Political correctness on steroids. Is the Confederate flag offensive to many, yes. Heck, I find it offensive.. Is it something I would buy, no. Does that mean businesses should stop selling the Confederate flag and items for which it is emblazoned? That is up to each business. But more importantly is as to why a business would take the Confederate flag off the shelves – on a website or in their stores.
This past week, Sears, KMart, Wal-Mart, Amazon, eBay and others have publicly declared they will no longer have the Confederate flag or items containing the Confederate flag available for sale. This is on the heels of South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley announcing she will work to move the flying Confederate flag off government property. This, due to the white killer of 9 churchgoers being photographed with the Confederate flag and announcing he killed those 9 people because they were black.
Wal-Mart spokesman Brian Nick said, “We never want to offend anyone with the products that we offer. We have taken steps to remove all items promoting the confederate flag from our assortment — whether in our stores or on our website. We have a process in place to help lead us to the right decisions when it comes to the merchandise we sell. Still, at times, items make their way into our assortment improperly — this is one of those instances.”
Johnna Hoff, an eBay spokesperson, said that the Confederate flag has “become a contemporary symbol of divisiveness and racism.” It is banning the sale of Confederate flags and “many items containing this image,”
But who are they kidding? I can still buy Bill O’Reilly’s books on their sites! Ok, just joking – kinda’. But seriously, wiping your shelves clean of “offensive” items, while a noble effort, is just plain impractical as every day someone will come up with something that is more offensive than the next.
For example, a long list of items with Che Guevara’s image is still available on Walmart and Amazon’s websites which is highly offensive. His image is not the only thing offensive found on these websites or in these stores; however, I am using Guevara simply as an example. Should a group of people organize to ban that from the shelves?
Many people mistakenly view Guevara as a freedom fighter; however, he was anything but. He, along with Fidel Castro, advocated for the jailing of blacks and gays just because of what they were. Their “revolution” quickly turned into a police state and resulted in thousands being killed simply because they were employed by the previous government or didn’t agree with Guevara & Castro’s plans. Shortly after the “revolution” a law was put in place to criminalize homosexuality which was supported by Guevara. Why are products with his image kept on the shelves and the Confederate flag removed? Guevara banned Rock & Roll music and put gay people in concentration camps along with Catholics and other political dissidents. There is a long list of problems with Che Guevara and one thing is clear — he was no hero and was no freedom fighter. If you have the time, I direct you to watch/listen to this prior posting on Guevara.
The bottom line is, even though I find Che Guevara propaganda products offensive, I support one’s right to wear the shirt and a business to sell Guevara merchandise. The same should hold true with the Confederate flag. It is up to each individual what to wear and what to buy. It is also up to each business on what they wish to sell. But do not stop selling the Confederate flag stating that you “never want to offend anyone with the products that we offer.” That is being disingenuous at best and at worst, a clear lie to the American people.
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Karl Dickey 