Five days after the Charleston church massacre, the largest retailer in the country has started to remove all items that bare the Confederate flag.
“We never want to offend anyone with the products that we offer,” Walmart spokesman Brian Nick stated. “We have taken steps to remove all items promoting the confederate flag from our assortment — whether in our stores or on our web site.”
As of Monday night, a search of the flag on the company’s retail website comes up empty.
The removal of the “flag-inspired merchandise” comes after South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley called for the removal of the Confederate flag from Statehouse grounds on Monday.
“We respect freedom of expression, and for those who wish to show their respect for the flag on their private property, no one will stand in your way,” Haley stated during a press conference. “But the Statehouse is different. And the events of the past week call upon all of us to look at this in a different way.”
On Wednesday, Charleston Police Chief Greg Mullen stated that 21-year-old Dylann Roof walked into the Emanuel AME Church and shot to death nine people attending Bible Study.
Three days after the church massacre, a racially-charged website allegedly belonging to Roof called the “The Last Rhodesian” surfaced. It included disturbing images of Roof posing with the Confederate flag and at times holding the very gun believed used during the killing spree.
On the site, Roof appears to spew his hatred toward black people, Jews and Hispanics.
“We have no skinheads, no real KKK, no one doing anything but talking on the internet. Well someone has to have the bravery to take it to the real world, and I guess that has to be me,” he allegedly wrote on the website.
“The murderer now locked up in Charleston said he hoped his actions would start a race war. We have an opportunity to show that not only was he wrong, but that just the opposite is happening,” Haley added. “My hope
is that by removing a symbol that divides us, we can move our state forward in harmony, and we can honor the nine blessed souls who are now in Heaven.”
The Confederate hasn’t always flown on Statehouse grounds. In 1961, it was placed atop the Statehouse to commemorate the centennial anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War.
It remained there for 40 years until there was a push by the NAACP and other groups to remove it. As a compromise, the flag was taken down from atop the Statehouse and a smaller Confederate flag was placed on Statehouse grounds.
In light of Haley and other political leaders calling for the removal of the Confederate flag, the Sons of Confederate Veterans issued the following statement on Facebook:
“Our heritage is under serious attack. As you know, we have a major situation in South Carolina. Every Compatriot is urged to email the members of the South Carolina Legislature and urge them to keep the flag flying as a memorial to our brave Confederate dead,” the post reads. “Time is of the essence. If the forces of political correctness win in South Carolina they will soon come after the monuments and flags in other states.”
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