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posted by takyon on Wednesday June 24 2015, @11:00PM   Printer-friendly

In South Carolina, the governor has called for the Confederate flag to stop flying over the capitol. The governors of Virginia and North Carolina quickly declared that they would remove the flag from state license plates. Meanwhile, several of the country's top retailers -- including eBay and Amazon -- announced in quick succession that they would stop selling Confederate flag merchandise. Now MJ Lee reports at CNN that the debate over the Confederate flag is the most recent and vivid illustration of how changes in the business community can influence and pressure politics. "What you are seeing is a broad, acknowledgment across both the consumer, the political and the business community that that particular emblem is no longer part of something that should be a state-issued emblem," says GOP strategist Scott Jennings.

Walmart, Amazon, eBay and Sears announced within the span of one day that they would ban the sale of Confederate flag merchandise from their stores, saying they had no intention of offending customers. As Walmart CEO Doug McMillon put it, the decision was straightforward: "We want everybody to feel comfortable shopping at Walmart." Corporate and business leaders say that the abandoning the flag is a step towards inclusiveness for a region that has long struggled to shed negative images. "The business community -- they have a lot of say and power all over the country, whether it's on religion or ethnicity or LGBT issues," says Ralph Northam. "When you're running a business, you have to have the doors open and welcome diversity."

takyon: Alabama Governor Orders Removal Of Confederate Flags From Capitol
'Dukes of Hazzard' toy car General Lee loses its Confederate flag

Note: These moves are in response to the events in Charleston.


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  • (Score: 2) by takyon on Wednesday June 24 2015, @11:30PM

    by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Wednesday June 24 2015, @11:30PM (#200655) Journal
    Starting Score:    1  point
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   2  
  • (Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 25 2015, @01:36AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 25 2015, @01:36AM (#200712)

    Sunday, somebody took a can of red spray paint to the pedestal. Black lives matter [nydailynews.com]

    More states seeing Confederate statues defaced [wtsp.com]

    Confederate statues in South Carolina, Maryland, and Texas were discovered defaced this week with the words "Black Lives Matter".

    The discoveries come just days [after] someone vandalized a Confederate monument less than 2 miles from the racially-inspired mass shooting in Charleston, S.C. In that case, a Confederate monument near the Emanuel A.M.E. Church was also spray-painted with the phrase "Black Lives Matter", as well as the message "This is the problem. #RACIST."

    CBS affiliate WCSC in Charleston reports that a second Confederate monument was discovered defaced on Tuesday.

    -- gewg_