I'm not sure how the lives of nine people that were killed in cold blood on American soil are now the second news story of each broadcast but those lives were and are way more important than the Confederate flag stories.
When my husband and I moved to Georgia from New England I was surprised to see the Confederate flag as frequently as I did. At the time the Union Jack was even incorporated into the state flag but that changed through a vote that was held and in 2003 a new, modern representation of the Stars and Bars officially became the state flag.
It was a very civilized vote and 73% of the voting population thought that the state needed to update how they were perceived by other parts of the country. I recall that I asked the neighborhood children what they thought about the Confederate flag being used in their state flag. They shrugged their shoulders.
The Confederate battle flag was just that. A battle flag of General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. Until tonight I didn't know that the NAACP had an economic boycott on the state of South Carolina. Nor did I know that the states of Florida, Mississippi, Georgia, Louisiana and South Carolina have laws that ban the desecration of the Confederate flag.
I keep hearing about the racism that the flag represents. I'm not convinced of that. I think young people are quick to use it as a statement of rebellion. Shouldn't be a shock to any of us that young people haven't done their homework and just like the idea of giving a rebel yell. My favorite is when the young man has his rebel flag displayed in the $50K truck that his parents bought for him.
The community of Charleston, SC has experienced at horrible hate crime. I have been thoroughly impressed by the dignity and grace the families that have experienced great loss have shown.
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