‘Rednek’ float set to ride out again
The man behind the ‘‘redneck’’ themed Santa Parade float has no plans to stash his Confederate flag away ahead of Nelson’s Christmas parade this Saturday.
However, it might play a less prominent part, he says.
Glen James decked out red pick-up trucks with Confederate flags and beer cans as part of his ‘‘Rednek Xmas’’ float for Richmond’s annual parade.
He had not copped any flak except from a woman who confronted him right after the parade, he said. ‘‘Good on her for saying something because she felt strongly about it.’’
The float’s inclusion in the Richmond parade comes after a controversial Lions Club entry in the Hawera Community Parade last week featured a group sporting blackface make-up.
Like blackface, the Confederate flag has been a lightning rod for racial friction in the United Stages in recent years.
In the US, it once symbolised pro-slavery sentiment in the south. In recent years, it has been adopted by white supremacy groups. James is aware of the flag’s history. ‘‘We have just used them because of our theme of being a redneck,’’ he said.
‘‘People loved it. They seemed to be engaging with the whole thing, which was the whole idea.
‘‘Am I a racist? No. I’ve got rental properties with Ma¯ ori and Burmese people, and my float had a transgender person, and people from different countries. Maybe I’m a bit of a redneck.’’
However, he was considering changing things around for Sunday’s parade, replacing the prominent Confederate flag on the bonnet for a Stars and Stripes, and spray painting over the brands on his beer cans.
However, the Confederate flag would still feature, he said.
Victoria University associate professor Dolores Janiewski, who specialises in US southern history, said many New Zealanders did not understand the flag’s significance. ‘‘In the US, most people recognise the flag stands for white supremacy and racism.
‘‘It came back into use in the 1960s to oppose the civil rights and became a symbol of the Ku Klux Klan and other groups of people who are using it for white supremacy. I think the African American point of view needs a degree of respect; they are the ones who suffered under the flag,’’ Janiewski said.
Nelson Santa parade director Mark Soper declined to comment.
Karl Wulff, a parade organiser, said there would be marshalls in place to make sure everything was within ‘‘parade protocol’’. ‘‘If the marshalls don’t think it’s right, he won’t be doing it.’’