President Obama greeted by Confederate flag wavers in OK

Stay Classy OKC, home of Timothy McVeigh.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/confederate-flag-wavers-greet-president-obama-oklahoma/story?id=32487022

God, we need emoticons back. If ever there was a time for the facepalm, this is it. I'm horrified in so many directions I can hardly breathe.

Are you surprised?

Im sure the removal of that flag also only increased the use of racial slurs used to describe Obama, it didn't lessen them. I do hope they all bought "Made in the South" flags...they wouldn't dream of having foreign made.

Get your facts straight. McVeigh was born and raised in New York and didn't live in Oklahoma.

bettyd said:
Stay Classy OKC, home of Timothy McVeigh.
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/confederate-flag-wavers-greet-president-obama-oklahoma/story?id=32487022

Woot said:

Are you surprised?

I actually am, although I'm also surprised that I'm surprised. Somehow, that level of cluelessness always takes my breath away. You'd think I'd be used to it by now from certain parts of the country.

How pathetic are we, though? We are so quick to assume that this is normal behavior in Oklahoma and that most residents agree with it. Isn't that a form of discrimination? Paint everyone with the same brush? There are crackpots everywhere.

Yes, it is a prejudice on our part, but how many times do we hear about similar events in rather predictable locations? Yes, there are crackpots everywhere, but if Obama turned up in NYC, he would not be greeted with Confederate flags, I'm pretty sure. Some other kind of lunacy, perhaps, but not that.

where did we all assume it was normal behavior in OKC? I didn't even interpret the OP's comment to refer to all of OKC, but a reference to those in OKC who did it.

Didn't OK become a state after the Civil War?

hankzona said:
where did we all assume it was normal behavior in OKC? I didn't even interpret the OP's comment to refer to all of OKC, but a reference to those in OKC who did it.

I kind of did, when I said I had come to expect this kind of behavior from certain parts of the country. And while I am in theory opposed to prejudiced thinking like that (i.e., meaning my assumption), I'm guilty of it. I am less surprised to see Confederate flags in cities and states where boards of education are frequently in the news for things like introducing policies that allow the teaching of creationism and consider abolishing the teaching of evolution than I would be to see it in the northeast. Make of it what you will.

hankzona said:
where did we all assume it was normal behavior in OKC? I didn't even interpret the OP's comment to refer to all of OKC, but a reference to those in OKC who did it.

I said I wasn't surprised. My lack of outrage has less to do with OKC and more to do with the fact that Obama more than doubled the DJI, passed the stimulus package (success) saving US auto industry and much of banking, reduced unemployment, eliminated Bin Laden, extracted us from 2 wars, put millions of uninsured Americans on health insurance, ovescal progress (repealed don't ask don't tell, supported marriage equality), reversed GWB torture policies, began post 9/11 military build down.

Yet people hate him. It's still a racist country. OKC isn't immune from that kinda hate.

hankzona said:
where did we all assume it was normal behavior in OKC? I didn't even interpret the OP's comment to refer to all of OKC, but a reference to those in OKC who did it.

Thank you, Hank. I did not mean to impugn the character of the entire state of OK or all of OKC.

But we're really missing the point here: The state of SC, on its own after legislative debate, decided to take that flag down because even they have finally recognized it for the symbol of racism that it is. President Obama had nothing to do with it. Yet not even one month after nine black people were massacred in SC, which re-ignited the long simmering debate about removal of the flag, these people in OKC greet our African American President waving huge confederate flags. Those people should be ashamed of themselves.

Also, McVeigh did not live in OK. My bad. In the years prior to the bombing he resided mainly in the bordering state to the north in Kansas. I guess the point I wanted to make was maybe doing this in OKC, the site of the worst home grown terror attack in U.S. history by an anti-government zealot, just added to the pathetic scene.

bettyd said:
I really wonder what the conversations were in those households prior to those people deciding to head out with huge Confederate flags to stake out President Obama's hotel. What point were they trying to make? What value were they hoping to impart to their children?

It is my opinion that these are mean spirited, hateful people who wanted disrespect and insult our African American president. I can see no other reason for this behavior. As bettyd said in the post just before this one, President Obama had nothing to do with the Confederate flag being taken down in SC so we can't blame it on a revenge motive. Their motive was to be cruel. And I feel sorry for them.

Their only motive is to say "We don't like you because you're black," and we're going to throw this flag in your face to make that point clear.

bettyd said:
Their only motive is to say "We don't like you because you're black," and we're going to throw this flag in your face to make that point clear.

Problem is the hatred for Obama has been justified over and over by other talking points- he's the worst president in history, he's weak on foreign policy, he's overstepping his executive authority, etc etc etc. (not to mention "he's a Muslim" and "he wasn't born in America."

ignorance used to be bliss...now its angry.

dave said:
Didn't OK become a state after the Civil War?

Yep. It makes the whole "heritage" thing a little silly. There were plenty of battles in OK (or Indian Territory as it was called then) and many of the US forts were taken over by CS troops and a few native American leaders gave troops to fight for the South, but the state was never really Confederate.

Besides, most of the flags I saw in that crowd were defaced with writing like "Rebel Women" or images of Jackson or whoever in the middle of the cross. It shows a complete lack of respect for the flag their forefathers supposedly died for. Plus, of course, while it might say "Made in USA" on the label, it could still have been made by cheap Chinese slaves in Saipan or any other "territory"

bettyd said:
Their only motive is to say "We don't like you because you're black," and we're going to throw this flag in your face to make that point clear.

Which is cruel in my book

NotFromMuskogee said:


Get your facts straight. McVeigh was born and raised in New York and didn't live in Oklahoma.

bettyd said:
Stay Classy OKC, home of Timothy McVeigh.
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/confederate-flag-wavers-greet-president-obama-oklahoma/story?id=32487022

As distinguished from Senator Elizabeth Warren who was born and raised in Oklahoma.

dave said:
Didn't OK become a state after the Civil War?

1907 if I remember correctly. 46th State.

Surya said:

bettyd said:
Their only motive is to say "We don't like you because you're black," and we're going to throw this flag in your face to make that point clear.

Which is cruel in my book

Did they also do this before Obama denounced the flag? He certainly was black before he denounced the flag, but I don't remember this confederate flag waving demonstration before.

Confederate flag wavers are absolutely correct when they say the flag is a symbol of their heritage...that's precisely why it should be taken down and hidden away in some dusty museum.

Geez, between their reverence for the Alamo and the flag, these folks sure like losers.

FilmCarp said:
How pathetic are we, though? We are so quick to assume that this is normal behavior in Oklahoma and that most residents agree with it. Isn't that a form of discrimination? Paint everyone with the same brush? There are crackpots everywhere.

Agreed...unfortunately, this is a personal pet peeve when I read MOL...which is less frequent because of it.

since1997 said:

Surya said:

bettyd said:
Their only motive is to say "We don't like you because you're black," and we're going to throw this flag in your face to make that point clear.

Which is cruel in my book

Did they also do this before Obama denounced the flag? He certainly was black before he denounced the flag, but I don't remember this confederate flag waving demonstration before.

They just latched on to the newest, latest way to insult our President. The man deserves another Nobel Peace Prize for handling all the disrespect he has received over the last 6.5 years with such dignity.

Surya said:

since1997 said:

Surya said:

bettyd said:
Their only motive is to say "We don't like you because you're black," and we're going to throw this flag in your face to make that point clear.

Which is cruel in my book

Did they also do this before Obama denounced the flag? He certainly was black before he denounced the flag, but I don't remember this confederate flag waving demonstration before.

They just latched on to the newest, latest way to insult our President. The man deserves another Nobel Peace Prize for handling all the disrespect he has received over the last 6.5 years with such dignity.

After he gives the first one back for creating ISIL in Syria.

I think 'credit' for ISIL goes back a few years pre-Obama actually.

Surya said:

since1997 said:

Surya said:

bettyd said:
Their only motive is to say "We don't like you because you're black," and we're going to throw this flag in your face to make that point clear.

Which is cruel in my book

Did they also do this before Obama denounced the flag? He certainly was black before he denounced the flag, but I don't remember this confederate flag waving demonstration before.

They just latched on to the newest, latest way to insult our President. The man deserves another Nobel Peace Prize for handling all the disrespect he has received over the last 6.5 years with such dignity.

Is that what it is? Waving the confederate flag is just a way to insult the president and has no connection to the events of the last couple weeks? What a coincidence huh?

Norman_Bates said:

FilmCarp said:
How pathetic are we, though? We are so quick to assume that this is normal behavior in Oklahoma and that most residents agree with it. Isn't that a form of discrimination? Paint everyone with the same brush? There are crackpots everywhere.

Agreed...unfortunately, this is a personal pet peeve when I read MOL...which is less frequent because of it.

If you read backwards no one said anything about OKC. I was not surprisedbecause of how f'd up our country is.

Coneheads said:

Surya said:

since1997 said:

Surya said:

bettyd said:
Their only motive is to say "We don't like you because you're black," and we're going to throw this flag in your face to make that point clear.

Which is cruel in my book

Did they also do this before Obama denounced the flag? He certainly was black before he denounced the flag, but I don't remember this confederate flag waving demonstration before.

They just latched on to the newest, latest way to insult our President. The man deserves another Nobel Peace Prize for handling all the disrespect he has received over the last 6.5 years with such dignity.

After he gives the first one back for creating ISIL in Syria.

Crazy.