No Confederate flags at fairgrounds
I recently attended the Washington County Fair and took note of the Confederate flag and other Confederate-themed merchandise offered for sale and as prizes throughout the fair. As we all know, the Confederate flag has become one of the most divisive, inflammatory symbols in American culture.
However you feel on this subject, there are several fundamental tenets that most learned historians hold true. First, while there were some disagreements among the states, slavery was the one overriding issue that propelled our nation into the Civil War. Secondly, while some say it is about “heritage,” the flag was relegated to obscurity after the war, and only came back to prominence when it was adopted as a symbol of resistance by segregationists opposed to the Civil Rights Movement. Finally, it has become a symbol of hate against people of color and the Jewish faith.
The Confederate flag serves as “racial wallpaper” and is a painful reminder of oppression, discrimination, servitude, slavery and second-class citizenship for many Americans. While I fully acknowledge our First Amendment rights, the promotion of this type of merchandise has no place at our county fairgrounds.
M. Brennan Breene
McDonald