Augusta Chronicle as wrong as Taliban Bob Young – Commentary by Woody Highsmith

Webmaster's Note: This commentary is in response to an editorial published in the Augusta Chronicle 9/24/04. It is posted below and viewable at this URL: http://www.augustachronicle.com/stories/092404/edi_2100727.shtml.

The Mayor said he consulted others but did not name anyone. At least one commissioner says he should not have taken the flag down and only one has said he agreed with the action publicly. The business "Leaders" that were consulted have not come forward either. There was no open discussion or debate. No fair vote!

South Carolina's NAACP booked the Radission at the Riverwalk a year ago. Did they not know about the flags then? Their annual resolution to cleanse the "universe" of anything Confederate clearly shows their pre-planned agenda. The NAACP has said, "...first the flags, then the monuments..." this was a planned action and Augusta fell for it hook, line and sinker.

The Georgia Division, United Daughters of the Confederacy are having their state convention the week before the SC-NAACP. The Georgia UDC chose the Radission at Riverwalk because of the flags. What a slap in the face to these Georgia conventioneers and Heritage tourism.

Taliban Bob, by his actions has rendered the Historic flag display at Riverwalk------that has drawn no complaints for 20 years and which won one of only 8 White House Awards-----historically inaccurate. He replaced it with the Augusta flag that features the old Government House that was built by slaves under the United States flag, how ironic. Should Augusta give back the Award and cash presented by Laura Bush and Preserve America at a White House ceremony in January of this year??

Heritage groups did take action in the flag's defense when racist groups like the KKK began appropriating it for their own propaganda use, only to be told the racist groups had a Constitutional right to use it. The KKK used the United States and Christian flag longer than the Confederate but you already knew that.

The Chronicle's own online Poll shows that only a handful of people are offended by the Confederate Flag. Numerous scientific polls in the past show about 70% of Americans are not offended by it.

The Stainless Banner and battle flags at the Augusta Museum of History do not fly, they are displayed. You can see them for a fee. The Historic Display of flags flown over Augusta was a free history lesson for all who visited the Riverwalk and a large part of the reason Preserve America and First Lady Laura Bush chose Augusta as the first of 8 cities to receive their award for Historic, Heritage and Cultural preservation and tourism.

Woodrow Wilson segregated the Federal Government which did not end until JFK's administration; shall we tear down the Wilson House because it offends too?

The richness of Augusta's history does not depend on a house made of wood and brick nor should anyone be as offended at the absence of such a symbol of segregation as opponents are at its presence.

Woody Highsmith, a longtime heritage activist, lives in Augusta and he's a volunteer member of the Georgia Heritage Coalition.

Related Links
Augusta Mayor flagged after Riverwalk inspection - Billy Bearden
Augusta Monument Desecration - Frank Gillispie

Augusta Taliban Clears Riverwalk - Parody

Augusta Chronicle Editorial Staff 9/24/04 Sadly, the divisive Confederate flag issue is raising its ugly head again in our community. A lot of Southern heritage lovers are upset with Mayor Bob Young's order to take the flag down from the Riverwalk Augusta flag display. As a number of our letters to the editor indicate, the heritage people feel betrayed and hurt at the flag's removal. This newspaper bows to no one in regard to respecting the virtues and verities of the Old South, but obviously there are negatives there too. And it's the negatives to which the mayor was responding when he ordered the flag's take-down. He didn't remove it just because local NAACP leader Charles Smith asked him to, though the request did prompt Young to consult with others before making his decision. City commissioners of both races, and leaders in the business and hospitality communities, all agreed it should go. It was a local decision made by local leaders, not just the mayor. And they're right, especially with South Carolina's NAACP holding its annual convention in Augusta next month precisely because the civil rights organization is boycotting its own state for prominently displaying the Confederate flag on the Capitol grounds in Columbia. Whether one agrees with the South Carolina boycott is not the point. The point is, Augustans should not welcome conventioneers to our community and then display symbols that offend them. The Confederate flag flying prominently on the Riverwalk would surely offend South Carolina's NAACP. So why insult them? Whether the heritage people like it or not, more than just the NAACP takes offense at the Confederate flag. It offends other citizens too, and not all of them are black. Some are white. Flaggers, as the flag's defenders are known, didn't defend their flag until African-Americans began to criticize it. By then it was too late; they should have sprung to the flag's defense when racist groups like the KKK began appropriating it for their own propaganda use. Why keep flying a symbol that large numbers of Americans dislike? Symbols should unite people, not divide them. Besides, the Confederate flag is only being removed from a Riverwalk display, not from Dixie history. Confederate flags that were actually a part of the War Between the States will continue to fly at the Augusta Museum of History. No one's suggesting they be taken down. The richness of Confederate history does not depend on a piece of cloth waving in the wind. Nor should anyone be as offended at the absence of such a controversial symbol as opponents are at its presence. --From the Friday, September 24, 2004 printed edition of the Augusta Chronicle www.augustachronicle.com/stories/092404/edi_2100727.shtml