Memphis CBS affiliate WREG had to defend itself on social media after giving its opinion about a racially sensitive story.
Yesterday, the station posted a story on its facebook page about a man who drove several hours to fix grass near a statue and grave of Nathan Bedford Forrest.
The city council agreed to remove the statue, but the removal still needs to be OK’d by a couple more groups. Forrest was a confederate soldier, a leader of the KKK and a slave trader. The grass had been dug up by a group that wanted Forrest’s statue removed sooner rather than later.
In addition to the facebook headline “A man cut a piece of his own yard, drove five hours and then repaired the damage that was done to the grass around General Forrest’s statue.” The station added the sentence,”What a great story!”
“A great story????????????” wrote one viewer. Another wrote, “Nathan Bedford Forrest was a member of the KKK. Why are we still revering him and his grave?!?!?”
The station tried to defend its judgement by writing, “I was looking at the story from a different angle. Whether you think it should be moved or not, the underlying theme here is fantastic. He saw a way he could make a difference and took action. He also made his opinion known while still respecting others.That’s what we mean by a great story.”
Today, the words “great story” have been removed.
TVSpy has to note, there were more people who thought this was a great story than not. “Memphis should celebrate their past like other areas have and they have thrived. These people should be arrested. (referring to those who dug up the grass) They are just thugs that made it to old age.” Another worte, “What would happen if a religious group of white men did that to Martin Luther Kings grave site ? Think about it.”