John Wilkes Booth

once again, the idea that banning the flag will reduce hate is laughable

literally nobody is converted to racism by the confederate flag

it's a symbol that racists rally behind... not the cause of their racism. and banning it only adds to their sense of victimhood, it doesn't make them any less likely to hate or even to use the symbol as a banner for hate.

the same way the swastika is unacceptable in mainstream society yet every stormfronter on the internet still reps it. and the neo-nazi/white nationalist movement in the united states (according to the left wing polemics, the obama administration, and FBI statistics) is a growing trend rather than something that is becoming less prevalent, despite the general mainstream trend towards multiculturalism.