The extensive move to remove the Confederate Flag from public and some commercial settings has raised serious concerns over both free speech and academic freedom. While the flag has been used as a racist symbol, it is also a historical symbol. According to one author, that distinction appears to have been lost by Amazon, which reportedly took done the book by Michael Dreese, a civil war author with six books on the conflict. Two of those books concern both the Union and Confederate battle flags and their roles in the Civil War. However, “This Flag Never Goes Down” (a book on the Confederate flag) was taken down by Amazon from its listed works.
The move by Amazon is reminiscent of the move by Apple to remove games, including Civil War games, featuring the flag. Apple later back pedaled on the historical products.
Dreese says that he received an email from Amazon asking him to take down the listing. He says that the book is nonfiction and does not advocate for the flag. It is a historical work.
I did find the book on the UK Amazon this morning. It is not clear if Amazon reversed the actions cited by Dreese or has not carried through on the delisting. The controversy is the subject of chatrooms on Amazon.
If the story is true (and I have no reason to doubt this author), it is a bizarre move by Amazon and captures the concern of free speech advocates and academics over the wholesale effort to remove every image of the confederacy from statue to mosaics to flags. There needs to be some recognition and tolerance for historical images and particularly academic work.
What do you think?
Clearly it’s time to ban the American and British flags.
Slavers!
And these flags, too.
All slavers, at some point in their histories.
Ban all flags!
Ban all history!
Start at Year Zero,/a>.
http://findicons.com/files/icons/952/preview/country_flag_full.png
New Doublethink. Remove all evidence such as photos and literary references to something and you can claim it never existed. Pure 1984 approach.
I hate boycotts but I did cancel my Amazon Credit Card. They won’t feel it but I will. Looking for a Credit Card with the Confererate Flag, Union Flag and American Flag. Know any?
@Gigi
Stalin nods.
Destroying the Confederate flag is like burning all the pictures of you and your ex-spouse. You can throw away the symbols and memorabilia, but the memory is still there.
If this nonsense keeps up pretty soon we will have all the women wearing burkas
Nick, To your point Adam Sandler is being attacked recently for a Netflix movie he made that supposedly offends American Indians.
Good morning Mr. Turley, I have a question about your characterization of the flag. You said, “While the flag has been used as a racist symbol, it is also a historical symbol.”
The institution of slavery as practiced here in the United States was both racist and white supremacist. While the entire nation initially embraced the idea, the south specifically organized in support of their right to organize their society however they pleased, including continuation of the institution of slavery. The Confederate movement and its flag though historical was therefore also racist and white supremacist.
I cannot comment on what amazon’s policy is on symbols of hate being sold on their private website. Although, it appears the title is not historical, but rhetorical.
“This Flag Never Goes Down”
That’s homophobic.
Nick:
Settle down with the tired liberal generalizations already. PC exists across party-lines and should be fought at every turn.
I read an excerpt in Salon of a new book by Mick Hume titled Trigger Warning. It chronicles how PC has it’s focus on comedy and comedians. In the excerpt, he laments the death of the great Joan Rivers, who had the courage to make fun of ANYONE and ANYTHING. He quotes Joan Rivers just making jokes on the fly. At the 2013 Oscars, as Heidi Klum walked down the Red Carpet, Rivers quipped, “The last time a German looked that hot they were pushing Jews into an oven.” Rivers always asserted the only question regarding a joke is, “Is it funny?”
There is a war declared on free speech, and it is so called liberals leading it.
The Confederate flag causes rednecks to shoot up black churches just like women in short skirts cause rape.
Such symbols are Magic Totems and must be hidden away lest they Provoke Violence.
And similarly, suggests the need for burkas.
I think you need to do better research. I went to Amazon and typed in the book title and found it here. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_fb_0_16?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=this+flag+never+goes+down&sprefix=this+flag+never+goes+down%2Cdigital-text%2C151
The story is not true and I did not have to so much as leave my chair or spend over 5 minutes finding that out. Nice rumor mill ya got goin here.
Only the U.S. Flag (and respective military flags) belongs on government property. With that benchmark, all the animosity and moral diatribes can be removed. Easy.
That said, companies essentially censoring symbols with which they do not agree is a little over the top: though as private companies (or “people”) they’re free to stop selling too.
Though as Carlin said, “Symbols are for the symbol-minded.”
I’m about halfway through Go Set a Watchman. PC liberals are having panic attacks over this book.
Not sure about all the claims.
Found this link on Amazon – http://www.amazon.com/Confederate-Battle-Flag-Americas-Embattled/dp/0674019830/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1437395714&sr=8-2&keywords=nazi+flag
Also found swastikas – http://www.amazon.com/Nazi-Germany-Black-Swastika-Memorabilia/dp/B00ZW49WP8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1437395821&sr=8-1&keywords=swastika
If there is censorship, it is either half hearted or incompetent.
Amazon’s action is insane.
Barkindog is on a roll this morning!
The liberal American Taliban is focused on the Confederate flag and the Confederate soldiers in Stone Mountain, Georgia. If critical thinking liberals can’t see the analogy, then they are part of the problem.
“Mister Gorbychov! Tear down this Wall !” –Ronald Raygun
It all started then. First the Wall. It came down because Ronnie demanded it.
The Edsel went away after a similar call by a Ford. No more VW bugs–because they were bugs. After the Berlin Wall went down the country merged and they started letting in muslims.
On the Amazon story today we need a Raygun. We need someone to say: “Boycott Amazon!” And any other river south of the Mississippi.
We need someone in NYC to say to Al Sharptongue: “All lives matter!”
We need someone to say to President Obama: “Tear down this social experiment called golf!”
We need someone to say to that Senator from South Carolina with first name Lindsey: “The South will Rise Again!”
We need someone to say to Donald Trump: “Keep talking Donald!”