Have we talked about how this sudden removal of Confederate stuff is a ruse?

[Indy Texas]

Maybe what we're seeing is a belated "de-Stalinization" of the South. Nowadays, most of the people who in earlier times likely would have defended Confederate symbols and their legacy root their "Southernness" in conservative Christianity and generic "Red State" culture, anyway.

Whether the current disfavor the Confederate battle flag seems to be in is a blip driven by recent events, or part of a long-term cultural trend, the decision by governments and by businesses like Walmart and Amazon to purge it from public view makes the question irrelevant. The rebel flag has officially been put on the "Do Not Touch" shelf next to the Nazi swastika. Other countries have faced similar dilemmas. Part of the reason the Dutch no longer use their historical blue-white-orange tricolor (their flag is red, white and blue) is that it became associated with Nazi collaborator groups during World War II. The Ulster Banner no longer flies on any official basis in Northern Ireland because of its links to bloody sectarianism.

When I was little, my family owned a Chevy Suburban, and the shop my parents had it serviced at also sold truck parts and accessories. I remember wandering around their showroom while we waited for our car and seeing a multitude of merchandise featuring the rebel flag: license plates, stickers, decals, seat covers, floor mats. This wasn't out in the boonies. This was in an inner suburb of the fourth largest city in the country. Houston is a very different place now, and so is the rest of the former Confederacy.

[Indy Texas]

Other countries have faced similar dilemmas. Part of the reason the Dutch no longer use their historical blue-white-orange tricolor (their flag is red, white and blue) is that it became associated with Nazi collaborator groups during World War II.

Good post for the most part but I'm pretty sure the Dutch don't use orange on their flag because orange dye fades with sun exposure.

I'm sure that was the original reason, but it's kind of a non-issue nowadays with synthetic dyes. (Pre-1994 South Africa didn't seem to have any problems having orange on their flag.)

[Indy Texas]

The Confederate flag behind taken down from its pole on the grounds of the Alabama State Capitol earlier today: