Southern woman apologizes and burns her confederate flag: 'RIP to this racist flag'

A video of a southern White woman burning the confederate flag is going viral online. Danielle, who goes by @tiktok_hates_me on the platform, recorded herself cutting down a confederate flag and burning it,  before apologizing for what it represented —  White supremacy and slavery. Danielle, who grew up in the South, posted that she was never taught that the flag represented the confederacy and the glorification of the Civil War. In the video, the confederate flag is tied to a pole. She can be seen using a pair of scissors to cut down the flag before lighting the corner of the flag with a lighter, according to Comic Sands.  

She posted the video of her burning the flag and superimposed over it were the words: 

"I'm sorry if I ever showed I was 'racist' from a flag. We burnt it tonight!"

"I'm sorry our culture taught us this was ok, it's not."

"I'm white. I'm redneck, but never racist. RIP to this racist flag."

Danielle showed her support for the Black Lives Moment and called for an end to racism with a string of hashtags accompanying the post. Many praised her for taking a stand against the flag and what it represents, especially considering she hailed from the South. Many others from the South said they could relate to the video and had similar feelings about the flag. She responded to questions in the comments in a follow-up video. Danielle said she was also getting rid of other items that represented the confederacy, before adding that she planned to do what those around her had failed to do at home — teach her kids about racism. She also added in a separate video that most White people believed the flag stood for Southern pride. 

When one user responded that she was doing the bare-minimum by burning the flag, she responded asking, "What do you expect me to do? Support Black Lives Matter? Because I do." Danielle added that she traveled all the way to a Black Lives Matter demonstration in Florence, Alabama last year during the pandemic to show her support for the movement and to people of color. She confirmed that her kids were present when she burned the flag. One person wrote, "Hell, yes, we love to see it. Now, we gotta teach you about class solidarity and workers owning means." Another supported her, writing, "Yes, Never be afraid to admit you were wrong and grow as a person." Another person could relate to what Danielle had posted and wrote: "I was always taught that it just means southern pride until when I was 13ish, and had a couple of friends educate me, and ever since it's been a no."  

The confederate flag is viewed as s symbol of hate and is banned in New York City. As we reported, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a bill late last year banning the sale or display of Confederate flags, swastikas, and other “symbols of hate” on state property in New York City. “This country faces a pervasive, growing attitude of intolerance and hate — what I have referred to in the body politic as an American cancer,” said Cuomo in his bill-signing memo. “By limiting the display and sale of the Confederate flag, Nazi swastika, and other symbols of hatred from being displayed or sold on state property, including the state fairgrounds, this bill will help safeguard New Yorkers from the fear-instilling effects of these abhorrent symbols,” he added. The bill exempts cases where such symbols are used for educational or historical purposes such as in books and museum services. The flag was also carried by one of the rioters into the Capitol building during the insurrection on January 6.