Posted under Cuisine & The South
Maurice’s BBQ Takes Down Some Confederate Battle Flags:
Maurice’s Gourmet Barbeque’s Maurice Bessinger, who hoisted the stars and bars over his nine Columbia-area restaurants on the day, almost a decade ago, when South Carolina permanently lowered the Confederate flag from its capitol dome, told a local television station this week that he could no longer afford to keep his controversial flags flying — and it’s not for the reasons you’d think.
Bessinger’s empire, built on a secret recipe for yellow sauce and his reputation as an old-style Southern charmer, was once the nation’s biggest commercial barbecue operation. But his open embrace of a symbol indelibly associated with slavery disgusted many of his customers and dismayed most of his business associates. Walmart pulled his Southern Gold sauce off its shelves, and, according to Bessinger’s autobiography, Defending My Heritage, the company lost 98 percent of its wholesale business.
Still, Bessinger claims he isn’t trying to woo back barbecue fans who were repelled by his rebel politics. He’s instead blaming the recession for the rising cost of dry cleaning.
This is sad to read. Maurice, and his descendants, lost a great deal when he took a stand. Maurice used to even sell little booklets in his stores defending slavery from a Biblical perspective! This is a Southerner who took a real stand and has suffered for it.
I eat at Maurice’s restaurants when I can. The ribs and BBQ are some of the best in South Carolina. Being able to pick such delights up at a drive-through is a real luxury, and now Maurice’s even delivers to the Midlands area! At least relative to Taco Bell, this is health food.
Obviously taking down the flag is a desperate move to attract customers who’d be otherwise turned away. It’s a sign of South Carolina’s continuing reconstruction and demographic transformation that the Confederate flag would actually turn away more business than it brings in!
Robert E. Lee once said to Texas ex-Governor F. W. Stockdale:
Governor, if I had foreseen the use these people desired to make of their victory, there would have been no surrender at Appomattox, no, sir, not by me. Had I seen these results of subjugation, I would have preferred to die at Appomattox with my brave men, my sword in this right hand.
The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down
H/T: Good Old Rebel
Weaver on 27 Jan 2011 at 2:11 pm #
Note: “Good Old Rebel” isn’t that Tarheel “Old Rebel” from Rebellion Blog.
Weaver on 27 Jan 2011 at 2:43 pm #
Maurice’s doesn’t make Chef Jim Noble’s list of recommended BBQ joints, nor does Bessinger’s in Charleston.
I sent an e-mail, and I encourage others to recommend him their favourites as well.
HarrisonBergeron2 on 27 Jan 2011 at 3:47 pm #
Dry cleaning. Got it.
Kirt Higdon on 27 Jan 2011 at 3:59 pm #
Flying a Confederate battle flag is one thing; defending slavery from a “Biblical perspective” is another. Not many people go to a restaurant to be propagandized and unhappily there are people who defend incest, polygamy, and much else (even genocide) from a “Biblical perspective”. If I ever have the opportunity, I’ll drop in one of Maurice’s BBQ joints just to see if the food is as good as advertised. And I’ll make sure to tip the waiter(s) handsomely. If Maurice favors slavery, no telling how much he is or is not paying them.
Weaver on 27 Jan 2011 at 4:21 pm #
Kirt,
Most who work in Maurice’s are white, though I’ve seen blacks.
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Defending slavery isn’t the same as proposing it or proclaiming it to be the ideal. I know that’s difficult for newcomers to grasp.
Anyway, I doubt Maurice is an intellectual. He’s just defending his people, and slavery is what built America. Regular folks don’t fit into wily PC moulds.
I’ll tell you though, slaves weren’t widely mistreated, and more laws would have been passed protecting slaves. Regardless, blacks sure seem to have it better here in the West than elsewhere.
Weaver on 27 Jan 2011 at 4:40 pm #
Kirt,
something to consider:
Dr. Gottfried says (paraphrased), PC is the religion of the West. It’s found both inside the churches and outside.
Considering the slave-holding history of the early Church, do you mean to say slavery is “unPC” or “unChristian”? It’s a frightening thought that PC heresy might be our true religion in this day.
Regardless I do not wish to restore slavery, nor am I a defender of capitalism. Both systems are flawed.
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Dr. Gottfried also attributes Germany’s abysmal demographic future to PC guilt. I don’t want the same for the South. And indeed we don’t deserve guilt; it’s the Yankees who deserve guilt, despite which I’m still “pro-Yankee”.
Anyway, Maurice took a much greater stand than I’ve ever taken. I salute him.
KLR on 27 Jan 2011 at 4:41 pm #
Mr. higdon,
Does the holy Bible Condem Slavery?
Bruce on 27 Jan 2011 at 5:42 pm #
The Bible neither ordains slavery as a holy institution, nor condemns it as immoral, evil, or sinful (unlike, say, sodomy). It treats it as something that just is. Something that can be practiced in a charitable or uncharitable way.
The desire of Southern men to defend their ancestors from modern slander & libel is understandable and admirable.
RedPhillips on 27 Jan 2011 at 8:51 pm #
I’m from Georgia, but I love the South Carolina mustard based “yellow sauce.” Maurice’s is good stuff.
The biggest villian in this story is Wal-Mart for publicly caving to PC pressure and removing Maurice’s sauce from its selves.
Bruce on 27 Jan 2011 at 9:02 pm #
Walmart’s evil. They employ a device that looks like an inventory control system but in reality it’s a ray that mutates entering customers into troglodytes.
Weaver on 27 Jan 2011 at 9:20 pm #
China-mart’s certainly no friend of Americans, Southern or otherwise.
Weaver on 27 Jan 2011 at 9:21 pm #
Nate on 27 Jan 2011 at 10:07 pm #
Maurice’s BBQ? That place should be shut down if the owner really thinks as he does.
Weaver on 27 Jan 2011 at 10:34 pm #
Nate,
Heh, Lindsay Graham should lead a freedom squad to liberate South Carolina from Maurice’s dangerous thoughts, which are clearly threats to liberty.
Kirt Higdon on 28 Jan 2011 at 3:55 am #
“Slavery is what built America”???? You’re kidding, Weaver, right? Or have you bought into the big lie of the black race hustlers? As to whom Maurice employs, if he thinks the Bible sanctions slavery, he probably does not think that is limited only to the enslavement of blacks. He probably draws the line only at himself and his friends. And that’s my big problem with people who are cool with slavery. I don’t think they regard themselves as potential slaves, but they’d have no problem enslaving me, all the while invoking the Bible.
Bruce on 28 Jan 2011 at 11:50 am #
They aren’t “cool with slavery.” They’re defending their ancestors.
Weaver on 28 Jan 2011 at 2:16 pm #
Kirt,
the US would have been better off without slavery, but it was a major source of labour regardless. Farming was very profitable,
Bruce is right; the purpose is to defend ancestors. Maurice LOST a great deal of money with his stand.
Reg. those who are “cool with slavery”, I’ve supported US policies that would bolster the US middle class which is currently under attack. The ones you should be wary of are those who have no problem with mass immigration, fractional-reserve banking, usury, wasted foreign and military spending, and Corporations-First trade; those are the ones who don’t care about others. You know folks who are soft on one or more of those issues right? Judge the heart by stances on what matters today. Any old scoundrel can take the official, popular position on an historical matter.
Weaver on 28 Jan 2011 at 3:02 pm #
The wily Machiavellian position would be to condemn my ancestors. I’m not going to do that because it’s wrong.
The NAACP, La Raza, and related groups exist to manipulate blacks and Hispanics to serve big business. “Conservatives” and “liberals” are manipulated to fight so as to struggle to pass laws which benefit big business and special interests. That’s the power game we live in today.
It’s like with Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged faery tale, including a statue of a giant dollar sign – only, reality isn’t capitalists competing within some honourable code of ethics which none would dream of violating. The reality is people competing for profit using every means available.
The great evil within America is not only the destruction of the middle class and increasing wealth divide but also the reality the current system can’t long endure. Whenever the collapse occurs, great suffering will result.
No, slavery is not ideal. Yes, the system inherently encourages immorality and is weak to divide-and-conquer. Yes, I’d feel sorry for the slaves somewhat, as well for the masters. But no system is perfect, and the system we live in today is certainly imperfect.
Kirt Higdon on 28 Jan 2011 at 3:52 pm #
Bruce and Weaver,
None of my ancestors, to the best of my knowledge, were slave owners. I’m guessing some of yours must have been as well as some of Maurice’s. But what if some of my ancestors were? What for that matter, if some of them were the proverbial horse thieves, or murderers or pickpockets or child molesters? Am I obliged to try to defend whatever my ancestors did no matter how wicked, thereby calling attention to it? Rather I am obliged to pray for the repose of their souls, try to preserve and build on whatever good they did, and maintain a discreet silence concerning their misdeeds.
Weaver on 28 Jan 2011 at 4:07 pm #
Kirt,
slavery isn’t the same as thievery. A master could be either good or bad.
You believe we’re free in America today? You believe any society in the world is perfect? America today is ruled by a managerial elite. They are our masters.
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Thanks in part to the mass media, we live in something like Plato’s Cave of Shadows.
One of the shadows you seem to believe in is that race doesn’t exist. If you add race into the equation, you can clearly see the dilemma the South found itself in and still finds itself in today. Once the system was in place and blacks were already here, it was difficult to change.
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That too might be some position I’m not supposed to take, but what exactly are we sacrificing our values for? Practical politics at this point is merely an almost vain attempt at minimising the damage our masters do before the collapse. And I hope all here are ready for whenever the collapse occurs be it thirty, fifteen, ten, or however many years from now.
Weaver on 28 Jan 2011 at 4:11 pm #
The argument for defending ancestors is:
PC attempts to create a hierarchy of victims. White Southern Gentiles and white Gentiles in general are supposed to be at the bottom – the root of all evil and the ones who must pay for their past crimes.
My stance here is that the South owes blacks nothing. We were imperfect, but we were not “evil” as your faith of PC alleges. You don’t seem to expect me to feel guilty either, you take a different stance from the mainstream; but the mainstream PC demands guilt.
I’m not only saying this for my benefit though; I believe it. The South produced an amazing aristocracy of high virtue. Robert E. Lee is perhaps the most virtuous and devout man to live since Christ, and he (or his wife…) owned slaves. I’m proud of my heritage. No society of mere humans is perfect.
You don’t believe race exists, so you live in some alternate Bizarro World. I’m sorry to be rude, and I know you’re a good person; but you’re just deluding yourself on this issue.
Weaver on 28 Jan 2011 at 4:23 pm #
Within the South today, we have a top 10% of blacks the elite bribes with affirmative action, giving them jobs they can’t really do. And then we have a bottom 90% who follow the top 10%, which sells them out politically (e.g. mass immigration and their beloved Obama’s America-last trade which hits poor blacks hardest.)
That’s the current system. We don’t call it slavery, but there are many very poor blacks who suffer terribly. Often their poverty is caused by laziness, but regardless they suffer. The system only encourages their poverty.
And similarly there are lazy or otherwise poor whites who, thanks to affirmative action, are opposed by the system even more.
That’s the wonderful free society we live in today.
Tomorrow, some new equally “wonderful” society will arise. Likely, neither will be better than America’s old society; but both will likely continue to condemn the South (and America) out of convenience.
Bruce on 28 Jan 2011 at 5:34 pm #
Kirt, I descend from German Catholics, Connecticut WASPs, and Appalachian working class. No slave owners. But I understand and admire men who want to defend the name and reputation of their ancestors. And they’re not just defending the individuals they physically descend from. They’re also defending a particular society that wasn’t perfect, but was a more decent and more Christian society than what we have now.
Weaver on 28 Jan 2011 at 8:22 pm #
Is the Black Church Dead? Debate Flares Among African-American Christians:
Kirt Higdon on 28 Jan 2011 at 9:44 pm #
Slavery consists of some human beings permanently imprisoning other innocent human beings with the right to buy and sell them as desired and force them to work for compensation unilaterally determined by the slave holder. There is no way that any of these practices, alone or in combination, are compatible with Christian morality, nor are the usual methods by which slaves were obtained, either by kidnapping or capture in predatory warfare, which is more or less the same thing. To dismiss opposition to these practices as mere “PC” is beyond absurd.
Also the position that any practice mentioned in the Bible and not specifically condemned is OK may be the position of some Protestants and Jews, but is certainly not the position of the Catholic Church. It is not a coincidence that slavery declined as Christianity advanced. It was certainly not an even process and the development of the trans-Atlantic slave trade was a major setback of a few centuries, but in the majority of countries, from the Roman Empire to Western Europe and Latin America slavery was abolished with minimum violence and disruption. The major and shameful exceptions were the US and Haiti.
I also have never stated, contrary to your assertions, Weaver, that the South was evil – merely that slavery, practiced by a small minority of southerners, was evil. I’ve also said on many occasions that Lincoln was a tyrant and the worst of American presidents. I’ve also never said that race does not exist, merely that it is of little importance. Apparently it is also of little importance to Bruce for whom defending your ancestors does not mean defending the people you are actually physically descended from.
I might also point out that Europeans whose ancestors were for centuries subject to slave raids by North African corsairs and slave levies by ruling Ottoman Turks might have a slightly different opinion as to whether defending your ancestors means defending slavery. Based on my conversations with Serbs and other East Europeans whose recent ancestors were subject to enslavement, I can tell you that they do not defend slavery as a system.
Weaver on 28 Jan 2011 at 10:37 pm #
Having the right to sell and treat badly black slaves doesn’t mean one ought to. Owning slaves isn’t in itself evil I think. Slave owners usually raised their slaves up to be Christians, and it certainly appears they were generally treated well. Laws were passed over time protecting slaves. The system was slowly moving to prevent abuse and likely would have continued to change until ultimately all were freed, imo. The South should have been allowed to resolve this on its own though.
Catholic Social Theory is something I very highly regard as the starting point for my own ideals. I’m a distributist who generally opposes wealth concentration.
I roughly agree with you on ideals.
My stance is just that this is an imperfect world. No matter how high we aim, utopia won’t easily be reached – and if reached won’t long last.
Anyway, that’s all I want to say. I don’t want to tarnish the reputation of the folks who post here with a more thorough defence of the Old South – not that I’m an expert, but there’s more I’d add…
Kirt Higdon on 29 Jan 2011 at 12:55 am #
I agree that the South should have been permitted to resolve the matter on its own and, were it not for the bloody interference of the Lincoln regime, the abolition of slavery in the southern US would have taken place peacefully and in less than another generation. That is the way the world was going at the time. Slavery in Brazil, a much larger and economically important enterprise than in the southern US, was abolished for the most part peacefully before the end of the 19th Century.
Christianity has generally sought to gradually ameliorate social evils rather than encourage revolutions which result in even greater evils and this is how the Church dealt with slavery. The danger of this approach is that sometimes long passive acceptance of an evil leads to active acceptance and participation and this in turn leads to revolution by anti-Christian elements.
Weaver on 29 Jan 2011 at 1:00 am #
Well, when the North tried making the South pay its tariffs (which largely only benefited the North – this wasn’t ideology but money), the South wrote into its Constitution slavery. So, it would have continued for more than a generation I think.
Were it not for that stupid tariff, slavery probably would have ended as you say.
Weaver on 29 Jan 2011 at 1:03 am #
I dunno, there was this Amendment. Slavery might have continued on for a bit regardless.
Someone on my e-mail list reminded me – been awhile since I’ve debated all this.
Long Time Reader, First Time Commenter on 29 Jan 2011 at 4:57 am #
“Am I obliged to try to defend whatever my ancestors did no matter how wicked, thereby calling attention to it? Rather I am obliged to pray for the repose of their souls, try to preserve and build on whatever good they did, and maintain a discreet silence concerning their misdeeds.”
So Kirt, are you suggesting that owning slaves is in and of itself a sin that potentially sends your soul to Hell? Please provide the Bible verse that supports that. Does the verse apply to the “righteous man” Job also?
Long Time Reader, Second Time Commenter on 29 Jan 2011 at 5:10 am #
Kirt, defender of the conventional wisdom on this website, maybe after you find that Bible verse that condemns slavery, you can go help Governor Abercrombie find Obama’s birth certificate.
Kirt Higdon on 30 Jan 2011 at 11:53 am #
“So Kirt, are you suggesting that owning slaves is in and of itself a sin that potentially sends your soul to Hell? Please provide the Bible verse that supports that. Does the verse apply to the “righteous man” Job also?”
Not suggesting it, LTRSTC, saying it. It is certainly grave matter to hold an innocent person permanently captive against his will and force him to work for you for compensation which you unilaterally decide. That is what slavery is. Of course the usual subjective elements apply as well – knowledge or lack thereof concerning the gravity of the offense, full consent of the will, refusal of final repentance. I couldn’t say the ultimate outcome in any case – that’s God’s call, not mine – but yes, the potential for eternal damnation is there. And I don’t need a verse from the Bible to tell me that anymore than I need one to tell me that about abortion. I just need to know what slavery (or abortion) is and follow the natural law and if that is not enought, I have the teaching of the Church.
In Old Testament times, much was permitted or tolerated even of righteous men which is not permitted or tolerated now. I reject the Judaizing tendency to institute Old Testament morality. Followers of Christ are supposed to have higher standards. What’s more, Job in all probability was not even an actual person. The book of Job, set in patriarchal times, is a series of theological reflections on the inscrutability of God’s will and consideration of the “why do bad things happen to good people?” question in the form of an extended parable. It is not about slavery.
Finally, if you are someone who is obsessed with Obama’s birth certificate, I suggest you look for it.
Weaver on 28 Feb 2011 at 8:41 pm #
Reply to Andrew in another thread:
I’m not writing the following to be mean, and I know you mean well; but you’re attacking something sacred. The truth of the South must be defended. What sort of man sells out his own ancestors? I fully admit it was less than ideal, but it was not as you assert either. And most important, if you read nothing else: It was not easy to resolve once in place. We had the wolf by the ears, as Jefferson said. Liberalism is a delusion; it couldn’t have resolved the problem. The true alternatives were: separation, continued slavery, or some sort of segregationist attempt as we had post-Reconstruction.
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What was popular in the North? Shipping them back. Who sold us the slaves? The North, as well Europe (many Jews). Where do blacks have it better than in the West? No where – certainly not within their own societies.
You’ll find slavery in the Bible, and once the slaves were here the pressing matter was what to do with them. No one wanted to live among large numbers of free blacks: That was the issue. Under your ideals, the South would have destroyed itself and erupted into chaos with much violence. You might prevent yourself from connecting such dots, but I don’t have to indulge your delusion: What’s going on in Zimbabwe and South Africa would have taken place here. Abolitionists in the North and South wanted them out: It was the dominant view among abolitionists. They were not liberals like you; no one back then was so insane.
Even Lincoln wanted to ship them back after the war had gone for a time, under pressure – all 4 million (no easy task and surely involving much suffering!) Originally, the South was offered an Amendment explicitly guaranteeing slavery to be permanent if it’d merely rejoin the Union though, so the tariff and not slavery was the motive for secession.
If you believe the current system that is racing towards destruction, towards a fall which will include much violence, is better; then good for you! I don’t care. I’m not a proponent of slavery, but I will defend (not promote) the South’s version because it was simply not “evil”. There were laws protecting the slaves, with more likely to be passed, and they were generally treated well. If you wish to believe in dreadful faerie tales, wonderful; I’m sure there are some equally lovely claims against your native land, not that I know anything against it. People lie. Why if the slaves were so badly treated didn’t more rebel after the Proclamation? Why did some even fight for the South? Locally, I know of a past slave owner who led his slaves into battle – all perished. Furthermore, the neat little rows of plantation slave houses can still be found today on many old plantation sites. The North sure didn’t care about the blacks – it merely used them during Reconstruction as a divide-and-conquer until we finally threw them out and freed ourselves. You simply don’t know what you’re talking about.
The country was founded on slavery, through centuries of toil, much by slave owners. Those who can’t bear to live with such a heritage are welcome to go back home.
If y’all wish to attack me, fine. But if you attack my ancestors, I’m going fight back. Our history is as good as most anyone else’s. When the South and other parts of America collapse due to demographics, I’m sure you’ll blame racists while fleeing into the white enclaves, ever preaching whatever absurd ideology you’ve taken to, ever cursing the South.
AndrewT on 01 Mar 2011 at 7:19 am #
Weaver,
You obviously know a whole lot about this, and there is no way I could match you in a debate on the issue unless I pulled a rabidly ideological trump card (which I don’t wish to do). It’s pretty hard to disagree with anything you’ve written. However, the sign-off statement is unfair. I quote:
“When the South and other parts of America collapse due to demographics, I’m sure you’ll blame racists while fleeing into the white enclaves, ever preaching whatever absurd ideology you’ve taken to, ever cursing the South.”
I try my darnedest to not to be ideological anymore. And it’s not my intention to speak ill of the South. Sorry for any previous unfair jabs.
Weaver on 01 Mar 2011 at 1:50 pm #
Awe, Andrew now I feel bad. Sorry, if I overreacted.
You don’t attack a man’s ancestors though
I don’t think a few Armenian Christians would be a problem for the South, but blacks are different in such large numbers. They’d have made up the majority of many states, including my own. We sure didn’t want to follow the path of Haiti, which killed the whites as well made some alleged pact with the Devil.
Maybe I shouldn’t speak of race like this, but you can’t discuss the South at that point without mentioning it.
Bill on 29 Jul 2011 at 1:44 am #
Guys, I’m from Maine. My Great GrandFather came from Blue Hill Maine and fought with the Union Army in the Battle of Fredricksburg. I grew up in Fla. I study History and I’m amazed at what goes on in History that would surprise people. My Dad grew up in New York and was a restauranteur in Fla. He had problems with Dr Martin Luther King and in the 60s we all feared change. I went to school with the only person I’ve ever heard admit that he belonged to the Klan. That guy was whacked!!! I have to totally laugh when I see northern liberals decrying Southern racism and the scourge of humanity they refer to from the South. I grew up in the South. I have family from the North East who all have graduate degrees from Ivy League schools. Rich liberal white People have dirty little secrets they don’t want you to know about. Many of them support abortion because that they don’t want children born who aren’t like them. They have no outrage over the fact that slavery is the norms in middle eastern countries. As for Maurice I like his food a lot. Like most people their feelings change over time. I’m not convinced that he hates black people. The majority of my best friends are Black yet I’m white and conservative. I still love my Black friends because I don’t have to prove anything to them. We all like fried chicken and attractive women. As for Maurice and the flag I,d say put the flag in a historical perspective. It’s a battle flag from the 1860s. The Barbeque from Maurice’s should keep him in business.
Ed on 01 May 2012 at 4:21 pm #
It was just a matter of time before this happened. All across the South, people have been chucking their heritage in the name of “Political Correctness.” Really disappoints me to see that the descendants of the people who fearlessly opposed King George III and the most powerful army of the late 18th Century, and equally fearlessly opposed the tyrant Lincoln and the US military, now wuss out and give in every time someone gets butt-hurt by the sight of a flag! No, it doesn’t disappoint me; it disgusts me! The South has turned into a land of wimps! Everyone is either part of the whiney PC crowd, or just bows down and worships them and obeys their every whim. Maurice can talk about dry-cleaning costs all he wants; the fact is, he has caved in to the PC crowd, and this is obvious. I used to take pride in my Southern heritage; I loved telling people I was descended from Confederate soldiers who stood against tyranny despite the impossible odds. I guess I still take a certain pride in that; but I can no longer take any pride in the South as it is today. We now have to look to the West to see any real men in America; they have long since disappeared from the South.
Reg P. on 18 Jul 2012 at 12:18 pm #
Lee may or may not have said that “If I had known” thing. It has been endlessly repeated on the Internet, but see the discussion on The snopes.com “Questionable Quotes” message board.