Friday, October 4, 2013
Fly it high, "United" RVA !
The only "real" opposition to the I-95 Battle Flag came in the form of a group called "United RVA". Although they could muster only a little over 200 members on their FaceBook group, nearly EVERY news story concerning the flag mentioned them, and the fact that they were able to get 20,000 + signatures on a MOVEON.ORG petition. Most of the signers were not from the Richmond area, much less the South, and the wording of the petition was misleading and incendiary. One of their organizers, Richmond Attorney Brian Cannon, gave the following statement:
"The Confederate Flag is at best a symbol of four years of our 400 years of history in Virginia," said Cannon. "It doesn’t represent us at all. At best, that flag is a divisive symbol in a community. At worst, it’s a symbol of hatred, bigotry, slavery, and an unwelcome sign to Richmond."
Their grand protest on Saturday was…wait for it…to raise a huge U.S. Flag on a crane in downtown Richmond. I guess that since every local poll showed OVERWHELMING support for the I-95 Battle Flag the media had to find something to highlight to try and stir up trouble. They have also reported recently that they will try and raise money to permanently erect the flag on I-95, as a "protest" to the Memorial Confederate Flag that was raised.
For the life of me, I can’t understand how flying a super sized U.S. Flag is supposed to somehow "bother" us?!?!? While I am the proud descendant of 4 Confederate Soldiers, I am ALSO the proud descendant of men who fought for the United States in every war since and have no issue whatsoever with the proper display of a U.S. Flag.
In 1941, my four Great-Uncles all left their Mother’s home on North Avenue in Richmond to serve honorably in WWII. They were the Grandsons of a Confederate Veteran.
Since the American Revolution, the Southern Soldier has served with distinction and honor in EVERY war in which he was called. Duty and sacrifice are in our DNA. It would do these folks well to remember that the most decorated soldiers in both WWI and WWII were…that’s right, Southerners…who served among thousands of other sons and grandsons…of Confederate Soldiers.
Southerners have always been among the most patriotic Americans. If we are to believe the media, it looks like that we now may have sparked a wave of patriotism in the Capital of the Confederacy. WHO’DA THUNK IT?
…kinda makes me REAL proud to be a Virginia Flagger. 🙂
Fly it high, "United RVA"!
Susan Hathaway
Va Flaggers
