Dixie Flag Manufacturing Co., the San Antonio manufacturer owned and operated by Pete Van de Putte, the spouse of mayoral runoff candidate and former state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, has reversed course and announced it is halting production and sales of Confederate flags. The company had previously defended its sales of Confederate flags as historical items.
The decision comes in the wake of growing national objection to the sale and public display of the Confederate flag, which is seen by many as a symbolic evocation of the pro-slavery South and the 150 years of racism that has persisted since the American Civil War and Reconstruction. Multiple national retailers and e-commerce sites, including Amazon and e-Bay, announced Monday that Confederate flag sales would be eliminated or banned.
Previous racially motivated acts of violence have failed to force the removal of the Confederate flag from its place of prominence at various Southern institutions, including the South Carolina Capital building. This time seems different.
The racially motivated killings last Wednesday of nine innocent and unarmed African-Americans attending prayer services inside the Emanuel African Methodist Church in Charleston, SC by Dylann Roof, a 21-year-old misfit and avowed racist, seems to have provoked a greater wave of national revulsion, even in the Deep South among many white conservative political figures.
The revulsion has built with each passing day, guided in no small part by emotional public statements by President Obama and scenes of mourning. Defenders of the Confederate flag as a cultural symbol seem more isolated and on the defensive.
“We don’t need to promote symbols that divide,” Pete Van de Putte told the San Antonio Business Journal. “We need to promote symbols that unite people.”
A photo of Roof holding a Confederate flag went viral after he was identified as the shooter on the run, sparked the initial wave of objection to the flag and media attention.
South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley has called for the permanent removal of the Confederate flag from the grounds of the state Capitol on Monday after substantial public outcry, while legislators have agreed only to debate the matter later next month, perhaps hoping the protests will die down by then and permit its continued official display.
*Featured/top image: Leticia Van de Putte greets a crowd with her husband Pete (left) during her campaign for mayor in early June. Photo by Scott Ball.
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But the company name is still called Dixie?
^ This.
I can share the sentiment for sure Joshua. We have a long way to go.
My first reaction was, “Why did it take Pete so long to drop the Confederate flag?” But before I opened my big yap, I went to Dixie site and searched for “gay” and to my delighted surprise, I see that Dixie carries the rainbow flag in various sizes, with the caption “Display to show your respect for diversity and gay pride. ” It doesn’t get much better than that.
Some people have commented that the name of the company, Dixie, is objectionable. I just now Googled it and learned that the song “Dixie” was one of Lincoln’s favorites. As a musician, I must admit that it is a great tune.
I appreciate your tongue in cheek humor. Most people will probably take you seriously.
I wasn’t attempting to be humorous at all. Not sure why you thought I was.
Maybe you thought I was trying to be funny saying I thought Dixie is a great tune. I do think it’s a great TUNE (meaning the melody, not necessarily the lyrics).
The media figured out that they can get ratings by whipping idiots into a frenzy. The Confederate Flag is a good wedge issue to get the idiots (whatever side they take) worked up.
Basically, be happy if you don’t care. It’s completely irrelevant to pretty much everyone on the planet.
“It’s completely irrelevant to pretty much everyone on the planet.”
Really, Matt? How do you know what “everyone” thinks about this issue?
Or is it that just because the issue of the Confed flag is irrelevant to YOU, that you assume everyone else thinks as you do?
Let me guess: You aren’t African American.
If you have any black friends, consider asking them what their opinion of the Confederate flag is.
Do you know much about the Civil War, which had by far the greatest death toll of any American war? And despite what some contend, the Civil War was indeed all about slavery (not states rights).
Also, those “re-enactments” are completely inaccurate. To learn what Americans really did to each other and the lasting effects on the country itself (which are still manifested today), read “Living Hell: The Dark Side of the Civil War” by Michael C.C. Adams There are copies at SAPL.
Travis Park…
I’m glad they’re discontinuing production. Really, I am. But the flag’s been a symbol of racism for 150 years — it’s not like people just came to this conclusion.
Are they going to stop making and selling the flags of North Korea, China, Pakistan, and India? All countries which practice institutionalized racism to this day? Many of whom outlaw homosexuality?
If companies are going to start making political statements through the products they choose to sell, I would ask that they at least apply the standard consistently.
Uh, Christian….I have some news for you. The good ol’ USA and the state of TX until relatively recently outlawed homosexuality. And until marriage equality is passed, then discrimination against LGBT people is still practiced here. Our new mayor didn’t feel LGBT people were worthy of civil rights, that pursuing such was “a waste of time.”
Maybe we should stop flying the stars and stripes and the lone star flag until SCOTUS rules in favor of the constitutionality of marriage equality.
Change the company name (Dixie) i’m sure some people find it offensive.
What’s the purpose of the announcement? Just do the right thing in a humble manner, and move forward.
Oh heavens
The flag only represents racism because people have attached racism to it. That hinged on several factors not just slavery. I will almost bet that many of the people complaining don’t know all of the issues concerning the civil war. It represents a sad time in American history when families were divided and brother fought against brother. Many people died under horrible conditions and the country was just as divided as this president has helped make us today. The whole issue is a joke.
The people who attached racism to that flag were the ones who chose to resurrect it from forgotten history during the civil rights movement of the 60s and parade it around as a symbol of their racism. The Ku Klux Klan and the government of South Carolina in particular.
That’s hypocritical because your political affiliation divides as does your religion, etc
It’s about of southern history and culture why ignore and take that away? I don’t associate it with racism at all, I see it as a piece of history.
Recon I don’t need to shop at Dixie flag anymore then! I also suggest they change the name from Dixie to something more PC like “whatever flag you want as long as the liberals like it” flag company.
Nice to see somebody dealing with this issue with class!
Remove this one too. 😉
Please take down your trashy election signs. They are offensive and clutter up our city. Face it, you lost, now clean up your mess!
I commend Pete and Dixie Flag in this stance. The Confederate flag carries negative symbolism for many and your sensitivity is appreciated!
Will Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben be next??!! I think this is short sighted and misses the point. Better to keep the products available and call them out for what they are ..blatant racial propaganda.. some more “innocent” than others . Instead of removing all the statues of Civil War veterans, New info plaques should be placed next to them explaining how these people were traitors to the country for the cause of human slavery, lost a war about the issue, and then was created by sore losers who didn’t have much more to contribute to the country. Sadly, not much has changed given that so called Red States complaining the most about Federal government programs take more than that contribute. A teacheable moment is being wasted.
And the flags will just be available from China …and possibly protected under the TPP!!
A teachable moment is being wasted. I couldn’t agree more!
I’ll support the idea of your propagandist/revisionist plaques, Steve, IF we also add a few concerning the Union.
Let’s explain how northerners fought the War because of their unbridled lust for power and gold.
Let’s discuss how the north, for political reasons and only after the War was approaching its third year, created this pretense regarding the issue of slavery.
Let’s display images of Sherman’s March to the Sea, concentrating upon the non-military targets destroyed, the civilians butchered, the women raped, the orphaned children left to starve. By all means, let’s not forget to mention how Lincoln was more concerned about the effect Sherman’s actions might have upon the 1864 Presidential election then he was about the people he claimed were U.S. citizens.
Let’s point out how the post-War U.S., with the north then fully in control, applied its unquestioned military might, bolstered by all the expertise gained through the previous four years of fighting, against the indigenous peoples of this continent.
Let’s not waste this teachable moment!
I’m ready; are you?
Garl Boyd Latham
Growing up I never gave a second thought to Omar Sharif, Dr. Zhivago and the Bolshevik Revolution. Now I`m watching one unfold in real time before my very eyes and I find it sad and disturbing…
How many people have to say it’s offensive , before it’s considered offensive .
I don’t know, Oscar.
How many people need to tell a lie before it’s considered the truth?!
Keen observers will also notice the site doesn’t sell the Nazi Swastika flag either. History or not, some symbols like some words, constitute an expression of hate and need not be celebrated.
Well, Dixie IS selling the Confederate battle flag, again. For now.
No one is discussing that flags as symbols are as divisive as they are unifying. By these standards US flag should be taken down too, since it has a much longer and broader history of racism.
No extra credit for regz behavior – but I will take it. Thank you Dixie Flag!
Dixie Flags makes historical flags. ie: flags that reflect history. The Confederate Battle Flag is one of them. So is the Stars & Stripes. I’m sure the Confederate flag was their second most popular flag behind the Stars and Stripes. Dixie will lose a bundle of money and probably go under for caving to the recent PC frenzy.
The Confederate battle flag didn’t appear as a protest after the war until 1954 and Brown vs. Board of Education. The decision that slowly started desegregation in the south.
Anyone who still thinks it symbolizes States’ Rights, heritage, or patriotism is an uneducated person.
Why can’t people just “Look away…..look away…..” ?
Because “Old times there are NOT forgotten…”
I had no idea you were selling them. Glad they will be gone
Can people get any more dumb?
Take the flag down South Carolina: The Future is Here,
Career and Technical Education’s Time if Now! Today’s Learners, Tomorrow’s Earners, Opening Keynote, June 21, 2015, South Carolina Education and Business Summit, Greenville, S.C., June 21-24, 2015, JIM BRAZELL, CEO, Armour.io, San Antonio, Texas
AUDIO: Jimbrazell – https://soundcloud.com/jimbrazell/take-the-flag-down-south-carolina-the-future-is-here-june-21-2015
SLIDES FOR THIS SPEECH: http://www.slideshare.net/jimbbrazell/speech-take-the-flag-down-south-carolina-the-future-is-here-june-21-2015
__Mentions__
ESSAY: National School Board Article from Spring 2015 on STEM and Ed Tech mentioned: http://mydigimag.rrd.com/publication/?i=258603
ESSAY: South Carolina, Cyberbully Speech Mentioned: http://www.slideshare.net/jimbbrazell/sc-cyber-bullyv21final1-49809069
Appears the purge of American history is well on its way. Sounds familiar. Joseph Goebbels and the Nazis perfected this purge in the 1930’s and all of these crazy governmental bodies following suit. Ignorance needs to be purged, not the Confederate history.