Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley (R) ordered the removal of four Confederate-era flags from the grounds of the state Capitol Wednesday morning, saying it was simply "the right thing to do."
The flags were part of a confederate memorial at the Capitol in Montgomery. Two state workers came out Wednesday morning and "with no fanfare quickly and quietly" took down the first of the four, the battle flag, according to AL.com.
About 90 minutes later, workers came out and removed the three other Confederate flags that were part of the memorial.
I know right?
But if you think that is amazing, and it is amazing, get a load of this:
"As we continue to mourn the tragic loss of life last week in Charleston, we join our nation's embrace of those impacted. NASCAR supports the position that South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley took on the Confederate Flag on Monday. As our industry works collectively to ensure that all fans are welcome at our races, NASCAR will continue our long-standing policy to disallow the use of the Confederate Flag symbol in any official NASCAR capacity. While NASCAR recognizes that freedom of expression is an inherent right of all citizens, we will continue to strive for an inclusive environment at our events."
That is an official statement from NASCAR. Freaking NASCAR!
I swear it's like black is white, and up is down.
But you know in a good way.
It's a gesture. Slacktivism, if you will.
ReplyDeleteAgreed! As soon as the initial "reluctant indignation" recedes, all of that stuff will quietly make a come-back.
DeleteSeems that SC would not even remove that flag under a legally permissible "maintenance check" for the time that slain legislator lay in state. ToHellWith'emAll!
I fear you are right. My neighbor in TX would fly the rebel flag and the pirate flag together in his yard....needless to say, we were all glad to see him leave.
DeleteTO: fromthediagonal6:12 PM
DeleteWe are moving forward. Think positively.
Well, I'll tellya what...
ReplyDeletethis old white-boy from South Dakota says
"about God-damn time!
"...this is the 21st century fer Chrissakes!"
Randall, I hope you are right, but I think it will all creep back in on short notice (as in: as soon as the news cycle ends and something else takes its place). May I be wrong.
Deletefromthediagonal6:14 PM
DeleteRandall, I hope you are right, but I think it will all creep back in on short notice (as in: as soon as the news cycle ends and something else takes its place). May I be wrong.
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Stop being so negative. It is not going to creep back.
Don't get too excited about NASCAR. They are removing it from their "official" items. They continue to welcome and probably encourage the flag and all it trappings. NASCAR is somewhere between Yuppie KKK and Nazi's in Designer blue jeans. Nothing's changing with NASCAR except we can expect a ground swell of Confederate flags everyone you look at the next race, You can bet they'll get the biggest ones they can find to position near the camera angles of the race.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, I share your assessment.
DeleteThe Repubs are finally doing the right thing.
ReplyDeleteI, for one, will not question it.
I will just enjoy it.
I'll believe it when the NRA denounces it.
ReplyDeleteHow does the NRA fit into this? Seriously, I would like to know.
DeleteAnonymous5:30 PM
DeleteI'll believe it when the NRA denounces it.
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OK, nevermind, I see where you are coming from. The connection to the NRA..
Yep, the real battle is gun ontrol and education is this is just a token, though a token in the right direction. We just have to make sure we don't fall for the bone, while they keep the filet mignon.
ReplyDeleteHey now. NASCAR isn't racist
ReplyDeleteRight. All their supporters, however, drive huge trucks with Confederate sayings and logos all over them. About time we out the Civil War to rest, boys.
DeleteWATCH: Obama Shuts Down Heckler At LGBT Pride Event
ReplyDeletehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/24/obama-heckled-lgbt-undocumented-immigrants_n_7657854.html
President Obama wasted no time taking down a heckler who tried to disrespect him during an event at the White House.
ReplyDeleteVideo:
http://www.politicususa.com/2015/06/24/president-obama-takes-heckler-disrespect-white-house.html
Just once I'd love to see my president unleash on the heckler Sarah Palin and not hold back for all the disrespect she's shown him. It would be a site to behold because he would slice her and dice her in the most gracious and dignified way and still leave her in a mewling pile of mush on the cement.
She's way off his radar, and that goes for most of the country. Just a few blogs give a fuck about poor old dumbass Sawah.
DeleteIt's a small step in the right direction, but it's just a start. The Newtown Massacre of innocent children didn't do a thing to advance gun control and/or any "Symbol" of hate.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad they;re getting rid of it, but Rev. Pinkney's cason had to pass the confederate flag as he was put to lie in state at the capitol. What's wrong with this is obvious. But the stars and bars will keep flying on private properties everywhere in the South. Old Habits and Bigots die hard.
If I was Governor Nikki Haley I would have gone out last night and pulled down the damn flag (that is leadership). I mean what is the penalty for stealing a flag? A misdemeanor?
ReplyDeleteMaybe a lynching? It IS South Carolina, after all.
DeleteLOL, good point.
DeleteI get it, but I'm going to miss the Confederate shirts, hats, etc. I've always thought it downright considerate of the rest of us that booger eatin' morons wore warning labels.
ReplyDeleteDon't worry, the morons will continue to wear them.
DeleteO/T but Gryphen, this is such a positive and uplifting article, I just had to share!
ReplyDeleteAn Evangelical Pastor At His First Pride Parade
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/adam-nicholas-phillips/an-evangelical-pastor-at-his-first-pride-parade_b_7654666.html
I grew up in the south. The confederate flag was mostly a symbol of redneck atavism. No intelligent individual I ever knew, in Alabama, Florida, or Georgia, ever personally displayed any form of this flag. In my memory, it's associated with dilapidated pickup trucks, illiterate people, and habitual drunkards. Its public display was a concession to the mindset of numb-skulls who used expressions like "the war of northern aggression," and "the south will rise again." And there are numb-skulls in every region of the nation, whether they are represented by a flag or not.
ReplyDeleteThe real roots of the problem are ignorance, hatred, and easy access to guns. But those problems are far harder to deal with, so the public is being distracted by a focus on that flag.
Exactly. It's a knee-jerk, feel good reaction. When cops quit shooting or beating the shit out of unarmed people of color.....and/or being held responsible for those actions, Then we are started (again) down the right road.
DeleteVernD
Yes, it's a feel-good reaction, and it's so easy. Whites fear blacks. Physical (and supposedly sexual) superiority is one reason.
DeleteAuthor James Baldwin included in his novels, which explored race relations among other things, inter-racial sexual intimacy--heady stuff to be brought out into the open during that time period. White men have an underlying fear of dominant black men taking their women. Spindly little white man Dylann Roof voiced this fear even as he mowed down mostly women. As if we needed more evidence of the senselessness of his actions.
Way back in my college education in the 70s, I remember reading summaries of studies which concluded that black babies advanced faster than their white counterparts--and I don't remember how they defined the terms black and white--in their motor skills milestones.
Black babies turned over earlier, reached for objects earlier, crawled and stood up earlier.
I switched from education to English lit early on. But so many black people excel in sports like football, basketball, baseball, even tennis.
The exceptions are sporting activities which you wouldn't expect to be pursued in Africa--like skiing and swimming. (Swimming would be antithetical to evolutionary survival, because of hippos and crocodiles and such. And skiing is useful only in snowy alpine regions.)
Now, for a few years, we've had the nightmare scenario of white racists--an incredibly smart, Ivy League educated, tall, handsome, cool, BLACK President of the most powerful nation on earth.
It remains to be seen whether we are elevated or doomed as our racial relations evolve. We may be lulled into thinking we are making progress, but then this hideous tragedy unfolds.
Pax et bonum
Jude11:33 PM
Delete'"White men have an underlying fear of dominant black men taking their women."'
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OK, then what does white men (or white women for that matter) fear about Black women?
Anonymous4:49 AM
DeleteAnn Coulter “Accuses” Nikki Haley of Being an Ignorant Immigrant
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HAHAHHAHA.....It's on!
Wait.
ReplyDeleteDoes this mean, finally, the South will NOT rise again??
It's about damn time...
Ann Coulter “Accuses” Nikki Haley of Being an Ignorant Immigrant
ReplyDeletehttp://www.politicususa.com/2015/06/25/ann-coulter-accuses-nikki-haley-ignorant-immigrant.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+politicususa%2FfJAl+%28Politicus+USA+%29
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I just luv when they go after their own.
Ann Coulter needs to get her facts straight. Nikki Haley is not an immigrant, she was born in Bamberg, South Carolina.
DeleteUnless Ann thinks South Carolina is a foreign country. HAHAHAHAHA
I am, unfortunately, from Alabama. My mother, who drove us as children past the 16th Street Baptist Church after the bombing to teach us how awful racism was, had the foresight to get her children out of the state when she was able.
ReplyDeleteIn the past few years I have chosen to cut ties with my family there. They are "good christians" who manipulated money out of our wealthy grandfather, constantly cheat on and beat their wives, and also stole money from my mother's meager trust fund while she was dying of cancer. This flag move means absolutely nothing. They are, with regret, my tribe and I know just how awful they all are to their core.
Fuck Alabama......and all of those who live there.
One more comment from the Alabama native with the smart mom.
ReplyDeleteI have a psychologist friend and when talking about Alabama I told her my dream was to, in the spirit of the "D-Day" model, parachute one million psychiatrists and psychologists into the state. As soon as they hit the ground they just start trying to fix the first person they see, LOL.
Sad but true.
Wow. I am so shocked, yet so pleased at these developments.
ReplyDeleteColor me pleased.
U people are blind by goverment agenda....I mean one week the Confederate Flag is banned and one week later the Supreme Court votes to legalize gays to be married in all 50 states . One week ago u heard nothing about the Confederate Flag and now its the biggest news in America. Is it fair to take away the Confederate Flag which some some at American Heritage but but then allow the gays to fly there Gay Rights Rainbow flag.I mean how is that anyways right. Its a double standard.. There are plenty of religious people offended by gays allowed to get married but u dont see anyone telling them they cant fly there flag.
ReplyDelete