Gadsden flag only offends the offender (my chosen headline)
Recently the Gadsden flag-- the yellow "Don't tread on me" flag which has been around since before the American Revolution-- was denounced as "racist" by the "social justice" crowd and other government extremists. How absurd.
This is the same silly controversy which surrounded the "Confederate flag" last year.
Sure, most people are probably racist to some extent, and that's not right. Some people who are overtly racist display the Gadsden flag. When they do, they are being hypocritical. Some racist people fly the US flag, or any other flag you can point to. It's never the flag's fault.
The Gadsden flag is only a threat to those who violate others. It has nothing to do with where a person was born, the color of his skin, the language he speaks, or his religion. As long as you don't tread on others, the flag isn't about you. It isn't in any way racist, nor does it support the agenda of those who are.
People will look for any reason to categorize each other, and outward appearances are convenient for the purpose. You can feel any way you want about others as long as you don't violate their life, liberty, or property. It's a pretty simple concept: "Don't tread on me", which comes with an unstated promise some want to ignore- "I won't tread on you, either".
Race, if it even exists, doesn't cause anyone to behave any particular way. But cultures can. Some cultures are passed down parent to child, while others are adopted by joining a group.
Some cultures are better than others.
Almost all cultures have good points and bad points; it is up to you as an individual to embrace and encourage the good things about your culture and reject and shame the bad points.
If your culture encourages you to "tread on" others by attacking them or violating their property-- no matter why you do it-- your culture is degraded. Such a culture is inferior.
It doesn't matter if "everyone else is doing it"-- if it violates life, liberty, or property, don't do it. If others in your culture mock you for doing the right thing, they expose themselves as bad guys. They are holding your culture down. They are your enemy, no matter how connected to them you feel.
Don't tread on me; not personally, and not by sending thugs to act on your behalf. I won't tread on you, either. It isn't racist; it's the foundation of libertarianism. It creates the condition called "civilization". Anything else is uncivilized.
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