Confederate symbol will go; why not now?
Dane Strother
8:06 p.m. CDT August 22, 2015
My Confederate flag is tucked next to high school track trophies and teen knick-knacks in a well-worn box that somehow followed me through two marriages, three states and four houses ...
... Roy Barnes, while governor of Georgia, had the state flag completely changed without any warning, and a true nightmare began. Confederate re-enactors began stalking Barnes at all hours of day and night. They permanently held a position in front of the Governor’s Mansion waving protest signs and many Confederate flags. They were at the Capitol steps when he arrived for work, and they chased him around the state, using his public schedule as a road map for harassment. Barnes would often nod courtly or wave to them. He tells a story that is telling. One day he waved over one of the Confederate-uniform-wearing protestors. “He came over and said, ‘Did you call for me, governor,’ ” Barnes recounts. “Yes, I did, and he asked me what I wanted. I asked him, ‘Son, when you re-enact the Civil War, do we still get our asses kicked?’ ” ... Barnes lost re-election ...
... If I should die before I wake, I pray to God my sons don’t find that flag through tear-glazed eyes while rummaging through a lifetime of treasures and trash in the unfinished portion of the basement. I’d be abhorred that they found a symbol counter to everything I’ve taught them and everything I’ve stood for and everything I would expect of the next generations ...
When I get home, I will toss the flag. You should too. It’s time.
http://www.clarionledger.com/story/opinion/columnists/2015/08/22/strother-confederate-symbol-will-go-now/32216047/
