Jesse Helms’ memorial takes over Five Points
8 Jul
You can’t help but do a double take when satellite trucks are parked in Raleigh’s quaint Five Points neighborhood and reporters and photographers are stationed outside the stately Hayes Barton Baptist Church.
The media is taking over the grounds surrounding the church because that’s where former Sen. Jesse Helms’ memorial service and funeral are being held.
The News & Observer has thorough coverage of seemingly every aspect of Helms’ life and career:
Helms became known as “Senator No” for his battles against everything from increased government spending to civil rights legislation, from communism to the National Endowment for the Arts. Helms was even willing to wage war against fellow Republicans if he thought they were straying from the conservative agenda.
In North Carolina, Helms was a political surgeon, grafting the old segregationist Democratic Party into the body of a newly revived Republican Party. Helms made sure Robert E. Lee was remembered at GOP dinners, and the playing of “Dixie” was never out of fashion at his rallies.
I took a few pictures outside the church Monday night, but I didn’t feel compelled to go inside.
Man, weird. In my non-NC world, he was always just this far-away bad guy. (I was raised by liberals)
I am outraged at the attention this is getting. The man was not a decent human being, dead or alive. Let’s not twist history to make him out to be one. I live in Five Points and am irritated by funeral goers parking on my street that’s all of a block long and already crowded.
What a great Senator Jesse Helms was. To have never lost a political race is quite an accomplishment. I hope those who have opposed him realize that those who voted him into office are walking along side you even now and are continuing to vote for the values Senator Helms upheld. Knowing this state put him into Senate for as long as they did is only one of the many reasons I am proud to be from North Carolina. If you saw him in a negative light I implore you to look beyond secondhand information and read first hand his voting record (which is public information for those of us who like to make up our own mind about things rather than having our opinions handed to us by a third party). He believed every person was created equal in the eyes of God and voted to protect each one of this states citizens, even those who hated him. As for moral issues, if you disagreed with Jesse Helms and oh so many other more conservative thinkers please don’t take it out on us because sadly we can’t take credit for the ideals we try to uphold but rather look to God and the Bible from which the nation was knitted together. That is definitely who your disagreement is with.
I kind of agree. I wonder what will have to change though for that to happen.