Campaign for Tom & John

[Brian Coltrane]

If you haven't already checked out the HNet homepage, please do so, and take a moment to contact the Cincinnati Pops regarding their mistreatment of Tom Wopat and John Schneider. Please encourage the Cincinnati Pops to make amends, and reinstate the canceled performance ASAP, and restore the good standing of these two fine performers.

You can email the Cincinnati Pops at:

publicrelations@cincinnatisymphony.org

Phone # 1-513-621-1919

The Cincinnati Pops, in trying to respect a short-sighted bias of one group, sullied the image of Tom and John. The Dukes of Hazzard isn't racist, and Tom and John certainly are not racist.

But the Cincinnati Pops accepted the snap judgment of special interest group, and in cancelling the July 14th performance, implied agreement with the "racist" label.

This decision is grossly unfair to John and Tom and can't go unanswered. It saddens me and also alarms me that any group could exercise enough muscle to block anything Dukes-related. This is the first time it's happened, but if we passively accept it, it may not be the last.

Debates raging over the rebel flag are nothing new. But no one could logically argue that the presence of the flag on the roof of a 69 Charger indicated any bias or racism by the Dukes. Or by Tom and John in their personal lives. The accusation is nothing short of ridiculous but it is nonetheless damaging.

One may have thought this country had progressed past the point of judging anybody by a color...or a symbol. Apparently not. Freedom of speech and expression can't be taken for granted in this age of hyper-politics.

Please show your support of Tom and John careers by contacting the Cincinnati Pops today. And show the true caliber of Dukes fans by being polite, respectful, and sincere. The Cincinnati Pops meant well, but they were in error in this decision and we must ask them to reconsider.

Thank you,

Brian

[MinDuke]

Brian--

Thanks for posting this. I went ahead and sent my email in. I feel horrible that Tom and John are being drug through the mud over all of this. The NAACP should at least watch one show before they decide that the show is racist. Theyre probably just going by the flag alone, which again is ridiculous. I just hope it can get straightened out and the show will be back on. I encourage everyone to email or call the Pops, let them know how wrong they are.

Jax

[Meadowmufn]

One may have thought this country had progressed past the point of judging anybody by a color...or a symbol. Apparently not. Freedom of speech and expression can't be taken for granted in this age of hyper-politics.

It appears to me that the NAACP is judging Tom and John based on the color of the flag and not on the content of the episodes.

Character, not color, has always been more important to me. That's just how I was brought up. That's how the Dukes were portrayed. I feel that people who see racism where it is not have an agenda that rarely ever benefits anyone.

The NAACP in Cincinnati needs to take a long, hard look at themselves. In the grand scheme of the long and eternal struggle for civil rights, will a Dukes-themed show with the Cincinnati Pops really devastate their cause? I sincerely doubt it. As much as we love the show, The Dukes of Hazzard has never been even the slightest bit relevant in the history of civil rights. To make such a fuss over this assigns relevance where none should be.

It's utterly ridiculous and it's political correctness run amok.

*stepping off soapbox*

[duke gril]

What the tarnations is wrong with them folksup north? tom an john are good people an good singers what about ther american rights?! that show aint racist they had a black man play the dentist who pulled uncle jessies tooth . yall remeber that one?

[morgan]

Sorry, maybe I don't understand: what is exactly this Cincinnati NAACP?

It's a sort of exibition or what?

In any case I don't understand why censored them: if the flag is racist then they have to censored the all series!!

[duke gril]

your right on that one! they would have take the whole show off if the flag is the issue! you know folks will always find something to gripe about.we arre good ole boys and gals we will get over this hump in the road.we are american by birth southern by pride they can't take that from us.so pops don't tred on me! thees clors don't bleed we have rights yall keep it between the ditches i'm gone

[MaryAnne]

The NAACP stands for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. It's an organization whose mission is to help ensure that black people in the US are treated fairly and equally. The NAACP does many great things and has done many great things in the past to ensure that blacks are treated equally in this country. The US has a very painful and difficult history when it comes to the treatment of black people but a lot has changed for the good over the past several decades.

Unfortunately, the Confederate flag remains an issue and as Brian said, it's been debated for years and years. For years the NAACP has fought for the complete and total removal of the Confederate flag from just about everything. So much so that several southern states made changes to their state flags (Georgia being an example) due to the pressure from the NAACP.

This is not the first time the NAACP has picked on the Dukes in particular, with regards to the flag, but this is the first time I've heard them refer to the whole show racist. When the first reunion movie was being filmed, the NAACP wanted the television network to remove the flag from the roof of the General. CBS politely declined, despite the NAACP's call for boycott.

THIS time tho', I think they're going waaay too far. Like Brian pointed out, it is alarming that one group can have so much power as to stop John and Tom from performing simply because the NAACP thinks the Dukes was racist, which it was not.

Where does it go from there? Are they going to try to ban Lynyrd Skynyrd from performing because they've used the rebel flag on their album covers and as part of their stage shows? Will the country band Alabama be blacklisted for the same thing? How about Confederate Railroad for having the audacity to call themselves <i>Confederate</i> Railroad?

More than that, this could set a dangerous precendent for some other organization put pressure on a performing arts place, or orchestra or theatre to stop other performers from performing because some group thinks their material is offensive? Or stop other performers from performing because of past connections to something that the group deems offensive? Will the National Organization of Women actively work to stop various rap artists from performing because their song lyrics sometimes degrade women? Will Jimi Hendrix's "Hey Joe" be banned from the radio because it talks about the killing of a woman?

Think about it. The further this goes, it would reach a point where all music would be banned, all television programs taken off the air and all live performances would stop because, oh my god, SOMEBODY would be offended.

Gah. Ya know....I'm offended. LOL. And I'm gonna step off my soap box now and perhaps use some of what I just said in my own email to the Pops.

[duke gril]

You hit it on the nail buddy! I donot think anyone could have said it better then you. I may be crazy but i aint dumb! i'm goneat

[morgan]

Thanks for the explanation.

And I'm agree with you: flag or not, I don't think anyone of the Dukes series or John and Tom say some that can be racist; they only did a show in a country of the south of Usa!

[Beauregard Special]

The NAACP should at least watch one show before they decide that the show is racist.

They'd probably latch onto something like asking Garvey if he wanted to ride in the General in the Cale Yarborough episode or see one of the first five and read innuendo wrong, you know how those politically correct folks are. I sent my e-mail, said my peace, and now all I can do is wait. Can anyone think of other ways to combat this?

[John's No 1 Fan]

John has decided to thank his fans in Cincinnati who have supported him so well over this Symphony controversy. His new movie "Collier & Co. - Hot Pursuit" is going to be screened in the Cincinnati area April 13 - April 24 at the following locations:

Danbarry Cinemas Eastgate

4450 Eastgate Blvd

Cincinnati, OH 45245

Danbarry Cinemas Cincinnati Mills

601 Cincinnati Mills Drive

Cincinnati, OH 45240

Danbarry Cinemas Western Hills

5190 Glencrossing Way

Cincinnati, OH 45238

Danbarry Cinemas Turfway

7650 Turfway Road

Florence, KY 41042

John is thanking us for supporting him. Now is our chance to thank him for caring. Anyone who lives close enough to these theaters, please attend at least one screening. Everyone, tell your friends, neighbors, relatives, co-workers, etc. about these screenings. "Collier & Co. - Hot Pursuit" is a wonderful family comedy. You don't have to worry about what your children are seeing and hearing. It will make you think so much of the Dukes of Hazzard TV series. And, yes, there is a '69 orange Dodge Charger (named Traveler this time) racing and jumping while fighting the bad guys.