The Reasonable Southerner: Recent Episodes
Frances Coleman
Long-time writer and essayist Frances Coleman shares her insights. The South is not all magnolias in the moonlight. Neither is it all racism and violence. Southerners are just like you. Listen and see.
Frances Coleman worked for newspapers for more than 40 years. She's been a reporter, editorial writer, columnist and editorial page editor. She has been heard on the BBC and the Rachel Maddow show, and had her column distributed nationwide.
The Alabama Supreme Court ruled that law enforcement departments don't have to obey sunshine laws when it comes to bodycam footage. It falls only to bystanders with cell phones. Body camera footage is not subject to freedom of information act requests.
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Shutting the government down as a part of political chest thumping is disgusting. Families who live paycheck to paycheck suffer for these political stunts. I've know about paycheck to paycheck living. Thankfully for me, politicians back in the day had not sunk as low as they have today. Disgusting.
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Alabama has a long and unhappy past concerning prisons. We've had the federal government take over our prison system in the past. Are we past that? Ask Governor Kay Ivey.
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Federal flood insurance is a program designed to keep whole communities from being destroyed beyond rebuilding by spreading the risk among all Americans. Now, those who get the benefit may have to bear more of the cost. It won't make them happy, but paying for what you get is just fair.
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The notion that God is angry with us and is punishing us with COVID-19, hurricanes, wildfires, earthquakes and war is just plain wrong. People take revenge on those with whom they are displeased. God does not.
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Back in the day, the women's lib day, women were going to have it all. We have -- as they said -- come a long way. But the foolish mantra that you can do everything is an expectation that will crush you if you let it. Be the woman who makes her own choices. Isn't that really having it all, anyway?
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Caring for those who refuse to be vaccinated against COVID costs lives and money. The people who refuse the vaccine are being aggressively stupid in a way that kills them, spreads the disease, and wastes a lot of money. I am as mad as hell about this.
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I'm not talking about the simple "here is where babies come from" talk. What about abuse, date rape, false accusations, and "me too"? I didn't talk to my children as I should have. Learn from my mistake
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The name your grandchildren call you ought to be something that they pick out -- with some limits set by you. For once, leave off the contrived nonsense and let a child have a name for you - a very special person in that child's life.
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A bit of good reporting of a 100-year-old murder of a priest by an angry preacher shows that hatred and bigotry are not a problem with a solution. Those things are a hateful corner of human existence that must be guarded against every day.
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Never Forget! But we do. We have so quickly forgotten that an attack on our nation should have brought us together and kept us there. Instead, the fear and hatred that we had for those who killed nearly 3,000 of our countrymen have morphed into a "them and us" flag waving contest.
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When I came to Alabama in 1978, I was a 24-year old who didn't know the state had a beach. All I knew about Alabama was its reputation for beatings, bombings and prejudice. I've learned a lot over the years. Most of all, I've learned to be eternally optimistic about my state and the South.
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The abortion "debate" is about raw politics, not morality. I believe abortion is absolutely evil. I also believe every woman must make her own decision about having -- or not having -- a child. The power of the law has limits. This issue is beyond the court. The justices who decided Roe v Wade understood that. Does the current court?
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Is freedom of expression about protecting ideas about mom and apple pie and the American way? Or is freedom about accepting ideas you don't like? My father, a man whom I loved and admired, gave a lot for the United States of America. He got it. Think about him when you decide someone who does not agree with you should not be allowed to say what he thinks. Think about him.
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The British, the Russians and now the United States have all learned a bitter lesson. Afghanistan is a bad place to make war and an impossible place to force a peace. Did we learn any lessons from the history of the British and Russians? Did we learn anything from our own debacle in Vietnam? The ghostly prescience of a Southern Senator and the inescapable conclusion --- damned if I know.
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Hurricanes are part of life on the Gulf Coast. If you are new to the area, you need to know what to expect and what the experience of being smacked by one of these things is all about.
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Service is all a business really has to sell. Every business has competitors selling the same thing it sells. Service -- or the lack of it -- is what sets a business apart. Successful retailers have this figured out. In an ironic twist, the very people who were counted out by big box stores a few decades ago are seeing the big box retailers being creamed by the internet, which leaves an opportunity for smart mom and pop retailers to find their niche in offering good service. Smart retailers are doing that now. Those who don't are dead, but just don't know to lie down.
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I think year-round school is a bad idea. Little children need the summer to be kids; unregimented, playful and carefree kids. When they get to be older, they need the summer to have that first job and learn that people other than mom and dad have real expectations for them. Teachers and all the rest of us need that break in the routine, too. Summer is good for that.
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Everything that was once on the internet is still on the internet. Would-be "Jeopardy!" host Mike Richards has now joined the host of people who have learned this lesson the hard way.
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Experts tell us that it would take about 20 minutes for a nuclear warhead to arrive from the other side of the globe. If you were alerted, what would you do? Lying down on the grass and looking away from the fireball seems a little lame to me. I'll babble a few prayers and pour what would be my last cocktail.
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Running red lights is a deadly practice. Please, don't do it. You aren't in that big of a hurry. My husband and I were lucky. Two people a day are not. They are killed. It is preventable. Please. Don't do it.
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I understand politics. However, when government acts to expose children to Covid when "leaders" know better is not only terrible public policy. It is also stupid politics. A smart politician would convince his base that wearing a mask was as All-American as automatic weapons and hollow point ammunition.
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My son did not die in a car wreck that never happened years ago. Would I have donated his organs? I don't know what I would have done then, but I know what I would do now -- thanks to the wonderful gift someone gave to my brother.
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Are you bugged by the way nobody reads anymore? You shouldn't be. Take it from the daughter of a librarian: change in the technology of information is a fine thing. Don't fear technology -- embrace it!
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Shame on those who minimize the attempted overthrow of the Constitution of the United States.
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I dream about my late father sometimes. It is not unpleasant or scary. While it is probably just my subconscious talking -- I certainly enjoy the insights of a man who knew what hardship was all about. He set me straight plenty of times. Now he can do the same for you.
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Simone Biles has the kind of courage that is beyond most of us. Her bravest act was stepping down and sharing her mental and emotional struggles. Her courage is real.
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I've been married longer than the average person has been alive. What's the secret? There isn't one.
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Hurricanes are a part of life in the Gulf South. The rules that govern behavior during and after a hurricane make it all easier. A lot easier.
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I was the highest ranking editor to get fired from my job when my newspaper ceased daily print publication. It came out of nowhere amid assurances that my job was "safe." I would not change anything now, but it absolutely taught me what is important in life.
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A white city councilman in Tarrant, Alabama, is allied with a black councilwoman. They both are in opposition to the black mayor. Their small-town spat is about more than municipal politics. It is about the power of words and how naming someone is an attempt to define him.
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Going to the moon took more than money. It took leadership. A sensible immigration policy -- without pandering to prejudice -- is overdue. We can do this. Really, we can!
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Manners matter. They also change all the time. The behavior of some people is mildly distressing, but genuine politeness and respect for others matters most.
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His eyes were as blue as they said. His charm was irresistible. To a young Louisiana reporter he flashed a winning smile and showed his political skill by being interviewed about his latest scandal ---- and not really saying anything.
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It is hard to find the truth. One truth that you can believe it this-- if you hear something that instantly and dramatically reinforced some pet belief of yours --- you are being lied to. Myths are there to reinforce what you already believe. The truth is more challenging than that!
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Facing racism is very difficult. Racism is something we all must face in ourselves, black or white. Both races bear the burden. It's hard for a some white people and a lot harder for black people. Whoever you are, face it. You will be glad you did.
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Whether it's pitting evolution against creationism, forbidding teaching of yoga or sex education, and now demonizing "Critical Race Theory" legislators won't keep their hands off of our schools -- but they should.
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Leadership is easy, not leadership at all, when circumstances present clear choices. Leadership is difficult when a leader must compel people to do what they don't want to do -- but what is ultimately good for them.
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What could possibly go wrong when a volunteer group of condo owners is tasked with managing and maintaining a building? Plenty. Bickering board members, expensive repairs and delays in heeding an engineer's advice meant tragedy in Surfside Florida.
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The last African people to be enslaved landed near Mobile, Alabama. Their tragic story and their survival is a story that must be remembered -- no matter how hard those who bought them into bondage tried to make us forget. The ship Clotilda, and the story of those who crossed the Atlantic in her, must be remembered. The descendants who built a life here need to be recognized.
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Change is constant. I start my new adventure in podcasting with a look at what change is all about and wonder if a woman who banged out stories on a manual typewriter can adapt to a world of wave files and pop filters. If a 50 something 8 foot bird with the mind of a six-year-old can make it -- so can I.
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Mixing politics and religion is a very old part of my church. Can the American Council of Bishops withhold communion from Joe Biden? No. They don't have the authority to do that. They do have the ability to pander to right wing donors. It is bad for religion and bad for politics -- but good for their bottom line
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Adam Lanza killed 20 children in Newtown, Conn., in December 2012. Police said he was mentally ill.
Government wrangles with mental health care providers. The government says it needs the money for defense, roads, parks public safety, a wall on the border or a shiny new aircraft carrier. We refuse to spend money on mentally ill people, and lament the fact that sometimes they are dangerous.
We know what to do. We just won't do it.
Do all dogs really go to heaven? Will Fletcher get there? A heavenly conversation, a little dog named Tippy, a father's wisdom over a bourbon and Seven-Up.
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You will have to pry that thermostat from my cold dead hand. Some people work for money or personal fulfillment -- or both. I work for air conditioning.
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