Confederate flag doesn’t belong at fair

Once again, the Lorain County Fair is embroiled in controversy for refusing to ban the sale of the Confederate flag during the week-long event.

Now, Sam Felton, one of Lorain County’s most decorated veterans and an advocate for veteran’s issues around the state and county, has issued a Call to Action to all Lorain County veterans and elected officials: “Stay away from the County Fair.”

It’s no secret that the Confederate flag is s symbol of hate and has been throughout the history of this country.

And it remains a powerful symbol of slavery and the Old South.

But the issue with the flag and Lorain County Fair began in 2016, and surprisingly, it’s still here.

Two years ago, Felton became active with the Lorain County Fair-Minded Coalition, the group seeking to ban the sale of the Confederate flag at the Fair.

Felton said he acknowledges the controversy about the flag, attributing it to America’s divided politics.

Although his “Call to Action” may be unpopular with some, Felton said the Vietnam War for which he served three tours of duty, receiving the Purple Heart and other honors, is why he adamantly is opposed to the Confederate flag being revered by Americans.

Felton said, “I’m issuing the ‘Call’ to veterans because they are my brothers and I want them to know that this issue is personal for me because that flag represents hate and those groups who want to divide our country along racial lines. And I’m calling on elected officials, because like me, they have taken an oath to defend the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic.”

He certainly has a right to his opinion, just like the vendors have a right to sell the flag.

Jeanine Donaldson, coordinator of the Lorain County Fair-Minded Coalition and executive director of the Elyria and Lorain YWCA, said the Coalition agrees that it’s not whether vendors at the Fair can sell the flag, but if they should.

Donaldson said her group is questioning the Fair Board when they say they won’t sell anything of a controversial nature.

But since the Lorain County Fair-Minded Coalition started its process of banning the Confederate flag, she said this issue has become more controversial.

Fair office manager Charisse Nikel said although she can’t say for sure whether the Confederate flag will be sold at the Fair, the vendor who traditionally has sold it, will set up shop this year.

Fair Board President Ron Pickworth said he can’t give a definitive answer on the sale of the flag, but it is “very possible” that a vendor will have them for sale.

Fair vendors have a right to make money on their wares, including that flag.

It’s the American way. But organizations larger than the Lorain County Fair have banned the sales of the Confederate flag.

In 2015, the Ohio State Fair Board banned the sale of Confederate flag items without a prompting from outsiders.

A year later, Amazon and Walmart made it a policy to not sell such symbols of hate and intolerance.

Even Sears Holding Corp. and eBay announced they stopped selling items with the Confederate flag.

And cities and states have removed from display the Confederate flag, statutes and monuments that reflect hatred, bigotry and racism.

Since the Lorain County Fair Board refuses to ban the sell of the flag, we’re urging people not buy the flag.

If the vendors don’t make money selling the flags, we guarantee you, they won’t come back.

It’s also the American way. Not all people who buy and fly the Confederate flag are hate mongers and racists, but they probably need another lesson in American history.

On Aug. 1, Niall McCarthy, a contributor to Forbes, wrote that hate crimes are rising in the United States.

McCarthy said a new report from The Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, headquartered at California State University in San Bernardino, has found that hate crimes rose 9 percent in 30 major American cities in 2018, the steepest rise since 2015.

He said there were 2,009 hate crimes across all 30 cities last year compared to 1,836 in 2017.

And 2018 marked a 42 percent increase over the 2010 total of 1,417.

McCarthy said the most common victims for hate crime reported to police in 2018 were blacks, Jews and members of the LGBT community.

So, Felton has a valid argument for wanting the Fair to ban the sale of the Confederate flag.

He served and defended this country at war.

All he’s asking is that others help defend the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic.

That’s a reasonable request.