Jack Preston King
Jul 23, 2017 · 2 min read

They have essentially co-opted a cultural symbol that had one meaning and have given it another.

I think a perfect example of this are those photos in one of Jaden Violet’s recent posts of pickup trucks flying the US flag one one side and the Confederate flag on the other. I live in a small rural town — in the Midwest, not the South — and I see real world trucks like that all the time. Mine was not a southern state in the Civil War. So the rednecks I see flying both flags are co-opting the Confederate flag as well. They have no cultural heritage here to claim that flag in the name of history. Here it is purely a symbol of racism. So when they fly it side by side and at the same height as Old Glory, their intention is very clear — the are making an equivalence. They are declaring that both flags stand for racism, and that they, as the public bearers of those flags, want to be seen as enforcers of racism. It is a conscious act of intimidation. It is public hate, perpetrated not only against people of color who see those trucks pass and know exactly what message is being sent, but also against everyone who remembers the original meaning of Old Glory. In 1976, as a 12 year old Boy Scout, my proudest moment that year was carrying the American flag, and leading my troop, at the head of my small town’s Bicentennial Independence Day parade. I see those guys now with their pickup trucks and flags and think, fuck you. Just fuck you, you bastards. Talk about a patriotism killer.

    Jack Preston King

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    Author, poet, philosopher. JackPrestonKing.com. Facebook.com/authorjackprestonking. Twitter.com/JackPrestonKing