Friday, July 11, 2008

Man retires rather than honor Helms

The Charlotte Observer

RALEIGH -- L.F. Eason III gave up the only job he'd ever had rather than lower a flag this week to honor former U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms.

Eason, a 29-year veteran of the state Department of Agriculture, instructed his staff at a small Raleigh lab not to fly the U.S. or N.C. flags at half staff Monday as called for in a directive to all state agencies by Gov. Mike Easley.

When a superior ordered the lab to follow the directive, Eason decided to retire rather than pay tribute to Helms.

Good for you, L.F. Lowering the flag to half mast should be reserved for people who contributed to society, as opposed to those who detracted from it like Helms, and for people whom we are sorry they're gone.

There was no honor in Helms' life as a racist, and no honors need be given to him.

No comments: