Florida is the deep south. People sometimes forget that. We've probably got more out-and-out racists, KuKluxers, and other crazies than most other southern states.Marion County is in the north central part of the state. It's a beautiful place with rolling hills, tons of horse farms, huge forests and a gazillion lakes.
It is also a hotbed of ultra-conservative racists who vote ultra-conservative racists into public office. The city of Ocala is the county seat of Marion County. Ocala, by reputation, attracts ultra-conservative racists from the north. Ocala teems with such nut-cases. The political leaders in this area hold unconstitutional public prayer events in the public squares and they're not praying to Allah or Zeus, but to their own particular version of the old Hebrew god, Yahweh, aka Jesus.
Following the recent shooting in a North Carolina church, the racist commissioners of Marion County decided it might be wise, politically speaking, to remove the Confederate flag flying at the Veteran's Memorial in Ocala. So they did.
A few local rabid racists became all excited. Y'all are desecrating our heritage, they cried.
The racist commissioners of Marion County were so moved by such an emotional challenge that they changed their collective minds and ordered that the Confederate flag be flown once agin at thet thar Veteran's memorial jest to honor the good ol' heritage of the south, ya know.
Oh, and they're gonna put a plaque there 'splaining that this flag ain't about slavery or racism but the other southern heritage - ya know - states' rights. After all, wasn't that what the south was fighting for - states' rights? Didn't have hardly nuttin' to do with slavery.
Well, no! Actually, the Civil War was NOT about states' rights. It was about the right of white people to enslave black people, to work black people to death, to beat black people to within an inch of their lives, to rape black people whenever they got so inclined, to sell black people, breaking up families if they wanted, whenever they wanted, to lynch black people who got too "uppity" or took umbrage at their horrible treatment.
And if you want to stress states' rights, well, OK, the Civil War was about "states' rights" to the extent the southern states didn't want the federal government to interfere with their right to engage in the practice of enslaving other human beings for their own benefit!
That's the heritage of the Confederate flag!
And that's the shame of Marion County and Ocala, Florida!
