“It compels one to furl the flag forever”.
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Conservative evangelical leaders like the Southern Baptist Convention’s Russell Moore and the Rev. Franklin Graham of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association have also called for the discontinuation of Confederate flag displays on public property in wake of the Charleston massacre.
Kentucky Coach John Calipari said of the Confederate flag, “Obviously it offends a portion of our society so people are deciding to take them down”. Some called it “crazy”, “nonsense” and “wrong” and derided the governor as “stupid”, “a gutless coward” and “a follower of political correctness”. The debate begins on Monday.
“This is a spontaneous expression of public affection for the flag“, said David McCallister, commander of the Judah P. Benjamin Camp, the local chapter of the Sons of Confederate Veterans.
Residents in Mount Pleasant and around the state were targeted Friday morning with automated phone calls from a group calling upon them to urge legislators to “leave our flag alone and not stand with leftist fanatics who want to destroy the South we love”. That means we’re keeping the n’s down.’ They use the n-word.
“It’s been about 10 years since we’ve had one of these so it’s not an everyday occurrence”, Walker said.
The actual Stars and Bars flag of the Confederate States of America has come under more fire recently since a shooting that left nine dead at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C., on June 17.
The man police charged with the attack, Dylann Roof, posted photos online showing him burning a US flag and holding a Confederate flag, along with a manifesto laying out hatred of minorities.
Bentley drew both praise and scorn for his decision. None of them, he pointed out, owned slaves.
The family at the rental home was from northern Virginia and has asked to maintain their privacy, the town manager said.
Evelyn Arthur of Arcadia came with other members of the Order of the Confederate Rose, an organization of women dedicated to preserving Confederate heritage, to support the Sons of the Confederate Veterans and defend the flag.
At least the Confederate flag hasn’t been outlawed.
For the Rev. Joseph Lowery, who’s had that battle flag thrust in his face too many times to count, its removal would be something wondrous.
But supporters of the flag are refusing to give up the fight.
“I heard stories of people being run off the road”. But Hartvigsen, the flag scholar, said flags power to unite or divide is only as great as the significance people assign to them. “A woman drove 40 minutes – she got my last flag”. They might as well be wearing t-shirts saying “I’m a proud slaveholder descendant” or “My heritage is hate” or “I’m with stupid”.
Spates was not prepared, however, for the changes she observed in her hometown in the days that followed. “I don’t think that it’s going to be painless, but I do think that it will be respectful, and that it will move swiftly”, Haley said.
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“They’re coming in here and trying to start trouble, and we don’t need this kind of trouble”.
