Why Is Everyone So Upset About the Betsy Ross Flag?
There’s a pretty long history of the flag being used by extremist right-wing movements — and a recent move by Nike has brought that into the spotlight
By EJ Dickson
Conservatives absolutely love to hate Colin Kaepernick, and a recent controversy centering around Fourth of July-themed Nike sneakers proved to be no exception. On Monday evening, Nike announced it would be pulling a new edition of Fourth of July-themed sneakers featuring the original United States flag as designed by Betsy Ross, with 13 stars in a circle. According to the Wall Street Journal, the reason why Nike pulled the shoe was because Kaepernick, the former NFL quarterback who has served as a spokesperson for Nike, objected to the use of the flag, claiming the image was inextricably linked to the nation’s early history of slavery.
Almost immediately, conservatives worked themselves into a tizzy over Kaepernick’s objection. “The whiny Nike spokes-baby is offended and oppressed by a freakin’ shoe,” uber-right-wing pundit Tomi Lahren tweeted, while Sen. Ted Cruz weighed in: “It’s a good thing Nike only wants to sell sneakers to people who hate the American flag….” The widespread perception appeared to be that the original American flag was a…
