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The ever-obtuse Kathleen Parker
I often find Parker's obtuse musings to be annoying, but this one particularly so. Here is a comment I just posted to her Washington Post column, followed by an excerpt of the column itself.
markpkessinger
4:35 PM EST
Public symbols are important, and the Southern Cross flag was a toxic one. It was long overdue to come down. But really, Ms. Parker, we are not even a month out from the racially-motivated killings of nine African Americans at the hands of a white supremacist in Charleston, and you're ready to declare a "new day" in South Carolina?
Perhaps you haven't noticed that there remains a not insignificant number of South Carolinians, and indeed of people across this country, who are furious that the flag has come down. Perhaps you haven't read about the effort by the Republican leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives to amend a domestic appropriations bill to permit that same flag to be displayed in federal cemeteries. A statement such as this is almost as empty-headed as were statements after President Obama was elected that America was now a 'post-racial' society.
Sadly, your rush to proclaim a "new day in South Carolina" is all too typical of conservative whites in America, who will seize upon any small step in the right direction as evidence that problems of entrenched racism are behind us and need be given no further thought. That is, always has been and, for the foreseeable future will remain, a dangerous delusion!
4:35 PM EST
Public symbols are important, and the Southern Cross flag was a toxic one. It was long overdue to come down. But really, Ms. Parker, we are not even a month out from the racially-motivated killings of nine African Americans at the hands of a white supremacist in Charleston, and you're ready to declare a "new day" in South Carolina?
Perhaps you haven't noticed that there remains a not insignificant number of South Carolinians, and indeed of people across this country, who are furious that the flag has come down. Perhaps you haven't read about the effort by the Republican leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives to amend a domestic appropriations bill to permit that same flag to be displayed in federal cemeteries. A statement such as this is almost as empty-headed as were statements after President Obama was elected that America was now a 'post-racial' society.
Sadly, your rush to proclaim a "new day in South Carolina" is all too typical of conservative whites in America, who will seize upon any small step in the right direction as evidence that problems of entrenched racism are behind us and need be given no further thought. That is, always has been and, for the foreseeable future will remain, a dangerous delusion!
Here is an excerpt of the column:
[font size=5]A new day in South Carolina as the Confederate battle flag comes down[/font]
[font size=3]By Kathleen Parker[/font]
The past may not be past, as William Faulkner put it. But it sure seems to be leaving.
As I watched the broadcast of the Confederate battle flag being brought down from its post on the South Carolina statehouse grounds Friday morning, my thoughts went to Gen. Robert E. Lee, who surely would have raised a toast to this new day.
< . . . . >
Friday’s ceremony in Columbia was brief, dignified and profoundly moving for the many gathered, as well as those watching from afar. Gov. Nikki Haley (R), surrounded by fellow officials and lawmakers, looked resplendent in a white suit that was reminiscent of a white flag offered in surrender and in peace. I don’t mean the South’s surrender to the North, or of the Sons of Confederate Veterans to the NAACP, which has fought for the lowering of the flag in South Carolina for more than 20 years.
< . . . . >
Adding to the layers of symbolism, it was Haley, an Indian American and the first female governor of the state, who called for the flag to come down. Although she once supported the flag as a part of history, Haley recognized the urgency of its removal as so many others finally did. It may have been overdue, as critics who never take a vacation will say, but it is done.
< . . . . >
[font size=3]By Kathleen Parker[/font]
The past may not be past, as William Faulkner put it. But it sure seems to be leaving.
As I watched the broadcast of the Confederate battle flag being brought down from its post on the South Carolina statehouse grounds Friday morning, my thoughts went to Gen. Robert E. Lee, who surely would have raised a toast to this new day.
< . . . . >
Friday’s ceremony in Columbia was brief, dignified and profoundly moving for the many gathered, as well as those watching from afar. Gov. Nikki Haley (R), surrounded by fellow officials and lawmakers, looked resplendent in a white suit that was reminiscent of a white flag offered in surrender and in peace. I don’t mean the South’s surrender to the North, or of the Sons of Confederate Veterans to the NAACP, which has fought for the lowering of the flag in South Carolina for more than 20 years.
< . . . . >
Adding to the layers of symbolism, it was Haley, an Indian American and the first female governor of the state, who called for the flag to come down. Although she once supported the flag as a part of history, Haley recognized the urgency of its removal as so many others finally did. It may have been overdue, as critics who never take a vacation will say, but it is done.
< . . . . >
10 replies
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All of the previous posts have been spot on! 
to my fellow DUers.
