A handful of people paraded on the sidewalk at the Floyd County Courthouse Thursday afternoon to wave confederate flags and exhibit support for lost causes statues that support slavery.
WSLS-TV news put the gathering at “about two dozen.” Larger crowds have gathered for support of gay rights in Floyd County. Those protesting dog leash laws filled the Floyd County High School auditorium.
A desire to own guns, particularly assault-style rifles can bring a crowd but not, apparently, support for a flag or monument for a lost cause like a war fought because the South wanted to keep owning and abusing slaves.
Granted, they have a right to demonstrate on just about anything they want, but it came a day after NASCAR, the organization who turned dirt track racing by moonshiners into a nationwide sport, announced that, effective immediately, the stars and bars, in any form, is no longer allowed at their events or on their properties.
Retired NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., voted most popular driver year after year during his racing days, says the flag has no place in racing. He joined with African American Cup driver Bubba Wallace, whose car, the iconic “43” of Richard Petty Enterprises, displayed the “Black Lives Matter” logos in a NASCAR race at Martinsville Wednesday night.
Some NASCAR “fans” have shown up on Social Media, claiming they will bring their rebel flags to races, when fans are again allowed to attend after current COVID-19 regulations allow, or vow they will never attend a Cup race again. So be it. They won’t be missed.
The confederate flag is not the only thing disappearing. Richmond’s city council is removing nine statues of confederates from Memorial Avenue and the Commonwealth has ordered removal of the Robert E. Lee status in the center. Of course, some diehards are suing, trying to stop the removal.
Roanoke is taking down the Lee Memorial. Floyd’s generic confederate statue, created by a commercial company that used the same statue with Union markings for towns north of the Mason-Dixon line, was placed in Floyd by the Daughters of the Confederacy without any markings that identify anyone from the county who fought in the Civil War.
Historians say Floyd County was split in its support of the North and the South in the war and many fought for the Union.
The Marine Corp commandant has instituted a ban on Confederate flags and other memorabilia on uniforms, in barracks, on helicopters and planes and anything else controlled by the Corps. The Navy is doing the same.
The Army is looking at removing the names of Confederate generals from 10 bases in the U.S., a move quickly denounced by nation’s lead racist, Donald Trump, who says he won’t allow it. The Senate Armed Services Committee quickly passed a resolution to change the names within three years and current rules on naming military bases is not subject to review or action by a president.
Changes are happening and there is nothing that those who choose to fly a stars and bars in front of our courthouse or from the bed of their pickup trucks can do about it. A handful of them can gather anywhere they want and wave their flags, but most people won’t pay any attention.
In these days of viruses, unemployment and recession, the vast majority of us have far more important things to worry about. Why waste time even thinking about a disgraced symbol of a sordid time in our nation’s history?
Let’s bury the damn thing with the statues and “memorials” to a lost cause dedicated to the traitors who tried to destroy our country and, instead, work to unify it under the flag of America.
That’s the only flag that matters and those who served and fought for our nation are the only ones who should be remembered and honored.
1 thought on “Support for confederate flags or statues is waning”
This old boy can’t count. I was there. There were 40 people milling around there. Still not a huge crowd, BUT considering it was spur of the moment, that was a good crowd. A lot of passersby blowing horns and waving in support, too.
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