NAACP boycott forced flag change

Due to threats of a boycott by interest groups such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Georgia lawmakers reached a compromise last Wednesday to remove their state flag and adopt a flag less symbolic of "racial hatred." The Confederate flag, occupying two-thirds of the current flag, will be reduced, with Georgia Senate confirmation, to a small symbol at the bottom of the flag.\nPressure began mounting on Georgia to change its flag after civil rights groups successfully forced the Confederate flag from the state capitol in South Carolina through boycotts. The Confederate battle flag is considered "offensive" to many who regard it as a symbol of bigotry. Others, of course, see it as a sign of their Southern heritage and a symbol reminding them of their fallen ancestors who fought and died for their "rights" in the Civil War. \nSo you ask, "What's the issue here? Do you actually think a state flag should be allowed to symbolize racial bigotry? I'm sure you know the KKK raises the Confederate flag during their marches!!!" Well, the KKK also carries the Bible during those same marches, so does that mean the Bible is a symbol of bigotry? \nAlso, if you think the Confederate flag is racist because it flew over the Confederacy, take a look at our country's flag. The stars-and-stripes flew over our slave-owning country long before the civil war. Does that mean that our nation's colors are racist, too?\nCivil rights groups insist on calling the Confederate flag racist. The NAACP and these other groups need to stay out of Georgia's business. If anyone should decide which flag flies over Georgia, it should be its people, not some big-city interest group. However, supporters of Georgia's "traditional" state flag can hardly blame their state governing body for this new flag. The NAACP can simply label anyone who votes against their wishes a racist, ruining their reputations. \nI believe the NAACP is the real root of the problem. In its 91st year, it has seen many racial movements come and go. Its members fought the good fight and helped heal some of the racial problems in this country. Today, I simply believe they are unnecessary. \nRacism does not run as rampantly throughout our country as the NAACP would have us believe. \nIn these modern times when each race is on a more equal playing field, they have to dig up problems just to stay in the spotlight. The NAACP has no pull if there is no racism in our country. If there are no problems, the NAACP can't exist. So they focus on problems that don't really exist and label every case of Billy Bob using a racial slur a national crisis. \nRacial relations in this country will never be perfect, but we should be proud of how far we've come. Racial harmony will come when we stop seeing each other as different races and start seeing each other as Americans. The NAACP constantly reminds that we are different. This does nothing for the cause of unity.