Marines ban public displays of Confederate flag

[sandensea]

Source: The Hill

The U.S. Marines announced Friday that they would be removing all public displays of the Confederate flag.

The move comes after days of protests in cities across America following the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died in Minneapolis police custody on May 25.

Link to tweet

Read more: https://thehill.com/policy/defense/501504-marines-ban-public-displays-of-confederate-flag

[NYC Liberal]

1. Incredible that it was ever allowed, given that it's literally an enemy flag.

[sandensea]

2. And many Southern Republicans have not given up on that daydream

That's the truly dangerous part.

[ArizonaLib]

3. Now is the time to eradicate it from the entire country

It should be a demand of the protesters.

[rusty quoin]

4. Finally. I don't like our enemies flying flags next to ours.

And I’m former military and respect the flag. I try not to let it touch ground. I don’t wear it as a tie or hat. I won’t do a pin here or there.

There are no American Flags on my car. I try to do with the American Flag like it was intended to do. I actually respect the flag. And I’m one of the most left liberal you might find here.

You see, we don’t forget. We hate fascism.

[Jamastiene]

13. My aunt used to stop and get those US flags that flew off cars out onto the road.

This was after she had had MS a while and right after 9/11 when everyone and their grandma was acting all "patriotic" all of a sudden. My aunt, by that time, could not walk any more without a walker. She would be out there hobbling around picking up those flags. Finally, I told her, just pull over and I'll get out and get them up when we see them.

I never had all that respect she had for the flag. They wouldn't let me in either the Army or the Navy when I wanted, because I was born with spina bifida. I got an attitude about it. Surely, they could let me push some paper or something. Nope. I got really pissed off about anything to do with that stuff for years after that.

My aunt did get me to read the small US Flag Code book she had. I always thought it was just a piece of cloth, or napkin, or doo rag, or wash rag or whatever people used it as.

She said it is the dream of all people being treated equal and getting equal justice that America aspires to be that is important and that was what she respected. Even if we haven't achieved that goal yet, that America aspires to try to do that, at least in theory, was what she respected.

Eventually, I came around at least enough to understand why she felt the way she did even if it doesn't seem that way to me. I don't know if America ever really stood for that or if it will "get there." I tend to be a pessimist and a cynic. Despite my misgivings about that, I know there are a lot of people who do still believe it is possible. So, I try to treat it by all the rules I read and remember what she taught me. I might not remember them all perfectly, but I get it. A lot of people don't. Those wear them as clothes, especially the ones wearing them as underwear are disgusting to me now. Don't put your ass on the dream of equality and justice for all. It's disgusting to do that.

That Confederate Flag DOES represent enemies to America. Too bad Trump invited people who believe otherwise into his campaign and administration and we are having to face this nightmare right now. The "history" taught where I live is that mean Yankees came and burned all these poor farmers' farms down and that is why they believe the U.S. Civil War happened. They have an alternate history that they believe.

I am still a pessimist, because where I live, things will never be like what she dreamed of. That dream will never happen. The area where I live is full of right wingers who hate half the people in this country and hate me too, just for being gay. I still try to remember what my aunt taught me about the US flag though. I still have her flag. It's still folded from when the VA put it over her body when she passed last October. The funeral home folded it and I got it. They flew their flags at half staff. It made me cry even more. She would have loved that.

[cayugafalls]

18. This is beautiful. It should be an OP all on it's own.

Great post.

[rusty quoin]

19. Yeah, put it up there. It is great.

[rusty quoin]

20. May I post this in a thread in your name, or can you do it? It is wonderful.

If you do it, can you let me know you did so, so that I can read the responses. Thank you for this post.

[jb5150]

5. "all to often co-opted"?

No .. those are using it exactly as intended … it is a flag of traitors, who wanted to separate from this country so they could continue using African Americans as slave labor. I am sick and fucking tired of toothless, inbred hillbillies telling me it's about state's rights … of course it was .. it was about their right to continue to own other humans as property. Fuck you and fuck your "heritage", it's a heritage of hate and subjugation. I don't care how bravely your great grandpappy fought .. the soldiers in Hitler's armies fought with bravery too, but they were fighting for the wrong cause.

[Historic NY]

6. Maybe next stripping the CSA General names from some of our installations.

They honor the losers who killed thousands of US Army troops. I always thought to the victors goes the spoils of wars, not to the losers.


link:https://www.military.com/undertheradar/2018/10/03/ten-army-bases-named-after-confederate-officers.html|]


[link:https://www.postandcourier.com/militarydigest/top-marine-responds-after-sc-confederate-group-angered-about-ban-on-battle-flag/article_796b2454-8a22-11ea-a62e-4b248c182480.html|]

[spike jones]

10. I grew-up in the south. To me CSA always means Chicken Shit Assholes. n/t

[csziggy]

11. They need to change some town names, too

The town I grew up in was named for the first Confederate officer killed during the Civil War. I was always unhappy with the name once I learned where it came from.

Bartow is the county seat of Polk County, Florida, United States. Founded in 1851 as Fort Blount, the city was renamed in honor of Francis S. Bartow, the first brigade commander of the Confederate Army to die in combat during the American Civil War.

<SNIP>

A Spanish map of the Florida peninsula drawn in 1527 shows a native settlement called Rio de la Paz near present-day Bartow.[10] Little is known about these Native Americans who made their home near present-day Bartow. It is likely that their population suffered high mortality from European diseases, such as smallpox and measles.[10][11] The remnants of these pre-Columbian peoples probably joined the Creek Indians who migrated from the north to become the Seminole Indian tribe.[10]

The first non-Indian settlement in the area was a colony of Black Seminole, free blacks and escaped slaves who established Minatti south of Lake Hancock in the late 1810s.[12] These "maroons", as they were commonly called, were slaves who escaped from Georgia and the Carolinas.[13] The Black Seminole of Minatti were allies of the Red Stick Creek in Talakchopko, a village that preceded present-day Fort Meade.[14] The Seminole leader Osceola had strong ties to Talakchopko. Many of the events leading up to the Second Seminole War were associated with Osceola and the Minatti war chief Harry.[14] By the end of the Second Seminole War in 1842, both Minatti and Talakchopko had been destroyed by US forces.[15][page needed]

The Armed Occupation Act of 1842 facilitated European-American settlement of the Florida peninsula in the 1840s, although the act prohibited settlement near the Peace River, as this was considered Seminole land.[10][16] Enforcement of that part of the act was not strictly enforced; however, and settlers eventually moved into the area.[10] As the settlement grew, the residents began to plant citrus trees and build one-room school houses and churches.[10] In 1851, Fort Blount was established by Redding Blount. Bartow developed east of this site.[17] At some point in the 1850s, Fort Blount was renamed as Peace Creek or Peas Creek, which was a translation of the Spanish Rio de la Paz of early maps.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bartow,_Florida

The town name should have been left as Peace Creek or Rio de la Paz.

[sop]

7. Five states still use symbols and elements of the confederate flag in their state flags.

Mississippi's state flag is the most obvious, Florida's state flag a little less so. Georgia's state flag used to be almost an exact copy till they changed it a few years ago, though several cities and towns in Georgia still fly the confederate flag. It's kind of creepy.

http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/these-5-states-still-use-confederate-symbols-their-flags

Living in the south, I've become accustomed to seeing the confederate flag everywhere; on vehicles and clothing, flying from homes and businesses, used in all forms of advertising, as school symbols and as overt political statements. Most people here ignore it, not wanting to start any arguments. Getting folks to understand it's offensive is next to impossible; those who claim it's a part of their "southern heritage" are always of a certain political persuasion.

[FakeNoose]

9. Good point! The Mississippi flag is especially offensive IMHO

Time for a redesign, Mississippi!

[Skittles]

8. now we're talking

it has long been sickening, the tolerance for that hateful symbolism......it's heritage, is it? Yeah, RACIST heritage. GET RID OF IT ALREADY.

[Marrah_Goodman]

12. So many disgusting little racists on that twitter thread

They are all having a sad.

[70sEraVet]

14. Does that 'etc.' include tattoos?

I'm sure there's a bunch of them.

[Historic NY]

17. They will be covering them in long sleeves even in the summer or they can get them removed,

If this bullshit ended decades ago when it start we wouldn't be here today. It should have been suppressed ,

[VarryOn]

15. I've always thought some group repugnant to...

Confederate flag lovers should co-opt it. Like maybe the LBGT temporarily quit the rainbow flag or maybe have the atheists fly the stars and bars.

[generalbetrayus]

16. Thanx, US Marine Corps, for waiting only 155 years to take this action.