Posted on 01/20/2004 1:32:39 AM PST by kattracks
COLUMBIA, S.C. - The square in front of the South Carolina state capitol, on Martin Luther King Day, is the most morally simple place in America.The Confederate flag flies there, near a monument to rebel soldiers who, "faithful to the teachings of their fathers ... glorified a fallen cause."
A couple of thousand demonstrators gathered in front of the capitol yesterday and demanded that the flag come down.
Cordoned off to the side were the counterdemonstrators - an old man and his two grandchildren. They waved Confederate battle banners, but they might as well have been flying white flags.
Still, from the furious tone of the oratory, you would have thought that the South was rising again. Al Sharpton was especially harsh.
"This is a flag of terrorism," he told the crowd. "A flag of treason. The Confederates were terrorists who committed treason."
Well, yes. That's what the Civil War was about. Even the old guy with the Stars and Bars won't defend slavery, although he doesn't care for Rev. Al.
"Let him go back to Harlem and take care of his own business," he muttered.
Of course, Sharpton was here doing just that. His business is getting votes in the Feb. 3 Democratic primary. He intends to spend most of the next two weeks in South Carolina.
Sharpton reminded the voters that he had been here before, taken part in other anti-flag protests. This remark was a gently aimed barb at Wesley Clark, a recent convert to the issue, who was also on the platform in Columbia.
In fact, South Carolina's flag is an old Sharpton reliable. He probably wishes there were one in every primary state. The flag carries him back to a simpler time. Sharpton often says his race-based candidacy is "about right and wrong, not black and white." But he knows full well that issues of American racial morality are far more nuanced than they used to be.
Sharpton wants to be the heir of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Yesterday, he invoked the four little girls who were murdered in a Birmingham church bombing back in King's day. But Rev. Al still refuses to admit he was wrong - and dangerously irresponsible - for lighting the fuse in the bogus Tawana Brawley case.
Nor has he apologized for making common cause last year with the Stalinists and Saddamites on the fringes of the "peace movement."
More than most other public men, Sharpton is a work in progress. His sense of social justice struggles with his street hustler's inclinations. His aspirations to national stature clash with his fear of selling out (or being perceived as a sellout).
Jesse Jackson was ultimately stunted by this conflict. Now it's Sharpton's turn, and how he does it matters. Like it or not, he is destined to play a major role in shaping both the Democratic Party and the racial life of this country.
Sharpton is planning a bus tour through South Carolina on the eve of the primary. His choice of vehicle is meant to conjure up the integrated freedom rides of the civil rights '60s. His point of departure - the Charleston slave market - is intended to convey a harsher message.
There is no doubt that Sharpton's bus won't be festooned with Confederate decals. The question is, will there be an American flag onboard?
Originally published on January 20, 2004
The kind of fires Sharpton likes to ignite are the ones that burned down Freddie's Fashion Mart.
Al and those like him are the true racists in this country - he's no better than any Kleagle like Byrd. Going back to South Carolina and remembering 'simpler times' matters to Al because back then the blacks were being held down by the whites. Now it is the blacks being held down by themselves, only these bigots can't see that racism goes both ways these days. It's called equality. When it comes to race relations, anyone who does anything based solely upon ethnicity is a racist - black or white.
Heck, those fringe people are the Democrats' base!
There's a huge difference in fighting for equal rights and special rights. Their causes are nowhere near alike.
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