Confederate flag
Every letter in the Belleville News-Democrat, in defense of the Confederate flag, has been from conservatives. The Confederate flag was put up by white racists, in front of the South Carolina Capitol in 1962, in defiance of the federal government’s efforts to grant civil rights to black Americans. That flag represented nothing but hatred, racism and the middle finger of Southern white racists, who wanted to maintain their feeling of dominance and superiority over black people. They became Republicans after the 1964 Civil Rights Act became law.
After Dylann Roof murdered nine black people in the Church, not one of the GOP presidential candidates had the guts to call that racist slaughter what it was. Lindsay Graham said Roof was looking to kill Christians. Jeb Bush said, “I don’t know what he was thinking.” Rick Perry blamed prescription drugs. Scott Walker declined to comment until after the victims had been buried. They were all afraid to offend the southern white racists, who vote for them.
There is no doubt that those selfies Roof took with the Confederate flag were about hate and racism. Mitt Romney and Nikki Haley were the only Republicans with guts to call for the flag to come down. Only then did the rest of the crowd come on board.
Traits common amongst bigots, homophobes and racists are ignorance and a feeling of hatred and superiority over people different from themselves.
Gene Robke
Carlyle
This story was originally published August 20, 2015 at 2:00 PM with the headline "Confederate flag."