In this Oct. 17, 2009 photo taken before the NCAA college football game in Oxford, Miss., the University of Mississippi band, "The Pride of the South," play the national anthem in Oxford, Miss. (AP)
The University of Mississippi has officially dumped “Dixie” so they can be more inclusive.
I fear old times there will soon be forgotten, folks.
The athletic department released a statement Friday announcing that the beloved Southern song will no longer be played at home football games ending yet another long-held tradition.
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"The newly expanded and renovated Vaught-Hemingway Stadium will further highlight our best traditions and create new ones that give the Ole Miss Rebels the best home field advantage in college football," the statement reads.
“Dixie” was first played by the Ole Miss band around 1948, Mississippi Today reports.
"Because the Pride of the South is such a large part of our overall experience and tradition, the Athletics Department asked them to create a new and modern pregame show that does not include Dixie and is more inclusive for all fans, the statement went on to read.”
More inclusive, eh?
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Perhaps they could consult with Beyonce? I’m certain the university will find some inspiration from her 2016 Super Bowl Halftime performance.
It’s only a matter of time before Ole Miss replaces fried catfish and sweet tea with fermented soy sandwiches and beverages made from lawn clippings — all for the sake of inclusivity.
Allen Coon, a student government leader, was thrilled with the university’s decision.
"It's an important step forward for our university as we attempt to reconcile and understand our relationship with our Old South past," Coon told the Commercial Appeal. "Ending the use of 'Dixie' promotes inclusivity and makes room for traditions that all UM students can connect with."
In its quest to be politically correct, I wonder if Ole Miss will also ban various genres of music that include offensive lyrics about women?
And what about modern-day music that employs the use of a certain racial epithet? Would Ole Miss consider rap and hip-hop taboo, too?
It’s doubtful.
Ole Miss has been shedding its Southern heritage for quite some time now. Confederate flags have been effectively banned since 1997, reports Mississippi Today. Last year, they banned the Mississippi State flag.
Colonel Rebel, the school’s mascot, was sidelined from games in 2003 because critics said he looked too much like a white plantation owner. He was replaced by a black bear.
From the pages of the Daily Journal we learned that Confederate Drive was renamed along with handheld Confederate flags. And in 2009 they told the band to stop playing “From Dixie With Love,” in part because fans were yelling “The South will rise again” during the song.
A reader of the Oxford Eagle summed up the sentiment of many Mississippians.
“Ole Miss is despicable for doing this,” the gentleman wrote. “The university keeps bowing before the boot of political correctness.
It would be foolish to think the progressive academic elites have concluded their quest to eradicate Southern culture and traditions.
It ain’t over, folks.
It won’t be long before someone mounts a campaign to remove the word “Rebel” from the school’s athletic teams.
The only question is whether that happens before or after one of those perpetually offended, liberal snowflakes files a federal lawsuit demanding the university change its name.”
I can already imagine the headlines:
- “Students Say ‘Ole Miss’ Causes Microaggressions”
- “Safe Spaces Overrun by Victims of ‘Ole Miss’ White Privilege”
- “President Clinton Signs Executive Order Renaming ‘Ole Miss’ the University of Obama”
Come to think of it, that last headline may not be all that farfetched.
Meanwhile, progressive liberals continue to bulldoze across the Southern states burning, torching and tearing down every vestige and cultural tradition of the Deep South much like General Sherman did during the Civil War.
Look away Dixieland — just look away.
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