I am glad it took only 48 hours or so before Nikki Haley and Lindsey Graham did a complete volte-face on the confederate flag issue. It must have been a difficult decision, because to remove it in the wake of the Charleston shootings meant that South Carolina politicians have admitted that it is a symbol of hate and that they could not pretend that it wasn’t anymore. So I give high praise instead of razzberries for Haley, Lindsey et al. South Carolina’s decision to lead is having ripple effects across the South. “Serious” Republican candidates, sensing safety now that SC has capitulated, rushed to bag on the flag. Other pols who have nothing to lose are digging in their heels, whining about “state’s rights”, which itself is also an old way to excuse provincial racism. But the trend suggests that Southern figures of prominence see no advantage in continuing to kowtow to the racists in their home states.
Dylann Roof has accomplished exactly the opposite of what he intended to achieve with his rampage. He’s brought people together instead of starting his race war. He forced the conversation on race that the plethora of white, trigger happy cops doling out summary judgment upon blacks could not.
It’s a good day to be an American. We haven’t heard the last of the racists, but we’ve forced the weasels to stop hiding in plain sight.