By Lewis Loflin
When public officials prostitute their office to appease religious fanatics or shield cronies from competition, it’s corruption. Here in Sullivan County, they’ve turned government into a brothel without the sex—peddling power to Jerry Falwell’s ilk while jobs vanish, youth flee, and civil rights get crushed. You can’t even buy a decent job in this impoverished corner of Appalachia, yet they’re obsessed with “sin.”
The Bill of Rights—freedom of speech, assembly, privacy, no religious favoritism—is supposed to protect us all. Christian fundamentalists here claim it only binds the feds, not local tyrants like them. It’s the same excuse they used for segregation. County Commissioner Mike “Boss Hogg” Gonce bragged, “I think it puts people on warning they can’t say or do anything they please in Sullivan County. Hopefully, people will be more guarded with what they say.” Attorney Dan Street chimed in, “Loflin has criticized commissioners,” hinting dissenters could face court. This isn’t Iran—what happened to liberty?
It began in 2000 when Carletta Sims of Atheists of Tennessee demanded equal access to the “Release Time” school program, letting kids skip class for religious lessons. With the World Union of Deists, she sought to teach atheism and Deism—fair under the law. The school board, terrified of the ACLU, axed it instead. Gonce roared, “Sullivan County doesn’t lay down for atheists,” pushing the Ten Commandments Plaque Resolution to signal only fundamentalists belong. I requested a Treaty of Tripoli Plaque and got lawsuit threats. The Kingsport Times-News urged a repeal, but no dice—Gary Melvin’s Libertarian plaque sits in limbo too.
That zeal birthed the Sullivan County Adult Entertainment Commission. Ron Ramsey vowed, “We will put them out of business,” targeting legal strip bars like Show Palace and Bottoms Up. They admitted the businesses were lawful but piled on impossible rules—denying Show Palace a sign permit until lawyers intervened, sticking the owner with fees, and revoking Bottoms Up’s beer license under a “public safety” ruse to curb drunks.
Why do I revile this government? While they chase “sin,” Bristol and Sullivan County wallow in poverty—part of an Appalachia where the “haves” hoard and the rest scrape by. Washington County, Virginia, claims it’s about “economic development,” not jobs for locals:
“Economic development does not necessarily mean growth, although the growth of both population and revenue may be a result. Economic development means strengthening the community’s economic base or the part of the local economy that brings in money from outside the county.”
Translation: money flows to the elite who control it, not the working class. Over $140 million sunk into “clean energy research” centers yields empty buildings—great for consultants and contractors, rotten for us.
This is social apartheid—de facto segregation by class, an underclass locked out of prosperity. In Bristol, split by the Virginia-Tennessee line (Bristol, Tennessee in Sullivan County; Bristol, Virginia in Washington County), it’s stark. Race is a distraction—90% white here—but class warfare rages. Democrats scorn the working class for race and status; Republicans wield pro-business, anti-worker fervor. Both lock the public out of government meetings, disbursing millions in grants behind closed doors.
The Bristol Herald-Courier, August 21, 2021, cited a Chamber of Commerce report—funded by an $81,000 government grant:
BRISTOL, VA. -- The Bristol Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday released a report detailing the Twin Cities’ biggest challenges and opportunities for economic growth... The report cited an aging population, the “brain drain” effect of talented workers “moving away to seek better employment opportunities” and low wages as some of the area’s top barriers to economic development...
Low wages? No kidding—they’ve fought to keep them that way for decades. I’ve documented this for over 20 years, no grant needed.
Think a business license and taxes shield you? Wrong. Show Palace and Bottoms Up faced a beer license farce—Bristol Motor Speedway (BMS) hauls in beer for 100,000 race fans, flooding roads with drunks police ignore. Bristol’s “Scalping Law” of June 2000, at BMS’s behest (link), banned ticket sales above their price, claiming “safety” on Volunteer Parkway—where United Way panhandles freely. Wytheville, Virginia’s “Peddler Ordinance” blocks sales near “established businesses” to protect the connected.
In Bristol, my 2’x2’ business sign drew police threats, yet Ten Commandments signs flourish. Dancers’ names and addresses were publicized for “safety,” not harassment, they swear—pure nonsense from Falwell’s zombies.
Show Palace and Bottoms Up sued Sullivan County, losing in the Tennessee Court of Appeals (details). The case hit the Tennessee Supreme Court, but a Nashville ordinance’s defeat was their only glimmer. Courts here prop up this “one rule for you, another for the chosen” system. BMS gets coddled while scalpers get busted, race fans decry rip-offs, and we salute minimum wage.
Update for 2008: All appeals failed; local laws were upheld.
John Nelson Darby
Christian Premillennialism