“Dick”… thank you for proving my point. “Socialist organization”? Do I believe the flag is a symbol of hatred? Do I believe that those who love and display the symbol of America are racists? How utterly ridiculous and perfectly in sync with the nonsense spewed forth by the right wing media machine to an audience only too willing to swallow every word. So you seem to believe that anyone who disagrees with you reviles the American flag? Anyone who disagrees with you should be branded a “Socialist”? Anyone who disagrees with you must be attacking you as a racist? Well, “Dick,” the only way to know if you’re a racist is to observe what you say and do… and draw reasonable conclusions from your words and actions. I didn’t accuse you or anyone of being a racist. I accused Mr. Graham of being intolerant of anyone’s opinion to the extent it differs from his own, and I believe what he wrote suggests precisely that. I would suggest that your response does, too. Nowhere in my comment did I call him a name, and nowhere did I call him a “racist”. I did call him a “petulant child” and I stand by it, because his writing suggests the mindset of one. As to Black Lives Matter… one has to acknowledge that they have a point when we are all confronted with the simple reality that our nation has a history of racism at its core, from its very inception — yes, our Founding Fathers owned slaves, they perpetuated slavery as they drafted our founding documents, they refused to allow blacks to be treated as equals, so please spare me any revisionist history that seeks to pretend our nation has a stellar history on the subject of racial equality, because facts say otherwise. And in the nearly 250 years since, we’ve had a Civil War, Dred Scott, Jim Crow, and endless evidence of the racial animus targeting people of color. Even today, there is little doubt that black Americans are treated differently by law enforcement, and indeed by the entire legal system… and if you refuse to see it, I’d suggest it’s because you prefer to wear blinders because the plain truth is just too inconvenient for you. And in this very thread… beginning with Mr. Graham equating anyone’s belief that Black Lives Matter might actually have a valid complaint to make, one is branded a “Socialist” for daring to believe it. You called it a “Socialist organization” yourself… you’re no less guilty of the name-calling than he is. For your enlightenment, “Dick,” socialism is an economic system, not a political one, and Black Lives Matter is about seeking redress of wrongs through political action, not suggestive of adoption of a different economic system in America. So before you throw your epithets around, perhaps think a bit about what epithets your throw, so you don’t come across as a complete idiot for not knowing the difference.