A pro-Confederate group called The Virginia Flaggers, planned a showy protest, intended to put a damper on both a #BlackLivesMatter event, and the proposed renaming of Confederate monuments in Richmond, Virginia this weekend. The Flaggers accomplished their mission, but things didn’t quite go the way they had planned, to the delight of the crowd who witnessed the protest.
Monument Avenue, where several monuments honor Confederate figures, was the gathering place for ‘Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality (seen in video) and Black Lives Matter supporters. It was also training day for UCI Road World Bike Championships.The Flaggers couldn’t have wished for a larger gathering to witness their daring deed.
Speakers were interrupted by the drone of a small plane. As the plane buzzed into view, witnesses saw that the plane was trailing a banner. With necks craned and eyes shaded, they could read the message: “Confederate Heros Matter.” The pilot, having caught everyone’s attention, made the most of the moment. The plane circled slowly and repeatedly overhead – trailing the misspelled slogan, to the delight of the crowd.
The Defenders For Freedom Justice & Equality immediately picked up on the error, and are seen in the video, planning to help the message go national. Good on ’em. It’s all about helping they neighbor. ; )
Unbowed, the shameless Virginia Flaggers simply corrected the error in Photoshop, and they now use it as their cover photo on Facebook.
If you didn’t catch it, the man from Defenders For Freedom is wearing a T- shirt that reads: “Tea Party” Sounds nicer than ‘mob of bigoted, ignorant, racist, nativist homophobes.'” Ya know, he’s right. Even the original tag they gave themselves, ‘TeaBaggers’ sounds better than the truth!