Debate grows over Rebel symbols

Supporters and critics fired off opinions like cannonades this past week over how to treat monuments to the Confederacy and the people who fought for it.

What to do with the monuments — symbols of suppression to some, icons of heritage to others — fell under the spotlight following the violent clashes earlier this month in Charlottesville, Va., that were sparked by white supremacists.

Some this past week continued to call for removal of the monuments. Others pushed for adding context to what already exists, saying it would tell a more accurate story.

The first shot fired during the week, however, came from somebody who seemed to question the value of doing anything, warning that it could yield unintended consequences.

“I remind people what it costs us to take down the Confederate flag,” former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young, during a lengthy interview on “Meet the Press,” told Chuck Todd. “It cost us an election and that election cost us $14.9 billion and 70,000 health care jobs that we would have had in Georgia if we had not gotten to foolin’ with that flag. It costs us the Perimeter.

“We had an outer perimeter where we have been collecting land and designing it and it was ready for construction. And the first thing the next governor did was sell all that land to his friends, and every time any Atlantans are caught in traffic or anyone tries to come through there, they need to remember that the flag put them there.”

More opinions followed. State Rep. Vernon Jones is seeking creation of a new commission to conduct a “bipartisan, systematic and transparent study” of the state’s historic monuments.

Jones said the panel would hold statewide hearings and then make recommendations about monument placement and the possibility of adding new statues.

Such a commission would find steady work. Georgia trails only Virginia in the number of Confederate symbols.

Kaepernick has a Hammer:

Baseball Hall of Fame slugger Hank Aaron has come to the defense of former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who refused to stand for the national anthem to protest police brutality against African-Americans.

Kaepernick, who opted out of his contract with the 49ers in the spring, remains unsigned. Aaron, in a YouTube video posted by Roland Martin, said Kaepernick is “getting a raw deal.”

“I don’t think anybody can do the things he could do,” said the Atlanta Brave great known as “The Hammer.” “So you know, I just wish somebody would open up and give him a chance to do his thing ....

“I’d love to see some other players stand up. I would love that. I think it would give him some incentive. I think it would help him. I think this decision is coming from the owners. I don’t think it’s coming from the general manager,” he said.