{"id":41512,"date":"2012-07-17T08:41:09","date_gmt":"2012-07-17T14:41:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=41512"},"modified":"2015-04-08T23:46:06","modified_gmt":"2015-04-09T05:46:06","slug":"tea-partys-use-of-confederate-flag-is-indefensible","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2012\/07\/tea-partys-use-of-confederate-flag-is-indefensible\/","title":{"rendered":"Tea Party\u2019s use of Confederate flag is indefensible"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Heath<\/a>

Heath Haussamen<\/p><\/div>\n

If the Las Cruces Tea Party wants to be taken more seriously, it needs to consider why so many have viewed its float as offensive and demonstrate a greater sensitivity for their feelings and opinions.<\/h4>\n

Political correctness can certainly be taken too far. But ignoring it completely can be offensive and shut down dialogue.<\/p>\n

At best, the Tea Party in Las Cruces is guilty of such an offensive with its recent inclusion of the Confederate flag<\/a> in its Fourth of July parade float<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In our society, the flag has two competing meanings. One is about states\u2019 rights, Southern heritage and independence; the other is about slavery and racism.<\/p>\n

Including the flag in displays might be appropriate in certain circumstances if it\u2019s presented in the proper context. The Tea Party says it was attempting to do just that \u2013 create a float that recognized New Mexico\u2019s history and the flags that flew over it.<\/p>\n

The technical problems with their attempt have already been discussed widely, so I\u2019ll mention them only quickly here: The Confederate flag probably never flew over New Mexico; if any flag of the Confederacy ever did, as local historian (and occasional NMPolitics.net contributor) Christopher Schurtz pointed out<\/a>, it was probably the Stars and Bars<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Second, the Tea Party failed to include Spanish or Mexican flags on its float. Both have had a much greater and more lasting impact in New Mexico than the Stars and Bars. Any attempt to recognize this state\u2019s history that fails to include those aspects falls far short.<\/p>\n

Disregard for others\u2019 opinions and feelings<\/h3>\n

But this isn\u2019t the first time the Confederate flag has flown at a Tea Party event in Las Cruces. Stephen Jones documented another incident<\/a> for the lefty blog Democracy for New Mexico in 2010.<\/p>\n

And, as you can see in this screen shot<\/a> that I took from the Las Cruces Tea Party\u2019s website<\/a>, the group has a photo of a black man \u2013 Al Sharpton \u2013 with the words \u201cSocialist, Marxist, Maoist, Leninist, Communist\u201d above it and, below the photo, the statement \u201cIn our midst! These vermin need to be checked at the door!\u201d<\/p>\n

I realize the Tea Party probably intended the use of \u201cvermin\u201d to refer to socialists, Marxists, etc. The image of Sharpton is actually an embedded video that, when you play it, shows a number of left-leaning people \u2013 some black, most white \u2013 talking about redistributing wealth to the poor.<\/p>\n

But one has only to do a quick web search to find the racist underbelly of society that refers to black people as vermin. Those who call the Tea Party racist think it\u2019s conveying exactly the message it wants to convey.<\/p>\n

Maybe the Tea Party hasn\u2019t thought about that, or maybe it\u2019s simply disregarding the way some people might interpret the web page. I think it\u2019s disregard for the opinions and feelings of others.<\/p>\n

If I give the Tea Party the benefit of the doubt, the best-case scenario is that it has demonstrated the same disregard with its use of the Confederate flag.<\/p>\n

\u2018Well, to hell with them\u2019<\/h3>\n

Tom Cooper, the group\u2019s treasurer, rejected the way some feel about the Tea Party using the flag in its float. The Albuquerque Journal<\/a> quoted him as saying critics \u201cneed to wake up and get a life,\u201d and, about those who view the flag as a symbol of racism, \u201cWell, to hell with them.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s an intentional and combative dismissal of the valid and understandable opinions and feelings of others.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been a defender of the Tea Party<\/a> in the past. In this instance, I\u2019ve written nothing for more than a week as I watched this controversy play out, considered various opinions and did my own research.<\/p>\n

At the end of the day, I don\u2019t think the Tea Party \u2013 in Las Cruces or elsewhere \u2013 is an overtly racist organization. But there are certainly some signs, including the continued display of the Confederate flag, of a culture whose people once fought and died to defend slavery.<\/p>\n

So, in addition to an apparent heritage of racism and discrimination among some in the Tea Party, we also see a group that tends to be, at best, dense or uncaring about how its actions will be viewed by others.<\/p>\n

In this instance, I find the Tea Party\u2019s use of the flag \u2013 and its combative reaction since \u2013 indefensible. I understand why some see it as racist.<\/p>\n

\u2018This nation truly is a wonderful melting pot\u2019<\/h3>\n

Days ago, the Tea Party posted on its website (It\u2019s no longer there, but here\u2019s a screenshot<\/a>) a letter that stated this:<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there is not a person of European descent in this community who feels slavery was a good idea, or that racism is something of value.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe war, in fact, was one of State\u2019s rights and economics. It is terrific that the Union won that war. If it had not, there would have been no United States to pull Europe\u2019s tail out of the fire, twice. There would have been none of the great contributions of this nation\u2019s people, of all races, have given to this world. This nation truly is a wonderful melting pot of the world\u2019s people. And her measures welcome of people of all colors and races can stand as a testament of God\u2019s good work and guidance.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Great. Then start acting like you believe that. Regardless of whether you feel it\u2019s fair, many people take offense at the use of the Confederate flag. People who oppose slavery and those who have supported slavery and discrimination have viewed the flag as a symbol of white supremacy. Do you really want to join the Klu Klux Klan in flying this flag in the 21st Century?<\/p>\n

Using the flag to recognize a chapter in our history might \u2013 might \u2013 have been appropriate, if the Spanish and Mexican flags were also included and other steps were taken to ensure the Confederate flag was being recognized but not glorified. That would have demonstrated cultural sensitivity and presented a more accurate picture of New Mexico\u2019s history.<\/p>\n

Spanish and Mexican influences have had a lot more to do with the development of this state than the Confederacy.<\/p>\n

Absent those flags, the Confederate flag should have been excluded.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t be so insular<\/h3>\n

The combative stance the Tea Party has taken since the parade demonstrates why it\u2019s still a fringe group, at least in Las Cruces. \u201cTo hell with them?\u201d Not if you want to be taken seriously. The Tea Party must demonstrate a willingness to listen to the concerns of others, to try to understand others\u2019 opinions and feelings and worldviews.<\/p>\n

In other words, if you truly believe this nation is a \u201cwonderful melting pot,\u201d don\u2019t be so insular.<\/p>\n

Our society is built on the premise that we must work together to move forward. We can\u2019t do that if we\u2019re not trying to understand each other. I\u2019ve spent a lot of time trying to understand the Tea Party, which is why I\u2019ve ended up defending it from the bad rap I believe it often gets.<\/p>\n

Not this time.<\/p>\n

If the Tea Party wants to be taken more seriously, it needs to consider why so many have viewed its float as offensive and demonstrate a greater sensitivity for their feelings and opinions.<\/p>\n

Haussamen bio<\/a>\u00a0\u2502\u00a0Commentary page<\/a>\u00a0\u2502\u00a0Feed<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If the Las Cruces Tea Party wants to be taken more seriously, it needs to consider why so many have viewed its float as offensive and demonstrate a greater sensitivity for their feelings and opinions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1192,10],"tags":[145,143,199],"class_list":["post-41512","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary","category-haussamen-columns","tag-las-cruces","tag-race-and-ethnicity","tag-tea-party"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41512","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41512"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41512\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41512"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41512"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41512"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}