America’s biggest leading retailers have taken a stand that many did not see coming
Today, Walmart, Sears, Amazon, and Sears all announced that they all will be stopping the sale of Confederate flag merchandise shortly after the highly publicized debate over the use of the stars and bars.
For those who don’t understand the meaning behind the Confederate flag, it is a symbol of the slave-holding South. Many people few the flag as a negative symbol due to last week’s church shooting involving gunman Dylann Roof.
In this mist of all this news on Monday, Nikki Haley, South Carolina’s governor announced her stand on the topic and said that she supports removing the Confederate flag from the state capitol grounds. According to CNN, a spokesperson from Walmart, Brian Nick ,made a statement on behalf of the company.
“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.”
On behalf of eBay, spokesperson Johnna Hoff said that the Confederate flag has “become a contemporary symbol of divisiveness and racism.”
Along with Governor Haley, supporters within her opinion to remove the flag include Republican Senator Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott, Democratic Republican Jim Clyburn and Republican Rep. Mark Sanford.
