So, I trekked the wife and kids up to Northern Wisconsin to spend some time with my parents, and we went camping in the beautiful Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. Before we entered the forest, we stopped at a gas station/bait shop/convenience store outside of Eagle River, WI. If you live in the upper midwest, you know exactly what it looks like even if you have never been in this particular store - hole in the wall, basic necessities, three generations behind the counter.
The woman running the register was wearing a white tee shirt with a confederate flag on the left breast. The shirt stated "It's a southern thang."
On the 4th of July.
I saw this as I was entering the store and did a double-take. While we were exploring our potable options, my mind was racing and my blood was simmering. I mean, HOW DARE SHE?
The older I get (I'm 38), the more this whole good ol' boys/gun-rack/General Lee/Sweet Home Alabama shit bothers me. I mean, first of all, wearing the flag of a failed separatist movement on the celebration of the birth of our nation seems unpatriotic at best. Second, the entire economy of the South was supported by slave labor, so the implicit endorsement of the stars-and-bars is one of racism. Lastly, did the wearer really not know all this - and thereby could claim ignorance - and/or did she really not care?
So readers - have you ever encountered a situation like this? If so, what did you do? I should point out that the woman was at least 70 years old, so the odds of educating or changing hearts and minds were probably pretty low. Also, I feel more than a little blessed to be from the upper midwest where this kind of encounter is fairly rare - what about those of you progressives in the South?
After thinking about it, I wanted to go back in and simply say "I have to tell you that your wearing the confederate flag on your shirt on the 4th of July is deeply offensive to me, and not only is it a symbol of racism to me, but also highy unpatriotic."
But of course I didn't I just paid for my stuff and got the hell out of there...[chickenshit]