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Offering Some Praise For The Pentagon On Flags

John Micek on

I know there are southerners, bless their hearts, who believe that Confederate battle flags are an expression of “heritage.” But to believe the flag is a mere show of heritage requires a Herculean self-deception.

And if you’re a northerner who hangs a Confederate flag off your front porch, what are you even doing? It’s not ironic. It’s not rebellious. It’s an expression of hate.

By hanging a Confederate battle flag off your front porch, you’re offering your endorsement of everything the Confederacy stood for. And it stood for keeping Black people in chains and exploiting their labor for the specific gains of a white majority.

And if you think that’s not the case, consider this - flying a Confederate battle flag outside your house is the same as flying an Alabama flag, Tar Heel flag, or Georgia Bulldog flag off your front porch on game day.

It’s an act of tribalism. It’s your show of support. It’s an endorsement of the teams.

Thus, if a Black person is walking by your house and you have a Confederate battle flag flying off the front porch, they will rightfully conclude that you endorse the hateful philosophy that underpinned it.

And if you think you’re paying tribute to your great-great-great grandaddy, then remember that your dear, departed ancestor fought to keep Blacks enslaved.

It’s really pretty easy.

 

Flags and statues honor and celebrate the things we hold dear. Americans don’t honor and celebrate racists and traitors who fought to keep people enslaved.

There’s a place for that history: In books and in our museums. Not in our town squares. And thankfully, that’s happening - even if the president is blathering on about “our beautiful monuments,” as a bullhorn call to racists.

In this extraordinary moment, we’re finally reaching that moment of reckoning. You can do your part: Take down the flag.

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Copyright 2020 John L. Micek, distributed by Cagle Cartoons newspaper syndicate.

An award-winning political journalist, John L. Micek is Editor-in-Chief of The Pennsylvania Capital-Star in Harrisburg, Pa. Email him at jmicek@penncapital-star.com and follow him on Twitter @ByJohnLMicek.


Copyright 2020 John Micek, All Rights Reserved. Credit: Cagle.com

 

 

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