I first heard this song about twenty years ago when our church choir did a Fourth of July cantata. Unlike what I could find on the internet our choir wore white shirts with Fourth of July ties and when we sang flag waving American we all had little American flags that, guess what, we waved during the song. I guess our choir leader was the only one to think of that! On You tube there’s a church choir singing this song and their dressed in orange, I guess they were celebrating Home Depot day!
As of yesterday it matters which American flag you wave. Like a whole lot of people , Nike was totally oblivious to what the Betsy flag means to white supremacy groups. Before I talk about the Betsy Ross flag I want to talk about the meanings flags have. In my neighborhood when it comes to flags the Buddhist temple, literally down the street from my house, has all us beat. The picture below is the entrance to the Temple the brink flag posts go around the entire 1/2 block parking lot. There are probably over hundred posts with a different flag on each one. I don’t know what’s the meaning of any of these flags. But if I walk around the parking lot along each of these flags, there’s a house on the corner and in it’s back yard, whoever lives there, has a large Confederate Flag. I’m pretty sure what’s the meaning of their flag next to a Buddhist temple.
As you can see there’s not a picture here. As it turns computer stuff keeps chancing and I don’t remember anything from all those computers classes in my late 70s high school days. So since both Google Images and Bing Images have changed how you get an image to my blog, I guess there won’t be any pictures today. It took me 2 or 3 days how to figure out how to do the old way. So I just drove down to the Buddhist temple to take my own pictures of it, but there are some day they have their flags out and today is apparently is not one of those days. You can go to Google or Bing Images, type in Buddhist Temple Fort Smith Arkansas and it’s one of the first images.
If you go to Bing Images and type in KKK Betsy Ross flag, the first image that appears is a couple people in KKK “uniforms” and a 13 star Betsy Ross flag. When I first looked at this image said it was placed there 19 hours ago. On down there’s a picture of teenagers at a high school football field with the band practicing behind them holding a MAGA flag along with a 13 star Betsey Ross flag. Now I’m just guessing here, but what I think may have happened is whoever took this photo may have found it a little strange that these kids were holding a 13 star Betsy Ross flag and after the news yesterday, figured out why they were holding a Betsy Ross flag and put on the internet. That’s just my guess, but hate groups such as the KKK have always had “secret symbols” that only the members knew the meaning of. It turns out the hate groups have “hijacked” a nation symbol instead of freedom, they of turned the 13 star Betsy Ross flag into a symbol of hate. If it wasn’t for Colin Kaepernick, an American patriot, who Trump says disrespects the flag what greater disrespect for the flag than turning our American flag into a symbol of hate? The Nike shoe would had sold tens of thousands pair of these shoes unaware that many people that purchased them knew the current meaning of the Betsy Ross flag. It’s also very unfair to the people that would had purchased the shoe unaware of it’s meaning.
I have learned that symbols are very important to racists and they are proud and will defend their symbols. Back when Trump first took office I did a post on Face Book that I thought I would get a few comments like This is interesting or I never thought of it like. I posted a picture of President Trump sitting in the oval office with a view of the portrait of Andrew Jackson that Trump placed on the wall. I wrote on my post explaining how white supremacist admired Andrew Jackson because it was Jackson that made America white again with the Trail of Tears. The United States Army marched Indians tribes from their homeland in the east to the Indian Territory, after all the Indians weren’t U.S. citizens they were the illegals of the 1830s. Then I went on to explain how just as much that the white supremacist loved Andrew Jackson they hated Abraham Lincoln because he freed the salves. Not long after I posted it I had a very long comment from one of my Face Book friends I new from school who is now a personal injury lawyer with a lot of commercials on local TV. He went on with three very long comments about how evil Abraham Lincoln. Then another friend took exemption with his hate filled comments. This other friend of mine is a teacher at the same Jr. high where I first meet this lawyer friend. What subject did he teach? American History! The lawyer had no idea, but even if he did schools in America teach Fake History! Their comments went back and forth for several comments. You may ask if this lawyer was on TV all the time why would he steam out so much hate for the whole world to see, wouldn’t that hurt his law firm? Oh no his clients agree with him and would be proud to pay him in all twenty dollar bills! And that’s the sadist part, Andrew Jackson was admired so much he’s on the twenty dollar. Maybe they will put Trump on the three dollar bill. Trump most admired president was Andrew Jackson, and Hitler’s most admired president and who he would justify removing Jews from Germany, he would say he was doing the same as Jackson did in America. But the Trump base has no problem with Trump and Hitler having the same favorite president. If anyone thinks Trump put Jackson on the Oval Office wall for any other reason than racism you are mistaken, because any white supremacist can tell you why! That’s why standing up against racism is so important and never give racist the benefit of doubt, because they know what they are saying.
Please share this with your friends, not knowing these symbols can give people the wrong idea of what your values are.