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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Guest Opinion: Water use at Southern Oregon University ... Herb Rothschild Jr.: Sharing our stories ... Guest Opinion: Guns: a down-under solution? ... Guest Opinion: Water use at Southern Oregon University ... Herb Rothschild Jr.: Sharing our stories ... Guest Opinion: Guns: a down-under solution? ... COMMENTARY Jeffrey Gillespie: Lowering the rebel flag Comment DailyTidings.com Writer Posted Jun. 26, 2015 at 12:01 AM Posted Jun. 26, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Social News As a boy in South Africa, I grew up under the flag of the Union, known informally as the Vierkleur ("Four Color"). The flag reflected our historical roots as a European colony, and its design contained elements that articulated the formative battles between the English and Dutch settlers in the early days. When apartheid appeared on the scene, the Veirkleur became a reviled emblem of the Nationalist Party and of the white masters who ruled over the majority of the country with an iron fist. The flag was decommissioned, along with numerous other symbols dear to the regime, when the party finally fell in 1994. It was replaced by the current flag of the Republic. I have not seen it displayed since, although I have heard that it still flies in certain territories, on private properties where the old racist ways are adhered to with the sort of grim determination reserved for the desperately deluded few. Terrifying for me, then, to see the Vierkleur reappear this week, sewn onto the jacket of a young white supremacist named Dyllan Roof. That jarringly archaic yet strangely familiar emblem of white supremacy, emblazoned on the person of a deeply disturbed, 21-year-old mass murderer from the Deep South, chilled me to the bone. The brutal slayings on June 17 in Charleston, S.C., were a travesty. In their wake, many politicians and community leaders have requested that the Confederate flag, which flew atop that state's Capitol building from 1961 until 2000 (and has flown ever since on its grounds) be removed. The subject is a sticky one; like the flag of the Union of South Africa, the Confederate flag has been a historical emblem of wars fought and lost. And, like the South African flag, the Confederate banner is a fundamental component of the iconography of racism in the late 20th and early 21st century. The swastika, once a sacred Hindu symbol, has long been most associated with Nazi Germany. While remnants of its original meaning are still to be found in museums and temples, the mass of humanity associates the symbol with fascism and genocide. Free speech is a basic right of all free people. But when emblems once representing courage or faith are co-opted and retooled as universal weapons of discrimination — when the only speech being heard is hate speech — then it's time to set a new course. Most of the current presidential candidates have not taken a morally courageous position on the issue, using the old standard that the decision should be settled at a state level. One potential Democratic candidate, Jim Webb of Virginia, made sure to keep his base as broad as possible by announcing that "honorable Americans fought on both sides in the Civil War", a fact well known since at least 1865. Mitt Romney, in a rare display of forthrightness, called outright for the flag to come down. For once, I agree with Mitt. When symbols become an argument for continuing a shameful past, as opposed to an indication of a brighter and more collaborative future, then they should be quietly, efficiently and permanently removed. Honoring the dead in Charleston requires something more than another church service or another careful speech. History must be served where history has been made. The Confederate flag should be folded up, packed away and sent off to a grave of its own. Jeffrey Gillespie's writing has appeared in the Santa Fean and Art Collector magazines, the Portland Mercury and Willamette Week. He lives in Ashland.   DailyTidings.com Writer Posted Jun. 26, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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