Even after the murder of nine African-Americans in a hate crime, South Carolina Republicans are refusing to take the Confederate flag down from the state capitol, but one picture shows why the flag should come down right now.
This is the Confederate flag that hangs over South Carolina’s capitol:
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Here is the car of Dylann Roof, the man accused of murdering nine African-Americans in a hate crime in Charleston, SC:
The same flag that flies at the South Carolina state capitol was prominently displayed on the car of a mass murdering racist.
The idea that the Confederate flag represents Southern heritage is true. What the defenders of the flag don’t say is what the term “Southern heritage” means.
According to the Cornerstone Speech by Alexander Stephens, this is what the Confederate flag stands for, “Our new government is founded upon exactly the opposite idea; its foundations are laid, its corner- stone rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery subordination to the superior race is his natural and normal condition. This, our new government, is the first, in the history of the world, based upon this great physical, philosophical, and moral truth.”
The Confederacy and the Confederate flag stood for the inequality of black people to white people. According to Dylann Roof’s roommate the shooter was, “He was big into segregation and other stuff. He said he wanted to start a civil war. He said he was going to do something like that and then kill himself.”
Dylann Roof understood what the Confederate flag represents, which is why his car had three Confederate flags on it.
South Carolina Republicans can keep feeding themselves excuses about “Southern heritage,” but they aren’t fooling anyone.
The Confederate flag is still flying over the South Carolina state capitol, just as it flies on the getaway car that Dylann Roof used to make his escape after murdering nine African-Americans in a house of worship.
South Carolina’s Confederate flag must come down right now.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
