Mr. Bryant, take down the flag (MS)
Eric Weber
2:26 p.m. CDT September 18, 2015
... The voices resistant to changing Mississippi’s flag say that the Confederate Battle Flag emblem in Mississippi’s state flag is about heritage, not hate. If they respected their heritage, they would know that Mississippi’s position in seceding from the Union, was “thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery.” If that isn’t hate, then it’s worse: a coldly calculating white supremacy.
... “I wish I was in a land that never / held a soul in bondage ever” ... It’s time we all listened.
Symbols matter profoundly because of what they represent and because of their role in our wider culture. The flag says that the powerful in Mississippi have no care for the insult it represents to so many. It reflects a pride not only for a lineage that held souls in bondage, but more importantly, that fought tooth and nail to keep them so ...
Moderation also calls for those who resist change to think about the effects of a symbol under which Mississippi fought for slavery. Even if our present officials themselves never wanted or thought well of slavery while they flew and loved the flag, it is insensitive not to respect those who feel pain when they see that intentionally divisive historical symbol ...
http://www.clarionledger.com/story/opinion/columnists/2015/09/18/weber-mr-bryant-take-down-flag/72413896/