Posted on 06/23/2015 9:53:55 AM PDT by rarestia
Major retailers are halting sales of the Confederate flag after the shooting deaths of nine black church members in South Carolina.
Sears Holding Corp. says it is removing Confederate flag merchandise from its website, and a spokesman says that no Confederate flag merchandise is sold inside Sears or Kmart stores.
On Monday, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said it would remove all items from its store shelves and website that feature the flag after the shooting suspect, Dylann Storm Roof, appeared in photos holding the flag.
However, the companies that make Confederate flags and confederate-themed products, as well as smaller operators that sell them, expect sales to surge, at least temporarily.
South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley said Monday that the flag should be removed from the statehouse grounds, acknowledging that to many the flag is a "deeply offensive symbol of a brutally oppressive past."
READ MORE: Calls to remove the Confederate flag throughout the South
In a statement, Bentonville, Arkansas-based Walmart Stores Inc. said its goal is to not offend anyone with the products it offers.
"We have taken steps to remove all items promoting the Confederate flag from our assortment whether in our stores or on our website," the company said. "We have a process in place to help lead us to the right decisions when it comes to the merchandise we sell. Still, at times, items make their way into our assortment improperly this is one of those instances."
A search Monday of Walmart's website for Confederate flag merchandise returned no results. But a Mississippi state flag, which features the Confederate battle emblem in one of its corners, was on offer.
A top Mississippi lawmaker called Monday for the removal of the emblem from the state flag. Calls to remove Confederate flag
In the wake of a massacre at a black church in Charleston, South Carolina, a bipartisan mix of officials across Southern states are calling for the removal of Confederate flags and other symbols of the Confederacy.
Here's a look at what's happening and what's being proposed:
South Carolina
Republican Gov. Nikki Haley said Monday that the Confederate flag should be removed from the Statehouse grounds, reversing her position on the divisive symbol. Legislative leaders - Republican and Democrat, black and white - joined her for the announcement.
"One hundred and fifty years after the end of the Civil War, the time has come," Haley said.
The flag flown in front of the state Capitol for 15 years after being moved from atop the Statehouse dome. Haley's announcement sparked further calls from politicians across the state and country both for South Carolina's flag to come down and for other flags and Confederate symbols to be removed in other states.
Mississippi
Republican House Speaker Philip Gunn said Monday that the Confederate battle emblem is offensive and needs to be removed from the state flag. He said in a statement that remembering the past is important, "but that does not mean we must let it define us."
Mississippi voters decided by a 2-to-1 margin in 2001 to keep the state flag, which has a Confederate battle emblem in one of its corners.
Tennessee
Both Democratic and Republican lawmakers called for a bust of Nathan Bedford Forrest, a Confederate general and an early leader in the Ku Klux Klan, to be removed from an alcove outside the Senate chambers at the Statehouse. The bust, inscribed with the words "Confederate States Army," has been at the Capitol for decades.
Virginia
Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe is moving to have the Confederate flag banished from state license plates. He said Tuesday that he's asked the state attorney general to take steps to reverse a 2002 federal court decision that said Virginia could not block the Confederate Veterans from displaying its logo - which includes the Confederate flag - on state license plates.
Texas
Last week, the Supreme Court ruled that Texas was within its rights to ban personalized license plates showing the Confederate flag. The court, in a 5-4 decision, rejected a challenge on the grounds of freedom of speech.
The Sons of Confederate Veterans had sought a Texas plate bearing its logo with the battle flag. Similar plates are issued by eight other states that were members of the Confederacy and by the state of Maryland. In Virginia, McAuliffe cited this ruling in his call for banning the flag from plates in his state.
True....yet he will get some sort of gun/bullet control before he is out of office I bet, via DOJ.
Why is the left really coordinating this effort?
I’ve heard a few theories, but the only thing I’m certain of is that it’s not just about the flag.
BN9 has a habit of pulling polls that don’t go their way. This conglomerate is a big influence in central Florida from Tampa to Orlando to Melbourne. What they don’t realize is that there are major bastions of southern pride in eastern Hillsborough, Polk, Pasco, Highlands, and Orange counties. This will be something that many of us will fight against. This will not stand.
viewer poll
Do you agree with Walmart’s decision to no longer sell any merchandise with the Confederate flag?
Yes(44%)
No(56%)
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This poll is not scientific and reflects the opinions of only those internet users who have chosen to participate.
Do you see what is happening? Not only can it not be used by any government, but it cannot be used or owned by any person in the private sector.
These companies are not making this decision based on demand and supply, based on politics. This is how fascism begins and it ends in a very very bad way.
Free market means free expression...the idea to be able to own what you want and to find a supply for it is part and parcel of the American experience. These companies are now doing this because of political pressure NOT market concerns. This is indeed wicked.
The day is coming, because of the liberal fascism rapidly taking over, when Bibles, books by Christian authors, conservative musicians, etc. will be removed by these retailers.
"Do you agree with Walmart's decision to no longer sell any merchandise with the Confederate flag?"
Of course I agree with it. You should too. Walmart is a private enterprise. If they choose not to have their buyers put Confederate merchandise on their shelves, then so be it.
I take your point that in response to a mass shooting by a demented racist at a church in SC that the liberal left seeks to tear down the Confederate flag, but what the hell has that got to do with what Walmart chooses to do with their merchandising plans... Or, the price of tea in China, for that matter?
'Freep this poll' indeed. Okay, I clicked on the poll. I don't think it was the response you wanted.
Sorry, I just don't care if the Confederate flag was used as a missile.
Who cares? Your local Flea Market vendors always and I mean ALWAYS have it in stock.
Flags, stickers, t-shirts what ever your confederate needs are!!
And this.
And THIS!
And that’s why I absolutely hate Walmart.Your shopping experience shouldn’t require brain bleach.
Walmart and Sears support gay rights.
good grief!
No = 42%
A pretty much universal theme in academia and in informal debate is that ANYONE who owned slaves or did not object to slavery has zero moral authority or intellectual validity at all.
The argument seems to be “If they didn’t get the most obvious issue in human history right, why should they be given any credence on anything relating to theology, politics or philosophy?”
I mean you and I know it’s all in context; George Washington or Saint Paul were very humane for the time in their treatment, or suggested treatment respectively of slaves, but that doesn’t hold a lot of weight in informal debate, even if it is historical truth.
Short memories - or can they explain this?:
Do you agree with Walmart’s decision to no longer sell any merchandise with the Confederate flag?
Yes(44%)
No(56%)
When you outlaw the Confederate flag, only outlaws will own the Confederate flag.
>>Good grief. They are winning on every single issue they go after.
Except gun control, which is why they’re going after a flag.<<
It’s coming. Don’t think Obozo’s gonna let this one pass w/o advancing his anti-gun agenda.
The commie has about 17 months left in office. He won’t leave office without some form of gun control.
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