Down with the flag because freedom matters

The battle flag of the confederacy lends hope to simple minded racism. Of course its supporters know better than to profess aloud it’s not so subtle promotion of slavery. They intend to rewrite history and we all know the old adage, those who don’t learn their history are destined to repeat it.  And that’s actually there plan. They sugarcoat slavery and attempt to argue that the civil war was not about preserving the gruesome tradition. Instead they spread the rhetoric that the flag represents the old south. What’s left unsaid is that the way of life they wish to preserve was made possible by the degradation, humiliation, and subjugation of anyone not like them.

    They promote a sick notion that the confederate army were pioneers, noble rebels who fought the good fight against an oppressive government. When in fact the confederates were the oppressive government who abused their power over slaves to the point rape, beatings, and murder for sport. They were unimaginable monsters and the fact there’s a flag much less monuments to these animals is a grievous insult to the American concept of liberty and justice for all. The confederates and the Dixiecrats who followed in their footsteps were America’s first terrorist.

 

They were evil for the sake of seer enjoyment of it and fought tooth and nail to smother the American dream with bigotry, injustice, and mob rule. It’s important that we recognize this or the future of the American promise is at stake. It would be unwise to dismiss the proponents of this gruesome flag as ignorant of its meaning. They are fully aware that it an instrument of terror and they enjoy the small measure of power this affords them. Because if you're black and happen to be traveling down a dirt road in the south and see this flag you would immediately be in fear of you life. Please understand that as long as that flag flies on any government ground as if it deserves reverence it will justify and lend legitimacy to a terrorist movement called white supremacy.

 Dylan Roof was not a lone mad man. He was a pawn in a sophisticated game. White supremacy is not a grass roots movement bred in trailer parks and hidden beneath white sheets. Just like all terrorist White supremacist aim to infiltrate the system. They are aware that their movement cannot go far with obvious extremist such as Dylan Roof. They are the police men who abuse their power, they are the judges who hand out harsher penalties for minorities than their counterparts, they are the news casters, radio personalities, and politicians that spew thinly veiled racist rhetoric and this large but organized band of terrorist used Dylan Roof to send a message by murdering the youngest African American elected as a South Carolina state legislator, Clemente Pinkney.

  

Clemente Pinkney was also pushing for legislation to require police offers to wear shirt camera after the murder of Walter Scott, an unarmed black man who was shot eight times in the back by police. The church massacre took place on Juneteenth, June 19^th, which used to be known as black independence day for it is the day that union soldiers landed on Galveston Texas two years after President Lincoln’s emancipation proclamation to free the last of the slaves. The message is clear, the white supremacy movement is not only alive and well but the movement represents a dangerous mixture of sophistication and violence. The leaders of this movement sent Dylan Roof to show us that they have not given up. They are the enemies of freedom, justice and peace and they wanted use to know that their flag still flies.