I went to the rally in East Meadow this morning that was ostensibly calling for Long Island to immeadiately reopen in the face of the COVID-19 Pandemic that has killed 3,000 Long Islanders over the last two months and I was left with this question: Why were there Confederate Flags at the rally? Twenty feet in front of the speakers’ stand at the rally of about 150 people there were two Confederate flags prominently displayed. During the hour I was there, not one of the ralliers asked that they be removed.
They can’t claim that this was about honoring heritage. Long Island is well above the Mason-Dixon Line and was never part of the Confederacy. The Long Island regiments and companies that fought in the Civil War all fought against the Confederates. If they claim it symbolizes “states rights,” then why defy the governor of a state?
Every person I saw at the rally was white, apart from a few African American police officers. They did not just carry signs denouncing social distancing and other rules for slowing the spread of the virus, they also had signs on a whole host of far-right conspiracy theories ranging from “Benghazi” to Flouride in the drinking water. This was not so much a rally to reopen, as an ingathering of the clans of Long Island’s far right. And of course central to that section of our population is maintaining white supremacy.
The Three Percenter militia was also at the East Meadow rally.
Here is video I took of one of the Confederate flags at the East Meadow rally on Sunday. It was taken between 10:30AM and 11:00AM.
This is like leading lemmings to the cliff. Have they finally figured out how to destroy the tea party and militia? Let them all gather and patriotically inhale each others covid germs. They have been led to slaughter by their own leaders. SO many of them will fall ill and a good percentage die, it’s sad because these citizens have been misled and do not know they are being culled.
The presence of Confederate flags can be explained by the following:
“A shadowy right-wing nonprofit is helping coordinate coronavirus response strategy and promoting the lockdown protests.
Working alongside close allies that have helped coordinate the protests, including Stephen Moore of the Heritage Foundation and FreedomWorks, Council for National Policy Action (CNP Action) has been hosting conference calls and publishing action memos around reopening states’ economies.
CNP Action is the 501(c)(4) nonprofit affiliate of the Council for National Policy (CNP), a coalition of far-right political advocacy and think tank figures that has worked largely behind the scenes since its founding in 1981. CNP’s membership includes conservative Republicans and right-wing extremists who work together to shape policy. Trump allies, including senior adviser Kellyanne Conway and former chief adviser Steve Bannon, were CNP members as of 2014. Vice President Mike Pence and Trump’s lawyer Jay Sekulew have also been members, according to a recently published book by Anne Nelson.” https://flip.it/3cLZ6p.
These are anything but spontaneous protests. They are carefully planned and orchestrated by people who’s agenda it is to undermine the Democratic Governors and push an agenda friendly to Trump.
YES!!!! THIS IS TRUE!!!
Did anyone think to ASK them WHY they were flying the Confederate battle flag? Perhaps it was for a reason OTHER than what YOU believe that flag stands for?
Or are you just predjudice against anyone who dares to exercise their 1st Amendment right to free speech (and consequently, free thought) by protesting against unconstitutional abuse of power?
Predjudice is not a one way street, and if you want to be “inclusive”…
Let’s see:
It wasn’t a Civil War reenactment
It wasn’t a pop-up Civil War museum display
Pretty easy to interpret the meaning of flying Confederate flags on Long Island. No one around here flies them by accident.
Scott, just because someone has the Constitutional right to say something does not mean they can’t be called-out for saying it. We will denounce white supremacy whenever we see it.
Lets flip the script for a second..
Lets take another rally from anywhere else in the country doesnt matter.. You have BLM, Antifa, etc, with HATEFUL HATEFUL RACIST AND BIGOTED signs. Then you have normal Other people protesting also along side these far-left idiots because they believe in the same cause.. but arent far left racists themselves..
How is this rally here in east meadow any different. Yes you have morons flying confederate flags, but the far-left does the same exact thing with their hate speech at rallies.
You can do some mental gymnastics in your head to try and give the far-left idiots a
“pass” on being racist bigots, but its the same thing at the end of the day, and that is that there are racist idiots on both sides of the isle.
So according
Steve J apparently cut himself off in mid-sentence, for I certainly did not. At least Steve J understands that the Confederate Battle Flag is not a good thing to fly at a rally. In fact he refers to people flying Confederate flags as “morons.” Good for you Steve J. Good for you.
Then he plays the Jeddi Mind Trick of saying that the real racists are the Black people. Very convincing, if a little hackneyed from overuse.
Could be liberals trying to discredit the people at the protest. This would be right out of there playbook. It’s actually probable considering that the confederate states were overwhelmingly democrats. The KKK also democrats.
Apart from there being no evidence that the flags were planted by “liberals” there is the whole question of why the event organizers allowed the flags to be in right near the speakers stand for the hour and twenty minutes I was there if they were planted by opponents.
I love who respond
“The KKK was also Democrats.” That was 1870. It is clearly not the same party.
Yet you continue to make unbridled assumptions. You appear to be some type of journalist, SO DO YOUR JOB AND GET THE ACTUAL STORY.
Is it really and “unbridled assumption” to associate the Confederate Battle Flag with white supremacy? Do you really think the protesters brought it to East Meadow, New York in hopes a Civil War battle reenactment would break out?
Why does your article title state “flags”? Yet you show and reference 1 in the article. Then you don’t show pictures of the crowd? Yet you reference only whites being there.
S. Amir wrote: “Why does your article title state “flags”? Yet you show and reference 1 in the article.”
This is what the article says in the very first paragraph: “Twenty feet in front of the speakers’ stand at the rally of about 150 people there were two Confederate flags prominently displayed.” Two flags are referenced in the article, not “1” as you claim. If you read the article you could not have missed it.
I have full video of the truck you claim had a confederate flag on it. So either you are busted lying or you are the victim of shoddy researchers. I truly hope it’s the latter. I am a fan of LongIslandWins and hope you are still an honest publication.
As everyone but you could see Paul Egert, the Confederate flag was clearly at the rally. You can see it in the excerpt I posted. This is clear and unamiguous. Why would you make such a baseless claim against me. Did you also miss the Three Percenter flags?
I wonder what Scott supposed the significance of the Confederate flags are at a rally in Nassau county ? That is besides the obvious- which by the way is a symbol of treason .
100% mark on!R
The civil war was about government aggression, not slavery. The confederate flag represents the will of southern states trying to break away from the Government oppression of the time. And now the government is telling what we can and can’t do and going against our constitution again. That’s why the confederate flags are flying
You are apparently unfamiliar with the history of the United States Mr. or Ms. Ktap.
When the Confederate states began to secede from the Union after Lincoln’s election in November 1860, but before he actually took office, five of these states issued declarations explaining why they were leaving. These declarations can be found here: https://www.battlefields.org/learn/primary-sources/declaration-causes-seceding-states
The declarations could not attack actions that Lincoln had taken, since they were issued before he even took office. You can read each of the declarations, but I will cite a few passages from them.
The South Carolina declaration says that it is leaving the Union because too many Northern states refuse to return fugitive slaves. In other words, it is not leaving to resist Federal tyranny, it is leaving because the Federal government had not been effective in forcing state and local officials in the North to arrest escaped slaves and return them to slavery in South Carolina. I realize that as a white person you might believe that African Americans are naturally the property of whites, however, at that time the Republican Party opposed that idea.
Here is the section from the South Carolina Declaration:
“We assert that fourteen of the States have deliberately refused, for years past, to fulfill their constitutional obligations, and we refer to their own Statutes for the proof.
The Constitution of the United States, in its fourth Article, provides as follows: “No person held to service or labor in one State, under the laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any law or regulation therein, be discharged from such service or labor, but shall be delivered up, on claim of the party to whom such service or labor may be due.”
This stipulation was so material to the compact, that without it that compact would not have been made. The greater number of the contracting parties held slaves, and they had previously evinced their estimate of the value of such a stipulation by making it a condition in the Ordinance for the government of the territory ceded by Virginia, which now composes the States north of the Ohio River.
The same article of the Constitution stipulates also for rendition by the several States of fugitives from justice from the other States.
The General Government, as the common agent, passed laws to carry into effect these stipulations of the States. For many years these laws were executed. But an increasing hostility on the part of the non-slaveholding States to the institution of slavery, has led to a disregard of their obligations, and the laws of the General Government have ceased to effect the objects of the Constitution. The States of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin and Iowa, have enacted laws which either nullify the Acts of Congress or render useless any attempt to execute them. In many of these States the fugitive is discharged from service or labor claimed, and in none of them has the State Government complied with the stipulation made in the Constitution. The State of New Jersey, at an early day, passed a law in conformity with her constitutional obligation; but the current of anti-slavery feeling has led her more recently to enact laws which render inoperative the remedies provided by her own law and by the laws of Congress. In the State of New York even the right of transit for a slave has been denied by her tribunals; and the States of Ohio and Iowa have refused to surrender to justice fugitives charged with murder, and with inciting servile insurrection in the State of Virginia. Thus the constituted compact has been deliberately broken and disregarded by the non-slaveholding States, and the consequence follows that South Carolina is released from her obligation.”
The South Carolina declaration argues that white supremacy over the bodies of blacks is enshrined in the Constitution:
“The right of property in slaves was recognized by giving to free persons distinct political rights, by giving them the right to represent, and burthening them with direct taxes for three-fifths of their slaves; by authorizing the importation of slaves for twenty years; and by stipulating for the rendition of fugitives from labor.
We affirm that these ends for which this Government was instituted have been defeated, and the Government itself has been made destructive of them by the action of the non-slaveholding States. Those States have assume the right of deciding upon the propriety of our domestic institutions; and have denied the rights of property established in fifteen of the States and recognized by the Constitution; they have denounced as sinful the institution of slavery; they have permitted open establishment among them of societies, whose avowed object is to disturb the peace and to eloign the property of the citizens of other States. They have encouraged and assisted thousands of our slaves to leave their homes; and those who remain, have been incited by emissaries, books and pictures to servile insurrection.”
By the way, in case you are confused by the language, the term “fugitives from labor” refers to escaped slaves.
So, it is clear that slavery was the reason South Carolina attacked Fort Sumter. I am sure you will acknowledge that. But what of its neighbor Georgia?
Here are the first two lines of the Georgia declaration: “The people of Georgia having dissolved their political connection with the Government of the United States of America, present to their confederates and the world the causes which have led to the separation. For the last ten years we have had numerous and serious causes of complaint against our non-slave-holding confederate States with reference to the subject of African slavery.” Strangely, the subject of slavery is the very first reason given for leaving the Union. The Georgia declaration goes through all the ways the North has attacked slavery and says that this is the reason for secession.
Mississippi, as you might guess, is even more radical in claiming that it is leaving to protect slavery. Here are the first sentences of that states declaration: “In the momentous step which our State has taken of dissolving its connection with the government of which we so long formed a part, it is but just that we should declare the prominent reasons which have induced our course. Our position is thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery– the greatest material interest of the world. Its labor supplies the product which constitutes by far the largest and most important portions of commerce of the earth. These products are peculiar to the climate verging on the tropical regions, and by an imperious law of nature, none but the black race can bear exposure to the tropical sun. These products have become necessities of the world, and a blow at slavery is a blow at commerce and civilization. That blow has been long aimed at the institution, and was at the point of reaching its consummation. There was no choice left us but submission to the mandates of abolition, or a dissolution of the Union, whose principles had been subverted to work out our ruin. That we do not overstate the dangers to our institution, a reference to a few facts will sufficiently prove.”
Mississippi itself says “our position is thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery” but you want to claim that slavery had nothing to do with the Confederacy?
Now let’s go out west to Texas. Once again we find that protecting slavery is the reason for secession. The Texas declaration says “For years past this abolition organization has been actively sowing the seeds of discord through the Union, and has rendered the federal congress the arena for spreading firebrands and hatred between the slave-holding and non-slave-holding States. By consolidating their strength, they have placed the slave-holding States in a hopeless minority in the federal congress, and rendered representation of no avail in protecting Southern rights against their exactions and encroachments. They have proclaimed, and at the ballot box sustained, the revolutionary doctrine that there is a ‘higher law’ than the constitution and laws of our Federal Union, and virtually that they will disregard their oaths and trample upon our rights. They have for years past encouraged and sustained lawless organizations to steal our slaves…”
They should have been allowed to leave. It would have made for an ugly border but then we could have built a wall to keep Mississippians out. They can all go catfish huntin with their feet in the mud.
I agree 100%!!!
During recent years the press, the left and bigot groups have demeaned the flag in question. I’m 64 years old, the flag has always represented rebellion against which ever ruling entity a person chooses.
Strangely, when 180,000 African Americans rebelled against slavery from 1862 to 1865 they did not adopt the Confederate flag in any of its iterations.
The Confederate Battle Flag was the most recognized emblem of the Slavehoders’ Rebellion, as it was called at the time. It was never a symbol of universal freedom.
dang! I need an applause button for you sir.
When wanting to express opposition to arbitrary and oppressive governance, Americans have a number of flags to choose from. The Confederate flag — also known as the “Rebel” flag — is one of them. To look beyond that, you may need a tinfoil hat. On the other hand, it is not a conspiracy theory that the Democrats are prepared to destroy the economy to hurt the President. They have tried everything else they could think of, and it has not worked.
As the modern incarnation of Fascism, the Democrat party is not concerned with the welfare of the people. All the Democrats want is power; the closer to it being absolute, the better. Incidentally, that is why they like poor and unsophisticated immigrants from corrupt and tyrannical Latin American countries: they will be dependent on the Democrats’ handouts and will be docile and uncomplaining.
To go back to confederate flags — and to be historically accurate — the one usually seen now, the rectangular one without a white margin, was, in chronological order, the second jack (look the word up) of the Confederate navy. It was never the national flag of the Confederacy, and was not used as a battle flag except for the Army of Tennessee.
As a former General Surgery resident at SUNY Stony Brook, I have very fond memories of Long Island and of sailing along its shores.
Cordially.
Alessandro Ferrero, MD, FACS
This comment from Alessandro Ferrero is deeply layered in sophistry. The flag in the photo is one of several flags by Confederate soldiers. This does not, however, keep it from being called a Confederate flag. Nor does the fact that this cheap facsimile is not square mean that it is not a Confederate flag. The army of Northern Virginia under the command of Robert E. Lee typically used the square version of this flag, but with the same distinctive design. Modern racists use the non-equilinial rectangular flag even though the flag of Lee’s army was square. That does not make it inaccuarate to refer to it as Confederate flag or as a Confederate Battle Flag.
As for the rest of your conspiracy-theory nonsense, I will leave that to you and your therapist.
<>
as opposed to Trumps love of poor, unsophisticated white americans on welfare whom he can brainwash as they walk around walmart insulting and cursing people out. Reference any crazy woman on a racist rant on youtube …
I think you are lying. NO MEDIA showed that a rebel flag was displayed. Why is your photo so small? I went through ALL the photos from the media outlet and NONE OF THEM HAD A REBEL FLAG! Why would you be the only person to report this. Print the whole photo.
I was there and I took video of the rally. The image is a screen shot of the video.
Dry run.
Tootles
Glad to see you’re off the sauce.
Dry run against liberal professors brainwashing our youth with its left failed policies. Teach the facts not your anti American opinion.
Actually it was the Confederates who took up arms against the United States, who killed American soldiers, desecrated the flag, and threatened the end of Constitutional government in this country. Being pro-Confederate Steven is being Anti-American.
Looks like another #WISIS (White ISIS) rally.
Testing, one, two three.
Glad to see we are both in favor of more testing.
Thank you for the unsolicited history lesson. Now let’s get back to the here and now. Our state is under siege by totalitarianism and our Constitutional Rights are under attack. When a commentator recently asked, if he (Governor Murphy) was concerned with the constitutionality of his executive order. He replied “That’s above my pay grade… I wasn’t thinking of the Bill of Rights when we did this. . . . We went to the scientists who said people have to stay away from each other.” Governors swear an oath to diligently, faithfully and to best of ability(s), promote peace and prosperity and do so lawfully including upholding the Constitution. Now, what did you find so appalling and representative of an era long gone? So you saw some flags that offended you…get over it. I went to a ball game once and witnessed a fracas between two fans.. I guess that makes ALL baseball fans miscreants. What does the ESQ represent in your name? I think you might have some familiarity with Constitutional law, no?
“Thanks for the unsolicited history lesson”??? It is my column, I don’t need you to “solicit” my opinion in order to give it. As for your acceptance of Confederate Flags at a rally on Long Island, I leave that to you to explain.
Your a joke! You probably apologize for being a man as well
Only when I am with you Junior. Then I say to women “Don’t judge all men by Junior.”
This guy is a pure example of why I chose not to send any of my kids to Hofstra. As he mentioned, speech has consequences. This derisive and hateful speech should be taken under consideration as a reflection of the views held by Hofstra.
And just so you know, Prof. The reason the flag was there was to simply raise the ire of liberal snowflakes like yourself. By the simple fact of being there makes looney birds as yourself go off on insane tangents about race and the like. But hey, don’t take on Patty Young, he is a professor of immigration. EEEWWWW.
Can’t wait for your next condescending, bloviated sophistry. But heck, I am being redundant.
After all it is true. Those that cant hack it. Teach.
Bobby Kennedy (not THE BOBBY KENNEDY) wrote: “And just so you know, Prof. The reason the flag was there was to simply raise the ire of liberal snowflakes like yourself. By the simple fact of being there makes looney birds as yourself go off on insane tangents about race and the like.”
So Bobby says that the Confederate Flag was flying there specifically to “raise the ire” of people like myself…and every other decent person opposed to racism. The Confederate Flag was flown during the Civil War over armies fighting to preserve white supremacy and slavery. It was used as a symbolic barricade in the 1950s against Black children trying to attend the same school that their white peers went to. And it was flown at the Neo-Nazi rally in Charlottesville in 2017 where a young woman’s life was taken in defense of white supremacy. Yet you think it was flown in East Meadow this weekend to “own the Libs.” Sad. Just very sad.
You should be able to grasp the concept. It is that simple.
Here is a question for you Prof.
Why doesn’t your name show up with any of the organizations you claim to work for? CARECEN or Hofstra?
Oh yeah well. Yeah. I am not getting into an infallible argument with the pig. However, even from your own pictures (which only shows one flag) it is obviously mounted on some individuals vehicle. Which most likely doesn’t have anything to do with the organizers of the rally. That is like me saying Hofstra sucks because one professor rants incessantly on a blog. Obviously, since you identify yourself as an instructor at Hofstra then they must share your views.
Anyone here have any connections at Hofstra that can check and see is wee laddy Patty Kelly is telling us a tall one?
And since you keep bringing up C-ville, I bring another one up to you that feeds into people being just completely fed up.
***Benghazi***
Note: Remember “H” is silent
NOTE #@: Your ad hominem attack on people serve you little and prove evermore what people think of you and your blog. Thanks for the entertainment. That’s all you are. Do you really think anyone read your 2,000-word diatribe?
My name isn’t Patty Kelly.
Not sure what “C-ville” is.
Not sure what “Benghazi” has to do with my article.
Anyway, I gave you two posts to make your point. You didn’t, so goodbye.
A google search of Pat Young Hofstra brings up this page:
https://law.hofstra.edu/clinics/immigrationclinicalpracticum/index.html
Please post the video.
At your request, I have posted the video clearly showing one of the flags. This is the video that the feature picture is from.
I’ve seen the original photo with an American flag in its place this picture has been photoshopped. Every other flag is crisp and clear and that one is blurry with unclean edges. Good try baiting a story.
I posted the video. As you can see, the Confederate flag was not photoshopped.
This shows how quickly these folks are to cry “fake news.” In this comment, the commenter claims to have seen the original photo, and it depicted an American flag which he says I photoshopped out and inserted a Confederate flag. The problem with this claim is that I screenshot my own video of the rally to obtain the picture of the Confederate flag. You all can see the video, I posted it originally on facebook on Sunday. No one but me had the “original” that Mw claims I doctored. I have now included the Confederate flag section of the video at the bottom of the original article. You can go and look at the video for yourselves to see that I did not take out an America flag and insert a Confederate flag. Mw is either delusional in thinking he or she saw “the original photo” or a liar.
This is utterly ridiculous. I have full video of the entire rally. I’m a reporter with America’s Voice News Network. As a Long Islander and a fan of longislandwins.com I’m hoping the author of this article was duped by bad research and not divisive liar.
I have 90 minutes of video and I am gatherings pictures from the people who attended the rally.
To use a lie to perpetuate the divide and conquer Marxist game of identity politics is abhorrent to say the very least.
I have posted the video at the bottom of the original article and proven you a liar. By the way, does your 90 minutes of video include the Three Percenters flags? Why don’t you show me yours now that I have shown you mine?
Does the US Constitution give you the right, implied or explicit to be an asshole? Don’t look it up, it’s there. it you have the right to be asshole and nobody has tried to take that away from you,,,, why flaunt it?
You are being an asshole when you carry a Nazi or Confederate flag. You may have the right to carry that flag,but why do it? Did you skip the day in school when the taught that both the confederate states and the Nazis were our enemies. And both lost. Are you making America great again? Not by supporting her enemies.
Why are these people so angry? Would they have more freedom had they been born in Russia, more rights in Djibouti, The right to speak freely in Iran. Frankly this is the only place in the world that would tolerate their outrageous behavior. Sure they have rights, but so do 335,000,000 other Americans. Only I don’t see the rest trying to intimidate you to acknowledge our right to an asshole
Everytime you carry a gun, you are putting somebody’s child, mother, sister, brother father etc… in danger. . By placing us even in a position of fear, you are violating my right, not to feel intimidated.. I don’t care if it isn’t in the constitution, nor yet recognized by a court. The right to live without fear nor intimidation is an inherent right that every body has.. . You with the gun and your friend with the “Nazi Flag,” are violating my right to not be intimidated. I. think that even with this Supreme Court we would get a 5-4 majority opinion that read simply ‘The right not to be intimidated trumps the right to be an asshole.”
So you may have the right to be an asshole, but don’t exercise that right. Just be proud that you live in a country, where any asshole can become President.