Egad Gadsden

This is why we can’t have nice things.

A school in Colorado Springs (in case you’re a Republican, that’s in Colorado) reversed course and said a 12-year-old male student can continue displaying a patch on his backpack of the Gadsden flag.

The school, The Vanguard School, is a private school, and it told the boy and his parents that the patch couldn’t be displayed because of “its origins with slavery.” After footage of the child being told he had to remove the patch went viral on X/Twitter, racking up more than nine million views, and instigating right-wing fucknut yeehaw fury, the school said, “Never mind.”

Even the Democratic governor of Colorado, a blue state despite Lauren Boebert, came out in support of the Gadsden flag.

The teachers were wrong to remove the flag because while it was created by a slave-owning delegate to the Constitutional Congress, Christopher Gadsden, it wasn’t a pro-slavery flag. It was a revolutionary flag designed from a political cartoon created and published by Benjamin Franklin in his publication, the Pennsylvania Gazette in 1754, during the French and Indian War (which was over the French forcing powdered wigs on Native Americans who said “no”). Most colonists did not see the cartoon however because of a paywall (that’s an inside newspaper industry joke). Franklin was also a slaver despite being from Boston, but it’s not like he was a Tom Brady fan. He later opposed slavery, at first, writing against it anonymously and later, at the age of 81, opposing it publicly. Good timing there, Ben.

Gadsden created the flag “as a nod (plagiarism)” to Franklin’s cartoon in 1775. He later became a brigadier general because, let’s face it, the Constitutional Army was taking just about anybody. Betsy Ross created a flag during this time and they tried to put her in charge of the civil defense of Woonsocket. (I made that up, but I do like saying “Woonsocket”), and the flag was flown by American warships and the newly formed United States Marines before they ever went the halls of Montezuma or the shores of Tripoli.

The teachers were wrong, which is bad when you’re supposed to be teaching. But, nobody should ever stop learning. For example: today, you learned the cause of the French and Indian War. You’re welcome. The flag does have some roots in slavery, but it was not a slavery flag. Every flag created during that period has roots in slavery, including Old Glory, which I’m sure the Vanguard School is flying above its grounds. Oops! Our national anthem, the one Colin kneeled during, had to have racist lyrics deleted from it which were, “Oh say can you see, the Blacks over there…let’s put them in chains, and wear ribbons in our hair.” That’s racist.

The Gadsden flag was created to inspire people to oppose and wage war against the British, declaring, “Don’t tread on me.” The colonists felt they were being treaded on by the British by being taxed without representation. You know, like current residents of Washington, D.C.

Over the past 246 years, the flag has been adopted by various groups who felt treaded on, even white slavers in the South during the Civil War who were actually treading on Black people by enslaving them. Just like Republicans and racists today, they didn’t catch the irony.

And this is where the school’s confusion comes in. The flag has been co-opted by hate groups, In fact, it was seen flying on January 6, 2021, in Washington, D.C. at the Capitol during Donald Trump’s white nationalist insurrection. It was flown by people attacking our nation and trying to overturn a free and fair election. It was displayed by members of the Proud Boys, the Three Percenters, Oathkeepers, Qanon fucks, and assorted MAGAt racist fucknuts. It was being flown by traitors. And, I’ve seen it at all four Trump arraignments.

The people who were attempting to violate the civil rights of every American citizen who voted for the winner of the 2020 election, Joe Biden, were screaming “Don’t tread on me.” Again, right-wing yeehaw goons are really bad with irony.

The Gadsden flag has been hijacked by the hate groups. Even Nazis are flying it. It’s like the word “patriot.” For a lot of people, “patriot” means Trumper, which again, IRONY!!!! Patriots do NOT attack the United States of America. Duh. Describing yourself as a patriot now kind of implies that you’re a Trumper even if you’re not. It’s like when I went to Trump arraignments in New York City, Miami, Washington, and Atlanta, the Trumpers saw my skin color and just assumed I was one of them, even though I was wearing a Black Lives Matter shirt at three of those things (I wore a Yankees shirt in NYC. If Trumper’s steal the Yankee logo, I’m gonna be so pissed). Irony and reading are not Trumper’s forte.

I am so white that when I covered the jury selection for the trial of white supremacist Byron De La Beckwith’s murder of civil rights activist Medgar Evers (the last one in the 90s, not the first two in the 60s), Beckwith’s wife sat down next to me, told me everything (but it was all conspiracy theories and an entirely other story), and invited me to visit them at their home in Tennessee as soon as that “witch hunt” was over. She was going to make biscuits and gravy which I still don’t get because it’s just wet flour on top of dry flour. I didn’t say anything to her that implied I was on their side or liked biscuits and gravy (bleah). She just assumed I was on their side. Not only am I very white, but my hair was also a lot lighter in 1994. I bet Beckwith owned a Gadsden flag.

So, do we allow hate groups to hijack what is otherwise an innocent snake-adorned flag? Have they already taken “Patriot?” When Virginia removed “Jefferson Davis” as the name of Route 1, my city, Fredericksburg (I can’t afford to move), replaced it with “Emancipation” but Red Stafford County chose, “Patriot.” Patriot Highway turns into Emancipation Highway after crossing the Rappahannock River.

I don’t want to let the goons have the Gadsden flag but at the same time, I am afraid of displaying one because people might mistake me for a racist. And I highly suspect that the child displaying the Gadsden flag on a patch on his backpack comes from a right-wing Trumper household. Ask him who his parents voted for.

Are all Trump voters racist? At the very least, racism is not a dealbreaker for them. Do all racists vote for Trump? Yes, at least the ones that haven’t lost their voting rights from convictions.

Previously, my biggest issue with the Gadsden flag is that it’s a yellow snake on a yellow background. That just screws with my eyes. Gadsden could have at least made the snake a darker yellow but he was probably too busy buying and selling slaves.

Creative note: I drew this cartoon last night so I could focus on my CNN cartoon today, but here I am writing a blog. Also, that snake looks good. Right? Yeah, I had to draw it about 50 times before I was happy with it. Ya know, some other cartoonists would have just copied and pasted that snake in there.

Music note: I listened to a 90s station on my music streaming service.

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