CAJ note: And a statue of George Washington is “boxed” away from view especially for the occasion.
John O’Connor
The State
1/18/2011
Marchers once again took on the Confederate flag during Monday’s King Day at the Dome rally, but they also spoke out against the 150th anniversary of South Carolina’s secession and legislative proposals to cut state spending on education and pass tougher anti-illegal immigration laws.
The rally, sponsored by the S.C. NAACP, drew more than 1,200 to the State House’s north plaza, where the battle flag flies as part of a Confederate soldier monument. A 2000 legislative compromise moved the flag from the State House dome to the monument, but the NAACP wants the flag removed from the grounds entirely.
The rally’s most heated moment came early, when S.C. NAACP president Lonnie Randolph spoke of a December formal ball in Charleston marking the 150th anniversary of the state’s secession. The celebration was an insult, Randolph said, similar to celebrating the massacre of Native Americans at Wounded Knee, the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, or holding a 9/11 party.
“The NAACP is not going to allow South Carolina to insult them,” he said…
The article continues at The State.
On the page is a panoramic photo of the crowd, “GigaPan: King Day at the Dome 2011, Columbia, SC.” (Click on our link to GigaPan for a larger view.) Viewers can scroll the image left and right, up or down, and zoom in on the photo. At the lower right side of the photograph are wooden posts supporting what looks like gray cardboard. If readers zoom in, just to the left end of that “cardboard fence” you will see a statue, partially encased in a blue box.
Does NAACP of South Carolina care whether the rest of us are offended by this? Or is protection from being “offended”, like free speech, just for some people and not for all?
This photo via C. M. Sullivan H/T Patriots for America.
Related: Weasel Zippers, Chris “Tingles” Matthews to Michael Steele: Are Blacks at Republican Events Told Not to Bunch Up, Don’t Get Together or You’ll Scare These People
Update: There are more photos of this event at Weasel Zippers.
