Shad Planking 2010: George Allen

Hampton Roads, Local, National, Politics, Virginia 1 Minute

It was a bit rainy but the 62nd annual Shad Planking took place Wednesday afternoon as planned. The crowd seemed smaller than previous years but the music was still loud, the beer still cold and the cigar smoke wafted through the air.

Oh yeah – and the Southern Cross was everywhere. The Sons of Confederate Veterans even led a sing-a-long – of Dixie, of course.

Such a welcoming environment.

Anyway – this year’s speaker was former Governor and former Senator George Allen.  His interesting remarks are in the video below.


If you are reading this through email or an RSS feed and do not see the video, please visit my blog.

While he wouldn’t commit, it seems everyone thinks Allen is planning a run for Senate in 2012. In the meantime, there was a booth there for “Draft Bob Marshall for Senate.” One of the ladies in the booth and I had an interesting conversation. She and I agreed – for different reasons, of course – that Bob Marshall should be the Republican nominee for Senate in 2012.

See – Republicans and Democrats can agree sometimes.

I couldn’t, of course, get out of there without getting into a discussion about the flags. All I can say is that if it’s about history, not hate, then pick another flag to use.

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17 thoughts on “Shad Planking 2010: George Allen”

  7. The persistence of Confedrate iconography in Virginia is troubling. It’s been 150 years, people. The Confederacy is not coming bakc, nor should it. Are we going to turn this into one of those thousand-year-old grudges that they are still killing people over in the Middle East?

  8. The flag, is the Confederate Battle Flag, not, “The Southern Cross.” The Southern Cross is a constellation that is incorporated into the flags of several nations, including New Zealand and Australia.

    The Battle Flag is still flown by many Americans to honor the Confederate veterans, who, by the way, were recognized by our Congress as Veterans of the United States at the beginning of the Twentieth Century.

    Only those with a limited, Jerry Springer show version of our history, see the Battle Flag as a banner of hatred.

    For Virginia families, the Battle Flag still represents those brave soldiers who fought against an invading army to save our homes and our citizens from destruction.

    Today, millions of citizens who live in every state, including many of those who identify as, “African Americans” can locate a Confederate ancestor in their family lineage.

    Virginia could add billions in tourism dollars by promoting Confederate era tourism. If it will get more of our citizens good paying jobs, then we should all stand up, give a Rebel yell, wave the Battle Flag and proudly sing DIXIE!

    1. Take it up with Wikipedia:

      What is now often called “The Confederate Flag” or “The Confederate Battle Flag” (specifically the flag of the Army of Tennessee), despite its never having historically represented the CSA as a nation, has become a widely recognized symbol of the South. It is also called the “rebel”, “Southern Cross”, or “Dixie” flag, and is often incorrectly referred to as the “Stars and Bars” (the actual “Stars and Bars” is the First National Flag, which used an entirely different design).

      And there’s nothing limited about the knowledge of the use of the flag:

      Some hate groups use the Southern Cross as one of the symbols associated with their organizations, including racist groups such as the Neo-Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan. The flag is also sometimes used by separatist organizations such as the Aryan Nations.

        1. The song refers to the CONSTELLATION called the Southern Cross, that is used by sailors to navigate the seas of the Southern hemisphere.

          http://seaghull.home.texas.net/cross.html

          The Crosby Stills Nash and Young song that mentions the Southern cross is ALSO about traveling via ship to the Southern hemisphere.

          Now that we are entering the Sesquicentennial (150th Anniversary) of the War for Southern Independence, perhaps some good songs will be produced that we all can sing that values the fighting spirit of the Confederate soldier.

          I plan to fly Old Glory and the Battle Flag at my home and office to support Virginia’s Confederate era tourism. I am also working on producing a bike ride that follows JEB Stuart’s ride around McClellan.

          We can use the coincidence of Virginia’s position in history as a way to create jobs for today’s citizens. People of every background can enjoy celebrating the “Rebel spirit” without condoning any association with human bondage. Virginians of today have a golden opportunity to use Confederate history as an economic engine that can pour over a Billion additional dollars into the pockets of our citizens.

  9. Wikipedia is often wrong and should not be relied upon as an authoritative source. There were many flags associated with the CSA. Some included a St. Andrew’s Cross (the blue X in the Battle Flag) while a few displayed a St. George’s Cross) but none were accurately described as, “The Southern Cross.” To see that, take a look at the stars displayed on the flag of New Zealand.

    Nobody who is knowledgeable of our history would refer to the Battle Flag as the “Southern Cross” since that term applies to the constellation and not to the flag.

    It is also grossly unbalanced for Wiki to state that some radical groups use the flag, without pointing out that most who fly the Flag (probably 99%) do so in honor of the Confederate veterans.

    The Battle Flag and other flags of the Confederacy are all part of our American history. Rather than presume the motives of someone who is displaying the Battle Flag, take the time to ask the person to tell you about about their Confederate era heritage. What you will find, is that most who fly the Flag, have a deep appreciation of those who came before us. These folks who value their own forefathers and culture, are also the most likely to genuinely respect the cultures and sacrifices of those from other backgrounds.

    1. Please back up your assertions concerning percentages of those who fly the flag for a particular reason.

      How many percent of the people who have ancestral ties with the 19th century would never fly the flag?

      You quote statistics with no proof all day, but if you can’t back it up with a source, I would be less likely to consider your points.

      As for the act of flying the flag as a celebration of culture and lifestyle,I am not sure why that celebration takes place everywhere, the entire year long.

      My ancestors fought in the Civil War. Some on both sides. I am a veteran myself, and I would never fly this flag, this “heritage”. No matter what the original intent was for a flag, if it is used as a symbol of hate and white supremacy, celebrated in murder,then that flag will be a symbol of hate and derision.

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