Three weeks ago, 21-year-old,
self-confessed, Dylann Roof carried out a mass
shooting, killing nine people at
historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal
Church in Charleston, South Carolina. The dead
included the church’s senior pastor, state senator Clementa C. Pinckney.
Two weeks ago, I blogged about the incident in
a post entitled: Carnage in a Charleston Church: Another Mass Murder (http://thesphinxofcharlotte.com/2015/06/24/carnage-in-a-charleston-church-another-mass-murder/). A portion of that blog
was devoted to the virtually spontaneously combusted movement to take down the
Confederate Battle Flag, which flies at the State Capitol in Columbia, South
Carolina. I noted then that the
movement, which interestingly, was essentially nonexistent three weeks ago,
seemed to materialize almost from thin air, after Mr. Roof’s heinous
crime. Moreover, while the flag was
prominently displayed by Mr. Roof, to paraphrase an expression the NRA is fond
of offering as a defense, “Flags don’t kill people.”
Surely, in this instance, the Flag did not
murder nine people. In fact, Mr. Roof
did not use a flag to kill them; he used a gun.
But not one of these new found anti-flag zealots has suggested enhanced
background checks as a pre-action for acquiring a fire arm, and they certainly
have not offered any ideas on strengthening legislation tied to fire arms
purchases. I felt the flag initiative
was a diversionary tactic designed to preempt any action on firearms when it
was unveiled; I continue to think so now.
I’m just saying.
Be that as it may, the South Carolina
Legislature is moving apace to construct and consider legislation to remove the
flag from the Statehouse Grounds. While
I was dubious two weeks ago, as to the eventual outcome of the various
initiatives to remove the flag, the effort has taken on an almost inexorable
quality. Since that time, a number of States
have joined the fray, and one courageous black woman, Ms. Brittany “AKA Bree”
Newsome, actually scaled the flagpole and removed the flag on June 27,
2015. Her act drew additional national
and international attention to a righteous cause. Others have referred to her
as an activist; she calls herself a freedom fighter. Whatever you choose to call her, she is an
American patriot and hero…a shero, if you will.
This week, over the past two days, the State
Legislature of South Carolina has held a series of votes on the issue. The movement on the matter may culminate today,
when the State House is expected to take up the measure. There may be a series of votes, due to a
number of amendments opponents of efforts to remove the flag are expected to
offer, in an attempt to derail the move to bring down the flag.
As I mentioned in the post two weeks ago,
Governor Haley (now) supports removing the flag. Based on votes taken yesterday, 92% of State
Senators support the measure; 82% of State House Members voted to send the Flag
Bill directly to the floor and bypass committee. Hundreds of thousands of petitioners want the
flag down. The debate is set to resume
at 10:00 a.m. this morning when the measure will go the House floor for a
second vote.
Based on a survey of lawmakers by The Charleston Post and Courier, South Carolina lawmakers have the votes necessary to remove the
flag from the Statehouse Grounds. Many
Republicans in the House have not said how they will vote. It’s also important to note that opponents
may add amendments to the bill with a three-fifths majority vote.
If discrepancies emerge from the votes taken by
the two Houses, they would need to be worked out in committee. The outcome is still unclear, for sure. But we know it won’t be long before that
outcome, whatever it may be, is revealed.
Imagine that: Nikki Haley, Lindsey Graham, Jeb
Bush, Rand Paul and Rick Perry on a list of leftist fanatics. Who knew?
They are all among a growing list of notable Conservatives, with
extensive bona fides when it comes to Southern roots, who have loudly and
repeatedly called for taking down the Confederate Battle Flag, since June 18th.
There is also recent research that suggests a
majority of Americans view the flag more as a symbol of Southern Pride than of
racism. For example, according to a new CNN/ORC poll, U.S. public opinion regarding the flag remains about where it was
15 years ago. In 2000, 59% said they
viewed it as a symbol of pride; that number was 57% in recent polling. Not surprisingly, opinions are sharply divided
by race, and among whites, by education.
Not to be outflanked, MoveOn members presented
a petition to officials at the Statehouse yesterday. More than 570,000 signatures have been collected. In articulating the
organization’s position, they made the following statement:
“The Confederate Flag is not
a symbol of Southern pride, but rather a symbol of rebellion and racism. On the heels of the brutal killing of nine
black people in a South Carolina church by a racist terrorist, it’s time to put
that symbol of rebellion and racism behind us and move toward a better United
States of America!”
When Kate Bolduan, on CNN’s “Erin Burnett
OutFront,” interviewed Bree Newsome, a filmmaker and activist from Charlotte,
she told Bolduan that she accepts potential jail time as “part of my calling as
a freedom fighter.” Ms. Newsome and
fellow activist James Tyson were charged with defacing state property after she scaled a 30-foot pole and removed the flag. The pair face three years in prison on the
misdemeanor and/or a fine of up to $5,000.
In her interview with Ms. Bolduan, she said she
wanted to highlight an unjust situation.
She referred to the flag as ”this symbol of hate, this symbol of
treason.” When Kate Bolduan asked her
about the recent poll that suggested most people see the flag as a symbol of
Southern pride, Ms. Newsome said it shows people need to be better educated
about the history of the Civil War.
(Ain’t that the truth?)
So here we are…"D-Day: Will the Flag ComeDown?" I think there will be weeping,
wailing, and gnashing of teeth, but the South Carolina House of Representatives
will find the necessary two-thirds majority to remove the flag. Now, about that national debate on those
guns!
I’m done; holla back!
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