Volunteer fire department proudly displays Confederate flag (AL)

[struggle4progress]

Posted: Friday, August 7, 2015 6:45 am

... the love of the flag is alive and well at the Oak Grove-Thach Volunteer Fire Department.

On a flagpole outside Station No. 2 — located near the intersection of Alabama 251 and McKee Road — the flag flies prominently underneath the American flag and state flag. Fire Chief Charles Claunch said Thursday he has no intention of removing the flag, either.

“Nobody in the community has complained,” he said. “To be honest, I don’t pay a lot of attention to the controversy that goes on. You’re going to have people in this world who are going to want to complain about everything, but some people are going to be who they are.”

Claunch said he and his roster of about 50 male and female firefighters fit into the latter category. He added that “most of his department” supports the display of the Confederate flag ...

http://www.enewscourier.com/news/local_news/volunteer-fire-department-proudly-displays-confederate-flag/article_bb411728-3c9b-11e5-b114-efcdb029b58c.html

[HassleCat]

1. My cousins, too

My cousins are hillbillies, even though they live in the north, northern Wisconsin, as a matter of fact, which is pretty far north. They have the rebel flag on their pickup trucks. Not a single one of them ever lived in the south, so there is no "southern heritage" excuse. They fly that flag for several reasons.

1. Dislike of the federal government. They don't like the federal gummit, like many of their Tea Party friends. Since the confederacy tried to stick it to the union by quitting, and almost succeeded, their flag represents defiance of the US federal government.

2. Dislike of authority. You see this a lot. People wave the rebel flag around and yell, "You're not the boss of me!" The recent controversy only fuels this particular fire, because people are saying the rebel flag shouldn't appear in public, so this gives people a chance to do something they're not supposed to do. "And you can't stop me!"

3. Racism. Oh, yeah. My cousins are bigots. They don't know any black people personally, since they live where there are white people and Mexican migrant workers. That's it. But they make bigoted jokes about Obama, and express dislike of blacks, foreigners, and just about anybody who is not like them.

[struggle4progress]

3. Yup. I've lived most of my life in the South and

I've frequently been left speechless by bigots claiming that flag carries some vague "I'm a rebel!" message

[procon]

2. And “most of his department” is white, right?

Black people won't complain out of an abundance of fear, rightfully thinking that any complaint would result in retaliation. "What's that... your house is on fire? OK, we'll pencil you in for tomorrow, mmmkay?" Think that won't happen? "Hello, your mama is having chest pains? Hold, please."

He's absolutely correct, "Nobody in the community has complained.” And they never will.

[struggle4progress]

4. Yeah, about 97% of the 500 hundred or so in Oak Grove are white

although about a third of the 80K in Talladega County are black