Confederate Flag Gets Taken Down In South Carolina, Flag Supporters Protest


South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley ordered the removal of the Confederate flag last Friday from its usual location on the state Capitol Grounds in Columbia.

The crowd, who were watching the commemorative event, erupted into chants of U.S.A as the flag was taken down and brought to the Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum where it will be kept.

The order for the removal of the flag came after nine black people were killed in Mother Emanuel church in Charleston.

The shooter, who was white, was seen posing with the Confederate flag in photos uploaded on a website.

In a twitter post, U.S. President Obama commented that South Carolina’s decision to remove the flag was a sign of “good will and healing” as well as significant move for a better tomorrow.

Some supporters of the Confederate flag who witnessed the event came dressed in Confederate uniforms while holding flags of their own.

But the people who called for the removal of the flag far outnumbered the pro flag supporters as they cried “take it down” while the honor guards prepared for the historic event.

However, in protest of the eviction of the Confederate flag from known historic signposts in the South, supporters of the flag ran an eight-mile parade called the Florida Southern Pride Ride in Ocala, Florida last Sunday.

The protesters, who rode motorcycles, cars, and small trucks, honked their horns as a hostile response to the flag’s removal.

Ocala police estimated that around “1,500 vehicles and 4500” citizens participated in the protest, and residents from other states as far as California joined in as well.

David Stone, the campaign’s organizer, shared that the flag may symbolize different things to various people.

As is, the flag doesn’t stand for hate unless the person feels loathing, 38-year-old Stone further defended.

For supporters like Stone, the flag is an emblem of pride and respect for the Southern soldiers who lost their lives in the Civil War.

Ben Jones, spokesperson for the Sons of Confederate Veterans, stated that the backlash is only the beginning, as the group vowed to put up around five flags every time one is removed.

Nevertheless, Rep. Joseph Neal, an African-American Democrat who called for the removal of the flag, argued that though the flag may stand for “heritage,” it symbolized the abuse of the African-Americans.

[Image via YouTube]

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