I have lived my whole life in the south and watched that rebel hate flag be sported around like it is a badge of honor. I have watched it symbolically held over the head of other human beings just because they happen to look a little different than I do.
I am not going to fight every neo-confederate over their own chosen personal property of hate, whether it is on a bumper sticker or flying over their pick-up or home. In fact, I am not going to fight anyone. But I am no longer going to tolerate the rebel hate flag being on public property near where I live. And right now, there is a rebel hate flag on public property within 30 miles of where I type.
I am going to make it my personal mission to take that hateful thing down, shred it into tiny pieces, and flush it down the nearest public toilet if I can be certain that it won't cause a clog. Otherwise, I will put the hateful pieces in the nearest public trash can.
And then I will march my half-"brown"/half-"white" ass in to the local police department and politely, non-violently turn myself in. And then I will plead guilty and take the punishment of an unjust government. And then, when that flag goes up again, as it surely will, I will, God willing, have the good conscience to do my best to take it down again and repeat the cycle. And again, until victory is had or until the punishment inflicted becomes such a hardship to my family that it can no longer be withstood. We mortals are made of flesh and blood, after all, I guess, which is kind of the whole point of why our "whiteness," "blackness," or "brownness" does not really matter.
It's called civil disobedience. It's my obligation.
I am not going to work with the local public authorities and beg for them to do the right thing. That has been tried at least twice within recent years. Each time the local racists have taken to the air waves and talked about their precious symbol of southern heritage and pride and made the local public officials be the chicken shits that they are anyway. The pleas of the local African American community representatives do not even result in a motion with a second which would give rise to the need for a vote. Heh heh heh, the evil superior-sounding chuckles and cheers rise from the hearing room.
The public officials who justify failing to do all in their power to get all rebel hate flags off public property will at least be reminded to have a conscience. Or not. That is their problem. Me failing to act is my problem.
Direct action is an obligation. I may not strike tonight. But I will strike. And I will be completely peaceful in my conduct at all times.