Priorities

[Ransom]

http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/06/us/chicago-violent-weekend/index.html

http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/05/living/anne-arundel-maryland-police-baby-roadway-feat/

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/police-maryland-boy-dies-beaten-eating-cake-32255992

http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/02/us/crime-in-america/


If you live in Baltimore, you know that May, with 43 homicides, was the deadliest month since 1972. Or if you are a Houstonian, you've probably heard that murders were up 45% through April compared to the same period in 2014. The latest statistics in Milwaukee show a 103% spike in murders year-to-date compared with a year ago. In Atlanta, 41 people were killed in the first five months of this year compared with 27 in the same period last year, an increase of 52%.

If you live in Baltimore, are you more concerned about May of 2015 being the most violent month since 1972? If you live in Milwaukee, a 103% spike in murders? A 52% increase in Atlanta, a 45% increase in Houston?

Gee....we better take those Confederate Flags down before they inspire another random shooting, huh? This illegal immigrant who gunned down an innocent woman in San Francisco, good thing he wasn't wearing a Confederate Flag.......many of you would get really pissed.

Cause everything I've just linked to......is wholesale ignored today. We're much better given same sex marriage and SC taking its' flag down of state grounds. No more problems.

[Cigar]

:grin: It's Coming Down :grin:

http://www.saintpetersblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/11015602_1036129019748419_655413416_n.jpg

[Cigar]

Man posts amazing letter to Facebook about letting the Confederate flag go (http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/07/06/1399583/-Man-posts-amazing-letter-to-Facebook-about-letting-the-Confederate-flag-go)

http://images.dailykos.com/images/152494/large/Screen_Shot_2015-07-06_at_9.42.46_AM.png?1436201727

Josh Clark is a self-described "country boy stuck in the city." He grew up near Nashville and, like many kids, was told that the Confederate flag stood for Southern heritage and Southern pride. As a result of the events in South Carolina and the revisiting of what the Confederate flag means to Americans, Josh too has had to rethink his relationship to the Confederate/Rebel flag. He took to his Facebook page and wrote a very eloquent and thoughtful piece. (https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10103181789515195&id=9433246&substory_index=0) He talks about growing up and what he was told and what he believed the flag to mean—and therefore, what it meant to him.


It’s no big secret to my friends that I love to hunt, fish, camp and do pretty much anything outdoors. I have always considered myself to be a country boy stuck in the city. One of the ways that I used to show pride for my lifestyle was wearing t-shirts with the Confederate/ Rebel flag on them. In high school, I even had a bumper sticker on my truck that read “Keep It Flying”. I had grown up seeing the flag regularly, and although I had seen it used in negative ways on occasion, I chose to accept the “Heritage not Hate” and “Pride not Prejudice” interpretation of the flag. If you had asked me back then, I would’ve told you that it was a symbol of southern pride and had nothing to do with racism.


He goes on to talk about becoming more independent as he entered college and the age when most of us begin to separate ourselves as critical and independent thinkers. He looks back at how he lived with the flag and how that may have effected those around him.


Although I never meant anything racist by sporting the Confederate flag, I couldn’t help but think of what some of my black friends thought about it. I really can’t think of a time that I was confronted about it. Did it not offend them? Were they too nice or afraid to confront me about it? The more I researched about the history of the flag, the worse I felt. What I had been told about its history was wrong. Thousands of southerners still fly the flag with no racist intent. They still defend the good things they’ve been told about the flag. They, like I once was, are WRONG. The flag is a symbol of a way of life that was wrong. Not that it needs to be stated, but slavery is one of the most evil and cruel things this world has ever seen. The Confederate flag represents this evil. Where is the pride in that? The Confederate flag is also a sign of division. How can you truly be a patriot of this country and fly this flag? Do we really need to fly a flag to show that we are southern, or that we like to hunt and fish, especially when it’s offensive to so many? It is not a kind thing, a good thing, or the right thing to do.



http://images.dailykos.com/images/152494/large/Screen_Shot_2015-07-06_at_9.42.46_AM.png?1436201727 Having the will to learn

Josh Clark is a self-described "country boy stuck in the city." He grew up near Nashville and, like many kids, was told that the Confederate flag stood for Southern heritage and Southern pride. As a result of the events in South Carolina and the revisiting of what the Confederate flag means to Americans, Josh too has had to rethink his relationship to the Confederate/Rebel flag. He took to his Facebook page and wrote a very eloquent and thoughtful piece. (https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10103181789515195&id=9433246&substory_index=0) He talks about growing up and what he was told and what he believed the flag to mean—and therefore, what it meant to him.
It’s no big secret to my friends that I love to hunt, fish, camp and do pretty much anything outdoors. I have always considered myself to be a country boy stuck in the city. One of the ways that I used to show pride for my lifestyle was wearing t-shirts with the Confederate/ Rebel flag on them. In high school, I even had a bumper sticker on my truck that read “Keep It Flying”. I had grown up seeing the flag regularly, and although I had seen it used in negative ways on occasion, I chose to accept the “Heritage not Hate” and “Pride not Prejudice” interpretation of the flag. If you had asked me back then, I would’ve told you that it was a symbol of southern pride and had nothing to do with racism.
He goes on to talk about becoming more independent as he entered college and the age when most of us begin to separate ourselves as critical and independent thinkers. He looks back at how he lived with the flag and how that may have effected those around him.
Although I never meant anything racist by sporting the Confederate flag, I couldn’t help but think of what some of my black friends thought about it. I really can’t think of a time that I was confronted about it. Did it not offend them? Were they too nice or afraid to confront me about it? The more I researched about the history of the flag, the worse I felt. What I had been told about its history was wrong. Thousands of southerners still fly the flag with no racist intent. They still defend the good things they’ve been told about the flag. They, like I once was, are WRONG. The flag is a symbol of a way of life that was wrong. Not that it needs to be stated, but slavery is one of the most evil and cruel things this world has ever seen. The Confederate flag represents this evil. Where is the pride in that? The Confederate flag is also a sign of division. How can you truly be a patriot of this country and fly this flag? Do we really need to fly a flag to show that we are southern, or that we like to hunt and fish, especially when it’s offensive to so many? It is not a kind thing, a good thing, or the right thing to do.


You can read the whole piece here on Josh Clark's Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10103181789515195&id=9433246&substory_index=0) or below the fold. It takes a courageous person to admit fault and an intelligent person to communicate with compassion.

http://images.dailykos.com/images/152493/large/Screen_Shot_2015-07-06_at_9.55.19_AM.png?1436201726

[Adelaide]

The Confederate flag is an easy fix.

The world/country keeps moving on regardless of crime going on, which is generally considered a local problem.

[Ransom]

The Confederate Flag wasn't an easy fix, 3/4 of a million perished. Those wanting to fly or wear it are on their own volition, we've much bigger fish to fry. And our "crime going on" turns into national issues, Adelaide. Rioting in the streets, police officers murdered in their cars, police stations attacked...not to mention the violence on the uptick as I just linked to.....that it's obvious you didn't read.

Wow.

[Ransom]

:tumbleweed: