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

[David Dennison 19441]

Just now, Huckleberry said:

Well that's one of the reasons I have never purchased and will never purchase anything from any of those companies. You should see me excoriate the Merc fans on the F1 threads. So there.

You monster.

[Armybrat 41319]

Racist flick should never be shown again anywhere...

 

[Tex Pete 21394]

1 hour ago, David Dennison said:

And the University published that conventional wisdom on it's website for years. It was still on the University website as recently as last week.

I assume that is no longer the case, but I haven't looked.

Okay. Enough with the bullshit. Back to your hole.

[BrazilHorn 6792]

2 minutes ago, Tex-19 said:

Don't forget BMW, Hugo Boss, and I'm sure many others.

If people start boycotting anything with past connections to racism, might as well just get rid of anything created before the mid 90s. You think companies like Ford and coca-cola never had segregated or racist policies? It's unfortunate but a reality that can't possibly be changed.

Ford should be on list as he was a complete and utter Anti-Semite. His book "The International Jew" was said by Hitler to be a major source of inspiration for him. Ford bought a newspaper to just publish articles railing against Jewish people.

Add in fact that he (and GM as well) provided lots of vehicles to the Nazis and he is far from a good dude.

 

[Johnny Sack 8397]

7 minutes ago, Tex-19 said:

Don't forget BMW, Hugo Boss, and I'm sure many others.

If people start boycotting anything with past connections to racism, might as well just get rid of anything created before the mid 90s. You think companies like Ford and coca-cola never had segregated or racist policies? It's unfortunate but a reality that can't possibly be changed.

 

[Nueces River Rat 5739]

2 minutes ago, Armybrat said:

Racist flick should never be shown again anywhere...

 

[Hank Scorpio 17924]

People bitch about the cloak room, but it doesn’t have shit on the football board. Truly deranged stuff. Bravo. 

Edited March 9, 2021 by Hank Scorpio

[David Dennison 19441]

Just now, Hank Scorpio said:

People bitch about the cloak room, but it doesn’t have shit on the football board. Truly deranged shit. Bravo. 

The football board is the Daily Texan of Cloak Rooms.

[Nueces River Rat 5739]

Just now, Johnny Sack said:

 

Start draining the bottles boys and girls and taking the engines off airliners, light bulbs out of fixtures, and rip out those GE Profile Kitchen Appliances...

 

See how fun this can be?

 

[Tex Pete 21394]

Now for the more important research: has a team ever sung The Eyes after a win at the Cotton Bowl? I am struggling to remember that bit of history.

[LTtxfan 49909]

Sorry if I missed this on this thread...

 

[LTtxfan 49909]

Also...

 

[LTtxfan 49909]

1 hour ago, RaysBoomBoomRoom said:

 

Bump ... Thx for posting above video

[PassiveAggressiveCoach 118]

2 minutes ago, po elvis said:

I don't think this will be an issue. Sarkisian and CDC will bring in African Americans from the committee to talk with the players. They will discuss their findings. As a team, they will agree the song isn't racist and no reason to not embrace it.

Now the LHB will be a different story. There will be a bunch of fragile little shits who despite everything are so obsessed by appearing to be one of the "good" white people that they won't care about truth and facts.

there will definitely be a segment because they were wrong but don't ever want to admit it dig their feet in but hopefully going forward this issue will now go away.

[Huckleberry 34407]

I mean I guess it's nice that the administration finally got this shit done the right way. Of course, some of us solved this problem on page 8 of this thread the day the petition was publicized.

The most ridiculous thing about this is that it took 9 months.

[David Dennison 19441]

2 minutes ago, PassiveAggressiveCoach said:

there will definitely be a segment because they were wrong but don't ever want to admit it dig their feet in but hopefully going forward this issue will now go away.

Letting players opt out completely will go a long way toward lowering the temperature, that's for sure.

[PassiveAggressiveCoach 118]

2 minutes ago, Huckleberry said:

I mean I guess it's nice that the administration finally got this shit done the right way. Of course, some of us solved this problem on page 8 of this thread the day the petition was publicized.

The most ridiculous thing about this is that it took 9 months.

You mean the countless people saying do a report, get alumni and athletes to then educate students, athletes and the public about it in a strong marketing campaign?  Those people?

[C-Man 27685]

1 hour ago, ousux said:

People have no issue driving Volkswagen products even if theyre aware it was originally commissioned by Hitler to provide affordable cars for the German people...or Mercedes who provided custom cars to shuttle Nazi officials around during the war.

Oh, and VW owns Audi, Porsche, Lamborghini, Bugatti and Ducati (among other nameplates not sold in the US)..so can't buy any of those products either if we use the same logic tied to the EOT.

So yes, like you said..the meaning behind singing it is the important thing.

One of my best friends from HS is Jewish and her family absolutely refused to ever own any Mercedes (VW too, I presume) autos because of their connection to the Nazis. They weren't actively picketing MB/VW dealerships to my knowledge, though. It was their personal choice.

[TrashMaster G 18030]

2 hours ago, Johnny Sack said:

Dear Longhorns,

Everything we do at UT Austin comes back to three things: research, teaching and changing the world. Our work around “The Eyes of Texas” is no different. In particular, the work of the history committee focused on research. Next, we will focus on teaching and changing the world. In part, that means continuing to foster an inclusive campus where all Longhorns belong and are welcome. I want to thank every member of The Eyes of Texas History Committee, which has now released its report, for approaching this task with open minds, conducting their work with academic rigor, seeking the truth, and braving many difficult topics. Not only have they created a piece of interdisciplinary research that will benefit future generations, they have modeled an approach to a complex and emotional issue that we can replicate across campus — indeed, across society. This model is vital because we’re not moving on from this — we’re moving forward … together. One of the ways we’re moving forward is through the committee’s excellent set of recommendations. We can enact many of them, and a few really spoke to me — for example, leveraging alumni to build a more robust mentoring network, creating history exhibits and teaching modules, and working with the Texas Exes to establish scholarships that encourage a more diverse Longhorn Band. These ideas, along with those we committed to during the summer, show how our goal of creating a welcoming campus goes far beyond discussions of our alma mater. At the same time, I understand our conversations around the song will continue. Thanks to the committee, we move forward in those discussions equipped with a common set of facts. It’s now very clear to me, having read the report, that the history of our alma mater is complicated — more complicated than perhaps any of us knew. As the report’s executive summary points out, the story of “The Eyes” mirrors the greater history of this university, indeed that of our state and nation. Parts of that history are inspiring and surprising. Other parts are disappointing, even painful. One aspect of my decision to keep “The Eyes of Texas” as our school song leans on this concept of mirroring. There is much we would like to change about American history. But while the American story is imperfect, I believe it is positive overall, even as we need to continue to teach and learn from the imperfections. Embracing the past means embracing both the tragedy and triumphs of our history — confessing the former and celebrating the latter. Another aspect of my decision leans on the concept of free speech. For this reason, let me be very clear: As always, no one is or will be required to sing “The Eyes of Texas.” As Professor Rich Reddick, our committee chair, has said, “Traditions do not endure through disrespect, coercion, or threat.” I wholeheartedly agree — and in the same spirit of free speech, no one should shout down those who wish to continue in the tradition of singing. My hope is that we can sing it together, mindful of our university’s past and proud of the progress we’ve made since the 19th century. The report makes it clear to me that “The Eyes of Texas” is a song of accountability that has been used to bring Longhorns closer together. I truly believe “The Eyes of Texas” can again be a force for accountability and unity among our students, faculty, staff and alumni. We need only look at the past for evidence. Our song started out as a request for students to do the right things at all times to protect a fledgling university from risking its future. Over time, it was sung by an increasingly diverse community of students and scholars, becoming a rallying cry for excellence as our university matured and grew into the true flagship of our state. Finally, on some special occasions, the song was used to fight injustice. For example, Texas suffragists deployed the song in defense of voting rights during the 1910s. In another example, students sang it during the 1940s at the Texas Capitol in defense of academic freedom and educational opportunities for Black students in our state. In those special moments Longhorns flipped the script. The eyes of Texas were no longer upon them. Instead, they became the eyes of Texas, fixing their gaze on some of society’s most pressing problems and controversies. I hope we can recover more fully this part of the song’s legacy. I would love to see “The Eyes” become one of our rallying cries as we hold ourselves and others accountable, fostering a welcoming campus and seeking a more just world. How do we do that? What do we set our eyes upon? We will find the answer together. And it will come back to those three things I mentioned earlier: research, teaching and changing the world. Because that is what we do here — all the livelong day.

Hook 'em,

Jay Hartzell President

This dude gets it.

[Huckleberry 34407]

5 minutes ago, C-Man said:

One of my best friends from HS is Jewish and her family absolutely refused to ever own any Mercedes (VW too, I presume) autos because of their connection to the Nazis. They weren't actively picketing MB/VW dealerships to my knowledge, though. It was their personal choice.

I actually wasn't kidding above about my personal refusal to purchase anything from Nazi-affiliated companies. Racism is one thing, murdering 6 million people seems like a significantly different deal.

[TwiceHorn 31987]

31 minutes ago, BrazilHorn said:

Ford should be on list as he was a complete and utter Anti-Semite. His book "The International Jew" was said by Hitler to be a major source of inspiration for him. Ford bought a newspaper to just publish articles railing against Jewish people.

Add in fact that he (and GM as well) provided lots of vehicles to the Nazis and he is far from a good dude.

 

General Electric had a deal with Krupp or Farben for tungsten carbide technology that they were supposed to repudiate, but did not and continued to make surreptitious payments to German enterprises that funded their war effort.

[alincoln 2390]

Imagine being disappointed in the Committee's findings, like DD is.  

[PassiveAggressiveCoach 118]

This is one of the guys I totally expected not to believe the report. He is very dug in and accepting the report would be admitting he is wrong. BTW he totally cares if the song stays or go as he has planted his flag on this issue regardless of facts. 

[clapclapclap 9000]

1 hour ago, futureman said:

have you ever ridden in a thyssenkrupp elevator?

I've ridden Schindler's lifts.

 

Edited March 9, 2021 by clapclapclap
Don't ask if I've made out in one.

[Machinator 32102]

 

[TwiceHorn 31987]

5 minutes ago, Huckleberry said:

I actually wasn't kidding above about my personal refusal to purchase anything from Nazi-affiliated companies. Racism is one thing, murdering 6 million people seems like a significantly different deal.

What about Japanese companies?  Mitsubishi's connection is obvious.  Subaru is/was Nakajima.  Nissan built trucks and vehicles for the IJA, as did Toyota.

Japan wasn't as systematic as Germany, but is certainly responsible for a lot of murderous atrocities.

[Machinator 32102]

 

[Huckleberry 34407]

3 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

What about Japanese companies?  Mitsubishi's connection is obvious.  Subaru is/was Nakajima.  Nissan built trucks and vehicles for the IJA, as did Toyota.

Japan wasn't as systematic as Germany, but is certainly responsible for a lot of murderous atrocities.

I've never purchased anything from any of those companies, either.

I've purchased a Chrysler but it was after 2007 when Daimler sold it off.

Edited March 9, 2021 by Huckleberry

[Pasken 1310]

I hope they add "The Eyes of Texas” was most probably debuted in blackface" to the freshmen orientation tour. I'm sure that will get new longhorns excited about joining the tradition.  

[TwiceHorn 31987]

7 minutes ago, Huckleberry said:

I've never purchased anything from any of those companies, either.

Fair enough.  I asked my WWII PTO vet Dad if it bothered him if I bought a Honda/Acura, knowing that it wouldn't.  He worked for TI and they collaborated heavily with Sony in the 60s on marketing/sales/uses of transistors and other semiconductors.  He bore no grudge against the Japanese.  But he wasn't on the ground in the Pacific campaign.

Honda, incidentally, is an almost entirely postwar company and a product of US "stewardship" of Japan.

Edited March 9, 2021 by TwiceHorn

[Huckleberry 34407]

Just now, TwiceHorn said:

Fair enough.  I asked my WWII PTO vet Dad if it bothered him if I bought a Honda/Acura, knowing that it wouldn't.  He worked for TI and they collaborated heavily with Sony in the 60s on marketing/sales/uses of transistors and other semiconductors.  He bore no grudge against the Japanese.  But he wasn't on the ground in the Pacific campaign.

I'm sure I've missed stuff but I do my best because it's what I believe. But I also don't go around blasting my opinion 24/7 on social media which is really the bigger problem these days.

[PassiveAggressiveCoach 118]

12 minutes ago, Pasken said:

I hope they add "The Eyes of Texas” was most probably debuted in blackface" to the freshmen orientation tour. I'm sure that will get new longhorns excited about joining the tradition.  

As long as examples of other songs we all know like say for instance the star spangled banner was also likely sung at shows like that is mentioned. 

Edited March 9, 2021 by PassiveAggressiveCoach

[TwiceHorn 31987]

4 minutes ago, Pasken said:

I hope they add "The Eyes of Texas” was most probably debuted in blackface" to the freshmen orientation tour. I'm sure that will get new longhorns excited about joining the tradition.  

Was freshman orientation a thing in the early 20th century?

[Pasken 1310]

Just now, TwiceHorn said:

Was freshman orientation a thing in the early 20th century?

It was in the early 21st century.

[927 E. 41st 1124]

8 minutes ago, Huckleberry said:

I actually wasn't kidding above about my personal refusal to purchase anything from Nazi-affiliated companies. Racism is one thing, murdering 6 million people seems like a significantly different deal.

 

4 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

General Electric had a deal with Krupp or Farben for tungsten carbide technology that they were supposed to repudiate, but did not and continued to make surreptitious payments to German enterprises that funded their war effort.

I hear you and it is of course your choice, however, no products have been produced for Hitler or by Hitlers government for quite some time now. Nor any factories that Hitler built, nor workers in the plants that were soldiers for Hitler. And if you're all about that, there should also be no Japanese cars or products, or Chinese products.

I've heard it said that failure to forgive is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die.

[clapclapclap 9000]

5 minutes ago, Pasken said:

I hope they add "The Eyes of Texas” was most probably debuted in blackface" to the freshmen orientation tour. I'm sure that will get new longhorns excited about joining the tradition.  

A point often repeated by people wearing Che Guevara t-shirts....

[TwiceHorn 31987]

1 minute ago, Pasken said:

It was in the early 21st century.

And the latter 20th century also but minstrelsy was not ubiquitous at that time.  Despite the existence of the Cowboys' Minstrel Show into the 60s or 70s, I don't believe you would have found elements of a minstrel show in most University sponsored events in the latter half of the 20th century.

There wasn't a whiff of it in the mid 80s, for sure.

[Huckleberry 34407]

1 minute ago, 927 E. 41st said:

I've heard it said that failure to forgive is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die.

I'm pretty comfortable not forgiving people and companies who contributed to the Holocaust. YMMV

[Tex Pete 21394]

36 minutes ago, David Dennison said:

Letting players opt out completely will go a long way toward lowering the temperature, that's for sure.

I am all for letting them opt out of being scholarship athletes at Texas.

[GTNY 284]

10 minutes ago, Pasken said:

I hope they add "The Eyes of Texas” was most probably debuted in blackface" to the freshmen orientation tour. I'm sure that will get new longhorns excited about joining the tradition.  

I hope they add that The University of Texas was founded by racist individuals with much more direct connections than the Eyes have. I'm sure that will get new longhorns excited about enrolling at the school. 

[927 E. 41st 1124]

Just now, Huckleberry said:

I'm pretty comfortable not forgiving people and companies who contributed to the Holocaust. YMMV

I understand, my Dad was in the Pacific during WWII, he had a hard time forgiving Japanese people for shooting at him. Easy enough to understand. I would say the people you have a problem with are gone.

[randygilman 643]

I could not have thought of a better group of 26 to be on that committee, including one of the most prominent current athletes on campus in Eggleston, a Longhorn legend like Quan, brilliant professors like Brands and Rivas-Rodriguez, and of course Reddick himself. Well done all around, even if it was months later than it could have been. 

[TwiceHorn 31987]

7 minutes ago, 927 E. 41st said:

 

I hear you and it is of course your choice, however, no products have been produced for Hitler or by Hitlers government for quite some time now. Nor any factories that Hitler built, nor workers in the plants that were soldiers for Hitler. And if you're all about that, there should also be no Japanese cars or products, or Chinese products.

I've heard it said that failure to forgive is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die.

Very much with you on the last.  

I'm just talking out loud about the various oddities of industry during WWII.  I'm not too doctrinaire about it.  My Dad chose to forgive and move on, and, although I don't recall a specific discussion on it, other than the Honda thing, that's what he and my Mom would have urged me to do.

I'm not 100% sure I believe that declining to patronize corporations/businesses really implicates forgiveness, which is generally conferred on individual persons.

Edited March 9, 2021 by TwiceHorn

[UncleSonny 6790]

2 hours ago, Johnny Sack said:

I am sure the handful of donors who said that contribute hundreds of dollars per year.

 

There you go.

[CowtownHorn 5126]

While we’re at it...ESPN OTL can go fuck themselves too. 

[Tex Pete 21394]

2 minutes ago, 927 E. 41st said:

I understand, my Dad was in the Pacific during WWII, he had a hard time forgiving Japanese people for shooting at him. Easy enough to understand. I would say the people you have a problem with are gone.

Agreed. My grandfather had night terrors for years after the war from all the time spent with Japanese bullets whizzing past him. He wouldn't ride in a Japanese car as a result, and I completely understand. My parents and I never shared the feeling, but no one tried to kill us for years on end.

[Hookem2147 21930]

Most frustrating part is Texas continues to get crucified in the national spotlight yet they are the only school in Texas doing anything. A&M hasn’t done a damn thing even after their athletes demanded a statue be taken down. Where’s the outage there? 

[Huckleberry 34407]

1 minute ago, 927 E. 41st said:

I understand, my Dad was in the Pacific during WWII, he had a hard time forgiving Japanese people for shooting at him. Easy enough to understand. I would say the people you have a problem with are gone.

I understand that. But their symbols are still around, and I personally choose not to give any money to support their continued existence. I don't try to convince other people to join me, it is a personal preference that stays personal. Well I guess unless a thread like this happens to exist.

If the exact same people who work for Mercedes Benz were doing their exact same jobs in their exact same locations under a different company name and brand I would have no issue buying from them. But I'm not going to buy from a company that sought out forced slave labor from concentration camps. To many people it seems silly and that's fine, but it's my opinion that symbolism matters so if the companies had dissolved and reformed with different names, branding, and leadership but the same assets I would purchase from them.

[Tex Pete 21394]

3 minutes ago, UncleSonny said:

 

There you go.

Notice Hartzell used the phrase "said to be donors." The internet is a weird f-ing place.

[maninblack 7975]

 

7 minutes ago, randygilman said:

I could not have thought of a better group of 26 to be on that committee, including one of the most prominent current athletes on campus in Eggleston, a Longhorn legend like Quan, brilliant professors like Brands and Rivas-Rodriguez, and of course Reddick himself. Well done all around, even if it was months later than it could have been. 

I also love that they left off the Vice Provost for Diversity who's absolutely worthless. 

Edited March 9, 2021 by maninblack