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Alex4Martinez

(2,180 posts)
Sun Jul 5, 2020, 09:18 PM Jul 2020

New Mississippi state flag, no stars & bars but must include "In God We Trust"

I was very encouraged about the new flag but for this one nagging detail.

Fuck.

The new flag will be forbidden from including the Confederate battle emblem and must include the phrase “In God we trust.”


JACKSON, Miss. — Just a few weeks ago, as Mississippi lawmakers mobilized to take down the only state flag in the nation with the Confederate battle emblem embedded into it, Gov. Tate Reeves said the choice was not theirs to make.

“It should be the people who make that decision,” Mr. Reeves told reporters then, “not some backroom deal by a bunch of politicians in Jackson.”

But on Tuesday, Mr. Reeves signed into law a measure that removes the flag that has flown over the state for 126 years and been at the heart of a conflict Mississippi has grappled with for generations: how to view a legacy that traces to the Civil War.

RICHMOND STATUESThe capital of Virginia will take down other Confederate statues in the coming days, after removing Stonewall Jackson’s statue on Wednesday.
The legislation mandates the “prompt, dignified and respectful” removal of the flag, which features the blue bars and white stars of the Confederate battle flag, within 15 days.




https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/30/us/mississippi-flag.html
32 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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New Mississippi state flag, no stars & bars but must include "In God We Trust" (Original Post) Alex4Martinez Jul 2020 OP
Flags with words are fails. Music Man Jul 2020 #1
Interesting perspective, especially given your DU rsdsharp Jul 2020 #6
All others cash Maeve Jul 2020 #2
In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash MacKasey Jul 2020 #3
Pandering El Supremo Jul 2020 #4
Thank you. lindysalsagal Jul 2020 #24
Fundies want to tag everything with their gang signs and slogans. Mariana Jul 2020 #5
Which god would that be? hunter Jul 2020 #7
...or the God who installed Obama, twice??? lindysalsagal Jul 2020 #25
Whatever Stinky The Clown Jul 2020 #8
Two steps forward, one step back. *sigh* nt crickets Jul 2020 #9
Let them be. nolabear Jul 2020 #10
I respectfully disagree. If 1 state gets to declare a religion lindysalsagal Jul 2020 #26
If I don't live there I will appreciate the effort made and take a long view. nolabear Jul 2020 #31
Why? nt. Mariana Jul 2020 #28
Because they're trying. And nothing halts trying like throwing shade. nolabear Jul 2020 #30
Why make it hard... Xolodno Jul 2020 #11
That's a nice flag! 2naSalit Jul 2020 #16
I know, right? Xolodno Jul 2020 #17
That's my choice. LuvNewcastle Jul 2020 #18
LOL! 2naSalit Jul 2020 #23
Well, one blazing ignorance at a time I suppose. Maru Kitteh Jul 2020 #12
In due time, my pretties. Iggo Jul 2020 #13
It's still an improvement. Nt Quixote1818 Jul 2020 #14
There was no way it was gonna get removed without a compromise Polybius Jul 2020 #15
I'm perfectly happy BGBD Jul 2020 #19
Better than the GA flag resolution. aikoaiko Jul 2020 #20
Just so they get they get the traitorous stars & bars off Raine Jul 2020 #21
Good article on AU's web site on this issue.... KY_EnviroGuy Jul 2020 #22
Thank you! I'm surprised not to see more outrage at this offensive "deal". Alex4Martinez Jul 2020 #27
Very typical Republican in nature. KY_EnviroGuy Jul 2020 #29
D'Oh! n/t librechik Jul 2020 #32

Music Man

(1,181 posts)
1. Flags with words are fails.
Sun Jul 5, 2020, 09:19 PM
Jul 2020

The symbolism should stand alone. Ain't nobody reading text on a flag hundreds of feet away.

rsdsharp

(9,039 posts)
6. Interesting perspective, especially given your DU
Sun Jul 5, 2020, 09:46 PM
Jul 2020

handle. There may be no connection to you, but Meredith Wilson based The Music Man on his hometown of Mason City, Iowa.

The Iowa state flag bears the phrase “Our Liberties We Prize, And Our Rights We Will Maintain.” I don’t think it’s a fail.

MacKasey

(975 posts)
3. In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash
Sun Jul 5, 2020, 09:31 PM
Jul 2020

That was a book by Jean Shepherd

When I hear "In God We Trust" my mind always says and All Others Pay Cash

They should add that to the flag too!

El Supremo

(20,365 posts)
4. Pandering
Sun Jul 5, 2020, 09:34 PM
Jul 2020

First to the white supremacists, now to the religious right.

I'm a Christian who believes strongly in the separation of church and state.

lindysalsagal

(20,440 posts)
24. Thank you.
Mon Jul 6, 2020, 08:59 AM
Jul 2020

I never understood why believers wanted government limits or labels: If I were a believer, i'd want government totally out of it.

Why do believers think they can hold some kind of influence by appearing to be the dominant faith? From my atheist point of view, it always sounds the same to me: "God likes me better than you."

Not exactly a grown-up perspective, nor one that inspires non-believers to take a second look.

Mariana

(14,849 posts)
5. Fundies want to tag everything with their gang signs and slogans.
Sun Jul 5, 2020, 09:35 PM
Jul 2020

Just to make sure non-Christians know their place as second class citizens.

lindysalsagal

(20,440 posts)
26. I respectfully disagree. If 1 state gets to declare a religion
Mon Jul 6, 2020, 09:01 AM
Jul 2020

it will be a contest to out-worship each other. They won't ever stop.

This is not good for anyone, including the bible-thumpers.

nolabear

(41,915 posts)
31. If I don't live there I will appreciate the effort made and take a long view.
Mon Jul 6, 2020, 02:59 PM
Jul 2020

I’m sympathetic about fearing state sponsored religion but the vast majority of the country has some religious feeling and the slope is actually slipping the other way. I’m an atheist but I understand how important that organizing principle is to many. Yes, so much evil comes from it, but imho freezing out those whose lives it’s a part of makes them more, not less, fanatical and immovable.

Xolodno

(6,334 posts)
11. Why make it hard...
Sun Jul 5, 2020, 10:52 PM
Jul 2020

....just go back to the Magnolia Flag. It was as close to an official flag for the state until the Civil War.

2naSalit

(86,057 posts)
16. That's a nice flag!
Mon Jul 6, 2020, 12:02 AM
Jul 2020

And unique, that's a great idea.

Well, I see there are several versions, all are better than the one they're getting rid of.

Xolodno

(6,334 posts)
17. I know, right?
Mon Jul 6, 2020, 12:22 AM
Jul 2020

Its got beauty, character and simplicity. It would also look good on tourism pamphlets...Magnolia Tree vs. Stars and Bars... Think we can all see the math there.

LuvNewcastle

(16,820 posts)
18. That's my choice.
Mon Jul 6, 2020, 12:25 AM
Jul 2020

We'll see what they come up with. Maybe we could just have a cross and a couple of offering plates full of bills.

Polybius

(15,238 posts)
15. There was no way it was gonna get removed without a compromise
Sun Jul 5, 2020, 11:54 PM
Jul 2020

Conservatives were like "Sure, we'll take it down, but we're not doing it unless we replace it with something Republicans will love." Gotta suck it up to this one, it's better than what they had before. It's gonna be 60 years before "In God We Trust" becomes majority controversial, if not longer.

 

BGBD

(3,282 posts)
19. I'm perfectly happy
Mon Jul 6, 2020, 12:48 AM
Jul 2020

to let the evangelicals feel a little better about themselves so long as we don't have the openly racist symbology of an enemy military force flying over state buildings in Alabama.

aikoaiko

(34,127 posts)
20. Better than the GA flag resolution.
Mon Jul 6, 2020, 01:17 AM
Jul 2020

GA like MS had the battle flag embedded in their state flag.

In GA people raised hell about around 2000. There was a brief tenure of a blue flag with small images of all the flags of GA embedded in it.

The resolution: use the actual flag of the confederacy with 13 stars and embed the GA arch.

That’s right, we traded the battle flag for the CSA Stars and Bars.

And no one seems to care so Eff it. Even when we win we still lose.

?1591970737

Raine

(30,540 posts)
21. Just so they get they get the traitorous stars & bars off
Mon Jul 6, 2020, 03:52 AM
Jul 2020

I have no problem with "in God we Trust" it's on our money anyway.

KY_EnviroGuy

(14,483 posts)
22. Good article on AU's web site on this issue....
Mon Jul 6, 2020, 04:05 AM
Jul 2020

Last edited Mon Jul 6, 2020, 12:42 PM - Edit history (1)

Mississippi Trades Confederate Emblem For ‘In God We Trust’ On State Flag
Jul 02, 2020 by Samantha Sokol
Americans United for Separation of Church and State (AU)

Link: https://www.au.org/blogs/mississippi-new-flag

Excerpts:
These flags and their histories show that Christian nationalism and white nationalism are closely tied. And it’s not just symbols; the proof is in the polls. Researchers find that the more people’s views align with Christian nationalism, the more likely they are to also have negative attitudes towards racial and religious minorities. Christians nationalists are more likely to oppose interracial marriage, hold anti-Muslim prejudice, believe that Black Americans are more violent than white Americans and blame Black Americans who are killed by police. As Caroline Mala Corbin of the University Miami School of Law summarizes, for Christian nationalists, “The mythical Christian America pictured is actually a white Christian America. In other words, ‘Christian nation’ is usually understood to mean ‘white Christian nation.” Unsurprisingly, studies show that an overwhelming majority of supporters of Christian nationalism are white.

Of course, not everyone who supports “In God We Trust” is a white nationalist. And the effect of those words cannot be compared to that of the Confederate emblem, which symbolizes the brutality of slavery and the injustice of segregation. For 126 years, Mississippians have lived under a flag that paid homage to those white Mississippians who enslaved and terrorized Black people.

Still, our vision of justice should be expansive. Mississippi should not replace one exclusionary flag with another. Mississippians practice a variety of religions and faiths, and one in four identify as nonreligious. Our state flags are powerful symbols, so they should represent our shared values and the diversity of our communities. But the new Mississippi flag is just one indication that we still have a ways to go to be an inclusive society: Polls show that people continue to hold negative views towards atheists, who remain among the most negatively viewed groups in America. Unfortunately, under the bill signed by Reeves this week, Mississippi’s flag will continue to signal who is welcome and valued in the Magnolia State and who is not.

Mississippi can’t just paper over its white nationalist symbols with Christian nationalist symbols and say that justice is done.


KY

Alex4Martinez

(2,180 posts)
27. Thank you! I'm surprised not to see more outrage at this offensive "deal".
Mon Jul 6, 2020, 10:59 AM
Jul 2020

It's not progress, it's subjugation.

It's a bit of a win for the oppressors, not much of a gain for fairness and integrity.

KY_EnviroGuy

(14,483 posts)
29. Very typical Republican in nature.
Mon Jul 6, 2020, 12:55 PM
Jul 2020

Right-wing retaliation with zero remorse for the racism, pure and simple......

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