The other day I saw an oversized Confederate flag waving from the bed of a pickup as it drove through town.
Yes, this is a country where people can freely display their prejudices, but it pulled me up short that, much like wearing a swastika armband or donning a hooded white robe, we have Iolans who hold so much hate in their hearts, not to mention a disrespect for the U.S. Constitution.
I’m guessing — hoping — the young driver of the pickup doesn’t understand the significance of displaying a Confederate flag and regards himself as no more than a rebel of sorts, although it would be interesting to know exactly what he is protesting.
Dylann Roof, the young man who killed nine parishioners at a Charleston, S.C., church last year, was also a fan of the Confederate flag. In homemade videos, Roof filmed himself paying homage to the Confederate flag as well neo-Nazi memorabilia while spitting and stomping on the U.S. flag, saying modern patriotism is a joke.
In his twisted mind, an ethnic cleansing is in order to return the United States to its rightful state. Yes, just like Adolf Hitler.
Displaying a Confederate flag says you believe in white supremacy, that you are anti-Semitic, and that you do not believe in equal rights for all.
A Confederate flag does not signify patriotism to the USA in any way, shape or form.
SO THE OTHER shock (I’m easily shocked these days) came at a rally Thursday in Florida for Donald Trump when three young men hung up a Confederate flag on which was printed “Trump 2016.”
Seems the young men purchased the flag outside the door of the event center. Many more are to be had.
Officials with the Republican Party ordered the flag be removed, much to the dismay of the young men, who said they were certain Trump himself would have no such qualms about the flag.
And the world is watching — mouths agape.
