Confederate Flag Symbolism & Tokenism

Posted: 6/24/2015

Trigger

On 6/25/2015, the governor of South Carolina Nikki Haley asked to remove the Confederate flag from the Capitol (see e.g. here) in the wake of the horrible shooting of 9 people in a church in Charleston, SC.

Perhaps one reason why Nikki Haley is not presidential material! According to news reports governor Haley reversed her position on this subject in about 6 months.

Typical Red Herring

This is just another politicized red herring like whether this was a domestic terrorist act or a hate crime. Politicians are again quick to abdicate their responsibility.

Even if there were hundreds of pictures of young Dylann Roof holding or waving a Confederate flag it does not explain or cause his rage.

The 150 Years Are Not Enough To Heal The Wounds Of The American Civil War

This is also particularly true for the people of the Confederate states, I believe. I have written elsewhere here on my blog about, what is in my view, the unnecessary enormous devastation and deaths brought about by this total war fought to the bitter end.

How Many Southerners Hated Black Slaves?

More specifically, how many slaveholders in the south hated their slaves? I would venture to say not that many. So to conflate hate crime and slavery etc. is disingenuous at best.

How many white southerners were actually slaveholders?

Was The Shooter Mentally Ill?

First and foremost, mental illness does not justify killing other humans.

This is perhaps the most critical question regarding this heinous crime. Was the shooter in treatment, what kind for how long? Did the parents know about it? What did they know? Why did the father buy him a handgun just months before the shooting?

I have not followed every bit of news out there, but to the best of my knowledge up to this day this question has not really been investigated nor really addressed.

The way this young man executed this mass shooting it suggests the affliction by a mental illness.

What should concern politicians is how many such mass shootings are committed by mentally ill people and why there is not better help available! Mental illness treatment especially in the U.S. and probably in many other Western countries is shamefully inadequate!

Confederate Flag Symbolism & Tokenism