If you got all your news from the usual mainstream sources, you might think that America already decided – to a person – that the Confederate flag was a symbol of racism and hatred that must be removed from every place it hangs. Following the shooting at a black church in Charleston, South Carolina in June, our mission was clear: We had to hide each and every symbol of the Confederacy, and the sooner the better.
Well, not so fast.
As it turns out, there are still vast swaths of Americans who don’t believe there is anything wrong with the Rebel flag. Among them is Pam Dotson, the principal of Hurley High School in Buchanan County, Virginia. “Our community it standing by it,” said Dotson in an interview with the Washington Post. “It means heritage, not hate. You won’t find a single person in Hurley who thinks different.”
That may be a statement of fact, because if news organizations could find such a person, they would have been quick to put them on the front page. Alas, they were only able to find residents who agreed wholeheartedly with Dotson. “It doesn’t mean racism to me,” said Chris Spencer, Hurley’s sole black student. “I just look at it as a flag. It’s our mascot. It just means our school.”
Your mascot?
Yes, indeed. This isn’t just about a flag flying on the Hurley grounds; the students themselves are known as the Rebels, and the Confederate flag is their official symbol. It is painted on the double doors leading into the school’s front hallway. Spencer is right: it really is their mascot.
“It has nothing to do with hatred or anything else they want to say,” a Hurley resident told USA Today. “We’re one big family here.”
The story of Hurley High is the story of millions of Americans who have been ignored and mocked by the elitists in the media. The silent majority, as Donald Trump calls his pool of supporters. And it’s true. Polls show that the majority of Americans feel just as these Virginians do about the Confederate flag. Just as they feel “Black Lives Matter” has been blown out of proportion. Just as they feel that Barack Obama is one of the worst presidents of modern times. But – outside of Fox News – when do you ever hear any of this on television? If you listen to the Big 3 networks, the only people standing up for the Confederate flag are card-carrying Klansmen.
It makes you wonder what this country would be like if we all threw our televisions out the window. And maybe our modems along with them. Fat chance, sure, but it would probably do a hell of a lot more to improve America than systematically removing every Confederate flag in sight. Actually, scratch the probably.
