And Yet Again
A woman in Summerville, South Carolina has had to endure racism and terrorist attacks after she displayed the Southern Cross from a flagpole in her yard. Ten years ago, Annie Chambers Caddell, who is white, moved into a “traditionally” black neighborhood and hoisted the flag. The neighbors assumed that she was racist, so they harassed her continuously, and marched in protest. When a rock flew through her front window, she decided to put up lattice. Her neighbors suddenly erected eight-foot-high fences to block the view of the flag. Apparently, this sparked Ms. Caddell’s ire, so she got a taller flagpole. Her black neighbor got one as well, displaying the American flag over the top of the fence. (So take down the fence!)
This has caused controversy and media attention, although the entire thing, in this writer’s opinion, seems trite. What happened to freedom of religion, freedom of speech, etc.? Freedom of expression vs. politically correct? Now we’re getting into trouble.
This display of intolerance, or ignorance, is getting tiresome. I have to admit, I used to think that displaying the Southern Cross (which is taken from Scotland’s St. Andrews Cross) was racist, until I did my homework. Now I understand what Confederate soldiers sacrificed, and not because they wanted slavery. Only about 4% of Southerners owned slaves. Some were black themselves. The soldiers fought to defend their homeland, and many freed slaves did as well. Over the course of time, the flag has been distorted to represent the KKK, but that isn’t why people like Ms. Caddell proudly display it. If they did, don’t you think they would do it in secret, just like the Klan met in secret? It seems to me that the people who cry wolf are bigger wolves themselves.
To read more about this breaking story, check out:
http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2011/09/27/confederate-flag-gets-south-carolina-neighbors-up-in-arms/?icid=maing-grid7|main5|dl25|sec1_lnk3|99513
