I read this post on Facebook about the Confederate flag:
“They’ve been pushing for it for over 150 years and this year the politically correct anti-Confederate flag movement may have finally achieved its ultimate goal. Following a racially driven shooting spree that left nine people dead at a church in Charleston, the governor of South Carolina is pushing legislation to have the flag removed at any government buildings where it currently flies. In Alabama, the governor has ordered Confederate flag ‘paraphernalia’ removed from the Confederate Memorial Monument.
Major retailers like Amazon, Ebay, and Walmart immediately jumped on board and have now removed confederate flags from their listings. Paul Joseph Watson highlights the sheer ridiculousness of the move, noting that while Amazon has removed memorabilia featuring the flag of the Confederacy, they continue to allow the sale of items featuring Nazi emblems and Swastikas.
“But the idiocy, based on absolutely no logical reasoning except that this is the perfect crisis to not let go to waste, doesn’t stop there. Warner Bros. has announced that it has halted production of toys and replicas of the iconic Dukes of Hazzard sports car known as the General Lee.
“Dukes of Hazzard, a staple TV show of the early 1980s, featured what may possibly be the most popular and most recognizable car in American history.
“As of today, that car will no longer feature the Confederate flag on its roof.”
Wait a minute now, the General Lee will not be the General Lee. To me, it makes no sense to do that. The flag needs to be removed from places where it is a symbol of hate and intimidation. I know when I see that flag in the back of a pick-up truck window or in the hands of a hooded individual I do not feel comfortable, I feel scared. I don’t like to drive to the south by myself for that very reason. I don’t think the flag should fly at a public building, but if people want to display it in their personal space perhaps then you would know who you are dealing with. Now a bookstore at Gettysburg National Military Park is pulling confederate flag items. Gettysburg, the site of the Civil War’s pivotal battle, said last week that it will no longer sell 11 items that use the battle flag as a standalone feature. The bookstore will continue to offer items that feature both the US and Confederate flags, as well as books, DVDs and other educational materials where the image of the Confederate flag is depicted in its historical context. National Park service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis says “stand alone depictions of Confederate flags have no place in park stores.”
Not being able to fly the flag over a public building will not remove the hate and bigotry from people’s minds and hearts. People will still not want Black people or people of color in “their” so-called neighborhood, and discrimination will continue to happen in the workplace but perhaps this in one step to a better world.
(Email the columnist at debbienorrell@aol.com)
Follow @NewPghCourier on Twitter https://twitter.com/NewPghCourier
Like us at https://www.facebook.com/pages/New-Pittsburgh-Courier/143866755628836?ref=hl
Download our mobile app at https://www.appshopper.com/news/new-pittsburgh-courier