.
An array of companies associated with the Confederate flag faced ridicule following the brutal shooting at a South Carolina church on June 17. Of these, Amazon, Wal-Mart, and Apple promptly discontinued their sale or use of the Confederate flag soon after the massacre. However, the expanse of companies who apologized and re-evaluated their inclusion of the Confederate flag does not include Six Flags Over Texas, a national amusement park.
Within seconds of, allegedly, first hearing that Wal-Mart sold items promoting the Confederate flag, Wal-Mart CEO Doug McMillon discontinued selling all related items in stores and online. Similarly, Amazon joined the list of retailers refusing to sell Confederate flag merchandise, despite the demand for Confederate flags on Amazon rising 8,800 percent in 24 hours a few days after the massacre. Following suit, Apple permanently removed from their store all apps that included the Confederate flag.
While these corporations have acknowledged their mistake of unintentionally supporting the Confederacy’s values, Six Flags has nearly completely avoided criticism.
One of Six Flag’s Flags is a Confederate Flag
Surprisingly, Six Flags has largely avoided public acknowledgement and outcry that one of their six flags is a Confederate flag. Promoting historical accuracy and effectively dodging ridicule thus far, Sharon Parker, a Six Flags spokeswoman noted, “We do not fly or sell any variation of the Confederate Battle Flag.”
Parker’s statement is accurate; Six Flags does not fly a Confederate Battle Flag. However, Six Flags does fly a Confederate flag.
The History Behind Confederate Flags
During the four-year civil war, the Confederate states transitioned through three official flags. The first was the Stars and Bars Flag, which was used between 1861 and 1863. Craving a flag that was more clearly distinguishable from the Union flag, a second design was adopted on May 1, 1863. This flag includes a southern cross in the top left-hand corner of the otherwise white flag. Marking the third Confederate flag, the Confederacy added a red vertical stripe to the second flag’s white background after realizing that the second flag’s white background could be confused as a white flag of surrender.
The Battle Flag is composed of a large southern cross and was flown by several Confederate Army units, including Gen. Robert E. Lee’s unit of Northern Virginia. Interestingly, the Battle Flag was never an official Confederate flag but still became a symbol of Confederate values.
Six Flags uses the first flag of the Confederacy, the Stars and Bars Flag. Although less representative of the war than the Battle Flag, which was prominent during several major battles, the Stars and Bars Flag was the longest used official flag of the Confederate states. Its prominence as an official flag for more than two years during the Civil War exhibits its apparent symbolism of Confederate values.
So, What’s Next?
Though not the most iconic flag, Six Flags parades an official Confederate Army flag. With time, the amusement park will undoubtedly face ridicule. Eventually, Six Flags will be forced by consumers to clarify its values—just as Amazon, Wal-Mart, and Apple have. Not wanting to lose customers, Six Flags will likely replace its Confederate flag with another flag. This begs the question: what flag will Six Flags use as a replacement?
Photo by Steve Cornelius under Creative Commons.
The views presented in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent the views of any other organization.
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Nobody Has Noticed Six Flags' Sixth Flag
July 21, 2015
An array of companies associated with the Confederate flag faced ridicule following the brutal shooting at a South Carolina church on June 17. Of these, Amazon, Wal-Mart, and Apple promptly discontinued their sale or use of the Confederate flag soon after the massacre. However, the expanse of companies who apologized and re-evaluated their inclusion of the Confederate flag does not include Six Flags Over Texas, a national amusement park.
Within seconds of, allegedly, first hearing that Wal-Mart sold items promoting the Confederate flag, Wal-Mart CEO Doug McMillon discontinued selling all related items in stores and online. Similarly, Amazon joined the list of retailers refusing to sell Confederate flag merchandise, despite the demand for Confederate flags on Amazon rising 8,800 percent in 24 hours a few days after the massacre. Following suit, Apple permanently removed from their store all apps that included the Confederate flag.
While these corporations have acknowledged their mistake of unintentionally supporting the Confederacy’s values, Six Flags has nearly completely avoided criticism.
One of Six Flag’s Flags is a Confederate Flag
Surprisingly, Six Flags has largely avoided public acknowledgement and outcry that one of their six flags is a Confederate flag. Promoting historical accuracy and effectively dodging ridicule thus far, Sharon Parker, a Six Flags spokeswoman noted, “We do not fly or sell any variation of the Confederate Battle Flag.”
Parker’s statement is accurate; Six Flags does not fly a Confederate Battle Flag. However, Six Flags does fly a Confederate flag.
The History Behind Confederate Flags
During the four-year civil war, the Confederate states transitioned through three official flags. The first was the Stars and Bars Flag, which was used between 1861 and 1863. Craving a flag that was more clearly distinguishable from the Union flag, a second design was adopted on May 1, 1863. This flag includes a southern cross in the top left-hand corner of the otherwise white flag. Marking the third Confederate flag, the Confederacy added a red vertical stripe to the second flag’s white background after realizing that the second flag’s white background could be confused as a white flag of surrender.
The Battle Flag is composed of a large southern cross and was flown by several Confederate Army units, including Gen. Robert E. Lee’s unit of Northern Virginia. Interestingly, the Battle Flag was never an official Confederate flag but still became a symbol of Confederate values.
Six Flags uses the first flag of the Confederacy, the Stars and Bars Flag. Although less representative of the war than the Battle Flag, which was prominent during several major battles, the Stars and Bars Flag was the longest used official flag of the Confederate states. Its prominence as an official flag for more than two years during the Civil War exhibits its apparent symbolism of Confederate values.
So, What’s Next?
Though not the most iconic flag, Six Flags parades an official Confederate Army flag. With time, the amusement park will undoubtedly face ridicule. Eventually, Six Flags will be forced by consumers to clarify its values—just as Amazon, Wal-Mart, and Apple have. Not wanting to lose customers, Six Flags will likely replace its Confederate flag with another flag. This begs the question: what flag will Six Flags use as a replacement?
Photo by Steve Cornelius under Creative Commons.
The views presented in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent the views of any other organization.
