Confederate Flag Parade Crash Sparks Viral Video And Free Speech Debate
A Confederate Flag parade, featuring more than 150 pickup trucks and other vehicles, resulted in a crash that was ultimately turned into a viral video. The parade took place in Dalton, Georgia. Local police officers were blocking intersections for the parade, as is commonplace for any such event, but the traffic assistance did not thwart the wreck, which occurred over the past weekend.
The pickup trucks participating in the Confederate Flag parade passed a gas station and rolled on through the intersection without stopping, due to the police escort. One pickup truck rear-ends another, and the sound on bumpers smashing is heard above the amateur videographer who was cursing and mocking the parade throughout the recording.
[Video Language Warning – Videographer frequently curses throughout recording.]
https://youtu.be/gHElzaKkmQY
The Confederate Flag has garnered a lot of attention and heated debate since the Charleston church shootings, allegedly conducted by Dylan Roof. Some view the Southern Cross as a symbol of racism or oppression, while others feel passionately that the flag represents their Southern heritage and Southern pride.
Flying Confederate flags was spotted cruising through what is believed to be the town of Dalton, Georgia, this weekend. The event was recorded on a cell phone camera and posted online. But it’s what happened partway through the video that has the video going viral.
“Man, look at this s**t. They got a God d**n day for Confederate f*****g flags. This is some bull s**t,” the man who recorded the Confederate Flag parade on his cell phone is heard saying during the event. “They got the roads blocked off for these f*****g flags. “Boom! Boom! I got that! God don’t like ugly.”
The following is an excerpt from a Facebook statement by the Dalton Police Department.
“On Sunday, the Dalton Police Department was alerted through social media that a group of citizens was planning a procession of vehicles from the Walnut Square Mall to the Wal-Mart on Shugart Road in Dalton. Given the history that gatherings perpetuated through social media can tend to grow to a scale that is difficult to control after the fact, the Dalton Police Department contacted representatives of the group and Walmart to determine the safest way to proceed in a lawful manner and impact the free flow of traffic as little as possible. Our officers are in a tough position sometimes because they are called in to maintain order in the middle of strongly opposing views. We do not support any group which discriminates against the rights of others, or attempts to cause fear or alarm in our community.”
“We had a concern that the group may proceed without coordination and felt it would be safer for our community to have a presence there to keep it peaceful,” Dalton Police Chief Jason Parker said when asked if the Confederate Flag parade was a city sanctioned event.
What do you think about the Confederate Flag parade? Would the expression of free speech event crash have been mocked if the vehicles had been carrying any other type of flag?
[Image via Facebook]
