On NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday, John Burnett hyped the objections of a few residents of Gonzales, Texas to gun rights backers' use of the town's slogan from the Texas Revolution. Burnett played up how "some Gonzalians are taken aback to see that Second Amendment activists have appropriated 'Come and Take It,' and substituted an assault rifle for their hallowed cannon." However, he failed to explain that the slogan has its roots in the reply of a king from ancient Greece, who rebuked an enemy's demand to disarm.
Burnett led his report with a brief historical summary of the Battle of Gonzales: "In 1835, colonists living in what was then northern Mexico...had a small brass cannon on loan from the Mexican army. But the Texans of Gonzales had grown rebellious; so a Mexican commander...sent soldiers to take back the cannon. The response: the men of Gonzales fired the little cannon...[and] raised a flag...with a lone star, the image of the cannon, and the words 'Come and Take It.'"
John Daniel Davidson of The Federalist blog pointed out in a Monday item that "the Texian settlers had 'grown restive' because Mexican President Antonio López de Santa Anna had overturned the 1824 constitution of the Republic of Mexico, dismissed state legislatures, and disbanded militias....All this goes unmentioned in NPR's telling." Davidson also underlined that the Texians' slogan is "a quote from King Leonidas I...In 480 BC, during the second Persian invasion of Greece, Leonidas replied to Xerxes's demand that the Greeks surrender their arms, 'molon labe'—come and take them" (the original Greek slogan has also become a popular motto among Second Amendment backers).
The NPR reporter continued by noting that "'come and take it' has entered the popular culture," and cited how a local laundromat and hair salon have names that are variations on the historical motto. He also played up that "some Gonzalians are taken aback to see that Second Amendment activists have appropriated 'Come and Take It,' and substituted an assault rifle for their hallowed cannon."
Burnett zeroed in on the complaint from Gonzales City Manager Allen Barnes, who bemoaned, "What gets under my skin is when you have the star and the AR-15 and the 'Come and Take It.' To me, that completely changes the tone and the message of the flag. That's no longer our flag." However, Barnes has also objected to how other parties have "appropriated" the historical slogan. Back in July 2016, the city official disclosed that "he's a little bothered to see the town symbol used to sell burgers, 'but I can't change it.'"
The correspondent hinted at that earlier objection later in the segment:
JOHN BURNETT: ...[I]t's not just gun lovers. 'Come and Take It' has gone viral. Abortion rights advocates made a banner with the phrase next to the image of a uterus. McDonald's put 'Come and Get It' on a flag with a hamburger. You can buy a T-shirt with a big joint on it that says, 'Come and Toke It.'
The Gonzales flag is enjoying a surge in popularity in the current political climate as well. You can occasionally spot it flying incongruously next to the American and the Texas flags. Max Bordelon is the proprietor of Max's Roadhouse north of San Antonio.
MAX BORDELON, MAX'S ROADHOUSE: We fly a 'Come and Take It' flag in front of our establishment, because we believe the federal government has gotten too big and is reaching out too far.
Near the end of the segment, Burnett included a soundbite from local newspaper reporter Erik McCowan, who apparently "got so tired of seeing the town slogan ripped off, he wrote a column about it." McGowan asserted that "people...co-opt it without understanding the reason behind it. And I think a lot of that has to do with...just plain ignorance...people fought and were ready to die over this flag." The NPR correspondent concluded by declaring that "the people of Gonzales, Texas simply urge anyone who wants to borrow their famous battle cry to take the time to learn the real history of 'Come and Take It.'" Of course, his talking heads only speak for only some of the citizens of the city.
The full transcript of John Burnett's report from the October 2, 2016 edition of NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday:
RACHEL MARTIN: Today is the anniversary of what is regarded as the first shot of the Texas Revolution: the Battle of Gonzales. The battle itself was a minor skirmish; but as NPR's John Burnett reports, the battle cry, 'Come and Take It,' lives on.
JOHN BURNETT: In 1835, colonists living in what was then northern Mexico — now, Texas — had a small brass cannon on loan from the Mexican army. But the Texans of Gonzales had grown rebellious; so a Mexican commander in nearby San Antonio sent soldiers to take back the cannon. The response: the men of Gonzales fired the little cannon at the Mexican troops, and they raised a flag — hastily sewn from a wedding dress — with a lone star, the image of the cannon, and the words 'Come and Take It.'
STEPHEN HARRIGAN, AUTHOR, "THE GATES OF THE ALAMO": So it was the flashpoint of the Texas Revolution.
BURNETT: A legend was born that resounds today, says Stephen Harrigan — author of the historical novel, 'The Gates Of The Alamo.' He's currently working on a history of Texas.
HARRIGAN: You know, if you grew up in Texas, it's part of your bloodstream. It's part of the DNA that you — you have encoded within you. It feels ornery and defiant; and there's a part of Texans that, sort of, respond to that.
BURNETT: 'Come and take it' has entered the popular culture. In Gonzales, nobody blinks at the 'Come and Wash It' laundromat, or the 'Come and Style It' beauty salon. But some Gonzalians are taken aback to see that Second Amendment activists have appropriated 'Come and Take It,' and substituted an assault rifle for their hallowed cannon.
Allen Barnes is city manager of Gonzales.
ALLEN BARNES, CITY MANAGER, GONZALES, TEXAS: What gets under my skin is when you have the star and the AR-15 and the 'Come and Take It.' To me, that completely changes the tone and the message of the flag. That's no longer our flag. That is a flag that was created by other folks.
C.J. GRISHAM, FOUNDER, "COME AND TAKE IT TEXAS": We have a flag with 'Come and Take It' and a rifle, in place of a cannon, because we think that there are people trying to take our rifles.
BURNETT: C.J. Grisham is a founder of 'Come and Take It Texas' — though, he later split with the group.
GRISHAM: And our response to that is they're going to have to come and take it. We're not giving them away willingly.
BURNETT: But it's not just gun lovers. 'Come and Take It' has gone viral. Abortion rights advocates made a banner with the phrase next to the image of a uterus. McDonald's put 'Come and Get It' on a flag with a hamburger. You can buy a T-shirt with a big joint on it that says, 'Come and Toke It.'
The Gonzales flag is enjoying a surge in popularity in the current political climate as well. You can occasionally spot it flying incongruously next to the American and the Texas flags. Max Bordelon is the proprietor of Max's Roadhouse north of San Antonio.
MAX BORDELON, MAX'S ROADHOUSE: We fly a 'Come and Take It' flag in front of our establishment, because we believe the federal government has gotten too big and is reaching out too far.
BURNETT: From his desk at the Gonzales Inquirer newspaper, reporter Erik McCowan got so tired of seeing the town slogan ripped off, he wrote a column about it last month.
ERIK MCCOWAN, REPORTER, GONZALES INQUIRER: A lot of people take it and co-opt it without understanding the reason behind it. And I think a lot of that has to do with — you know, just plain ignorance — and people fought and were ready to die over this flag.
BURNETT: No one is going to fight and die over 'Come and Wash It,' the laundromat; or 'Come and Toke It,' the T-shirt. The people of Gonzales, Texas simply urge anyone who wants to borrow their famous battle cry to take the time to learn the real history of 'Come and Take It.' John Burnett, NPR News, Gonzales.
