A rally for the Confederate Flag at the Statehouse in Columbia, South Carolina, caused tempers to flare on Monday.
The tensions spilled over into a street brawl after protesters showed up to express their displeasure over what they claim is a racist symbol of America’s past.
As can be seen in raw footage of the brawl, a man gets into a street fight with protesters around 18 seconds in. Police arrive on the scene to break up the ensuing squabble, which CBS says involved approximately forty people.
CBS News reports:
The brawl started about 7:15 p.m. Monday when about a dozen vehicles with Confederate flag supporters pulled up in front of the Statehouse and stopped in the middle of the street, Public Safety Department spokeswoman Sherri Iacobelli said in a statement.
About 10 of the flag supporters clashed with about 30 people who were on the Statehouse grounds protesting the flag, the statement said.
“The blood on my face, the blood in my teeth, the blood on my hands is no comparison to the Southern blood that runs through my veins,” Joe Linder told CBS News.
Another witness, Sydney Baldwin, told CBS News that the fight began when someone took his flag.
“I jumped out of my truck,” Baldwin said. “That was all I did, was grab my flag and I got hit in the side.”
There is a huge divide between opinions on the Confederate Flag by race. A YouGov poll cited at Hot Air shows the chasm:
There has been a drastic increase of black Americans who see the Confederate Flag as a racist symbol – from 38% in October 2013 to 70% in the most recent poll. When there are over 20 black Americans who think the Confederate Flag is “racist” for every one who believes it is a symbol of “Southern Pride” – this is truly a powderkeg situation.
On the other hand, whites who believe the Confederate Flag is a symbol of “Southern pride” remains virtually unchanged at 43%.
Southerners are indeed “rallying around the flag” – it just happens to not be the American one. When public debates are being carried out in between street fights – it’s time for both sides to reassess the politically charged situation and seek out compromise.
