Oh hell no. Over the weekend, a group of racist assholes, prominently wearing the Confederate flag -- a symbol fraught with historic hate and bigotry -- were spotted walking through the streets of Chinatown in Los Angeles.
Photo: Some Jerks Wear The Confederate Flag Through Chinatown
This photo, posted on LAist, was snapped on Sunday afternoon near the intersection of Broadway and Alpine Streets. This crappy little gang of bros appeared to be engaged in their own public processional of racist pride. But I do wonder if they stopped in anywhere for some dim sum or boba.
Represent, assholes.
These shitheads were no doubt making some kind of statement, donning the flag -- who the fuck makes/buys a goddamm Confederate flag vest? -- just days after the shooting massacre in Charleston, South Carolina, in which nine black church members were killed by a young man with a history of racism. The tragedy has renewed calls for the official removal of the Confederate flag from the South Carolina statehouse.
And then you've got these jerks pulling this shit way the hell on the other side of the country. You cannot tell me this is about some kind of ridiculous, amorphous notion of Southern Pride. Don't even try.
On top of the jerk-ass timing, consider that these dudes chose Chinatown -- an ethnic enclave founded, at its roots, against a backdrop of historic bigotry and exclusion -- as the site of their three-person hate parade.
Assholes.
I know that's a lot of meaning to ascribe to three dudes in vests, but the Confederate flag is not something you just hang on your back for a stroll through Chinatown without some deliberate intent to provoke a reaction. I'd like to imagine these guys thought they were going to be part of a larger planned rally they heard about the internet, but everyone else chickened out, and they were the only three sad sacks who showed up.
More here: The surprisingly uncomplicated racist history of the Confederate flag