Quote:I'll concede your point of this being an emotional reaction to the recent shooting. My feeling is it should have never been erected in the first place, especially permanently bolted 30 feet above a memorial on state capitol grounds. Just like the naming of Forrest High School, it was typical of many symbolic acts in southern states in the late 50s/early 60s in reaction to forced integration.

 

Your point about the depiction of a Seminole woman on the Florida state flag is interesting, but not really relevant. Is there anything about it that honors those who died in the genocidal campaign against Native Americans?

 

Whatever the motivation in the 50's and 60's, we're not the same nation we were half a century ago.  Most have let that go.  Not saying that everyone has, but I think the vast majority have moved on.

 

I disagree that the war memorial should never have been erected.  Win or lose, this nation has a history of honoring the dead in wars.  This is no different.  As we have grown and matured as a nation, those monuments deserve even more recognition because the truly do represent how this country has grown over the past centuries.  This serves as a reminder of where we were as a country, and to try to erase that history or hide it doesn't serve the purpose those who advocate such behavior would lead us to believe. 

 

Yes, having a high school named after one of the founders of the KKK may not seem noteworthy, but the reality is that he renounced that life and actually turned into one of the more high profile, vocal proponents for reconciliation and equality.  There's always more to the story than what the politically correct narrative allows.  Whether that made him worthy of having a high school named after him is irrelevant at this point because the PC police fought for and eventually got the name changed based solely on his Klan association without giving any regard to the fact that he was preaching a very different viewpoint later in life.

 

My point about the Seminole woman on the flag is simply to point out that there's always going to be someone who takes offense to something.  Similarly to groups demanding the Redskins change their name because it's not politically correct in their eyes, someone could very easily be offended by seeing a state flag with an Indian on it because it would serve as a painful reminder of the plight of native Americans early in the history of this nation. 

 

Don't like that one?  Stick to stars and stripes and how some folks say they're offended by THAT flag and the oppression it represents worldwide and here at home.  That's been happening in the current news cycles. That flag honors the valor of those who have died in the name of the United States of America.  That's the same flag that flew for northern slave owners, and over every state house that was involved in the fight to prevent civil rights. To some it's equally offensive to the Confederate Battle Flag.  Just go out on Youtube and watch Americans walking on or burning the flag in the past month.

 

Quote:The North had slaves as well. 

 

They don't teach that in yankee schools.

 

Quote:Companies are getting into this PC mess.  I find it interesting that while these companies are saying that they are going to remove any merchandise related to or depicting the Confederate Battle Flag, they still sell merchandise that depicts the image of Che Guevara.  Which is more "offensive" to people?

 

Chairman Mao's image is on all sorts of merchandise.  If anyone bothered to look up the trail of deaths (tens of millions) he was responsible for, maybe they'd rethink that?  Nah.  Probably not. 

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