Confederate flag wavers crash Georgia parade honoring war veterans amid America’s dwindling white population
The flag has long been a symbol that divides individuals, populations and even entire communities.
A parade to honor the memories of war veterans was crashed by a group who waved the Confederate flag along the route, even though the controversial symbol was banned, the Daily Mail reports.
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A councilman said the Old Soldiers Day Parade in Alpharetta was ruined after parade-goers from the Sons of Confederate Veterans defied the ban and flew the flag. Organizers said the flag was prohibited from being flown at the parade because it “divided individuals.” Confederate flag wavers have been coming out of the woodwork as America’s white population continues to dwindle amid changing demographics.
“Regardless of one’s personal position on the flag itself, that the Confederate Battle Flag is today a symbol that is dividing individuals, populations and even entire communities is something that we must acknowledge,” organizers wrote.
Alpharetta GA just banned the Confederate battle flag from its annual Old Soldiers Day Parade https://t.co/4LEBROhLWo
— Reckon (@reckonnews) August 12, 2018
William Lathem, a leader in the Sons of Confederate Veterans, said the flag is a symbol heritage and not hate.
“We believe in the proper display of the flag in a true historic and heritage-type setting, and as sons of Confederate veterans, we represent the men that fought for the Confederacy, and we’re here to honor their memory,” he said.
“The battle flag, of course, is part of what they were associated with.”
He added: “Certain hate groups like the Nazis, the Ku Klux Klan, the Aryan nations and others like that have misused not only the Confederate flag, but the US flag and the cross of Christianity for decades.’”
The Confederate flag has been used as a symbol of hate, however, and recently was front and center at the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville Virginia.
Hundreds of people showed up to the rally some to march in the “Unite the Right” event late year and others to protest it. The main bone of contention was the due to be removed statue of Confederate general Robert E. Lee.
This year, Virginia was put under a state of emergency ahead of the one year anniversary of the deadly Charlottesville Unite the Right rally but only a handful of protestors showed up.
The Confederacy, which included the southern states, was pro-slavery but lost the American Civil War.
