The Mississippi Legislature has decided that the racist traitor emblem of the Confederacy does not belong on its state flag:
Mississippi lawmakers voted to remove the Confederate battle emblem from the state flag this weekend after fierce debate that Gov. Tate Reeves called “as divisive as the flag itself.”
…[Governor Tate] Reeves has already indicated that he will sign the bill to change the flag, and that he will do so within the coming days.
When signed into law, it would immediately take down the flag and set up a nine-member commission to design a new one. This means the flag will be coming down across the state within the coming days [Diane Pantaleo, “What We Know, and What’s Next, for the Bill to Change the State Flag,” Jackson Clarion Ledger, 2020.06.29].
Securing the two-thirds majorities necessary to rectify the Mississippi flag evidently required some annoying theocracy-pandering: the commission empaneled to design a new flag must include “In God We Trust” on the banner (hey, didn’t Tiffany Langer and her vexillogical friends just tell us not to put words on flags?). Some Mississippi Republicans needed a partisan palliative to swallow this anti-racism pill:
Sen. Chad McMahan, R-Guntown, said he talked with many of his constituents, and he believes they want a new flag. McMahan said he grew up in the 1980s with a somewhat innocuous understanding of the Confederate flag.
“When I look at that Confederate flag, I must confess that I think of ‘The Dukes of Hazzard’ and my first love, Daisy Duke,” McMahan said from the Senate floor. He later learned more about the Confederate flag, which he referred to as the “Democrat battle flag.” Recently, McMahan said he discussed the state flag with [Lt. Gov. Delbert] Hosemann over an afternoon snack of Oreos.
“I’m a Republican,” McMahan said. “Personally, I’m not going to support a Democrat battle flag” [Luke Ramseth and Giacomo Bologna, “Mississippi Lawmakers Vote to Change State Flag: No Confederate Emblem,” Jackson Clarion Ledger, 2020.06.28].
Note Sen. McMahan’s Limbaughian use of “Democrat” instead of “Democratic” as adjective, signaling the attempt to turn even this acknowledgement of justice and true patriotism into a political branding opportunity.
But 155 years after Lee surrendered to Grant, the Stars and Bars shall fly no more over the old, defeated, racist Confederacy. If the great-great-great-grandchildren of the racist rebels can finally wipe that stain from Mississippi’s flagpoles, then surely the white wannabes in local government in Gettysburg, South Dakota, can remove that racist, traitorous symbol from their police uniforms.
I talked to a friend of mine in Georgia who’s amazed – and glad – that Mississippi is doing this. And yes, if Mississippi – Red State to the core – can do this, so can Gettysburg, SD.
Gettysburg police must get some kind of federal and state assistance for their department, cut it off entirely until they change. If they don’t change, then we taxpayers keep the change and give it to the tribes.
Jerry, I’d support denying government funds to any political subdivision flying a traitor flag and promoting treason.
However, to get our state and federal governments to adopt that approach, we’re going to need new management. Electing Joe Biden could get that done… and we won’t have to wait for Governor Sutton or Governor Heinert to follow up.
Seth Tupper reports that if Gettysburg residents really valued their heritage, they’d ditch the racist traitor patch in honor of their forebears:
Indeed, the folks who fly the Confederate flag aren’t very strong on history.
Cory writes:
“Stars and Bars” referred to the first official national flag of the Confederacy, not to the emblem on the Confederate battle flag.
Learn more here:
https://media.victoriaadvocate.com/img/photos/2015/06/08/WEB_ConfederateSymbols.jpg
Mississippi is changing their flag for the same reason SD ditched the bathroom bill – NCAA Tournament host site policy.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/06/23/ncaa-is-limiting-its-confederate-flag-policy-mississippi-despite-examples-elsewhere/
“The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) announced on Friday that NCAA championship events will not be held in states where the Confederate flag has a “prominent presence.” The statement targeted Mississippi, writing that it’s “the only state currently affected by the Association’s policy.”
Jon Loucks is mumbling – oh, no, not in my back yard
Mr. Evans wrote:
for which I generally mock him. Not this time. grudznick found Mr. Evans’ take somewhat entertaining. He does give us take. Thank you, sir.
Monty, that’s right. The NCAA has a lot of power through their tournaments. Several years ago they used the same pressure on North Carolina to drop their discriminatory bathroom bill. Those NCAA tournaments bring in buckets o’ bucks.
The SDHSAA could deny the Battlers participation in state competitions and the events leading up to them. I’ll bet that would get the adults’ attention.
The flag and the patch both show bars with stars on them. I’ll not let semantics swamp an argument about racism and treason.
Seems like the widdle town of Sioux Rabbits, iowa (about 20 miles south of Spencer on US 71) is becoming a hotbed of white scumacysts, starting with the now suspended chief of police.
https://www.exploreokoboji.com/news/news-stories/sioux-rapids-police-chief-suspended-for-two-weeks-after-posting-controversial-comment-on-social-media/
Sounds like a lovely little burg – as long as you hate the right people.
I’d written:
Cory replies:
We’re not having an argument about racism and treason. We’re having an argument about whether the flag known as the “Stars and Bars” showed “bars with stars on them.”
It didn’t:
https://media.victoriaadvocate.com/img/photos/2015/06/08/WEB_ConfederateSymbols.jpg
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flags_of_the_Confederate_States_of_America#/media/File%3ASponsor_souvenir_album_-_history_and_reunion_(1895)_(1895)_(14576050240).jpg
Photo shows popularly (but incorrectly) known Confederate stars, bars and battle flags. Gun nuts love to say neither can gun regulators call AR-15s assault rifles, full auto machine guns ect. Battle flag, sport rifle, secession not slavery, eh Lurt? Republican messaging skill goes way back-to when they were known as southern Democrats.
John Prine says it best for you https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRCLHBhZPQ4
Meanwhile, the Gettysburg police continue to sport a symbol of racism and treason that Gettysburg, PA, says in inappropriate for public displays.