American Hero? Worker Ordered to Honor Jesse Helms Quits Job Instead
If you were sickened in the past week by much of the media coverage of the passing of "conservative icon" Jesse Helms, you ought to take heart from the following. A state worker in Helms' native North Carolina named L.F. Eason III quit the only job he'd ever had rather than lower the flag to honor longtime racist Helms.
This is how the Raleigh News & Observer put it today: "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 North Carolina 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. After several hours' delay, one of Eason's employees hung the flags at half-staff."
It all began last Sunday, when Eason emailed his staffers that he did not think it was apt to honor Helms because of his "doctrine of negativity, hate, and prejudice," his opposition to civil rights bills and the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.
The News & Observer continues:
When the lab opened Monday morning, the flags were not out at all. An employee called Eason's boss, Stephen Benjamin, who worked in another building in Raleigh. About 10:45 a.m., Benjamin told one of Eason's co-workers to put the flags at half-staff. Another of Eason's superiors later drove by the lab to make sure the flags were up properly.No one in the Governor's Office was aware of any time in recent memory when a state employee refused to lower a flag. Brian Long, a spokesman for the Agriculture Department, said Eason's refusal was unexpected. "We've never had any conversations like that," he said.
In a string of e-mail messages with his superiors, Eason was told he could either lower the flags or retire effective immediately.
Though he's only 51, Eason chose to retire, although he pleaded several times to be allowed to stay at the lab. Eason, who had worked for the Agriculture Department since graduating from college, was paid $65,235 a year as the laboratory manager.
Several people, including his wife, argued to Eason that the flags belonged to the state, as did the lab. But Eason said he felt a strong sense of ownership.
He later sent an email to the governor explaining his decision, saying of Helms: "Even to his death bed, he refused to apologize for the damage he caused. Now, I stand by this decision. It is a personal decision, but obviously affects my job at the lab....I also understand that my decision is not acceptable. You cannot ignore that fact. There is the law, but there is also a higher law I must follow as a matter of conscience."
Eason said he had considered not lowering the flag when former President Nixon died -- but was saved then by the rain.
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Greg Mitchell's new book is So Wrong for So Long: How the Press, the Pundits -- and the President -- Failed on Iraq.
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As much as I admire his courage, his wife was right. As I sit here in California, it would be hypocritical to condone his refusal to obey the directive. Helms was scum of the earth, no doubt, but just like the county clerks here who refused to do their jobs when it came time to issue marriage certificates to same-sex couples, a civil servant's job requires them to do their job within the parameters set by their office. And flying a flag at half-staff to mark the passing of a significant citizen/of
I doubt that Mr. Eason is suffering that much. He held an unpopular but moral position and stood by it. He should be admired and respected.
Since Mr Eason worked for the government for 29 years, he probably has a decent pension coming to him. And he's still young enough to continue working. So dont worry about him financially. He's doing a lot better than most of us and he has the satisfaction of knowing that he adhered to his principles. Good for him!
If there were more people like him in congress, this country wouldnt be in the trouble it's in today.
Since when did we live in Communist Russia? He refused to lower it. One could say let him have his political opinion and let someone else lower it? His wife was right, and he retired. If my religion says no, I want to follow my faith. I say if a church says that a same sex couple can marry they can. I think there are solutions to impasses of convisction. You mentioning clerks in Ca. is not without solution. Marriage is the purview of one's ministeria
Here is a good one for ya, Strom thurmond had similar beliefs when he was younger and changed those beliefs and yes I know this for a personal fact. He gets half staff. Adolf Hitler does not get it at half staff, even though he was once the elected leader of Germany... Get it now?
A BIGOT,RACIST,FEAR MONGER,HATER KNOWN AS JESSE WHOEVER IS DEAD AND PEOPLE ARE BEING FORCED TO LOWER FLAGS...TH
No question about it. Mr. Eason is a true patriot who understands how destructive Helms' brand of politics was to the future of our great nation.
Honor Jesse Helms? I think he has finally "honored" America by kicking the bucket! If only he had died about 60 years ago. He was a racist, mumbling, mealy-mouthed swine.....
Oh, no, no, no, CommonSenseRules. We liberals don't ALWAYS go after dead people. Just narrow-minded "Deadheads" who open their pieholes like they know-it-all or hit or "Send" screeds from their computers without fully considering what their spouting off. Now, aren't you glad to know you're alive .. or are you dead as you've just been "gone after" by a liberal? If you're honoring Helms, you may well be a Racist, yes? How does it feel to be a Dinosaur? A Neanderthal? A dim-wit? A sandwich short of a picnic?
My hat is off to this couragous civil servant. Anyone who follows his or her own deep rooted feelings and beliefs over the whim and will of the "government" and backs those beliefs with the forefeiture of his job deserves to be commended. As far as CommonSenseRules and his/her statement: " And you liberals who ALWAYS go after dead people are truly shameful. Just because the guy had convictions and stood by them and lived in a different era than today, does not make him a bad person. It is shameful how you liberals attack the deceased."
Racism is NEVER a conviction anyone should be proud of and neither is Helm's attitude and views on AIDS as his despicable oratories and voting record on the subject show!
You said exactly what I would've, only you did so better.
I don't think that they should have even offered him retirement. As his wife pointed out, the flags AND the lab both belonged to the state, and the leader of the state gave a perfectly valid order to fly STATE flags at half staff.
Now then, I agree with the sentiment, and I also agree that Eason should have said no if the governor ordered ALL flags at half staff.....
That is Courage! And Eason did the right thing by standing up for his convictions! If only we all had his courage!
Helms was a hateful man and only the hateful people in this world should be honoring him in death. Sorry, but hateful is hateful, in life or in death.
Good job Mr. Eason, but maybe you should have lowered the flags and cussed him for what he stood for.
Obam/Eason ticket. is what i want. That is a hero for many out there who were offended and discriminated by Helms crazy antics. Hopefully generation Obama(not to be confuse by obama followers) will stay put with their ideologies by the time they get older, it would be a better world. This old dinasours all they do is to stall progress.
man,i admire this guys conviction
though,In my eyes,YOU ARE STILL A HERO.
Cool, he got fired like he should have. If you don't like something about your job, it is your choice to quit or be fired. I am just glad the state stood by its decision and fired this guy for being a political hack. Why is it his decision to honor or not honor Helms? It isn't his decision and he deserved to get fired.
And you liberals who ALWAYS go after dead people are truly shameful. Just because the guy had convictions and stood by them and lived in a different era than today, does not make him a bad person. It is shameful how you liberals attack the deceased.
SHAMEFUL.
He retired. Read the post.
Hey Nommo! Long time, no see.
Gee, Hitler stood by his convictions and lived in a different era than today, so I'll stop criciticizing him now - your logic is unassailable.
Oh by the way, which "different era" would that be, the one that ended last week?
First, he did NOT get fired. He retired.
Second, Jesse Helms did not, in my own humble opinion, deserve to have the flag lowered upon his death. Having said that, once the governor decided to order it, a state employee, at a state facility, with state flags on state flagpoles, has a responsibility to lower the flag.
And third, how is this more shameful than something like the republican's attacks on Max Cleland, a man who fought for his country in Vietnam and left three of his limbs over there, and then lost a re-election campaign for being "soft on security"!
I don't honor hate or hateful people, such as yourself.
Jesse Helms was a racist and didn't deserve to be honored. There is nothing honorable about him. I agree Eason probably should have lowered the flag since it belonged to the state but there is nothing about Helms convictions that should be respected or lauded. Think whatever you want.
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