He Quit Rather Than Lower Flag For Helms

[elelle]

Not sure which forum to put this, but thought it worth note.

A Raleigh, NC, state employee gave up his job rather than fly the flag at half mast for Sen. Jesse Helms. N&O story here, now making national news.

RALEIGH - L.F. Eason III gave up the only job he’d ever had rather than lower a flag to honor former U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms.

Eason, a 29-year veteran of the state Department of Agriculture, instructed his staff at a small Raleigh lab not to fly the U.S. or North Carolina flags at half-staff Monday, as called for in a directive to all state agencies by Gov. Mike Easley.

(edit) He told his staff that he did not think it was appropriate to honor Helms because of his “doctrine of negativity, hate, and prejudice” and his opposition to civil rights bills and the federal Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

Personally, I admire him in standing by his principles. I am not a fan of Jesse Helms, that said after growing up in NC and seeing his views cause damage to a good portion of the state’s population. It was painful to see that hatred spewed and accepted, coming from a state that is way more accepting than that.

But, it was a state directive to fly the flags at half-mast, and it’s gonna be hard to say no without bureaucratic brouhaha. I thought the ultimatum was too harsh, for someone who’s served NC for so long.

Whatta y’all smart Dopers think?

[dalej42]

Let him take time off during the period the flags are flown at half mast. Helms was only a Senator. I wouldn’t expect the flags to be lowered.

I’m sure a state employee with that much time has plenty of unused vacation time.

[kevja]

The Governor ordered the flags at half-staff.

It may make everyone feel good that the guy stood up for his principles, but he’s a state employee, and in this case he doesn’t get a choice in the matter.

Maybe firing him was too harsh, but, it really was insubordination. He has to pay some price for it.

[gaffa]

A genuine man of principal. Damn few of them around these days, and it pains me to see one suffer.

[StGermain]

I think that if he wants to keep his own flag fully raised that’s his business, but if you’re instructed by your superiors to do something that is not unlawful, you should do it or face the consequences.

StG

[NajaNivea]

Seems like suspension without pay for that time period would have sufficed, but I guess it’s totally par for the course for a bureaucracy to cut off its nose to spite its face in ridding themselves of an employee with 29 years tenure over a matter of principle.

Good for him, and I hope he is in a position to retire comfortably or find new work with ease.

[friedo]

Stupid reason to lose your job. There are plenty of other ways he could have made his displeasure with Helms known, none of which would have gotten him fired.

[Wargamer]

My take on the Helms-Eason brouhaha:

What a maroon. What a nin-cow-poop (emphasis on the poop.) What a gull-a-bull.

(And now for my opinion on Mr. Eason…)

[gaffa]

Reading the original article, he was pretty much the founder of the facility in question:

Several people, including his wife, argued to Eason that the flags belonged to the state, as did the lab. But Eason said he felt a strong sense of ownership.

Eason and a previous boss had sketched out the building’s rough design on a napkin at the Atlanta airport in 1984 after attending a national conference on weights and measures.

He then worked to get funding for it in the state budget, and he recently helped snag state money to study building another lab.

“I designed and built that lab,” he said. “Even though technically the bricks and mortar belong to the state of North Carolina, I feel very strongly that everything that comes out of there is my responsibility.”

This is not an employee being uppity, this is the head of a state facility deciding that the facility was not going to honor a man who had brought dishonor and shame upon the state.

[Hal_Briston]

Wrist, slap, done. The firing was uncalled for.

[C3]

He wasn’t fired; he was given the choice to display the flag or take retirement. He chose retirement. Also, in his second email to his bosses, he basically said that he knew that he would face consequences, but he was prepared to do that.

I think his actions show great integrity. I’m really impressed by him. Apparently, others are too, because they said on the news last night that he’d already been given two job offers. Maybe he’ll end up making more than the $65k he was making with the state.

[Telemark]

@gaffa

This is not an employee being uppity, this is the head of a state facility deciding that the facility was not going to honor a man who had brought dishonor and shame upon the state.

Actually, that is an employee being uppity. As much a sense of ownership he feels, it’s the state’s building and he needs to be reminded of that.

[NajaNivea]

@C3

He wasn’t fired; he was given the choice to display the flag or take retirement. He chose retirement. Also, in his second email to his bosses, he basically said that he knew that he would face consequences, but he was prepared to do that.

I think his actions show great integrity. I’m really impressed by him. Apparently, others are too, because they said on the news last night that he’d already been given two job offers. Maybe he’ll end up making more than the $65k he was making with the state.

Excellent. I repeat: good for him.

[Magiver]

He used his job to express his personal political views. The citizens of the state elected Senator Helms and the Governor gave him the honor he was due. It’s inappropriate to use a taxpayer-funded job as a bully pulpit for political purposes. He was given a choice to stop this behavior and he chose not to. It was time for him to go. His actions don’t show integrity, they show that he thinks he’s privileged to impose his views in a work environment.

[Happy_Scrappy_Hero_Pup]

From my bar exam notes:

“NO 1Amd protection for federal employees speaking on the job.”

Say what you will about Helms, and while I don’t know much in total about his political career, what I do know I almost totally disagree with, the man put in decades of public service and if the state decided to honor him, then the state should be able to.

If he didn’t want to lower the flag, fine.

Instructing his staff not to- out of line.

Would THEY have faced discipline from HIM had they done so?

[phouka]

IMHO, this is not an instance of an employee being uppity or using their position for a bully pulpit. This is an instance of a person sticking to his guns on a subject he cares deeply about. He’s also willing to stand up to the consequences of it. That, to me, is integrity. He did not compromise his convictions. He stood up to them.

I can understand that his employers (or others who employ people) think poorly of him for this. It puts them on the spot if their workers put their tools down and walk off the job rather than do something they feel is morally or ethically wrong. But each of us is answerable to our conscience, and while this may seem petty or unnecessary to some, I think it’s significant. I think our society and our nation would be in better shape if we each stood up for our convictions and were willing to take the consequences - and that’s even if it happens to be a conviction with which I disagree.

[C3]

@phouka

IMHO, this is not an instance of an employee being uppity or using their position for a bully pulpit. This is an instance of a person sticking to his guns on a subject he cares deeply about. He’s also willing to stand up to the consequences of it. That, to me, is integrity. He did not compromise his convictions. He stood up to them.

Exactly. Here is the email that Eason wrote to his superiors:

I made a decision to refuse to lower our flags at the NC Standards Laboratory to half mast in honor of Jesse Helms as soon as I heard of his death. I cannot in good conscience honor such a man who fought so hard against Civil and Human Rights throughout his life. Even to his death bed, he refused to apologize for the damage he caused. Now, I stand by this decision. It is a personal decision, but obviously affects my job at the lab. It has been over ruled by Division and Departmental Management and as I look out my window, I’m ashamed to see the flags lowered …

I also understand that my decision is not acceptable. You cannot ignore that fact. There is the law, but there is also a higher law I must follow as a matter of conscience.

[Bryan_Ekers]

He shoulda put up his own flag in his office at full mast.
But if he was planning to retire anyway, he may as well do so in a manner that lets him publicly and notably call Helms a jerk. Sure beats smiling and nodding politely while they hand you some crummy gold-plated watch.

[burundi]

Good for him. He stuck to his principles and was willing to face consequences for doing so.

Originally posted by Happy Scrappy Hero Pup
Say what you will about Helms, and while I don’t know much in total about his political career, what I do know I almost totally disagree with, the man put in decades of public service and if the state decided to honor him, then the state should be able to.

I agree with you. If the state wants to honor him, they can. But I can’t condemn Eason for retiring rather complying with the state’s directive. Helms opposed civil rights and played racial politics throughout his career, from 1950 when he wrote “White people, wake up before it is too late. Do you want Negroes working beside you, your wife and your daughters, in your mills and factories?” to 1990 when he ran ads showing a pair of white man’s hands ripping up a rejection notice from a company that gave the job to a “less qualified minority.” If my state government wants to honor him, that’s their prerogative, but it’s hard for me to overlook his contempt for my home’s black citizens.

[Telemark]

@phouka

IMHO, this is not an instance of an employee being uppity or using their position for a bully pulpit. This is an instance of a person sticking to his guns on a subject he cares deeply about.

There’s no reason it can’t be both. While I respect his decision, I think he knew what the consequences would be and went into this with open eyes. There are many ways of protesting a state decision; I wouldn’t have chosen this particular way.