Georgia is on our minds today for all the wrong reasons.
Confederate flag supporters (and some counter protesters) began gathering early Saturday morning at Stone Mountain Park east of the state capitol, stars and bars flapping behind them, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. Billed as Georgia State Flag Rally, the event was organized by Thomaston, Ga., resident and Confederacy fanboy JT Nicholson and attracted 1,000 RSVPs from people around the state.
Since #CharlestonShooting there have been 132 pro-Confederate rallies. Today’s at Stone Mountain might be biggest. pic.twitter.com/TuhnHfD9QT
— SPLC (@splcenter) August 1, 2015"We're treating it like the Fourth of July," Stone Mountain spokesman John Bankhead told the Atlanta newspaper in regard to park tightening security for the event.
A photo tweeted by the Southern Poverty Law Center shows attendees weren't arriving with just flags in tow, either:
Happening now: Armed supporters at massive pro-Confederate rally in Stone Mountain, GA. Photo by @SteveGWSB pic.twitter.com/XVfix6rndB
— SPLC (@splcenter) August 1, 2015
Besides, "leave your guns at home" wasn't among the event's rules. On Facebook, Nicholson itemized some do's and don'ts, starting with one that's both astonishing that it even needs to be mentioned and seemingly impossible not to break given the nature of the rally:
1.) NO racial slurs or offensive remarks
2.) NO alcohol, we do know its illegal and that will be opportunity for tickets/arrests
3.) NO taunting other vehicles, flipping other people off during the ride
4.) NO burning any flags of any type regardless of which flag
5.) STAY peaceful, which means NO violence "Remember there will be people everywhere! Possibly media and cameras," Nicholson's instructions continued. "ONE piece of negativity and that will be what goes Viral and that is what we will be remembered for." The Stone Mountain location is significant since the Civil War-themed park has come under statewide scrutiny in the wake of the Charleston, SC., shootings that killed nine African Americans. In addition to Confederate regalia featured around the park, its central mountain — which is actually a massive mound of granite — features an etching of Confederate President Jefferson Davis and Generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson. Recently, the Atlanta NAACP has called for sculpture's removal. A petition to make the trio a fivesome with carvings of Atlanta-native Outkast members Big Boi and Andre 3000 has also attracted more than 12,000 signatures. But for now, Stone Mountain Park remains a Dixieland relic where Confederate flag supporters feel at home gathering with their guns.
2.) NO alcohol, we do know its illegal and that will be opportunity for tickets/arrests
3.) NO taunting other vehicles, flipping other people off during the ride
4.) NO burning any flags of any type regardless of which flag
5.) STAY peaceful, which means NO violence "Remember there will be people everywhere! Possibly media and cameras," Nicholson's instructions continued. "ONE piece of negativity and that will be what goes Viral and that is what we will be remembered for." The Stone Mountain location is significant since the Civil War-themed park has come under statewide scrutiny in the wake of the Charleston, SC., shootings that killed nine African Americans. In addition to Confederate regalia featured around the park, its central mountain — which is actually a massive mound of granite — features an etching of Confederate President Jefferson Davis and Generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson. Recently, the Atlanta NAACP has called for sculpture's removal. A petition to make the trio a fivesome with carvings of Atlanta-native Outkast members Big Boi and Andre 3000 has also attracted more than 12,000 signatures. But for now, Stone Mountain Park remains a Dixieland relic where Confederate flag supporters feel at home gathering with their guns.