Little by little, they'll erase themselves

They predicted a turnout of 5-6,000 and only reached 5-600, but there was plenty of states' rights analysis and commentary at Stone Mountain the other day:

...“This is about erasing us,” said Jimmy, a representative of the League of the South who refused to give his last name. “This is about our First Amendment rights, our Second Amendment rights — every amendment you’ve got.”

Jimmy’s speech to the crowd through an overmatched PA system drew appreciative whoops from the crowd, especially when he quoted Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederate States of America and one of the three figures carved on Stone Mountain. But he never said the word “secede,” even though secession of the Southern states is the central goal of his group.

“I feel like the people here are smart enough to put two and two together,” he said.

...But numerous flag supporters said they only wanted to support their heritage and particular brand of Southern culture.

“We’re not racists. We’re not out here fighting for slavery,” said Steve Cook, a Sons of Confederate Veterans member from Atlanta.

Cook said he recognizes that racist groups use the flag, but he said he has no control over them.

“It’s a shame that we can’t reclaim our flag,” he said.

Billy Armistead of Covington said he attended the rally to honor the memory of his relative Lewis A. Armistead, who fought for the Confederacy in the Civil War. For him, the flag stands for heritage.

“We’re here to support our heritage,” he said. “We’re not racist. We’re doing a peaceful thing.”

Across the parking lot, Allan Croft, a bearded Dalton resident, debated Southern history with a group of young black men.

“Yeah, we didn’t want our daughters to marry you and we didn’t want our children to go to school with you,” he said. “But you’ve got to realize something, your parents didn’t want it, either.”

Croft blamed integration and the civil rights movement on “Communist Jews” and said accused Charleston shooter Dylann Roof “should have went to the synagogue, because that’s the enemy of all of us.”