did before and the narrative will continue that America is racist and evil.

[David Dennison 18922]

1 minute ago, Apex73 said:

All of this is just a bunch of pussies that want to be heard.  And when they get this accomplished they are going to go home thinking they've done a good job.  And the same problems are going to exist in the black community that did before and the narrative will continue that America is racist and evil.

I wouldn't call Charles Omenihu a pussy.

[Lurch 5931]

They will have chipped away, and that’s a win. Progress.

[Nice Guy Eddie 13515]

36 minutes ago, MrBig said:

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

 

That is open for interpretation. Reads like a guy wrote it and then wanted to present it at the minstrel show.  Also Perhaps this is an ignorant question but are songs racist based on being performed at a minstrel show? To be clear i completely agree minstrel shows are horrific.

if UT bans the song, I’m ok with it, but that action will create disunity. You will have 10s of thousands of fans singing it at DKR which creates a weird vibe. It turns into DKR having a racist/non-racist song being sung. 

as a disclaimer, I’ve never heard any of the Eyes background so I reserve the right to think on this more. Especially since I still don’t believe I know the full history yet. 

Edited June 13, 2020 by Nice Guy Eddie

[Telegraph_it 3357]

3 minutes ago, stone oak said:

I lived in the Heights for 3 years dude. It’s one of the most whitewashed neighborhoods in the whole city, save for the enclave cities like West U or Southside Place. 
 

Whites pushing out all minority “holdouts” as fast as possible in the name of rapid gentrification. That’s the Heights.

Wrong dude. Gentrification skipped over The Heights and is only happening north of 610 in Independence Heights. Know Houston better. 
 

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/The-first-black-city-in-Texas-is-on-the-verge-of-14466916.php

[Apex73 313]

2 minutes ago, Lurch said:

They will have chipped away, and that’s a win. Progress.

Really?  What are they accomplishing outside of pissing a bunch of people off?  They certainly aren't addressing any of the main issues in the black community.

[NoctambulantBrobdingnagian 530]

15 hours ago, Iconoclast Texan said:

I have a humanities degree. Even back when I graduated it was well on its way to devolving into the garbage it has become. 

well, it's from Houston, so...

[Nice Guy Eddie 13515]

2 minutes ago, Telegraph_it said:

Wrong dude. Gentrification skipped over The Heights and is only happening north of 610 in Independence Heights. Know Houston better. 
 

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/The-first-black-city-in-Texas-is-on-the-verge-of-14466916.php

The heights has been and continues to gentrify. Ethnic or racial changes are only a possible component of gentrification. It’s actually more about economics of the people being displaced. 

[Lurch 5931]

As if you know what the main issues are in the black community and what they are doing to address them.

They’re pissing off the likes of you. The rest of us are fine with that.

[Js1 85390]

8 minutes ago, David Dennison said:

I wouldn't call Charles Omenihu a pussy.

Guess Nate Boyer is a pussy too. 

[Gatorubet 30246]

I agree. Was just commenting on what you are likely to see soon across college athletics. A lot of schools gonna have to change things
 
 

It’s great. To Be. A Florida Gator.

#greenlivesmatter

Glad we will miss some of this.

But ain’t nobody missing all of it. Southern land grant universities from the mid-1800s by their existence gonna involve some slave-y confederate mother fuckers. So fuck it.

This old white man supports most all blm shit and de-racist efforts to my alma mater, - and to any if them.

[stone oak 639]

16 minutes ago, David Dennison said:

I wouldn't call Charles Omenihu a pussy.

Counterpoint

 

[GreenspointTexas 9645]

18 minutes ago, stone oak said:

I lived in the Heights for 3 years dude. It’s one of the most whitewashed neighborhoods in the whole city, save for the enclave cities like West U or Southside Place. 
 

Whites pushing out all minority “holdouts” as fast as possible in the name of rapid gentrification. That’s the Heights.

Last i checked, its still like 50-60% hispanic

 

and lmao i hope ur not from/live in Stone Oak. Isnt that place like 80% white?

[TwiceHorn 31495]

52 minutes ago, SquishMitten said:

 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. 

Where do you get that it was written with a racist intent?  That it may have been written for performance at a minstrel show?

A minstrel show is racist in that it employs blackface and portrays blacks poorly.  But unless the song has some overt connection to those two objectionable elements, which it does not, I don't think you can say it was written with a racist intention.

If there was a minstrel show at UT, and a non-minstrel variety show, and the author restricted its use to the minstrel show, that might be significant.  But, as far as I can tell, the "Varsity Minstrel Show" was the only "game in town" as far as student productions.  That it was first performed there is an unfortunate coincidence.

Edited June 13, 2020 by TwiceHorn

[used2b 249]

Now that The Eyes issue is out on the table it's going to become a "taking a knee" issue if they continue to play it after games. Many fans/players will refuse to sing it and those that do will look like assholes, especially white people. UNLESS, a result of conversations between CDC and the players results in them coming away ok with it and those players lead on it. But that is not likely.

I do like the idea of singing Don't Stop Believing instead. And/or just Texas Fight, which is actually our "song'.

Edited June 13, 2020 by used2b

[Coelenterate Fuccboi 13116]

I support what they’re trying to do and will only be upset if nothing changes. That would completely contradict the message the University has been sending over the past few weeks.

I also believe the black community needs to conduct some inner house cleaning and remove the N word from all songs. Not out of spite, but because I’ve always felt that using word, and any variation, was disrespectful to themselves and helps keep a racist term alive, which should die a fiery death. 
 

Maybe someone can explain to me why it’s been tolerated amongst their culture. I’m truly ignorant on the subject, along with many other things...

[TwiceHorn 31495]

2 minutes ago, used2b said:

Now that The Eyes issue is out on the table it's going to become a "taking a knee" issue if they continue to play it after games. Many fans/players will refuse to sing it and those that do will look like assholes, especially white people. UNLESS, a result of conversations between CDC and the players results in them coming away ok with it and those players lead on it. But that is not likely.

I do like the idea of singing Don't Stop Believing instead. And/or just Texas Fight, which is actually our "song'.

I vehemently object to the singing of a Journey song.  

[Gatorubet 30246]

No clearly the mob has spoken and it doesn't matter what individuals think about anything anymore.  It's just a fascist way of thinking and acting.
 

[used2b 249]

Just now, TwiceHorn said:

I vehemently object to the singing of a Journey song.  

It's a Sopranos song.

[RollLeft 5045]

28 minutes ago, MrBig said:

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

 

Did you even read the articles?  Original lyrics were written tuneless and then Sinclair who penned the second version, today's version, purposely and with intent wrote it to be presented to the president who infamously used "The Eyes of Texas are upon you" as his personal motto after and wherever he spoke.  Neither version contained any racist lyrics and it was not written as a joke or for the show, per Sinclair P14.  He specifically refutes that.  Again, it was written for use by the president to reinforce his message.  He was presented that song at that ONE minstrel show.  How this can be in black and white and then be understood by some that the origins are racist either didn't read this, have an agenda, are being obtuse or have low reading comprehension.    

[Wanker Bob 379]

52 minutes ago, cabowabo said:

No shit. I don’t think the Eyes of Texas or some name on the building is the root of the problems for the black community. Not having children out of wedlock and kids knowing their fathers would do a lot more. 

So you're in favor of defunding the police and abolishing the war on drugs and lengthy prison sentences for non violent crimes?

Because militant police harassment and the war on drugs are a major reason for broken families and broken system of child rearing in minority communities across the US. 

[TwiceHorn 31495]

4 minutes ago, RollLeft said:

Did you even read the articles?  Original lyrics were written tuneless and then Sinclair who penned the second version, today's version, purposely and with intent wrote it to be presented to the president who infamously used "The Eyes of Texas are upon you" as his personal motto after and wherever he spoke.  Neither version contained any racist lyrics and it was not written as a joke or for the show, per Sinclair P14.  He specifically refutes that.  Again, it was written for use by the president to reinforce his message.  He was presented that song at that ONE minstrel show.  How this can be in black and white and then be understood by some that the origins are racist either didn't read this, have an agenda, are being obtuse or have low reading comprehension.    

The articles do seem inconclusive as to whether it was specifically written FOR a minstrel show.  It seems that there was a movement to write a "school song" and that Jolly Students of Texas, the prior contender, was not popular.  They do not contain a shred of evidence that it was written with some racist intention.

It's funny, I am partially a copyright lawyer, and the one about copyrighing the song prior to the byzantine 1909 Copyright Act and the more reasonable 1976 version makes my brain itch.

Edited June 13, 2020 by TwiceHorn

[youdunnf'dup 2147]

This is a tough one for me. I know the history, and the nostalgia it brings when you hear it playing in the background, but at the end of the day it’s a fucking song. No matter what side you fall on this debate (racist song or can’t get rid of this song because of history) just remember...it’s a song. You shouldn’t care that much.  

[Pancho 44856]

56 minutes ago, cabowabo said:

No shit. I don’t think the Eyes of Texas or some name on the building is the root of the problems for the black community. Not having children out of wedlock and kids knowing their fathers would do a lot more. 

This should be negged into Bolivia because it’s 109% inaccurate.

[Gatorubet 30246]

But, as far as I can tell, the "Varsity Minstrel Show" was the only "game in town" as far as student productions.  That it was first performed there is an unfortunate coincidence.

“True, the song was composed for a minstrel show - BUT!!! - that’s simply because its Confederate linked professor and white only students only HAD minstrel shows. I mean, what a tenuous connection for the sons of slaves to get salty over....”

Are you even aware how white that sounds?

[Wanker Bob 379]

They should replace it with that old town road song. Done by a young gay black guy and an old washed up country white guy. Find a way to throw in a verse by Enrique Iglesias and it can hit all the bases.