The Stainless Banner

At this very moment, as we try to absorb the tragedy that took place at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, the confederate flag continues to fly on the grounds of the state capitol of South Carolina.It is also present in a sacred little corner of the actual state flag of Mississippi. This is shameful. If one holds the thought that this flag is simply a little piece of our American history that should be treasured, think again. This flag (known as The Stainless Banner) was constructed to symbolize a more perfect union of twisted ideas and demented attitudes. I wish it weren't part of my country's history, but it is and fouls the very bedrock of our constitution and principles. We will always have assholes that want to display the glory of the confederacy but to have state governments partake in endorsing our sordid past is inexcusable. Here is an excerpt from the "Cornerstone Speech", delivered by Confederate Vice President Alexander Stephens on March 21, 1861 as the drums of civil war started to beat, which illustrates the Confederate ideology in case one doubts the symbolic intent of the confederate flag:

"Our new government is founded upon exactly the opposite idea; its foundations are laid, its corner-stone rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery subordination to the superior race is his natural and normal condition. This, our new government, is the first, in the history of the world, based upon this great physical, philosophical, and moral truth..."

Epistle

The difference a day makes. I was ready to write my thoughts on LeBron James and his seeming arrogance in light of his statement following the game 5 loss of his Cavaliers to the Golden State Warriors during the NBA Finals. Speaking at a post-games interview, under the umbrella of flashing lights and crackling microphones and ludicrous shout-outs by dozens of sports journalist wonks, King James was asked if his mental attitude had changed in the series given the state of his team's injury roster. His response: "I feel confident because I'm the best player in the world. It's that simple." Wow, that was a show stopper and lit up the switchboards plenty as the words, "arrogance", "pride", "hubris", were being rattled around through the news cycle and the water cooler chats, both real and cyber. What interested me was the question of arrogance. What is it? Why is it unbecoming and the evil twin to humility? But, my curiosity about the matter of arrogance suddenly became trite the night nine precious souls were blown away during a church Bible study gathering by a 21-year old madman with a handgun and a vendetta against the black community. Awash in his toxic veneer of whiteness and apartheid sensibilities, Dylann Roof visited the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, ready and loaded to kill. He was welcomed into the Bible group by the pastor, Rev. Clementa Pinckney, and following an hour or so of prayer and brotherly communion, he turned his gun on the group and joined the growing ranks of America's mass murderers. And these nine innocents joined the ranks of those slaughtered at the hands of a madman holding and firing and reloading a gun; only this time the murderer was also a racist.  I don't understand racism and I never will. It is illogical, irrational, inexplicable.  I am white and I am sorry.