A Tennessee man vowed to fight his landlord’s order to take down the Confederate flags flying from his pickup truck. Thomas Reed, who rents a town home in Johnson City, said he received a letter from the property manager notifying tenants that they were not allowed to display the flag, reported WJHL-TV. The letter notes that the display makes some residents uncomfortable and had prompted at least one tenant to move out — but Reed says he’s the real victim…. “I feel like he is trying to take my freedom of speech,” Reed said. A legal expert told the TV station that Reed’s free speech was being limited by the order, but he said the tenant’s constitutional rights were not violated…. “What it boils down to then is a private contract dispute, (so) the question simply becomes what does the lease say,” said Stewart Harris, a professor at Appalachian School of Law.
There comes a time when doing the right thing means doing the right thing. It doesn’t take a Ph.D. to recognize and understand what the Confederate flag symbolizes for African-Americans. If you’re a decent person, you recognize the validity of that symbolism and decide not to do something that would cause offense to so many. In the same way a person possessed of common sense and decency wouldn’t fly a Nazi flag to celebrate one’s German heritage, there’s no credible argument to be made for the Stars and Bars…unless you simply don’t care about causing offense. If you’re OK with the idea of sending the message that you care not at all for the sensibilities of others, and that courtesy and decency is for losers and Liberals, then I suppose you think flying a Confederate flag is your right. And I’d also suppose that you’re a truly objectionable excuse for a human being.
Reed’s impotent protestations aside, this isn’t about suppressing his freedom of speech. The 1st Amendment doesn’t eliminate the importance of kindness and consideration, of not doing something that you know will cause offense to others. You may think it’s about “Heritage Not Hate,” but the truth is that the vast majority of African-Americans view the Stars and Bars as a symbol of hatred and oppression…and not without justification.
I’m not an attorney, so I can’t argue the legal merits of Reed’s case, but from a simple human decency standpoint, it would seem that recognizing that kindness costs nothing would be an appropriate decision for him to make. If Reed’s heritage is so important to him, there are ways to celebrate it short of displaying a divisive symbol redolent of racism and slavery.
Perhaps this would be a good time for him to consider the impact his actions have on others…instead of defaulting to the “WHAT ABOUT MY RIGHT??” argument. It costs nothing to be kind and considerate of others, even if you care nothing for them. Unless you really want your 15 minutes of fame to be about your racism and disrespect for others.
