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  • 2015-08-12 (xsd:date)
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  • Do Democrats Want to Ban the POW/MIA Flag Because It Is 'Racist'? (en)
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  • Owing in part to the then-recent Confederate flag ban controversies, the idea quickly caught on that the left also sought to ban the POW/MIA flag because it was racist: On 11 August 2015, Newsweek published a highly controversial opinion piece by Rick Perlstein titled It’s Time to Haul Down Another Flag of Racist Hate, an article originally published by the Washington Spectator (for whom Perlstein serves as a national correspondent) under the title The Story of the Other Racist Flag. Perlstein referenced a then-current controversy over displays of the Confederate flag at the beginning of his article, segueing from there into a criticism of the POW/MIA flag (which commemorates prisoners of war and soldiers missing in action and is especially popular among Vietnam veterans). Arguing that Richard Nixon invented the cult of the 'POW/MIA' in order to justify the carnage in Vietnam, Perlstein aired his grievances about the POW/MIA banner: Perlstein's article offended many readers, as exemplified by Newsweek's Facebook page, which featured no link to Perlstein's article but was nonetheless overwhelmed with angry comments. In response to the controversy, the Young Conservatives website then published an article titled POW/MIA Flag is Now Being Considered Racist, Liberal Wants It Gone, claiming liberals wanted to ban the POW/MIA flag because it was racist: National Review and RedState also published articles and/or tweets about the controversy: While it's true a single opinion piece described the flag as racist (in its title and opening paragraph), the view represented was that of an individual writer and is not one being widely espoused by any large segment of the left, Democrats, or Americans in general. And although Perlstein criticized the flag at length in his column, no mainstream groups of any political stripe have sought the POW/MIA flag's removal, retirement, or ban due to its supposed status as a racist symbol. (en)
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