Enough, already. We get it- white folks love, honor, and cherish this flag...for whatever reason. And just because 9 innocent people were murdered while in Bible study last Wednesday night by a skinny white kid- who waved this flag proudly and carried it around like Linus carried his blue blanket on Charlie Brown...as if it were a source of comfort-a flag that, for Black folks, is a constant reminder of the brutality that our people faced years ago, from white slave owners, to the KKK using it to intimidate us - it's still not a good enough reason to remove it from the State House grounds in South Carolina- the state where these 9 people were killed...just because they were black.
In the past week, I have seen several people type long ass paragraphs and essays about why this flag should not be removed. They have gone on and on about how this is so unfair and unconstitutioanl...blah, blah, freakin' blah. I can hear them saying, "It's just nine black people...why should we have to remove our beloved flag for them? Their lives never have been and never will be of any importance to us." One Republican/Racist SC State Representative, William Chumley (who's one of many arguing in favor of the flag remaining in it's rightful place atop the State Building) even had the audacity to insinuate that the victims' murders were their own faults, since "they just sat there and waited their turn to be murdered."
I am over hearing about this damn flag. But while we're on the subject of it, let me just say what it represents for me, as a Black woman. It represents the KKK, Skinheads, and other closet racists', who sought out and killed my people back in the slavery days if they stepped out of line. It represents the many black and white people who died, while fighting for the Civil Rights of colored folks in the 60's- many whom were killed by racist cops and lawmen, who smiled at you while at the same time, wore white robes over their police uniforms...much like they do today. It represents the fights and struggles that black folks such as Dr. King and Rosa Parks went through daily, in an attempt to be treated like humans...you know, the same as white people. It represents the white mob who cursed, spit on, and threatened the nine Black students who tried to enter Central High School in Little Rock, AR in the 50's...because how dare these niggers think they can get an education alongside their precious white kids. It represents those white folks who still, in 2015, don't like the idea that Black folks should be treated equal to themselves.
This flag, to me, has always represented something evil and hateful, and no amount of protesting in favor of it, or typing your long ass essays- hoping to make me realize it's not as bad as it seems- will ever change my mind. I've had my own experience with people who wave this flag around, or hang it in the windows of their vehicles. Being born and raised in southern Arkansas, I've always had the notion that there were racist people around me..even some of those who smiled in my face and treated me nice. Years ago, maybe around early 2000, I was walking alone one night, headed to a friend's house. Now, Prescott, AR - my hometown- can be like a ghost town after dark. It's a small city with not more than 5,000 people, and after 6:00, there's not a lot going on in the heart of town. Most businesses are closed for the day, and other than traffic on the main highway, not many people were out. Well, this was after 10:00 at night, so I didn't see hardly anybody else as I was walking. Growing up there, I never felt I had a reason to worry about walking alone, until that night; I mean, this was my hometown, and I knew just about everybody. So, I'm walking, minding my own business, and this pickup truck drives past me. No big deal to me. The driver stopped at the stop sign, but then continued to sit there for a minute...even though no traffic was coming from either direction to prevent him from going on wherever he was going. Eventually, he turned right, and drove off. Still, no big deal to me, I'm just trying to get to my destination. I hear a vehicle coming up behind me, so I turned my head and looked. It's the same truck. My first thought was, maybe whoever it is, he's lost or something. I keep walking, but then I notice that the driver of the truck is creeping along slowly, slightly behind me. Then all of a sudden, he speeds past me...and that's when I saw the Confederate flag in the back window of his truck. I immediately panicked. Like I said, that flag has always represented racism to me. Those good ol boys, who pretend to be okay with having to share their country with us niggers...unless we were working beneath them. Again, the driver sat at the stop sign longer than he had to, because no other traffic was coming from either direction. My heart was racing, but I kept walking. I came to the stop sign, to cross the highway. He continued to sit there, waiting to see which way I was going. When I walked across the highway, he crept along beside me, steadily revving the engine of his truck. There are no words to describe how scared I was, because at that point, it was obvious to me that he was following me. Nobody else was out, either walking or driving, so I was alone. I ignored him and continued walking across the highway, but then I noticed that I'm now heading into a neighborhood, where there's limited streetlights and even less potential for traffic. I came to another stop sign, and he's still driving slowly along. He sat at that stop sign- again waiting to see which way I was going. The hairs on the back of my neck were standing straight up, as that scene from A Time To Kill came to mind- when the little girl was raped by the two white men as she walked from the store. I was trying not to show that I was intimidated, but fear was the only emotion I felt, being a black woman walking alone. Luckily, I was at the corner where the library was, and the police station was across the street. Something in me said, "Act like you're going to the police station," and that's exactly what I did. As I put my hand on the door handle, I looked back to see that the driver of the truck was still sitting at the stop sign...waiting and watching. It wasn't until I pulled the door open and went inside, that he burned rubber speeding off. I waited about a minute, then peeked out the door, to find that he was gone, luckily.
That may have been some random jerk just wanting to ruffle my feathers, but I don't think so. That flag in his window indicated something different for me. In my heart, he had ill intentions, just as everybody else who waves this flag around do. There's no doubt in my mind that whatever the reason he was following me, wasn't a good one. So, you can try to convince me until you're blue in the face that this flag doesn't represent anything racist, but that'll be the equivalent as trying to convince me that I'm not really a woman...you can't.
You can claim that it represents the confederate men on the field of battle, and/or that it's honoring the many who have laid down their lives fighting for America; you can find and post photos on social media of black rappers like Ludacris & Kanye who proudly wore this flag on stage...none of that means a damn thing to me. It's in poor taste to honor something that has been a symbol of hurt, fear, and intimidation for so many people, but there is absolutely no humanity left in this evil world, so it doesn't surprise me one bit that some people still try to make excuses and justify it. These same people feel that these nine victims deserved what they got for sitting there and not defending themselves, let them tell it. "These same people make a big deal over President Obama using the word nigger, when they've both thought it and blantantly called him this same word several times since he's been President," a point brought out by CNN commentator and Host of BET News @marclamonthill
So, why should we ever expect them to understand? It's just a waste of time focusing so much on whether or not to take the flags down from State Buildings, at this point. I can use makeup to cover a blemish on my face. Underneath, I know the blemish is still there, no matter what I do to disguise it. That's the same way I feel about this flag: they can debate and protest to have them removed, and some states have and will listen, and order them removed...but you can't order a person to change what's in their hearts. A racist will still be a racist, whether the flag is taken down or not. So, let's move on, and give some of this attention to the victims of this senseless crime instead of the manifesto written by the cowardly killer, or this flag. They rightfully deserve it.
No comments:
Post a Comment