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We live in Bizarro World
Freedom is Lost as we Pander to Ignorance
I was reading the headlines this morning and I came across an article that made me sad. The Offenbeckers own a bed and breakfast in St. Johns, Michigan. They used to have two flags flying at the entrance. One of these was the Norwegian flag, which appears in the photograph above.
The place is called The Nordic Pineapple and the flag is a tribute to the wife’s grandfather, who came from Norway. What could be more innocuous?
Turns out that they were getting hate mail from people. In this era of malevolent behavior, that shouldn’t be a surprise. But the reason is a bit bizarre.
It seems people assumed the couple were racists. Because… Nordic flag. I wondered — were these Irish Americans who were still holding a grudge for Lindisfarne? No, it turns out that the culprits are ignorant Americans who can’t differentiate between the Confederate flag and the Nordic flag.
For people who are wondering, the Confederate flag has a blue “X” on a red background, and the blue bars contain white stars. Thus it’s been dubbed “The Stars and Bars”.
The couple were surprised because the flags are not the same. They are two distinct flags.
