As Twitchy told you yesterday, Rolling Stone beclowned themselves with a scorching-hot take on why the Betsy Ross flag is so problematic.
Why is everyone so upset about the Betsy Ross flag? https://t.co/UcAsWFLJDr pic.twitter.com/XcwJQnqZ6E
— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) July 3, 2019
According to writer EJ Dickson, the flag is bad because it’s been appropriated by white supremacists.
Did a deep dive into the 13-star Betsy Ross flag and how it’s increasingly been appropriated by right-wing extremist groups: https://t.co/PvrvmmMvHJ
— Ej Dickson (@ejdickson) July 2, 2019
Dickson failed to make a compelling case for that, though she did cite “many on social media,” i.e. serial liar Adam Best, for support, along with several people who said the flag isn’t really a white supremacist symbol. So Rolling Stone had that going for them.
Well anyway, Rolling Stone is hardly alone in suddenly deciding that the Betsy Ross flag is problematic and racist and whatnot. There are plenty of other liberals who feel the same way. And writer-producer-director Marshall Herskovitz (“Thirtysomething,” “Traffic,” “The Last Samurai”) is sick and tired of it. If you check out Herskovitz’s Twitter feed, you’ll discover very quickly that he’s quite a vocal liberal. But unlike so many others, he’s still able to recognize liberal stupidity when he sees it. Yesterday, he
I hope every Democrat candidate jumps on this idiotic bandwagon https://t.co/89JwWEuiUv
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) July 3, 2019
Every Democrat must denounce the stupidity of Nike's decision. Inconceivable that only conservatives would decry this ignorant debasement of our Founders' symbol. Kaepernick's very right to kneel — which I support – comes directly from those who carried and died for this flag. https://t.co/y7S2bPDUSv
— Marshall Herskovitz (@MHerskovitz) July 3, 2019
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Free enterprise is free enterprise. Nike is correct not to promote this symbol used by the KKK & White supremacists today. I bought Nike items today in support.
— leon pascucci (@LPeterP) July 3, 2019
@LPeterP, I know we agree on most things. Consider if white supremacists appropriated George Washington, Valley Forge, the Constitution; should we junk them all? Neither the KKK nor the original sin of slavery can erase the world-changing brilliance and heroism of our Founders.
— Marshall Herskovitz (@MHerskovitz) July 3, 2019
In 1777 Washington was standing under this flag when told the British were torturing American prisoners. His response was to forbid his troops from EVER mistreating a captive.
The true founding of America. Under this flag.
History doesn’t go away just because you forget it. https://t.co/2BQZeOteFg
— Marshall Herskovitz (@MHerskovitz) July 3, 2019
I’m not sure “mistreating captives” is the basis you want to found this argument on my dude…..
— Josh Olin (@JD_2020) July 3, 2019
Great sentiment BUT….George Washington also had slaves.
— KSwan?? (@Kswan55) July 3, 2019
Yes, he did own slaves, to his eternal shame. We can either junk the entire legacy of our founding, or acknowledge our original sin while embracing the world-changing brilliance of The Rights of Man, which spawned every movement toward liberation, including the end of slavery.
— Marshall Herskovitz (@MHerskovitz) July 3, 2019
This is like dragging out the Egyptian origins of the nazi swastika. Yeah, that’s what it once was. Now it’s not. The symbols were coopted, and now mean very different things to different people. How about maybe accepting that your story isn’t the WHOLE story.
— R U there God? It’s me, Margaret. (@msmithobx) July 3, 2019
No, I say we’re not a dead civilization like the ancient Egyptians, and a symbol this important must be seized back. Are we somehow powerless before the great might of the KKK…??
— Marshall Herskovitz (@MHerskovitz) July 3, 2019
Yeah… the shoe thing is stupid but where do you stand on the kids in cages drinking out of toilets… seems to be the more pressing issue than corporate virtue signaling
— John O'Malley (@jromalley) July 3, 2019
I was actually referring to the border. Sadly, to our shock and amazement, Trump lacks Washington’s ethics. I say that knowing full well Washington owned slaves, for which he cannot be forgiven. But nor should his heroism and leadership be forgotten. People are highly flawed.
— Marshall Herskovitz (@MHerskovitz) July 3, 2019
What say you about the co opting of this flag by the KKK and the feelings that a lot of African Americans have about it
— Mike Tarleton (@VistaMT) July 3, 2019
I think we must do everything we can to keep the KKK from co-opting that flag. And it’s not for me to speak to what any symbol from the time of slavery might mean to black people. I can only say that the Enlightenment ideas that spawned that flag also led to the end of slavery.
— Marshall Herskovitz (@MHerskovitz) July 3, 2019
I am looking forward to your tweets denouncing the use of the flag by white supremacists
— Mike Tarleton (@VistaMT) July 3, 2019
I denounce the use of the flag by white supremacists. Utterly. More importantly we must seize it back so they can’t own it. https://t.co/73vqYLzEz3
— Marshall Herskovitz (@MHerskovitz) July 3, 2019
Didn't we just find a SEAL innocent of murdering a pow when his unit turned him in for it? Also aren't we severely mistreating asylum seekers, not even captives, at our border? What are you getting at?
— Zach Green (@superstuff) July 4, 2019
I’m actually referring to the border. Trump isn’t Washington, in case no one realized… We have yet to live up to the promise of The Rights of Man, in fact we fall far short. But the flag is a symbol of the promise not the failure; thousands have given their lives for it.
— Marshall Herskovitz (@MHerskovitz) July 4, 2019
Well said.
You may not agree with Herskovitz on specific policy issues, but he still deserves props for speaking truth about what the Betsy Ross flag represents.
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