When Confederates become Yankees instead, nothing makes much sense

When it comes to the use of imagery of the old Confederacy, it’s next to impossible to tone down the images so as to downplay just what that attempt at secession from the United States was all about.

The altered, and actual, logo images

You usually wind up coming up with some effort that manages to offend everybody with its lameness. It’s almost like, “Why bother?!?”

BUT THAT DIDN’T stop a Southern Illinois business from trying to find a way to make acceptable the logo of Confederate Railroad – a band that was supposed to be a headlining act at the DuQuoin State Fair next month.

Many of the locals are upset that Illinois officials, including Gov. J.B. Pritzker, cancelled the band’s contract to perform, citing the fact that their band logo includes depictions of the old Confederate battle flag and expresses sympathies for those who favor the memories of an old segregationist society.

While others say that reading such a view into the band’s logo and music goes way too far! It’s just about the music – which is sort of country-fied but also has enough of a rock ‘n’ roll sensibility to it.

It seems that a local business – Black Diamond Harley Davidson – has taken it upon themselves to sponsor the concert, instead of the state of Illinois. Which might sound like a brilliant business move on the part of the company. They’ll get all the good will from the band’s fans who are now more than willing to blame Illinois for cancelling the concert.

BUT IT SEEMS that Black Diamond also wanted to have the good will of those who find offense at Confederacy imagery.

Hence, their advertising materials for the Sept. 5 concert depict an altered version of the band’s logo. The freight train locomotive that usually has Confederate battle flags flying from it now have U.S. flags.

A concept that has the band’s flags even moreso offended than the initial denial of the band’s performance at the state fair.

The same people who were calling for a boycott of the DuQuoin Fair are now saying they may not want to attend this concert either – because they’ll see it as a censored version of the event they really want. They may wind up going to an alternate concert Aug. 27 in Effingham.

WHICH, TO BE honest, is something that the vast majority of Illinoisans wouldn’t pay any attention to if not for all the political hooey that has arisen as a result.

What actually amazes me is that the Harley Davidson dealership may well have opened itself up to litigation, since it would involve an altering of the band’s logo most likely without their consent.

Their attempt at creating a compromise may well wind up biting themselves in the behind. They’re most likely to wind up wishing they’d never bothered – even if they somehow do escape having to pay out some financial settlement.

The negative publicity is likely to stick.

ALTHOUGH I HAVE to admit this wouldn’t be the most stupid maneuver meant to evade the negative overtones of the Confederacy.

Roy White later became a Yankee instead

For that, we’d have to think back to the existence of the Columbus Confederate Yankees. It was a real-live baseball team that existed in the mid-1960s that was a minor league affiliate of the New York Yankees.

Many teams merely attached their own nicknames to those of their minor league ball clubs. But back in that heated era, it was figured that the people of Columbus, Ga., would refuse to support a team called the Yankees. Resulting in the Confederate Yankees that wore a battle flag patch on the sleeves of their pinstriped uniforms that were hand-me-downs of the Yankees themselves.

The result was a stupid image that left many fans confused. What exactly is a “Confederate Yankee?” Probably somebody who rides around on a Confederate train bearing the Stars and Stripes, and thinks everybody else is too confused to tell the difference!

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