A white woman ripped the Confederate flag off of a truck at a traffic light

What does the Confederate flag mean to you? For some, it's a representation of "freedom" and "historic pride." However, the flag has a racist history; it stands for white supremacy and racial violence. Therefore, seeing it being used by white folks now poses a threat to the safety and security of racial minorities. Thankfully, there are people out there doing good work so all of us - regardless of race - can feel safe in our neighborhoods. In a video posted to Twitter, a woman is seen ripping off a Confederate flag hanging from a truck while stopped at a traffic light. After the post went viral, the internet applauded this hero.

In the video, the truck with the flag tied onto it is resting atop a car carrier. The flag is blowing in the wind. A white or white-passing woman is seen rushing out of her own car and running towards the car carrier. She jumps a few times, to no avail, then climbs onto the truck and rips off the flag in one swoop. The video, posted by Twitter user SassBaller, ends there. Since it was first uploaded on April 20, it has racked up a whopping 6.5 million views. The tweet has also been shared over 54,500 times and received over 341,700 likes and 3,500 comments. Needless to say, it has caused quite the stir-up on social media.

One Twitter user stated in response to the video, "Happy to see it. But if a black person did it they'd be killed." Of course, this is true. In 2017, when Bree Newsome, a black woman, climbed up a 30-foot flag pole to take down a Confederate flag, she was vilified by conservative news media. Would a white woman be treated the same way? Perhaps not. However, it has been suggested that the woman is part of the Lakota tribe, one of the three tribes of the Great Sioux Nation. Another Twitter user wrote, "I will never understand why people in this country continue to fly a loser flag. We don't give our participation trophies for racist *ssholes who lose a war. Burn that sh*t." The Confederate flag, which is also remembered as the Stainless Banner, was a symbol to represent the fight "to maintain the Heaven-ordained supremacy of the white man over the inferior or colored race," as Savannah Morning News editor William Tappan Thompson described in 1863. The Confederacy, ultimately, lost the American Civil War.

One person on Twitter suggested that the decision to rip off the flag was just as "unAmerican" as the Confederate flag itself. They wrote, "Unpopular opinion: that flag is disgusting, but she was wrong to touch his stuff. That’s unAmerican too." While it's not recommended to steal or destroy another person's property, the Confederate flag is an infringement of the safety of racial minorities, and flying one should be viewed as a hate crime. Therefore, this woman's decision to rip it off of the truck was nothing short of an act of heroism. Kudos to making sure your neighborhood is inclusive.