Despite days of advance publicity in the mainstream media, apparently only a handful of protesters representing the group Disarm NYPD showed up at Brooklyn’s Fort Greene Park the evening of July 1 to burn a Confederate flag and an American flag.
The group’s Facebook page justified the event by stating, “We maintain, unwaveringly, that both the Confederate flag, and the American flag are symbols of oppression.”
While Disarm NYPD has correctly observed that slavery existed in parts of this country during its early history, it does not note that the abolishing of slavery here was accomplished via constitutional means: the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1865. The United States of America was not the first country to abolish slavery, but neither was it the last.
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Disarm NYPD burned the two flags by placing them in a small charcoal grill, as open fires are not allowed in New York City parks.
Numerous protesters from both sides engaged in highly emotional shouting matches reminiscent of the flag-burning days of the Vietnam War. Torching the flag is a highly effective tool for arousing volatile emotions, polarizing people and distracting them from examining the facts.
Highly visible among those protesting the flag-burning protesters were members of the Hallowed Sons Motorcycle Club.
Ironically, New York Police Department officers stepped in when violence appeared possible, protecting the very people who were demonstrating to disarm them. An NYPD spokeswoman told The New American there were no arrests.
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