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Ed Schultz accidentally made a good point about the Confederate Flag

Ed Schultz accidentally made a good point about the Confederate Flag

…buried in a sea of “wrong,” of course

http://youtu.be/X1w5LLRYAnQ

Defenders of the Confederate Flag, prepare to feel really, really uncomfortable—you have an unlikely ally(ish).

MSNBC’s Ed Schultz is a dependable progressive shill. When Republicans retook the Senate last year, he was apoplectic; when he encounters right wing opposition, he blatantly shuts it down.

All in all, he’s a belligerent with a bullhorn; but this past week he accidentally made a little bit of sense when he weighed in on the Confederate Flag debate. Addressing the breathless purge of the “stars and bars,” he said that “[t]he desecration of our nation’s history, I think, is dangerous and I think it’s unproductive.”

Listen:

Newsbusters has the transcript:

You know, I understand the effort to remove the Confederate flag from state capitols in the South and anywhere else in this country. There’s no doubt about it that it sends the wrong message. But at this point, I asked the question, is it overboard? And I don’t understand the attempt to erase American history as if it’s going to change our course as a nation. It’s not.

The desecration of our nation’s history, I think, is dangerous and I think it’s unproductive. American history and our roots as a nation needs (sic) to be, number one, understood. It needs to be properly interpreted. It needs to be taught. And at a level, I think, it needs to be respected to be put in its proper context to the recognition of what has developed our great nation and how we have moved forward.

Whether or not you agree with him about the removal of the flag from official locations, I think we can all agree that what he’s saying here is a deviation from the left’s message on this so far.

Of course, he goes on to say that he personally feels that the display of the flag is “misplaced”—but then recovers and stumbles over the truth once more…

…But to erase the roots of our country serves no purpose for future generations. There’s now a big discussion about, what are we going to do with statues that are inside the United States Capitol? I think you can make the case that the Capitol is a museum because of all the incredible historical events that have happened in our Capitol, and it is a part of our national discussion about where we have been.

And so, I think it serves no purpose to this country for future generations if we’re going to totally rewrite the history books and I see an avalanche starting with the removal of the Confederate flag. We have to do this in a smart way.

…only to faceplant in a puddle of muddled liberalism. What an unsatisfying dismount:

It does underscore what a great nation we have become and what we’ve evolved to that what we’re doing and reacting and understanding, what we have to do as a society. The sad commentary here is that it took the death of nine people for us to realize, you know, maybe that flag is the wrong message. Maybe that flag is the wrong symbol. Maybe we ought to take it down. We can take it down and it’s not going to change anybody’s life. But it is going to send a better message to America that where we were as a country back then is not where we are today.

Actually, the “sad commentary” here is that a man who hops on the air and gets away with pretty much everything felt the need to skate backwards into a PC safety net rather than leaving it at, “hey, maybe the purging of ‘dangerous ideas’ from society doesn’t count as ‘progress.'”

The takeaway here is that liberals have gone so overboard with regards to the purging of the flag that one of their most reliable talking heads has noticed, and taken pause—even if it was only for a moment.

File it away; it’s something.

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Comments

I don’t defend the Confederate flag. Or, for that matter, the Confederate battle flag. I defend the First Amendment.

I understand the effort to remove the Confederate flag from state capitols in the South and anywhere else in this country.

Ed glosses over a vital distinction here. “State capitols” and “anywhere else” are entirely different situations.

If I want to run a flag up my own damn flagpole, I can, and no government can penalize me for doing so. Confederate flag, UN flag, ISIS flag, Rainbow flag, NSDAP flag, doesn’t matter.

The same does not apply to government. No government office or building should display a Confederate flag, UN flag, ISIS flag, Rainbow flag, NSDAP flag, or anything but a limited set of appropriate flags—US, the appropriate state, and maybe a policy or memorial flag (like the POW-MIA flag) which is of some relevance to government and its functions. Government does not have First Amendment rights in the same sense that citizens do.

“hey, maybe the purging of ‘dangerous ideas’ from society doesn’t count as ‘progress.’”

He understates this problem too. The progressive Left isn’t about purging dangerous ideas, it’s about purging ideas, period. And history, and science. We’ve seen the models, so we can’t say it’s a surprise; the Cultural Revolution (a modern version of the Qin Emperor’s decision that all history would start with his reign), and 1984. The Left is simply following the playbook, with no improvisation necessary.

The next Battle if Gettyburg Reenactment should be interesting, to say the least. Maybe Ed Schultz should be there to provide commentary. On a related note, I wonder if PBS will ever again show the Ken Burns documentary on the Civil War.

Also, should Robert Byrd be disinterred and buried in an unmarked grave? And what about buildings, roads, and bridges that carry his name?

Finally, someone on the radio mentioned Fanueil Hall in Boston, which is a famous historical site and tourist attraction. It seems that Mr. Fanueil made his money selling slaves.

Where does this end? Possibly with the Constitution.

While I oppose flying the flag of what was essentially a hostile nation on the government buildings of my state and country, I am all for confederate flag “defenders” rights to display such flags. They are a fantastic way to tell if someone is stupid, merely at a glance…

    Ragspierre in reply to anoNY. | June 29, 2015 at 2:19 pm

    Cool. MORE self-declared bigotry…!!!

    Ban all the history! Burn all the copies of “The History Of The United States”, along with “Gone With The Wind”.

      anoNY in reply to Ragspierre. | June 29, 2015 at 3:06 pm

      You are lying, I am for preserving history. As I said, anyone who wishes to fly that flag can do so, it makes my life a little bit easier.

      Ragspierre in reply to Ragspierre. | June 29, 2015 at 3:40 pm

      How was what I said a lie?

      I just know my trolls, you are a doctrinaire Collectivist lying moron, and it’s clear how your ilk want to “preserve history”.

      It’s also clear you are a multi-faceted bigot.

    DuraMater in reply to anoNY. | June 29, 2015 at 7:29 pm

    With the hysterical reaction sweeping the country, venders pulling the flag from inventory (there remain a couple of private businesses in NY where the flags are still being sold but are on back order for 3 days to 3 weeks), these questions cross my mind:

    Will youtube pull the vintage videos of Skynard ? Would the ban be banned from playing in Oakland today as they did in 1977?
    https://youtu.be/QxIWDmmqZzY

    Invariably, fans would bring their own rebel flags to concerts and Ronnie VanZant would ofter address them in the crowd with the admonition, “Don’t let that flag touch the ground!”.

    Even as late as 2003, the 2nd generation Skynard (with two original members) was playing to crowds who appeared to have no negative reaction to waving the classic the icon.

    https://youtu.be/qr3dWscslo8

    For those of my generation, we grew up only vaguely aware, if not completely oblivious of the complicated history associated with the flag and any negative connotations it represented to fringe elements of society. A symbol of pride, courage and resistance, it had an appeal to the rebel spirit in the hearts of many a young person all across this country.
    I’m willing to bet, there are still many voices that would join me in proclaiming,
    This Bird Won’t Change!

    malclave in reply to anoNY. | June 29, 2015 at 8:02 pm

    They are a fantastic way to tell if someone is stupid, merely at a glance…

    Just because Bill and Hillary Clinton each chose to associate themselves with the banner is no reason to assume EVERYONE who flies it is evil.

    Barry in reply to anoNY. | June 29, 2015 at 9:22 pm

    “They are a fantastic way to tell if someone is stupid, merely at a glance…”

    An easier way is just to look at how they spell their LI name. If it ends in “NY” and starts with “ano”, you know they’re stupid.

The “diversity” proponents support class discrimination.

The “equal” campaign supports selective exclusion.

The Democrats supports sacrificial rites as a right.

Burn the “coexist” bumper sticker, lower the “rainbow” flag, kick the donkeys and other pro-choice barbarians to the curb.

“…I am all for confederate flag ‘defenders’ rights to display such flags. They are a fantastic way to tell if someone is stupid, merely at a glance…”

Ahh, instant omniscience as to others’ personal motivations, reasoning and intelligence must be a powerful thing…and here the rest of the world is stuck with making such judgments based on others’ cogent arguments. We can only hope to be as smart as you someday.

http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2015/06/forget_the_confederate_flagban_democrats.html

Forget the Confederate Flag…Ban Democrats

Democrats were the party of secession. They were the party of slavery. They were the party that defended the plantation owners’ whips, railed against abolitionists, and put bounties on the heads of heroes like Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass.
——-
They were the party that defended poll taxes, grandfather clauses, and literacy tests for voting….
——–
Democrats were the party of the Ku Klux Klan, twice elected virulent racist Woodrow Wilson to the presidency, and sent an “Exalted Cyclops” of the Klan, Robert Byrd, nine times to the United States Senate.
——–
And when civil rights leaders bravely defied them, Democrats like Bull Connor turned fire hoses and police dogs loose on them, while Democrats like Orval Faubus stationed the National Guard at school doors to turn blacks away at gunpoint.
——-
Democrats are the party that opposed the Civil Rights Acts of 1957 and 1960, and were far more likely to oppose the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964.
——-
Democrats remain the party of illegal immigration that has caused a staggering unemployment rate for young black men.

But you just missed my own parody of your commenting style!