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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: 3, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 24 2015, @11:46PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 24 2015, @11:46PM (#200666)

    > Let's welcome diversity by banning a symbol of our national shame. Because that makes sense.

    (1) FTFY
    (2) It isn't banned. Only some sort of collectivist would argue that a business shouldn't be able to pick and choose what products it wants to deal in.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 25 2015, @02:20AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 25 2015, @02:20AM (#200730)

    Absolutely it is banned from the establishments listed. That was the point of the article.

    And if you are going to spin it as a symbol of our shame, it is worth pointing out that the flag we still fly is every bit as much a symbol of that shame.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 25 2015, @05:39AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 25 2015, @05:39AM (#200801)

      > Absolutely it is banned from the establishments listed.

      Which is such weak tea that only the most dedicated racist would consider it a ban.

      > it is worth pointing out that the flag we still fly is every bit as much a symbol of that shame.

      The US was flag was not created specifically to represent a political movement dedicated to enslavement.