Helms Half Mast Recognition Challenged

On Sunday, L.F. Eason decided not to allow his staff to honor Jesse Helms’ confused and unfortunate convictions--and subsequently gave up his career to do so.

L.F. Eason, a 29-year veteran of the state Department of Agriculture, refused to fly the National or North Carolina flags at half mast in acknowledgment of the late Jess Helms’ life and political career. Under a directive from North Carolina Governor Mike Easely all state agencies were required to fly the flags at half mast.

Eason instructed his eight employees at the North Carolina Standards Laboratory to not fly the flags at half mast. “Regardless of any executive proclamation, I do not want the flags at the North Carolina Standards Laboratory flown at half staff to honor Jesse Helms any time this week,” Eason said to his staff via emails released to the public.

Eason was told through his superiors that he could either lower the flags or immediately resign. Eason chose to end his career and resign.

“This is in no way a political decision. I simply do not feel it is appropriate to honor a person whose epitaph of government service was to have voted against or blocked every civil rights issue that came before the US Congress. His doctrine of negativity, hate, and prejudice cost North Carolina and our Nation much that we may never regain,” said Eason on his decision to retire.

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Image: L.F. Eason from NewsandObserver.com

Michael07/09 03:49 PM

While I find the majority of Helms’ attitudes and opinions repulsive, I also find the tendency to politicize anything and everything equally undesirable. Helms’ was a senator elected by the citizens of North Carolina five times and he served his state and country (one would hope in good faith though disagreeable to some of us) for almost thirty years. Let the man and his family have a day or two of respect for that. History will judge him soon enough.

viridari07/09 04:08 PM

Pissing on another man’s grave before the body is still cold… *sigh* ... Eason got what was coming to him.

Jason M. Sullivan07/09 05:35 PM

Much as I agree with Eason’s sentiment, if he was allowed to express his opinion this way two things would happen.

1) It would be seen as the opinion of the State.

2) Some conservative state worker would refuse to lower the flag for “communist and socialist and worst of all liberal Democrat” Jim Hunt.

Neither ought to pass, in my opinion.

Tim R07/09 06:01 PM

For this person to decide for himself not to honor someone is acceptable. For him to dissuade others from honoring him is the American Way. For him to order those under his supervision to defy a direct order from the highest authority in the state is a mark of cowardice and should be met with having his pension partially revoked, not the luxury of retirement. Suppose the mail carrier decided not to bring his retirement check? Or what if the Postmaster of his branch were to issue an official order: “No mail will be delivered to L. F. Eason from this office.” That would be the same thing, and would result in chaos. It is not how a free society operates. When you take upon yourself a public trust (as both this dufus and Helms did), you take on the responsibility to discharge the office to the best of your ability. To actively defy an order from your superior and to force those under your supervision to do the same would be firing offences in the private sector, and result in court-martial in the military, no matter how firmly held the opinion, or how many other people agree.

To say this man is a hero for being intolerant of someone he thinks intolerant is foolish as well. Helms may have voted against the wishes of some, but being continually re-elected means that he was acting in the interests of the majority of voters in this state. Had they disagreed with his decisions, they would have voted him out of office. When the MLK holiday was created, did Sen. Helms demand that his staff work those days anyway, because he felt King was not worthy of being honored? No, he followed the orders that were given to him, after exercising the dictates of his conscience in the time leading up to the decision. Our local scofflaw should have petitioned Governor Easley, or followed some other legal means, like writing a letter to the editor, or even posting a message in his car window parked beside the flagpole. Taking the law into one’s own hands and forcing others to disobey is how we get hate crimes, looting, and dictatorships.

Amy G.07/10 06:31 AM

While I admire Eason for standing up for his beliefs, he is a state employee. He did not own the lab and thus it ultimately was not his decision whether or not to fly the flag at half-mast.

Alarum07/10 07:01 PM

Besides being just plain racist, are the citizens of that state so stupid not to realize what they look like in front of the civilized world? Their attitude is an embarrassment to any reasonable person in this nation.

God, why don’t they secede and join some retrograde third world country with similar mindset?

PastaFazool07/11 12:27 PM

While I believe Jason’s sentiments (above) must ultimately win out, I am bothered by the attitude that someone’s death should in some way grant them a free pass to respect. Helms deserves no extra respect and never did. Most of his actions and motives fostered and perpetuated hate. A majority of voters doesn’t change that. It makes them accomplices.

lfeas0n08/12 09:45 PM

Just for the record -

Lab employees were given the option of not raising the flags at all if they objected. Every employee had the option to appeal the decision. One employee did.

The very definition of “management” requires responsibility and ownership of what one manages. The idea that employees were coerced or forced to do anything was simply PR that was floated to excuse the actions of the department. The inverse argument - that failure to raise the flag in some way jeopardized management up to the level of Commissioner - was also tried. Neither argument was legitimate and readers may have noticed (except for possible bias) both were quickly dropped after their initial introduction by the department.

In consideration of the necessity for discipline following insubordination argument –

The reader is encouraged to study press releases from Governor Easley.

http://www.governor.state.nc.us/News_FullStory.asp

On May 23, 2008, Governor Easley ordered State flags to half staff Monday, May 26, 2008 “…To Remember Sacrifices Of Those Who Died Serving The Nation”. The NC Standards Laboratory flags were raised and lowered to half staff at sun rise and lowered at sunset on that day. Many other State offices between Cary and the NC Standards Laboratory either had no flags flying or they were at full staff (probably because they were never lowered). The requirements of this executive order were the same as those of the order issued by Governor Easley on July 6, 2008 to lower “… FLAGS TO HALF STAFF TO HONOR SEN. HELMS” (except for the shorter duration). Yet no State employees were fired (or forced to retire) for not remembering the sacrifices of those who died saving the Nation. Were these ultimate sacrifices less worthy of honor than the racist legacy of Senator Helms?

I sincerely hope not.

Many thanks to PastaFazool for a very well stated summary of the reality of the situation. The truth is not always pretty, but it is the truth. Once that was considered a virtue – regardless of Party.

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Chad Wednesday, July 09, 2008