A Call for Debate: Should the South Carolina Confederate flag be hacked?
I'm basically a freedom loving person, especially when it comes to
freedom of thought and freedom of expression. I don't have a problem
with an individual thoughts and expressions. But I get upset when their
actions are harmful.
As far as I'm concerned, if someone wants to fly a Confederate Flag, a
Nazi Flag, or even the modern American Imperial Flag (I personally
prefer the old Betsy Ross flag of 1776 when this county was fighting
against imperialism and not actively practicing it), that’s fine with
me. The kinds of flags people choose to fly gives my semi-autistic
neurons a heads-up on what potential values and interactions I might
have with them.
But I do have a problem when States and Government impose flags on me. I
think I should be able to choose the flag that represents my values. I
can understand why many people in South Carolina would object to a flag
that stands not only for heritage, but often for hate and racism. There
are many people in South Carolina who choose not to personally fly this
flag. But the State imposes it on them. If Governor Haley wants to fly
her own personal Confederate Flag, that’s fine with me. But when she
imposes it as representing the consensus of the people of her State, she
has gone to far.
Fortunately, there is something that can be done about this problem. The
flag can be hacked.
As makers and hackers know, it is possible to take out flags with simple
tools. We all have access to modified drones, high power lasers, and
other equipment that could fix this flag. People of good will could
simply take out this ugly symbol with a bit of skilled making and
hacking. No human being needs to be harmed or injured during the
process. The question is, should we? Maybe reason will prevail, and it
will come down by government decision making. Maybe not?
