Remove That Offensive Flag!!
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet
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Recently, I have detected an uneasiness in my soul when I find myself in the presence of a display of a national symbol which, during it’s history, has been present at disgusting events of offensive conduct on the part of the nation it represents.
When I think back over the history of this National Flag I find that I am offended by it’s presence and I believe it is in the best interests of the people of this country, especially the children, the people of color, and the native, indigenous, peoples of this land, that it be removed from public view and placed in a museum, under glass, so that future generations, interested in it’s history, can hear a sanitized version, a “less offensive” re-telling of the events, places, and circumstances, of the long, and less than glorious, history of this piece of offensive cloth.
The early history of this flag finds it flying proudly over a rag tag bunch of rebels determined to secede from a mother country which, of course, wished only the best for its colonies, which it held in the highest esteem. This dirty, bunch of rabble did manage to wrest their separation from that amiable mother country and forced the troops of Great Britain to board ships and leave for home immediately. It was forced deportation… at gunpoint. How deplorable!
Another hurtful fact of the history of this flag…the same raggedy bunch created what they called a “republic” from the remnants of a country left after the “genocidal” war they started.
Now comes the reallycorrupt part. They agreed to legalize slavery in the country they created, because, they said, if they didn’t, it would be impossible to form a country and a government. So, slavery was instituted, under law, in the states of the new country, north and south. But, the new government would not allow the southern states, where the plantations were, to use their own resources, as in ships and ports, to bring in new slaves from Africa. No, this bunch of dastardly people, made sure the slave ships were only allowed into northern ports in New England.
What is so horrible is -- that national flag, I now find offensive, was flying over every one of those slave ships from this new upstart country. As the newly arrived slaves stepped, shackled, down the gangplanks, and onto the shores of the country, which had enslaved them, they saw this flag flying above the docks and piers of this harbor in the northern part of this country. The old mother country had her own slave trade but she flew, of course, her own flag.
Then, in the mid 17th century the southern half of this fairly new country wanted to separate itself and form a new nation. As the Constitution did not forbid it, they set the process in motion. Some of the states leaving even offered to pay their state’s share of the National Debt. But, WAIT! The northern part of the country said no -- and sent troops into the south to pillage, rape, and burn the homes and factories of the south. All the time, that national banner (I now find offensive) was flapping in the breeze above the troops in blue as they ripped apart a society, like none other on earth, and destroyed it, killing innocent women and children, sometimes by starvation.
Needless to say, their sheer numbers forced their southern brothers to capitulate. Then followed seven years of even harsher punishment by the northern part of that country on the south. It was a calculated decimation of a people never before seen in the annals of history. And that offensive flag was flying above the perpetrators the entire time.
Soon after that debacle, the same country decided the native people of this country, the people who were here when the white man’s ancestors stepped off the first ships, were now an inconvenience and they began a crusade of genocide to wipe them from the face of the earth. One of their generals even stated, “A good Indian is a dead Indian.” All the while that banner of theirs was flapping in the air above all those atrocities.
Even today hate groups, some wearing white robes and some with shaved heads, meet beneath this flag as they pontificate about destroying the people of color in the county. They also meet beneath the Christian Cross and the Battle Flag of the southern people of this country. You see, these patrons of hate know the Battle Flag will receive the attention of the press and not the flag I find offensive. Nor the Christian Cross, because the Christian creed enjoins those, who subscribe to its tenants, to forgive this kind of conduct. So, the offensive flag flies smartly above these hateful events in total immunity to harsh treatment by the “oh, so easily offended “media.
The early histories of the people who are represented by this offensive flag were times of overbearing hate, and conquest, and genocide. Yet that same flag flies above legislative buildings, schools, post offices, courthouses, and even private homes in a boisterous manner designed to offend the sensibilities of every “right thinking” man and woman. This must be brought to a close. That flag must be removed from public display.
Those of us who band together and form organizations to further the progress of our group of “right thinking” peoples must insist that this blood stained banner, this hateful rag, be pulled down, and never again allowed to be seen in public for fear of offending someone.
If we must, we will seek legislation towards that end. The people under this flag must not allow their self esteem to be diminished by this blatant display of an emblem with such a tarnished past.
Yes, the Stars and Stripes, Old Glory, must come down. It is offensive. We cannot have if displayed over the graves of veterans, and such, because passers-by, who know of its ugly history, may be offended. A new flag must be designed for all the people… for this nation. May I suggest a very simple flag? I suggest one, which represents all the sensitivities, of all who reside under it.
I hereby suggest… a solid white banner!
J. D. Longstreet
Dear Reader: If you are now incensed by the scribbling above, I ask you to consider… it was written to be an absurd depiction of a truth that is, itself, absurd. What is happening to the Confederate Battle Flag today IS ABSURD!
My point is -- if we continue to capitulate to groups who are offended, how long do you suppose it will be until the scenario I describe above will play out on the stage of this nation’s judicial system?
So, next time you read of someone offended by the Confederate BattleFlag, stop for a moment and consider the words above. Then lean on your political representatives to bring some kind of sanity back to this country, which finds itself in the dictatorial grip of Political Correctness, which is squeezing the life from us. It is Political Correctness, Dear Reader, which offends me!
J. D. Longstreet
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