Burning Confederate Flags (Joe Lapointe) from the Detroit Free Press
"In that South Carolina will never willingly take down the flag, the time has come for opponents to exercise their First Amendment right to free speech and burn the Confederate flag — at the state Capitol in South Carolina, in front of the White House, in front of Fox News or maybe even outside the Grand Ol' Opry."
I am not sure I actually endorse this plan -- but I find it has a certain in-your-face quality that progressives usually eschew (at least since the flag-burning days of the Vietnam era -- which I never thought was a good idea). This tactic could actually have the potential of bringing home graphically, dramatically, and in a no-shit kind of way how offensive the confederate flag is for TOO MANY Americans. For too long defenders of this flag have been able to get away with the unstated assumption that somehow they are more American or their views as white South Carolinians or Mississipians carry more weight than their fellow African American citizens. DONE! Interestingly, it seems the floodgates of change on this issue have really opened just in the last 72 hours. When you look at how FAST some of the other hottest of hot button "culture war" issues (gay marriage, marijuana legalization) have shifted recently, you have to wonder: what else might be possible for related issues such as gun control, police violence, campaign finance reform? This flag episode shows that the politics on some issues can shift ... almost overnight!
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