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Title: Fury as Virginia considers limiting Confederate flag displays in town where civil war generals are buried
Source:
Daily Mail Online
URL Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art ... civil-war-generals-buried.html
Published: Sep 2, 2011
Author: Chris Parsons
Post Date: 2011-09-02 21:46:14 by Sebastian
Keywords: None
Views: 2382
Comments: 3
Crowds of Confederate Veteran demonstrators rallied yesterday to protest against plans to limit the flying of the Confederate flag in rural Virginia. The flag of Dixie has long caused controversy as a divisive symbol between northern and southern American states, with officials in Lexington, Virginia, trying to limit its use. The Sons of Confederate Veterans rallied yesterday to oppose plans to limit flags on downtown poles in the city where Confederate generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas 'Stonewall' Jackson are buried. Flying the flag: Demonstrators from the Sons of Confederate Veterans take part in a rally against plans to limit use of the Confederate flag Taking a stand: Demonstrators claim that the divisive Confederates flag in Lexington, VA, is 'part of their heritage' The proposals have angered supporters of the divisive southern symbol as Confederate flag defenders have argued it is 'part of their heritage'. Philip Way, a Civil War re-enactor who attended the Sons of Confederate Veterans rally with 100 others, said: 'I am a firm believer in the freedom to express our individual rights, which include flying the flag that we decide to fly. That's freedom to me.' The issue of flying the Confederate flag across America has become a hugely divisive issue. In Lexington, a college town of around 7,000, officials want to limit flags on downtown poles to just those of the United States, Virginia, and the city of Lexington. Mimi Knight, who was not part of the rally but watched from a nearby fence, said: 'These are the things that make Lexington what it is. The Confederate flag is part of our heritage.' In January, the city received hundreds of complaints when Confederate flags were planted in lighter poles to mark Lee-Jackson Day, a state holiday. Protest: Officials in Lexington, Virginia, want to limit flags in downtown poles to those of the USA, Virginia, and city of Lexington City leader T. Jon Ellestad insisted people can 'carry their flags wherever they want', despite complaints that the Confederate flag 'stands for the defence of slavery'. The complaints convinced city leaders they should have clear guidelines governing the flying of flags and banners on light poles, Ellestad said. Heritage groups such as Sons of Confederate Veterans said the restrictions on the flying of the Confederate flag in Lexington are especially painful because of the two military leaders' strong ties here. The 13 stars of the Confederate flag represent the southern states who attempted secession from the United States during the Civil War, and where slavery was legal. The Confederate States set up a government from 1861 to 1865, but were eventually defeated by northern states in the U.S. Civil War. The 13 stars on the Confederates Flag represent the states of South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky and Missouri. A spokesperson for the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP) in Virginia, could not be reached for comment. The NAACP launched an economic boycott of South Carolina in 1999 about the Confederate flag that flew atop the Statehouse dome and in the chambers of the House and Senate. A compromise in 2000 moved the flag to a monument outside the Statehouse. The group's president says the flag is a symbol of slavery and segregation. Jackson taught at Virginia Military Institute before the Civil War, where he became widely known as 'Stonewall' after the first Battle of Manassas; he died in 1863 from wounds suffered at Chancellorsville along with pneumonia, and is buried in Lexington, according to the website for the Stonewall Jackson House. Lee, who led Confederate forces during the Civil War before finally surrendering at Appomattox in 1865, became president of what is now Washington and Lee University, where he is buried. 'By all means they should be honored in their hometown,' said Brandon Dorsey, commander of Camp 1296 of the Stonewall Brigade of the Confederate Veterans. 'I look at the flag as honoring the veterans.' This is not the first time Lexington, is at the southern end of the Shenandoah Valley, has clashed with the Sons of Confederate Veterans. A Sons of Confederate Veterans supporter looks on during the flag rally in Lexington, Virginia, yesterday The city attempted nearly 20 years ago to ban the display of the Confederate flag during a parade honoring Jackson. The American Civil Liberties Union, which successfully defended the group's bid to carry the flag, is closely watching this dispute from afar. 'City council could live to regret this ordinance, as it imposes unusually restrictive limits on the use of the light poles,' said Kent Willis, the ACLU's executive director in Virginia. 'Sometime in the future when city officials want to use those light poles to promote a special event they may find themselves handcuffed by their own lawmaking.'
A SYMBOL OF SECESSION
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#1. To: Sebastian (#0)
They should secede again and take a few more States with them this time around.
Obama's watch stopped on 24 May 2008, but he's been too busy smoking crack to notice.
Best idea I've heard today.
- - -
The 13 stars on the Confederates Flag represent the states of South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky and Missouri.
"We (government) need to do a lot less, a lot sooner" ~Ron Paul
#2. To: hondo68 (#1)
They should secede again and take a few more States with them this time around.
#3. To: Sebastian (#0)
A SYMBOL OF SECESSION
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