UT Donors are Big Mad about The Eyes

Football
185

I think Earl and Ricky got it right. There is no doubt the song has racist beginnings 100 years ago with their minstrel shows. The students who created its contents for those shows were also making fun of the school president at that time as students will with emphasizing his favorite saying at the time of “The Eyes of Texas are upon you”.

The song was transformed over time and became their university’s song and its meanings and ties to the minstrel shows died off and it was all about University of Texas and pride from that time on through today. Thousands upon thousands of students over the decades had no idea of its roots back to its foundations. Maybe Earl and Ricky can help bridge the gap. Plus, as they both pointed out, there are many other areas to focus attention on a song that means so much to most of them and long ago lost its meaning with how it was originally intended around their racist minstrel shows.
Hopefully they can move on from it and as Ricky and Earl stated focus on more important issues.

186

What would you call common ground between one group of people who do not want to be identified as a slur, and another group that don’t want things to change-by holding onto their “right” to say what they want with impunity?

Imagine if someone referred to you as something disrespectful on a regular basis. I highly doubt you would tolerate it.
This has nothing to do with cancel culture. This has everything to do with unchecked disrespect. Remind your neighbors to set up a drum set on the side walk in front of your house, and play it all hours of the day. That’s the level of disrespect and boundary crossing behavior by a certain demographic.

I don’t expect you to respond…but then again, that explains the reason we’re all having this conversation in 2021.

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187

Considering earl grew up during segregation and saw first hand how folks was treated he should have a different viewpoint but he has been bought and taken care it by Ut so long he has moved from reality

Ricky same way but they’ve been coddled in that system for so long they’ve given things up

188

Exactly. Those two “validating” opinions of Williams and Campbell are the equivalent of a certain news channel trying to substantiate their narrative by inviting black guests who share their same political agenda. A person’s race does not guarantee righteousness or sound logic.

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189

I stated I think Ricky and Earl probably has the best solution for it if you read their article. The original intent of the song was for comedy as part of their mistrel shows which was racist. The purpose of the song and the use of the song has greatly changed with time and it has nothing to do with what the original small band of students designed it to be 100 years ago.

They have a commision’s findings coming out soon. We’ll see what they have to say. But I don’t believe the song is going anywhere. But I wouldn’t be surprised if its history is told far more often now then in the past.

190

What makes you believe the undertones that are still prevalent are no longer a factor just because the lyrics changed?

For example:

You decide to not support Hanes as a company but buy a custom t-shirt from a nice old lady’s Coog Gear shop. She slaps a Shasta Paw on it, and you get ready to put it on, but notice the tag on the collar says Hanes, would you still wear it? I wouldn’t. I’d sell it and get my money back.

That’s the deal. You can change the lyrics but its woven into the very fabric of song.

191

The worst part of this issue (really any issue) is that no one wants to hear what anyone has to say. Just dig in and continue to state their case as if their opinion is the only one that can make sense.

We go looking for things that confirm what we think instead of trying to learn. You see it everywhere and we are all guilty of it at times.

Some of that is easy for me to say. I’m wired to dig into things and try to make sense out of the world. My personality doesn’t make me right but I do wish we listened more.

As for this issue, I’m not sure I’m in a place to tell someone what to think about it. My experiences, background, and how I see the world is different than someone else’s. But I’ve listened and learned a lot in this space over the last few years and think differently because of it.

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192

You first two paragraphs pretty much described the state of the country on almost all hot issues.

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193

The only thing that matters to UT is money. If by playing the song it starts hurting them in the pocket book they will change. They aren’t going to do something because someone is offended or somebody thinks it is the right thing to do. They are in charge and they don’t give damn.

If you look at the demographics of the donor base and their season ticket holders, Texas isn’t to terribly concerned. So that leaves the players. If they stop going to Texas because of the song, maybe they will change. But I seriously doubt that happens.

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194

Well, we can all significantly help UH’s endowment by leaving a little something behind in our wills for the University of Houston.

We don’t have a bad endowment size, In fact we are competing with many known programs, but we can still take it to the next level.

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195

…and learn from it.
I will write it again:
How many countries had slaves at one time or another?
Every single one of them.
Should every country in the world do the following:

Take down a building because it has connections to slavery
Take down paintings because it has a connection to slavery
Take down infrastructures because it has a connection with slavery
Disolve companies because they have a connection with slavery
Destroy classical works because they have a connection with slavery
Destroy literature works because they have a connection with slavery

I hope some of you get the point.
Where does this end?
What would we be left with?

Let’s look at a few examples:
image
Cancel culture official:
Sorry Egypt but your bloody pyramids were built by slaves. We will have to take them down.
Egyptian official:
But this will destroy our entire tourist economy
CCO:
Not to worry you won’t have any more trash from all the tourists.
EO
But, but

Next stop:
Every single castle, cathedral, museums or entire cities will have to be flatten down.
The entire city of Washington?
OF COURSE
In fact every single building dating back prior when slavery was abolished.
Oh yeah that means every single building on the West coast or Florida connected to these bloody Spaniards.
What about the city of New Orleans and the French Quarter?
YEP THAT HAS TO GO
But what about the American Indians?
YES EVERYBODY HAS TO LEAVE AND GIVE BACK TERRITORIES
Where are we going to go?
…?
There is always

image
image4032×3024 2.38 MB

I am making light of this but do you realize the path we are taking?
Do you realize how dangerous this is?

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196

The only thing that matters in America is money.

(population %)
White. 63.7%
Black 12.2%
Asian. 4.7%
Hispanic. 16.3%

(small business ownership by rate)
White 72%
Black 6.3%
Asian 6.2%
Hispanic 13.5%

There is also a huge discrepancy in the amount of working capital African American small business have. So they are chronically undercapitalized. if you compare the success rates of small business by race after 3 years there is no racial discrepancy. So African Americans are quite capable of being business owners. What they don’t have is access to capital during the critical first 3 years.

So where am I going with this. In my opinion the racial divide is a money divide. If we would set aside all this ridiculous symbolism and stupidity and focus on entrepreneurship, access to capital and education our racial issues will be more or less gone in a generation. People stop looking down on you when you have money, or probably more accurately, you stop giving two shites. But in 2020, I didn’t see anyone chanting “we want SBA loans, we want SBA loans”. Even the people that act like they care about this stupid symbolism don’t really care, it just doesn’t cost them anything to act like they care. Ask them to guaranty a loan for you and you will find out how much they really care.

Everyone is familiar with the whole Money Ball concept. People’s opinions are biased so they don’t act rationally so if you pull back and take emotion out of the equation and just look at the numbers you will see huge opportunities. The biggest economic Money Ball opportunity for our country is African American small business ownership. The numbers are clear that they are just as capable of successfully running a small business but the are hugely underrepresented in small business ownership and access to capital. Do you want to start thinking about employment and business success and breakthroughs that has been wasted based on this economy Money Ball situation? It is our single biggest source of economic irrationalism.

But yeah lets change a song that nobody gives a damn about.

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197

As has been often said, when they tell you it’s not about the money, rest assured, it’s always about the money. :moneybag: :moneybag: :moneybag:

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198
199

Yikes

200

I believe that the Roach’s sociological musings about UT will be just as impactful as his previous written works about UH athletics, which is to say pretty much zero.

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201

If they insist on playing it, African American players should continue to walk off the field while it is being played. Better yet, make a statement by turning their backs to the band as that stupid song is played.

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202

If one looks at the history of the song, it was purely written as a school pride song and was introduced at a university minstrel show originally to raise money for the track team. Meant as poking fun at their then president for always saying “the eyes of Texas are upon you” who was in the audience, quickly caught on and turned into the university’s spirt song and eventually the university’s alma mater. The following are the words:

The Eyes of Texas are upon you,
All the livelong day.
The Eyes of Texas are upon you,
You cannot get away.
Do not think you can escape them
At night or early in the morn –
The Eyes of Texas are upon you
Til Gabriel blows his horn.

The words clearly state that all of the people of Texas are watching Texas students and athletes and all involved with the university with great expectations and this will happen non-stop until the angle Gariel blows his horn signaling the return of Christ. Uplifting to Whorns, arrogant as hell to the rest of us Texans but racist, I don’t see it. There are so many more issues with this UT’s racial history than this Eyes of Texas song because it was introduced at their minstrel shows and their old president stole the phrase from Lee and converted to UT’s use.

If you are interested, and desire to see all the other racist history of UT (or a good portion of it), professor Gordon, a history professor at UT has this virtual tour and he exposes the real racist history of the university. In my mind, the big target should be Littlefield who introduced his Neo Confederate set of statues (now removed) and his foutain all the way to the tower. Along with other issues from DKR most likely being a racist. There is a lot to work on at UT race wise, but the “Eyes” are most likely the least of all as both Ricky and Earl has confirmed from their opinion.

There report is due out this week. We’ll see what it says. Some pre-interviews of committee members showed no linkage to Lee which is a weak or lite one to begin with. If so, that would leave the introduction of the song at a university’s minstrel show.

I am suspecting the song stays as the president has already stated, but the key is how they get the entire university to buy-in. That is the challenge and they hopefully continue to look at their other racial history and issues.

https://www.hookem.com/story/sports/football/2021/03/06/the-eye-texas-song-committee-report-will-challenge-public-narrative/4604964001/

203

How some will never budge from their understanding and open their mind just a centimeter, further strengthens the point that this is more than it being about a song. Well written article by Solomon.

I hope horn doesn’t win a single game next year.

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204

snow,

You may be leaving out certain pertinent information and relevant facts:

a) according to past UT statements, the lyrics are a paraphrase of a Robert E. Lee quote, though to be fair, I’m told that that is now in dispute, AND

b) the melody to that song, “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad,” is, in and of itself, a blackface minstrel song which, at the time it was adopted by UT as a melody for its school song, had VERY racist lyrics.

See here:

http://ragpiano.com/lyrics/lylevee.htm

Verse: I once did know a girl named Grace, I’m wukkin’ on de levee.
She done bring me to dis sad disgrace O’ wukkin’ on de levee.

Chorus 1: I been wukkin’ on de railroad (or levee) All de live long day;
I been wukkin’ on de railroad Ter pass de time away.
Doan yuh hyah de whistle blowin’? Rise up so uhly in de mawn;
Doan yuh hyah de cap’n shoutin’, “Dinah blow yo hawn.”

Chorus 2: Sing a song o’ the city; roll dat cotton bale;
N----h aint half so happy as when he’s out o’ jail.
Norfolk foh its oystah shells, Boston foh its beans,
Chahleston foh its rice an’ cawn, But foh n--------s New Awleens.

THAT’S RIGHT!!! The musical melody from which UT adopted its school song was, at the time, a blackface minstrel song that contained the *N-WORD (which I’ve edited out)!!! AND…a reference to “Dinah,” which was a generic name for a black female slave found in many other minstrel songs of the era.

The racist nature of that song would have been familiar to the writers of the UT school song at the time, yet despite that, the song’s melody was apparently adopted readily and without shame. Then…as if that wasn’t already bad enough…the song was debuted on campus in…guess what…a blackface minstrel show, where making fun of black people was the gist of the show. That’s just AWFUL!!!

You can’t honestly expect ANY African-American player to sing such a song proudly now, can you? Forcing them to sing it is just straight-up insensitive.

UT really needs to take that song, and CAN IT!!! Its history is too racist and problematic.

Doubling-down on it makes UT look REALLY bad. As another poster said, it’s a strange hill to die on.

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