When times are tough we all turn to Walmart for guidance on civil liberties and appropriate behavior regarding racial injustice.
Walmart Superstores, the same company who sells Che Guevera's diary on their website, has decided the state flag of Mississippi is too offensive for public consumption, so they've banned it from their stores.
The Confederate-themed Mississippi flag drew opposition Tuesday from two big forces in the culturally conservative state: Southern Baptists and Walmart.
Walmart said it will stop displaying the Mississippi flag while the state debates whether to change the design. The Mississippi Baptist Convention said lawmakers have a moral obligation to remove the Confederate battle emblem from the state flag because many people are “hurt and shamed” by it.
“We believe it’s the right thing to do, and is consistent with Walmart’s position to not sell merchandise with the confederate flag from stores and online sites, as part of our commitment to provide a welcoming and inclusive experience for all of our customers in the communities we serve,” company spokesperson Anne Hatfield said.
Here's a crazy thought: maybe it's possible that symbols are only offensive because we've convinced ourselves as such. In reality the Mississippi state flag is just a bunch of shapes and colors that, in this case, have virtually nothing to do with slavery and instead represent heritage and history for the 20th state to join the Union.
Also, with all the people offended by the Confederate part of the flag, why doesn't anyone get upset the French part? Yuck!