Since I've picked up writing in my blog again after a hiatus of about nine months or so I've gained a few new followers. To save those new followers the time of looking through my past seven year's worth of entries to find out what my beliefs are - and to refresh the minds of my old fans who may have forgotten - I thought I'd take a few minutes and put them some of them down here. Besides, one or two of them may have changed in the past few years; my viewpoints tend to do that as I gain experience in this big world of ours and as new information becomes available.
So here they are. Not in any particular order, but the most important ones will be closest to the top of the list.
Gun Control To me, "gun control" means hitting what you're aiming at. As my bio says I am a firm believer in and a staunch supporter of the Second Amendment, but it actually goes deeper than just that. I am a believer in the literal definition of the Second Amendment, which means that any and all "gun control" laws are unconstitutional. "SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED" means just that, and ANY law that you pass to control, limit, or deny my right to purchase a firearm is, IMHO, unconstitutional. I do believe in and support the laws which prohibit convicted felons from purchasing and/or owning firearms, and with good cause. If that sounds contradictory to you, well, I can't help that. That's what I believe, and that's all there is to it. Besides, if I have to explain to you why a convicted felon shouldn't possess a firearm, well...
Same Sex Marriages I'm okay with the idea of two people of the same sex engaging in a civil union; after all, why should anyone be denied spousal survivor's rights and benefits because their late spouse was of the same sex? I do draw the line at calling it a "marriage," though, as that conflicts with my religious beliefs. And before anyone wants to start lecturing me on what the Bible says or what it doesn't say, just save it - I'm not going to change my mind so please don't waste both your time and mine by engaging in such useless dialogue.
Homosexuality Personally, I find homosexuality to be morally, spiritually and physically wrong, but on the other hand to a certain degree what other people do with their lives and how they choose to live their lives is none of my business. For that reason - and for the reason that I was taught to treat people with respect and dignity no matter what and to judge them by their actions and not skin color or sexual orientation - I treat homosexuals just as I would any other person, with respect and dignity. Think I'm lying? Ask my sister in law. Ask the former partner of my late uncle by marriage. Ask one of my wife's best friends. Or not; either way, that's the way I am. Treat me with respect and dignity and you'll get the same from me. It's not my place to judge in this aspect, so I won't.
The Confederate Flag I'm a Southerner, born and bred, as was my father before me, his father before him, his father before him and so on, all the way back to 1790 Nelson County, Virginia. I have three ancestors who fought for the Confederacy, none of whom owned slaves and all of whom were fighting to defend their homes. I fully and unequivocally support the display of the Confederate flag as a tribute to the men of the Confederacy who fought and died for what they believed was right, and I fully support the display of the Confederate Battle Flag at the Confederate Soldier's Monument on the State House Grounds in Columbia, SC. I fly the flag as a symbol of pride in my homeland, said homeland being the South, and I'm just as proud to fly that flag as I am to fly the American flag. Both flags represent governments who have both done some bad things, yet both are dear to me because both represent the good people of both areas. Both flags represent the courage and sacrifice of the men and women who leave behind all that they know and love in defense of their land, and in many cases those sacrifices include their very lives. Yes, I am fully aware of the heinous way the KKK hijacked the beloved symbol of the South, but there's nothing I can do about that. That's not why I fly it, and I make no bones about it.
Hyphenated Titles I'm referring to titles such as African-American, Latin-American, Italian-American, etc. I despise them and don't use them for one simple reason: to place ANYTHING in front of the term "American" infers that you deem that word or term of higher importance than that of being an American, and to me NOTHING is more important than that. I could refer to myself as a Scottish-American, but I don't; I could refer to myself as a Southern-American, but I don't. I could also refer to myself as an Irish-American, but I don't. I'm an American, first and foremost, and nothing is more important than that. I'm an American who was born in the South and who is of Scottish/Irish ancestry. That's it, plain and simple.
Homosexuals in the Military There was a time in my life when I was staunchly against this, but after gaining a little age, experience and most of all maturity, I came to the logical conclusion that no man or woman should be denied the right to serve their country in military uniform based on their sexual preference. And the past few years have proven that the massive collapse of moral and discipline that was sure to take place if homosexuals were allowed to serve isn't going to happen - just as the massive shootouts and killings in the streets didn't happen when Florida and a whole bunch of other states enacted "right to carry" laws.
The Death Penalty This is something else that my opinion has changed on, too. I used to be a firm supporter of the death penalty until I came to the realization that our justice system isn't perfect, and that until it becomes perfect it's far better to keep a hundred or a thousand guilty men alive and in prison for 50 or 60 years rather than to execute so much as one innocent man. And there's no such thing as a "foolproof" or "perfect" justice system, not even with the advancements in science and DNA that we've made. No, if you start making exceptions to the rule, saying that it's OK to execute a man for this but not for that, you set up a slippery slope that will eventually lead to everyone being executed - and then you're right back where you started from. No, the only logical thing to do IMHO is to not execute anyone; that way you never have to worry about killing an innocent man.
Abortion Something else I've changed my mind on. I'm Pro Life, and I believe that life begins with conception.
Illegal Immigrants No, they're NOT "undocumented aliens." They're in this country illegally which makes them criminals, and as criminals they should be deported. We already have a process in place by which an immigrant can legally enter the country; it may be slow and not the most efficient thing in the world, but it's there and anyone who wants to come to our country and live needs to go by it. Period. As for the "anchor babies" and children who are brought here illegally by their parents, well, it's like this: I wouldn't want to separate a child from its parents, so if it's an "anchor baby" then the parents should have a reasonable time period to become an American citizen, say, five years. If by that time the parents are not American citizens then both them and the child go back where they came from. In the case of children who are brought here illegally by their parents, again, I wouldn't want to separate a child from its parents so they're all gone. Blame the parents who brought them here in an attempt to remain here on the sympathy of the bleeding hearts who run the government, not me.
Pressing 1 for English This is America; why the hell should I have to press 1 to hear the instructions in English? You come here from a different country to live, you need to learn to speak, read, and write English - and do it within 5 years or you're gone, just as Teddy Roosevelt said more than a hundred years ago.
Benefits for Illegals Not only NO, but HELL NO! "CRIMINALS," remember? We have military folks who are denied benefits they literally gave their arms and legs for while illegal immigrants are given benefits beyond their wildest dreams. This is a glaring inequity and failure on the part of our Federal government, and it needs to be fixed yesterday.
The Kennedy Assassination No way Oswald did it alone. To fire three shots from a bad angle at a target which is moving away from you and getting smaller by the second with a bolt action rifle and get two hits, one of which is a head shot is next to impossible. I just don't think Oswald was that good a shot. Besides, there's too much eyewitness testimony supporting the second gunman on the grassy knoll theory, and I just happen to believe in that. As to who ordered the hit and organized it I have no idea, but they sure played Oswald for a patsy.
Ford or Chevy Chevy, hands down.
And that's about it for now. It's getting late and 3:30AM rolls around kind of early, so I'll close for now and hit the sack.
Y'all take care, and thanks for reading!
IHC
Sunday, June 28, 2015
Friday, June 26, 2015
The Hypocrisy of "Tolerance"
If you've been paying even passing attention to the news over the course of the past, oh, 15 years or so, the one thing that you've heard the liberal left preach over and over and over again is "Tolerance." We have to be "tolerant" of things and people that are different from us for whatever reason; we have to be "tolerant" of people with differing viewpoints and opinions; we have to be "tolerant" of just about anything that anyone else wants to preach or espouse, because it's their right to be that way.
For the most part I agree with all of this, but there's one thing that the liberal left fails to preach and intentionally omits - tolerance is a two-way street.
Let's take a look at the Webster's Dictionary definition of "tolerance," shall we?
Full Definition of TOLERANCE
1: capacity to endure pain or hardship : endurance, fortitude, stamina
2
a: sympathy or indulgence for beliefs or practices differing from or conflicting with one's own
b: the act of allowing something : toleration
3: the allowable deviation from a standard; especially : the range of variation permitted in maintaining a specified dimension in machining a piece
4
a (1) : the capacity of the body to endure or become less responsive to a substance (as a drug) or a physiological insult especially with repeated use or exposure; also : the immunological state marked by unresponsiveness to a specific antigen
(2) : relative capacity of an organism to grow or thrive when subjected to an unfavorable environmental factor
b: the maximum amount of a pesticide residue that may lawfully remain on or in food
That last one is a little spooky to think about, isn't it? But anyway...
If you go by the dictionary definition of "tolerance," then I'm about the most tolerant person there is. I came to the realization a very long time ago that there's a whole lot going on in this world that I cannot control and that truly doesn't affect me, so for the most part I just go ahead and live my life as best I can and let others do the same. And when I became a Freemason in November of 2013 those personal beliefs were fortified by the Masonic teachings, and I believe in those teachings now more than ever. The plain fact of the matter is that people are different, they have different values, different beliefs, different understandings, and that's going to make their lives much different than mine - just as it makes my life drastically different than theirs. Please note that I said "different" and not "wrong." When it comes to opinions and beliefs there is no "right" or "wrong," there's just "different." (If you've been following my blog for the past 7 years then you already know that.)
And I'm okay with that, really. To me, THAT is the definition of "tolerance."
But the "other side" isn't practicing what they preach. They preach "tolerance" from the rooftops and highest hills, telling us that we must be "tolerant" of them and their beliefs while in the same breath telling us that our beliefs are wrong, that they're offended by them (God, how I've come to loathe that word!), and that we must change OUR opinions, beliefs, and in some case practices to be in line with THEIRS.
And THAT, friends and neighbors, is not "tolerance." There's another word for it, and the word is "HYPOCRISY."
If you're going to stand up on a podium and tell me that you have a certain belief or opinion and demand that I accept that, I'll agree with you; however, the moment you stand up there and tell me that MY beliefs and opinions are wrong, that I must stop having them and conform to YOURS is the moment that you'll get extremely fierce opposition and resistance from me. And that opposition and resistance will continue until one of two things happen: either you stop telling me that I have to conform to your beliefs and drop mine, or I die. Those are the only two ways I'll stop. Period.
Sound a bit extreme? Nah, not really. The more correct word is "dedicated."
Until the liberal left comes to the realization that they need to practice what they preach, I and thousands of others just like me will continue to resist, continue to oppose, and most importantly we will continue to live our lives by OUR standards and beliefs and not THEIRS. When the liberal left comes to this realization, that true "tolerance" is accepting that others have different beliefs than yours and not insisting that those different beliefs and associated actions be stopped and/or banned, at that point we will finally be able to truly understand each other and just get along.
But I ain't holding my breath.
IHC
For the most part I agree with all of this, but there's one thing that the liberal left fails to preach and intentionally omits - tolerance is a two-way street.
Let's take a look at the Webster's Dictionary definition of "tolerance," shall we?
Full Definition of TOLERANCE
1: capacity to endure pain or hardship : endurance, fortitude, stamina
2
a: sympathy or indulgence for beliefs or practices differing from or conflicting with one's own
b: the act of allowing something : toleration
3: the allowable deviation from a standard; especially : the range of variation permitted in maintaining a specified dimension in machining a piece
4
a (1) : the capacity of the body to endure or become less responsive to a substance (as a drug) or a physiological insult especially with repeated use or exposure
(2) : relative capacity of an organism to grow or thrive when subjected to an unfavorable environmental factor
b: the maximum amount of a pesticide residue that may lawfully remain on or in food
That last one is a little spooky to think about, isn't it? But anyway...
If you go by the dictionary definition of "tolerance," then I'm about the most tolerant person there is. I came to the realization a very long time ago that there's a whole lot going on in this world that I cannot control and that truly doesn't affect me, so for the most part I just go ahead and live my life as best I can and let others do the same. And when I became a Freemason in November of 2013 those personal beliefs were fortified by the Masonic teachings, and I believe in those teachings now more than ever. The plain fact of the matter is that people are different, they have different values, different beliefs, different understandings, and that's going to make their lives much different than mine - just as it makes my life drastically different than theirs. Please note that I said "different" and not "wrong." When it comes to opinions and beliefs there is no "right" or "wrong," there's just "different." (If you've been following my blog for the past 7 years then you already know that.)
And I'm okay with that, really. To me, THAT is the definition of "tolerance."
But the "other side" isn't practicing what they preach. They preach "tolerance" from the rooftops and highest hills, telling us that we must be "tolerant" of them and their beliefs while in the same breath telling us that our beliefs are wrong, that they're offended by them (God, how I've come to loathe that word!), and that we must change OUR opinions, beliefs, and in some case practices to be in line with THEIRS.
And THAT, friends and neighbors, is not "tolerance." There's another word for it, and the word is "HYPOCRISY."
If you're going to stand up on a podium and tell me that you have a certain belief or opinion and demand that I accept that, I'll agree with you; however, the moment you stand up there and tell me that MY beliefs and opinions are wrong, that I must stop having them and conform to YOURS is the moment that you'll get extremely fierce opposition and resistance from me. And that opposition and resistance will continue until one of two things happen: either you stop telling me that I have to conform to your beliefs and drop mine, or I die. Those are the only two ways I'll stop. Period.
Sound a bit extreme? Nah, not really. The more correct word is "dedicated."
Until the liberal left comes to the realization that they need to practice what they preach, I and thousands of others just like me will continue to resist, continue to oppose, and most importantly we will continue to live our lives by OUR standards and beliefs and not THEIRS. When the liberal left comes to this realization, that true "tolerance" is accepting that others have different beliefs than yours and not insisting that those different beliefs and associated actions be stopped and/or banned, at that point we will finally be able to truly understand each other and just get along.
But I ain't holding my breath.
IHC
Thursday, June 25, 2015
Man, I Hate It When Rush is Right
Make no bones about it, friends and neighbors, I cannot stand Rush Limbaugh. In my humble opinion he's nothing more than a self-centered, ego-maniacal, loud mouthed blowhard. My opinion was formed way back in 1994 when I heard the intro to his radio show for the very first time, and it went like this:
"And now, for the next hour you people can enjoy the most wonderful sound in the entire world - the sound of my voice!"
At that precise moment in time I knew that I could not stand that arrogant son of a bitch, and I have made it a point NOT to listen to his show ever.
But as much as I don't like him, I have to admit that every now and again Rush gets it right. Such is the case today, and I'm sad to say it because what he's right about is tragic, and that he's just right to begin with.
Last Tuesday, right after the big flap about the Confederate Flag in Columbia started, Rush said this on his radio show:
“I have a prediction. It’s not going to stop with the Confederate flag because it’s not about the Confederate flag, it’s about destroying the South as a political force. Do not doubt me! And I’ll make another prediction to you. The next flag that will come under assault — and it will not be long — is the American flag.”
“It makes perfect sense. The speed and rapidity with which the left is conducting this assault on all these American traditions and institutions, if you don’t think the American flag is in their crosshairs down the road, you had better stop and reconsider.”
And today, I read this:
“I don’t know what the hell the fight is about over the Confederate flag. We need to put the American flag down. Because we’ve caught as much hell under that as the Confederate flag. Who are we fighting today? It’s the people that carry the American flag.”
And the person speaking those words? None other than Louis Farrakhan, leader of the Nation of Islam and the single biggest white-hating racist in America. So while Rush was right in what was going to follow, he was wrong about where it would come from. But the point is that it's here, it's happening, and the really spooky thing is that people are actually listening to Farrakhan!
I never in my wildest nightmares thought that America would allow itself to be swept up in as far-reaching and sadistically extensive purge of anything the way they have over the Confederate flag. What's going on now is truly political correctness run amok as I said yesterday, and I lay the lion's share of the blame square on the delicate shoulders of the Governor of South Carolina, Nikki Hailey. When she caved in to political correctness and announced her desire to take down the Battle Flag from the state house grounds, she set the whole thing in motion. The governor of Alabama removed the Battle Flag from the Capital grounds in that state; the city council in Baltimore are calling for the city park named after Confederate General Robert E. Lee to be renamed and for all things Confederate to be removed; the Baltimore mayor has called for the state to stop issuing Sons of Confederate Veterans license plates because the SCV logo includes the Battle Flag; Wal-Mart, Amazon, Sears, and Ebay have all stopped selling Confederate flag items, and both the Elder Flag Company and the Roseland Flag Company have stopped manufacturing the flag altogether.
This whole thing just scares the crap right outta me, and here's why: our nation is proving that it is so susceptible to outside influences via the liberal news media that they are willing to do just about anything for any reason, so what's to say that the assault Rush predicated on the American flag won't go the same way as the one against the Confederate flag? Our nation has become so intent on making sure that no one gets offended that they are now willing to stoop to utterly ridiculous levels to make sure that happens, and in the process they are both losing their free will and are offending a whole different class of Americans.
And I'm one of those "different class of Americans." This whole thing just offends the living crap out of me, the main reason being this: when was the last time you read a news article or heard a story on the TV news about the guy who actually did the killing? I mean, this guy walks into a church and shoots nine people dead, and less than 24 hours after the fact he's not only dropped off the of front page and is no longer the lead story, you can't find a mention of him anywhere! To me, this does a HUGE injustice to those who were killed and to their families, one that no one will ever be able to put right.
The other thing that both offends and scares me about all this is that if America can allow itself to be swept up so completely in so silly and useless a thing as banning the Confederate flag, that whole thing about the attack of the American flag may just indeed be right around the corner. It wasn't that long ago that some college class somewhere did a study of some kind which required students to toss an American flag on the ground and then walk all over it, and no one said a damned thing. Sorry, folks, but first off that's illegal, secondly it's NOT a "constitutional right" under the First Amendment (read the damned thing, will you?), and lastly it's un-patriotic, un-American, and will get your ass kicked if I'm around and see you do it. I fought for and under that flag, I have friends who bled and died for and under that flag, and I will not stand idly by and see ANYONE smear, besmirch, disrespect, or destroy that flag. I'm an American patriot, and I simply will not stand for it.
And if that offends you, then I suggest you put on your big boy pants or your big girl panties and get over it.
IHC
"And now, for the next hour you people can enjoy the most wonderful sound in the entire world - the sound of my voice!"
At that precise moment in time I knew that I could not stand that arrogant son of a bitch, and I have made it a point NOT to listen to his show ever.
But as much as I don't like him, I have to admit that every now and again Rush gets it right. Such is the case today, and I'm sad to say it because what he's right about is tragic, and that he's just right to begin with.
Last Tuesday, right after the big flap about the Confederate Flag in Columbia started, Rush said this on his radio show:
“I have a prediction. It’s not going to stop with the Confederate flag because it’s not about the Confederate flag, it’s about destroying the South as a political force. Do not doubt me! And I’ll make another prediction to you. The next flag that will come under assault — and it will not be long — is the American flag.”
“It makes perfect sense. The speed and rapidity with which the left is conducting this assault on all these American traditions and institutions, if you don’t think the American flag is in their crosshairs down the road, you had better stop and reconsider.”
And today, I read this:
“I don’t know what the hell the fight is about over the Confederate flag. We need to put the American flag down. Because we’ve caught as much hell under that as the Confederate flag. Who are we fighting today? It’s the people that carry the American flag.”
And the person speaking those words? None other than Louis Farrakhan, leader of the Nation of Islam and the single biggest white-hating racist in America. So while Rush was right in what was going to follow, he was wrong about where it would come from. But the point is that it's here, it's happening, and the really spooky thing is that people are actually listening to Farrakhan!
I never in my wildest nightmares thought that America would allow itself to be swept up in as far-reaching and sadistically extensive purge of anything the way they have over the Confederate flag. What's going on now is truly political correctness run amok as I said yesterday, and I lay the lion's share of the blame square on the delicate shoulders of the Governor of South Carolina, Nikki Hailey. When she caved in to political correctness and announced her desire to take down the Battle Flag from the state house grounds, she set the whole thing in motion. The governor of Alabama removed the Battle Flag from the Capital grounds in that state; the city council in Baltimore are calling for the city park named after Confederate General Robert E. Lee to be renamed and for all things Confederate to be removed; the Baltimore mayor has called for the state to stop issuing Sons of Confederate Veterans license plates because the SCV logo includes the Battle Flag; Wal-Mart, Amazon, Sears, and Ebay have all stopped selling Confederate flag items, and both the Elder Flag Company and the Roseland Flag Company have stopped manufacturing the flag altogether.
This whole thing just scares the crap right outta me, and here's why: our nation is proving that it is so susceptible to outside influences via the liberal news media that they are willing to do just about anything for any reason, so what's to say that the assault Rush predicated on the American flag won't go the same way as the one against the Confederate flag? Our nation has become so intent on making sure that no one gets offended that they are now willing to stoop to utterly ridiculous levels to make sure that happens, and in the process they are both losing their free will and are offending a whole different class of Americans.
And I'm one of those "different class of Americans." This whole thing just offends the living crap out of me, the main reason being this: when was the last time you read a news article or heard a story on the TV news about the guy who actually did the killing? I mean, this guy walks into a church and shoots nine people dead, and less than 24 hours after the fact he's not only dropped off the of front page and is no longer the lead story, you can't find a mention of him anywhere! To me, this does a HUGE injustice to those who were killed and to their families, one that no one will ever be able to put right.
The other thing that both offends and scares me about all this is that if America can allow itself to be swept up so completely in so silly and useless a thing as banning the Confederate flag, that whole thing about the attack of the American flag may just indeed be right around the corner. It wasn't that long ago that some college class somewhere did a study of some kind which required students to toss an American flag on the ground and then walk all over it, and no one said a damned thing. Sorry, folks, but first off that's illegal, secondly it's NOT a "constitutional right" under the First Amendment (read the damned thing, will you?), and lastly it's un-patriotic, un-American, and will get your ass kicked if I'm around and see you do it. I fought for and under that flag, I have friends who bled and died for and under that flag, and I will not stand idly by and see ANYONE smear, besmirch, disrespect, or destroy that flag. I'm an American patriot, and I simply will not stand for it.
And if that offends you, then I suggest you put on your big boy pants or your big girl panties and get over it.
IHC
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
Heritage, Hate, and Political Correctness Run Amok
Let's begin by stating the obvious - the Confederate Battle Flag displayed on the South Carolina State House Grounds at the Confederate Soldier's Monument had absolutely nothing to do with the shootings in Charleston last week.
Unfortunately, what's glaringly obvious to me isn't so glaringly obvious to a lot of other folks - at least, not to those with the long-standing agenda of removing the Confederate Battle Flag from view everywhere, especially on the State House grounds in Columbia. Those people have used a tragedy committed by a deranged young man as a vehicle to promote their agenda, totally disregarding the fact that one has absolutely nothing to do with the other. And for those who say that the picture of the madman (I refuse to use his name) with a Confederate flag makes it totally relevant, I guess they never saw this one:
Now, if you use the same "logic" that the race baiters and liberals are using, we now have to close down every Gold's Gym in the nation because they are obviously to blame for this kid's mental illness which causes him to so hate America that he burns an American flag. Yes, absolutely, we must close down all Gold's Gym facilities immediately!
Sound silly? Of course it is. One has absolutely nothing to do with the other, yet the race baiters and liberal activists who have a personal agenda of removing the Confederate flag from public view don't care. They're going to exploit the tragedy for their own purposes no matter what. Of course, you do realize that if this kid had shot up a white church no one would have given a damn, don't you? Nope, the news wouldn't have covered it for more than a day, the governor wouldn't have said much about it, and The Great Pretender sure as hell wouldn't be coming to town for the funerals. Nah, dead white people aren't news because after all, only black lives matter.
Which is bullshit, of course. ALL lives matter, black or white.
The real question I want answered by anyone who supports the removal of the Battle Flag is this: just what, exactly, will this accomplish towards ensuring that such a heinous act doesn't happen again?
Please don't try and tell me that it will reduce the climate of racism, because that's crap. Racism is taught by people, not by symbols. And don't try and tell me that it will reduce the climate of hate, because hate is also taught by people, not by symbols. And in case y'all haven't been keeping up on current events, both hate AND racism exist in all corners of our nation and is practiced daily by both white AND black people. But of course, you never hear about this in the liberal news media because according to the liberal handbook, only white people can be racists.
Which is more bullshit, of course.
To place all of the blame for an act as heinous as this on something as simple as a flag is to totally deny the real issue at hand (and it is NOT gun control), said issue being mental illness. You don't have to be a doctor to look into this kid's eyes and see that he's a few fries short of a happy meal. And the people around him sure as hell knew he was a practicing racist as well as a little bit nuts, but everyone sat on their hands and did nothing.
All of the mass shootings in this country in the recent past (meaning the past 5 years or so) all have one thing in common, that thing being the shooter was batshit crazy and that no one did anything about it. THAT, friends and neighbors, is the REAL problem. Not guns, not flags, not anything but mental illness. We as a society have failed once again to recognize and treat someone with a serious mental illness, and once again the results have been both disastrous and deadly.
How do we solve the problem? Not by taking down flags, that's for damned sure. I wish I had the answer but I don't; that's something that someone with a lot more smarts than I have is going to have to figure out, and then we as a society are going to have to get off our asses and take action. Personally, I'd like to see this happen sooner than later, but I ain't holding my breath.
Now, back to the flag. I fully and completely support the flying of the Confederate Battle Flag in its present location on the State House Grounds for this simple reason: it was placed next to the Confederate Soldier's Monument in 2000 as an addition to that monument, said monument having been erected as a memorial to the brave men of South Carolina who fought and died in defense of the state in the War Between the States. That's why the flag is there, nothing more, and to remove it would be to turn our backs on the courage, valor, honor, and sacrifices these men made in defense of their home state. As a born and bred Southerner I can think of nothing more dishonorable than to remove that flag.
Oh, and by the way, you DID know that there were black Confederate soldiers who fought too, right? I mean, black men who VOLUNTEERED to fight to defend their homes...but you knew that, right?
No? Then maybe it's time for you to do a little research before you go yanking down flags.
IHC
Unfortunately, what's glaringly obvious to me isn't so glaringly obvious to a lot of other folks - at least, not to those with the long-standing agenda of removing the Confederate Battle Flag from view everywhere, especially on the State House grounds in Columbia. Those people have used a tragedy committed by a deranged young man as a vehicle to promote their agenda, totally disregarding the fact that one has absolutely nothing to do with the other. And for those who say that the picture of the madman (I refuse to use his name) with a Confederate flag makes it totally relevant, I guess they never saw this one:
Now, if you use the same "logic" that the race baiters and liberals are using, we now have to close down every Gold's Gym in the nation because they are obviously to blame for this kid's mental illness which causes him to so hate America that he burns an American flag. Yes, absolutely, we must close down all Gold's Gym facilities immediately!
Sound silly? Of course it is. One has absolutely nothing to do with the other, yet the race baiters and liberal activists who have a personal agenda of removing the Confederate flag from public view don't care. They're going to exploit the tragedy for their own purposes no matter what. Of course, you do realize that if this kid had shot up a white church no one would have given a damn, don't you? Nope, the news wouldn't have covered it for more than a day, the governor wouldn't have said much about it, and The Great Pretender sure as hell wouldn't be coming to town for the funerals. Nah, dead white people aren't news because after all, only black lives matter.
Which is bullshit, of course. ALL lives matter, black or white.
The real question I want answered by anyone who supports the removal of the Battle Flag is this: just what, exactly, will this accomplish towards ensuring that such a heinous act doesn't happen again?
Please don't try and tell me that it will reduce the climate of racism, because that's crap. Racism is taught by people, not by symbols. And don't try and tell me that it will reduce the climate of hate, because hate is also taught by people, not by symbols. And in case y'all haven't been keeping up on current events, both hate AND racism exist in all corners of our nation and is practiced daily by both white AND black people. But of course, you never hear about this in the liberal news media because according to the liberal handbook, only white people can be racists.
Which is more bullshit, of course.
To place all of the blame for an act as heinous as this on something as simple as a flag is to totally deny the real issue at hand (and it is NOT gun control), said issue being mental illness. You don't have to be a doctor to look into this kid's eyes and see that he's a few fries short of a happy meal. And the people around him sure as hell knew he was a practicing racist as well as a little bit nuts, but everyone sat on their hands and did nothing.
All of the mass shootings in this country in the recent past (meaning the past 5 years or so) all have one thing in common, that thing being the shooter was batshit crazy and that no one did anything about it. THAT, friends and neighbors, is the REAL problem. Not guns, not flags, not anything but mental illness. We as a society have failed once again to recognize and treat someone with a serious mental illness, and once again the results have been both disastrous and deadly.
How do we solve the problem? Not by taking down flags, that's for damned sure. I wish I had the answer but I don't; that's something that someone with a lot more smarts than I have is going to have to figure out, and then we as a society are going to have to get off our asses and take action. Personally, I'd like to see this happen sooner than later, but I ain't holding my breath.
Now, back to the flag. I fully and completely support the flying of the Confederate Battle Flag in its present location on the State House Grounds for this simple reason: it was placed next to the Confederate Soldier's Monument in 2000 as an addition to that monument, said monument having been erected as a memorial to the brave men of South Carolina who fought and died in defense of the state in the War Between the States. That's why the flag is there, nothing more, and to remove it would be to turn our backs on the courage, valor, honor, and sacrifices these men made in defense of their home state. As a born and bred Southerner I can think of nothing more dishonorable than to remove that flag.
Oh, and by the way, you DID know that there were black Confederate soldiers who fought too, right? I mean, black men who VOLUNTEERED to fight to defend their homes...but you knew that, right?
No? Then maybe it's time for you to do a little research before you go yanking down flags.
IHC
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