Big Ass Confederate Flag Just Got Bigger

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I first reported on this story back in May when a local chapter of the Sons of Confederate Veterans in Florida decided to erect the largest Confederate flag at the junction of Interstates 4 and 72 outside of Tampa.  Well, it looks like a flag measuring 30-by-50 foot was not large enough, so this past Sunday Marion Lamber and the rest of the boys unveiled a new flag measuring 30-by-60-foot.  But wait, here's the best part.  Apparently, these geniuses have decided to cut up the old flag and sell it in pieces on Ebay to help pay for commemorative plaques which will be situated at the base of the flag pole.  Isn't this the same organization that claims to revere the flag as the symbol of courage of their Confederate ancestors?  What better way to show your respect than to cut it up into little pieces for profit.  I guess this is exactly what their ancestors fought and died for.  Oh…and I almost forgot to mention that the old flag was made in China. 

What a bunch of hypocrites.  Don't hold your breadth for the national office to voice any concern. 

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14 comments… add one
  • Luckie McDonald Sep 19, 2009 @ 10:36

    There was nothing I said in my first post that was disrespectful.

    You do not have an open mind, read the truth about the Souther and her people and then you’ll see that you were lied to. Don’t take hearsay as facts, it’ll never work!

  • Robert Moore Oct 20, 2008 @ 11:16

    Kevin, Regarding big flags and the SCV, looks like the hits just keep on coming…
    http://sonsofconfederateveterans.blogspot.com/2008/10/tennessee-giant-flag.html

    Robert

  • Kevin Levin Oct 20, 2008 @ 7:23

    Mr. McDonald, — No one is suggesting that you should not be proud of your Southern Heritage. You will notice that your other comment has been deleted. Please remember that while you are more than welcome to disagree I will delete any comment that I deem to be insulting or irrelevant to the issue at hand. Thanks for taking the time to comment.

  • Luckie McDonald Oct 19, 2008 @ 22:16

    BTW- I have donated over $500.00 to this flag flying high in Tampa and what a sight to see. As an American Vet meself, I am proud of my Southern Heritage.

    I can’t wait for the SCV Car Plates to come out this year as well here in Florida.

    God Bless the South, her people (all races), and her heritage.

  • Kevin Levin Oct 16, 2008 @ 15:10

    Robert, — That no one in the SCV has raised concerns about the plan to cut up the old flag tells us quite a bit about this organization.

  • Robert Moore Oct 16, 2008 @ 13:45

    Hmmm, I wonder if Confederate Veterans would look upon this as remembrance or mockery?

  • d Oct 15, 2008 @ 13:00

    From the article:

    “It’s flying very large, very big and very red,” Lambert said. “I think it can go quite a bit bigger, though.”

    I’m sure you do, Hoss. I’m sure you do.

  • Sherree Oct 14, 2008 @ 10:58

    You’re welcome, Kevin. And again, welcome back!

  • Kevin Levin Oct 14, 2008 @ 10:34

    Sherree, — Thanks for the thoughtful comment.

  • Sherree Oct 14, 2008 @ 10:12

    “Lambert said he expects the flag to keep flying unless he can be convinced of a legitimate need for it to come down.”

    Good morning, Kevin!

    Welcome back!

    I hope you had an extra bowl of gumbo for me, in those early morning hours as you traveled the streets of the French Quarter! New Orleans is a great city, and not a city to stay down for long. It is so nice to hear of you and your colleagues enjoying your stay there. It was like a vicarious trip down Bourbon and Canal Streets. Thanks!

    I think that the above quote from the man who owns the land on which the flag has been raised is the key to solving the problem. We are all locked in more or less confrontational stances in our nation, particularly now in this election cycle, and too often the divisions among us seem to get worse, rather than better. I was heartened by Senator McCain’s reining in of those of his supporters who went too far in their views this past week, and of Senator Obama’s quick response in doing the same. To paraphrase what one news commentator said of deteriorating events as a total lack of civility began to dominate some political rallies: the type of potentially explosive atmosphere that was beginning to develop has led to dire consequences in the past–(consequences that, I, and everyone else, I feel certain, would add, cannot be allowed expression ever again, and consequences that all of us who are old enough to remember the events of the turbulent 1960s shudder to even contemplate)–and the atmosphere had to be altered, and altered quickly. The atmosphere was altered, and again, I would like to applaud the two men who are running for President and who put out that fire before it got started–men who would conduct a civil campaign if only we, the voters, would let them. Yes, it is our fault. The campaigns give us what we want, which brings me back to your post.

    A civil conversation needs to take place concerning the display of the Confederate flag, and that conversation cannot exclude the men and women who object to the flag’s display. A compromise can be reached, if all sides will engage in dialogue. Although this subject is one that needs to be addressed on a national level, it seems to me; in this instance, there are some rather clear cut issues. The land on which the flag has been displayed is owned by one man. Yet, the airspace above the land is not, unless there are some legal boundaries of airspace of which I am not aware. The public space of the federal interstate highway system is certainly not owned by any one person, and the imaginative space that includes the memories that the display of the flag evokes in so many different men and women definitely is not. Why not fly the American flag at that intersection of highways as a symbol of our nation united as one people, Mr. Lambert, and then fly the Confederate flag on certain days of commemoration, as the woman in the referenced article suggested? That seems like a reasonable compromise. I am certain that you have relatives who fought to defend the American flag, and maybe even you defended it yourself. Why not honor our flag and our nation in a powerful way by flying it high above those two interstate highways? I recently read an article about a general in World War II who was the descendant of Confederate veterans, and who had his soldiers take the Confederate flag down after the soldiers raised the flag at a battle site, and then fly the Stars and Stripes. I see that act by the general as honoring both his Confederate ancestors and the country for which he was fighting and for which he was sending young men out to shed their blood: the United States of America.

    Thanks, Kevin, and thanks Mr. Lambert, if you are listening. I truly do hope that we learn to talk to one another in our country. We really don’t have a choice anymore, if we want to prevail. Our nation is a great nation, and one of the reasons that it is a great nation, is that it includes the protected rights–and the unlimited dreams–of all of our citizens.

  • Wayne Fielder Oct 14, 2008 @ 7:37

    Heh. Well…if those Florida rednecks are anything like this Kentucky redneck, we like to wrap ourselves in flags you see. As we continue to…um…expand (ahem), it takes a larger and larger flag to wrap around ourselves.

    Seriously though, this is an all time low. Here in Kentucky we have a problem with the original 7th Kentucky (US) National showing up on ebay from time to time in small pieces after some idiot stole it from the State Military History museum a few years ago. Forgive me and my pards if we take some small offense at this.

    The SCV is a far cry from what it could be, that’s for sure.

  • Kevin S. Coy Oct 13, 2008 @ 22:46

    That is disgusting.

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