Differing historical views at Confederate flag parade

BUCYRUS – The Confederate flag pride parade Saturday in Bucyrus brought out supporters and protesters but remained peaceful.

The trail of vehicles carrying Confederate flags started at 1 p.m. on Marion Road near the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. It traveled north up Marion Road to Sandusky Avenue and back.

Scott Davis, a patrol officer for the Bucyrus Police Department, said no disturbance calls were made to the department regarding the parade.

While many people in the Save-A-Lot parking lot were encouraging the event, Joel Vega, of Mansfield, was protesting near the CVS Pharmacy on Sandusky Avenue, which was along the parade route.

Vega held a sign that said "History of Hate," with a crossed out Confederate flag. The back said, "traitors, losers, racists since 1865."

Vega said he was there to speak his mind.

"Free speech is not unanswerable speech, so I'm here to say my mind, that's what I'm here for," Vega said. "I'm trying not to speak to anyone and just walk peacefully and quietly."

Several people loudly told Vega he "didn't know history" from the street. He said he disagreed.

"I've been told three or four times now that I don't know history," Vega said. "And I encourage people who say that to read the Confederate constitution as adopted in 1861. Articles one and four are very unambiguous about the perpetuation of slavery, African-American, or negro slavery as it was called then in the document, and they provided for its expansion westward. Even though they said they weren't going to import slaves from other countries, they had breeding stock here, and they were still going to keep it and spread it to the west."

His points led him to his issue with the Confederate flag.

"The particular rebel flag they're flying today was not the national flag, but it was incorporated into the second Confederate national flag," Vega said. "The stainless banner, and the bloody banner both, so it was incorporated in its entirety on a white background into the second national flag of the confederacy."

Vega said he lived in the heart of the old confederacy near the Carolinas for almost 10 years and never saw Confederate battle flags as much there as he does in this part of Ohio.

He said there's no reason to publicly fly a Confederate flag in a union state.

"The Confederacy was a group of traitors, so I was very sad to see a U.S. military veteran come up to me and tell me I didn't know history, and that it's just another historical flag," Vega said. "He fought for the union, he fought for the USA. The Confederate States of America fought against (the union) to dissolve it and to enslave part of it, so there's an alternative history that really ticks me off."

Some supporters said the Confederate flag is not a symbol of racism, but Vega didn't agree with that either.

"There's a revisionist history going on right now with people saying the Confederate battle flag has nothing to do with racism," Vega said. "It's a lie. It's a total lie to whitewash sometimes very benign personal racism, but it serves as a flashpoint for public racism. Unless you're a transplant who flies (the Confederate flag) on his porch, fine, but to fly it out in the open in a union state is just ridiculous."

Charley and Linda Lohr were sitting in their truck down the street, waiting for Confederate flag supporters to take off down the road in their vehicles.

The couple said they supported the Confederate flag pride parade.

"It's something we should all stand behind," Charley Lohr said. "It's our heritage."

He said he wasn't "ashamed of what we did."

"(The Confederate flag) is a part of building the U.S.," he said. "I feel like this (flag) has more right here than the mosques and terrorist symbols, and the people that we educate and then they turn their back on us."

Linda Lohr said the Confederate flag doesn't need to be waved over the Capitol Building, but it has a right to be waved elsewhere.

"I hope more cities have parades like this," she said.

Charley Lohr said he hopes the flag and the parade will bring profits to the area.

"I hope it brings money and commerce," he said. "But it shouldn't bring hate in."

Bucyrus Mayor Jeff Reser said the city allowed the parade because everyone has a right to freedom of speech.

"Our Founding Fathers had foresight to put freedom of speech as the first article in the Bill of Rights," Reser said. "They must have known that events like this would test us."

"First and foremost, we must protect this right of free speech, no matter how offensive that speech may be to us. I am glad that 99 percent of Bucyrus residents concentrate on symbols that unite rather than divide us, and I thank those residents and business owners who proudly displayed our Stars and Stripes today."

The Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum's Todd Hill contributed to this report.

dhess@gannett.com

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