Has anyone been inside "Wildman's" shop on Kennesaw? Is it really a racist emporium? (schools, gated)

[suprascooby22]

Originally Posted by cabasse

he goes way past the limit of what i think any sane person would think is acceptable. there's a clear difference between just displaying history, and trying to keep it going.



lol, took awhile to respond to this, seems like someone else got to it first...

No one is denying that the man has a racist, ole south mentality. However I have meet the man and can tell you that he does NOT go out of his way to discourage minorities from entering his shop. With that said, how is what he is doing any different from the "black power" shops that I have seen inside flea markets in this town. They have the same types of items he has ONLY with a racist slant towards whites. Bottomline, you may not like this place and that is your right because no one is requiring that you or anyone else walk in the place. Freedom of speech is truly a lovely thing.

[RoslynHolcomb]

I would think that's what museums and history books are for. We have plenty of mementos. If I'm not mistaken they also have things in that store that aren't historically accurate. "Fantasy racist" products and the like. (obviously I can't vouch for this as I'd never even consider entering such a place) Not saying that the man doesn't have the right to sell what he wants in his store, but let's not pretend that it has anything to do with preserving history. The man's a bigot. Fortunately, this is America and his right to be a bigot is Constitutionally protected, but I refuse to let anyone get away with pretending that it's something that it's not.

Originally Posted by atlantagreg30127

If you remove all negative images from the past in order to "sanitize" society, then exactly how are future generations supposed to realize how bad the world once was? This would apply to Nazi memorabilia, negative items about Blacks, women, Asians, etc that have been in our country (and others) since it became a country. If you remove all negative traces of our past, you can't move forward to be better.

[AcidSnake]

Not sure how you will take this, but here is a little something from "The Boondocks" cartoon show that kinda delve into this subject area.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmEaV...eature=related

Originally Posted by stvincent

I agree, you can't erase history. It is there as a reminder not to repeat it again. But some of the stuff he has in his store is just downright offensive, from the article: "you have to walk by a dingy display case full of KKK daggers and Civil War bullets and past the rack of white-power novels and Johnny Rebel CDs, featuring classics such as "****** Hatin' Me," "****** ******, Who Likes a ******," "Move them ******s North" and "Some ******s Never Die, They Just Smell That Way."

I have never been to the store but have been aware of it for years. I believe in free speech. And with that belief you have to support the speech you like and don't like.

[JayMcFly]

Originally Posted by y8tiger

Wow, Wildman's is still around! Does he still wear hip holsters with two .45 Revolvers? I visited his shop a few times during High School in the early 80's. He had quite the collection of Civil War memorabilia for sale and it was quite a popular local shop.

Reminds me of how we all used to learn "Dixie" and "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" in music class and Square Dancing in physical ed class. I bet these lessons are no longer taught in Cobb County Schools.

You learned square dancing in P.E.? Wouldnt that be dance class?

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by JayMcFly

You learned square dancing in P.E.? Wouldnt that be dance class?

We learned it in normal gym class as well. Of course, for me that was a little while ago. And not in Georgia.

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by suprascooby22

Bottomline, you may not like this place and that is your right because no one is requiring that you or anyone else walk in the place. Freedom of speech is truly a lovely thing.

I agree with scooby that freedom of speech is a wonderful thing, even though we have to put up with the obnoxious and the loonies, too.

Here's another article with a slightly different perspective. To me it sounds like this guy has figured out that being an oddity provides some marketable publicity. There are plenty of Civil War memorabilia shops, but it gives you a little panache if you wear your hair like a hippie and call yourself "Wildman" and profess to be a supporter of the KKK.

What You Haven't Heard About Wildman - Kennesaw, GA Patch

[cityrover]

haven't heard of it but will definitely go in now

also, ADL/SLPC are one/two (play of word here) of the most unreliable and biased agenda driven groups out there.. so not much credibility about anything they say

[DTL3000]

Originally Posted by arjay57

I agree with scooby that freedom of speech is a wonderful thing, even though we have to put up with the obnoxious and the loonies, too.

Here's another article with a slightly different perspective. To me it sounds like this guy has figured out that being an oddity provides some marketable publicity. There are plenty of Civil War memorabilia shops, but it gives you a little panache if you wear your hair like a hippie and call yourself "Wildman" and profess to be a supporter of the KKK.

What You Haven't Heard About Wildman - Kennesaw, GA Patch

That's a a good write up. He definitely seems like an interesting guy. He might be one of those folks who's hard to pin down. I think he enjoys getting a rise out of people and is probably more live and let live than anything else.

[J T L]

Sometimes history hurts. If you can't take it, stay out. Pay attention to things that make a real impact and forget the rest.

[son-house]

Originally Posted by JayMcFly

You learned square dancing in P.E.? Wouldnt that be dance class?

I grew up in the 70s/80s on the South Side of Chicago (the Black part) and went to schools that were functionally segregated.

It boggled my young mind that we were forced to learn square dancing as a segment of PE.

One of these days I'm gonna have to make a trip out to Wildman's.

My mother, on the other hand, would NEVER set foot in a place like that and would be mortally offended that such an affront was allowed to persist.