It’s All In the Interpretation
I came across this article and have to admit that this gentleman certainly has a point. I was told several years ago that abuse is a matter of interpretation. If you feel you are being abused, then you ARE being abused. The same goes for discrimination, or in this case, a flag. If one flag is accepted and another is ridiculed for contrived impressions, there is a discrimination issue involved. In my opinion, we should accept all expressions of individually, patriotism, or personal identification. It is what our country and our Constitution are based upon. By accepting all, we invite tolerance and understanding, instead of promoting negativity and ill-conceived impressions. Here is the article:
Mark Velder, a city employee in Independence, Missouri spoke at this week’s city council meeting, to criticize the display of the rainbow pride flag by the Mayor, stating that he would be fired if he flew his Confederate Flag.
“We just did the Pledge of Allegiance, which says ‘I pledge allegiance to the flag.’ The flag. ‘The’ is a definitive article. That is my flag,” Velder said pointing to the American flag. “Not the LGBT flag,” Velder added while holding two Confederate flags. “I work at the city of Independence. If I put [the Confederate flag] up tomorrow, I’ll be fired.”
“Yet we’ve got a flag outside of the window, right up here that gives me a sense of discrimination. Something that’s not for equal rights, it’s a violation,” Velder continued. “That flag does not represent me, I keep hearing it’s for everybody. It does not. That represents people who have surgically removed part of their anatomy because they don’t know what kind of bathroom to go to … I’m normal. I’m normal.”
He added, “I’m asking can we get [the pride flag] down or just put mine [the Confederate flag] up. Just put this one up, I would love to see this one up tomorrow morning when I come to work.”
(Article courtesy of Dixie Heritage Newsletter, June 21, 2019 ed.)
