Friday, November 29, 2013

Which Flag Is Offensive To Republicans: Gay Pride or Confederate Pride?


A poll of potential Republican primary voters by Public Policy Polling asked this group about the relative acceptability of the Confederate flag (a.k.a. "The Stars and Bars") versus the Gay Pride flag (a.k.a. the Rainbow Flag) and the results were somewhat disturbing:
Q3 Do you think high school students should be
allowed to wear confederate flags to school, or
not?
Think they should............................................ 43%
Think they should not...................................... 37%
Not sure .......................................................... 19%

Q4 Do you think high school students should be
allowed to wear gay pride flags to school, or
not?
Think they should............................................ 28%
Think they should not...................................... 57%
Not sure .......................................................... 15%

Q5 Do you think it’s more appropriate for high
school students to wear gay pride flags or
confederate flags to school?
Gay pride flags................................................ 9%
Confederate flags ........................................... 38%
Not sure .......................................................... 52%  
It is somewhat bizarre to juxtapose these two symbols since the Stars and Bars is a symbol of racism and oppression and enslavement of African-Americans while the Rainbow flag is a symbol of the diversity of sexual expression.

Or, as openly gay (and Black) journalist Jonathan Capehart puts it:
Folks, the Confederate flag is no better than a Swastika. It is a symbol of white supremacy, hate and oppression that has no place in American political discourse. That Kanye West wants to co-opt the rebel banner is as noble as it is futile. Meanwhile, the rainbow that is the gay pride flag symbolizes inclusion and acceptance. Oftentimes, usually in other countries, the words “pace” or “peace” can be found emblazoned on it. The rainbow flag is the very antithesis of the Confederate flag. That the latter is deemed more acceptable than the former is deplorable.
It is NOT a coincidence that the state flag of  Mississippi still contains the stars and bars of the Confederacy, while the state flag of Arkansas contains motifs (white stars on blue diagonal stripes) which come from the stars and bars. Both Florida and Alabama have official state flags which retain the X shape from stars and bars. There have been long-standing and ongoing controversies over public displays of the Confederate flag.

Hat/tip to Joe.My.God

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