Georgetown professor Michael Eric Dyson compares Betsy Ross flag to swastika – By Jessica Chasmar (The Washington Times) / July 4 2019
Georgetown professor and MSNBC commentator Michael Eric Dyson declared Wednesday that America’s first flag is a symbol of “hate” much like the swastika or burning cross.
“Words matter. Symbols matter, too,” Mr. Dyson argued. “Why don’t we wear a swastika for July Fourth? Because I don’t know, it makes a difference. The cross burning on somebody’s lawn — why don’t we just have a Nike celebration of the cross? Well, because those symbols are symbols of hate.”
Mr. Dyson made the comments during an MSNBC appearance discussing Nike’s decision to pull a new shoe design that included the iconic Betsy Ross flag, reportedly after former NFL player Colin Kaepernick said it had connections to slavery.
Mr. Dyson said the “reality” is that the flag, which features a star for each of the Thirteen Colonies, “has represented something that’s offensive” and that Nike’s decision to scrap the design didn’t demonstrate political correctness run amok.
“We can take PC culture back,” he said. “It’s amazing to me the people that cry the loudest about PC are the ones who didn’t show up when the offense first occurred, who didn’t defend the people who were victims of white supremacy or racism or sexism or misogyny, but now pop up and say, ‘Hey, let’s not be too PC.’ If you haven’t fought the battle, If you haven’t celebrated the process, you can’t acclaim the product.
“I think people need to be honest about it and say, ‘It’s not a matter of PC.’ There are many within communities of color who understand complexity, complication — you can’t have it the way you want it. But something so glaring and so apparent, that has to be dealt with,” he concluded.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/jul/4/michael-eric-dyson-georgetown-professor-compares-b/
