Walmart Confederate Flag Merchandise Yanked From The Shelves

Walmart will no longer sell Confederate Flag merchandise in any of its stores. Sears has also announced plans to stop selling Confederacy-themed items. A massive “remove the flag movement” launched almost immediately after the Charleston shooting, where nine Emanuel AME Church members were allegedly killed by Dylann Roof.

A massive “remove the Confederate Flag movement” launched almost immediately after the Dylann Storm Roof arrest. Walmart Confederate Flag items might be going away, but a host of large and small brick-and-mortar and online stores are still selling the Civil War-era themed items — some have even experienced a spike in interest in recent days.

Many of those who supports the removal of the Confederate Flag from government buildings and stores, feel the “Southern Cross” flags are a symbol of slavery and offensive. Many of those who see no reason to remove the Confederate merchandise or flag largely feel it represents southern pride and heritage, and will likely make no difference in curtailing the violent and racist acts of people with evil intentions.

Walmart Confederate Flag merchandise offered for sale as of Monday afternoon reportedly included T-shirts and belt buckles.

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A statement from Walmart about pulling Confederate Flag items from store shelves was released on Monday evening.

“We never want to offend anyone with the products that we offer. We have taken steps to remove all items promoting the confederate flag from our assortment — whether in our stores or on our web site. We have a process in place to help lead us to the right decisions when it comes to the merchandise we sell. Still, at times, items make their way into our assortment improperly — this is one of those instances.”

Both eBay and Amazon were asked by CNN if they, too, were going to remove Confederate Flag items. No response to the question has yet been given. A quick search on Amazon revealed that some vendors been quickly selling such items and have only a few flags and apparel left in their online stores.

According to the CNN report, eBay has an “offensive material policy” ban on items which “promote hatred or racial supremacy, including historic and current items.”

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One would have to believe that the Confederate Flag represents racial supremacy and hatred in order for it to qualify for the ban imposed by the online retailer. As some who do not support the Confederate Flag ban have pointed out, the American Flag also flew over a nation that allowed slavery, but because the stars and stripes represent so much more than one issue during a particular era, Old Glory has not been deemed offensive.

Do you think the Confederate Flag should be removed from Walmart, Sears, and government buildings because it represents racism, or it the flag ban movement merely an exercise in political correctness?

[Image via Shutterstock]