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Barbecue Baron has free speech, but so do you.
You won't see him in our paper today. You know who I'm talking about — heavy guy, white moustache, unctuous grin. Sometimes he's nestled in the Classifieds, in the company of Confederate flags and pig silhouettes. Sometimes he'll crop up in our regular sections. But lately, people have been asking me why we allow Maurice Bessinger's ads in our paper at all.
It's a good question. Maurice has a racist record that won't quit: In 1968, he lost a U.S. Supreme Court case to keep African-Americans from eating in his restaurants; the decision was unanimous. Around that time, Maurice tried to prevent Stevie Wonder from coming to USC, calling his work "jungle music." Even today, huge Confederate flags — which Maurice has called a Christian symbol — flap outside his Piggie Park restaurants. Inside, he sells his book, Defending My Heritage, and tracts that soft-pedal slavery. His Web site even plays a MIDI file of "Dixie."
Maurice is proud of things that make him a pretty revolting person. I am certain no one at this newspaper shares his backward views. You say you're offended by his ad in The Gamecock and you want me to get rid of it. I couldn't agree more.
Unfortunately, it's not that easy. Wal-Mart and Piggly Wiggly can refuse to sell his sauce because they're privately owned businesses. But The Gamecock is a public forum because it's funded partly by USC, which gets money from the state. It would be easy to reject Maurice's ad if we were a private school or an independent paper. But here, rejecting his ad could result in a lawsuit about his right to free speech, a suit he stands a good chance of winning.
Maurice and his lawyers know commercial speech enjoys some First Amendment protection. He has the same right to run his ad as anyone. You could buy half a page saying "Happy Birthday, Lovenugget," and no one would stop you. Similarly, you could buy an ad that said "Maurice Bessinger is lousy racist, and here's why." You're protected, too.
Even as editor in chief, I don't have the power to reject Maurice's ad. That decision would have to come much higher up in the university. But here's what I can do: Next time he buys an ad, next to it will be a statement from The Gamecock mentioning his record and saying we as a newspaper vehemently disagree with his politics. That's where our hearts and minds are.
The tricky thing about the First Amendment is it protects speech we like and speech we don't. But the cure for bad speech is more speech. Want to make Maurice uncomfortable? Send The Gamecock letters or columns or buy ads. Talk to your SG representatives and people in the administration about Maurice. Don't buy his products and tell your friends why.
Maurice Bessinger is part of a graying guard of white, Southern males whose beliefs are dying with them. Show him, by ignoring his ad and not buying his products, that Maurice, his barbecue and his politics aren't worth an inch of our column space, a dime of your budget or a second of your time.
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