…said John Lennon, and we wanted to believe that so bad. But America sickly lurches from one conflict to another, and if we don’t send bodies, we send guns. War. War never ends.
That is for another post. One particular war is over, yet some mouth-breathing fucksticks can’t get over the fact that they were on the losing team.
Somehow, this loss nets the participants’ great-great grandchildren a badge of courage, even if they don’t have the guts or the physique to go fight in today’s wars. They may have warrior blood, but they also have shit for brains.
I’m talking about your average cracker yahoo redneck who won’t stop waving the Stars and Bars around because of something called “southern pride”. On one level, I guess I understand that people are very provincial. They do things like root for local sports teams and have a very visceral connection to the games- it’s almost as if they were the coaches and the owners, who couldn’t give a fat fuck about its fans if it weren’t for the fact that they need asses in seats or eyeballs on ads. It’s something I have never understood, perhaps because I didn’t like phys ed or sports. Sports watching consumed my father. But that’s not my point.
The point is, people are often connected to the ground they walk on. Whatever. Fine by me. Support your state, your city, whatever you like. If that is how you want to spend your time, go right ahead.
But this rebel flag thing has gone too far:
Hundreds of Virginia residents were waging a new Confederate battle this month and refusing to give up state license plates with the flag on them. They say the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles’ recent recall on the controversial plates violates their rights, despite being essentially approved by a federal judge in August.
“Next thing you know, they’re going to say you can’t wear blue on Monday … or you can’t wear yellow on Thursday. Where’s it going to end?” Kevin Collier, a commander with the Stonewall Camp of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, told the local news station.
I hope this is humor. It certainly does not make an argument, so it must be an attempt to be funny.
Now, if caught on the roads with the invalid plates, drivers could be charged with a misdemeanor, MSNBC reported.
Collier told WVEC his refusal was a matter of principle and family history. “I have a great-great-great grandfather who fought and died with the 5th Georgia Infantry. And his four brothers all died with him in the name of that flag,” he said. “I will go to jail before I change those tags.”
Oh my, what a brave martyr! And a stupid one, at that. Who gives a damn if your relatives fought for slavery rights and lost? You’re on the wrong side of history, slappy. True, the men in front of the cannons may not have understood why they went to battle, or were told that the north was invading them. It’s a crying shame. All war is. And the north and the south, for better or for worse, is united again, under one waving banner.
It’s important to remember that not everybody looks at that flag the same way. Particularly, black folk. And it’s also important to remember that the rebel flag was resurrected by southern governments and radicals during the civil rights era to unite racists to their cause. It was a lot like putting “In God We Trust” on our money-we needed the people to rally against godless communism. Dog-whistle politics at its worst.
You flag enthusiasts are being duped. You’re defending nothing, nothing of importance at the least. You’re being used by invisible hands who want you to despise and be defiant. You’re not just cozying up to the TV and doing the two minutes hate-you want your “pride” to be all over your clothes, your trucks, and your seats of government. You want everyone to stick it, 24 hours a day.
In other words, you are a gullible, obnoxious dick. Congratulations.
Dude, you are not going to go to jail over the flag, unless you fail to pay the fine for continuing to display that license plate. Whine “Molon Labe” all day long. We’re trying to scrub our racist past, in the ways that we can. And you sir, are not what we would call helping.
H/T: Zandar