by Garrison Frost

Driving through Hermosa Beach one morning earlier this week, something caught my eye. On the day after the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, someone had placed a Confederate Flag in a window high above a fairly busy intersection where it was sure to be seen by a lot of people.

While I’m not the kind of person who drives around with a camera in my car at all times, I did happen to have one with me at the time. It struck me that this would be an interesting photo for the website, not because it said anything about Hermosa Beach, but because it would be the kind of photo that would make people think a little bit. I would just post the picture, and underneath it put this caption: "Hermosa Beach, the day after Martin Luther King Jr. Day." But I was at a stop sign and there were cars behind me. And I was late for a dental appointment (this being the only reason I was on a Hermosa Beach surface street this early on a weekday). So I drove on without taking the picture.

When my dental appointment wrapped up in record time – something like 15 minutes – it occurred to me to go back to the apartment building and take the picture after all. Although I did need to get to work, it wasn’t more than a couple minutes out of my way. But when I arrived at the intersection, the flag had been taken out of the window. So no picture. No big deal. After all, I quickly realized, I wasn’t even sure if what I saw was the Confederate flag. I think I know what that flag is when I see it, but let’s face it, here in the South Bay I don’t see the thing all that often. Was I certain enough to say “Final answer” to Meredith on “Millionaire” that what I saw was the Confederate Flag?

Although I can’t really say that the matter was eating at me, I did check the Internet when I got to work to confirm that, yes, I had actually seen the Confederate Flag in the window. Sure enough, it had been your standard Confederate Flag in the window, the one with the blue stripes and stars. Apparently, it’s really the Confederate Navy Jack, a precursor of the Confederate Battle Flag. Nonetheless, it is still widely considered the Confederate Flag and it is the one that generates all the controversy. Some say it honors the spirit and heritage of the South, but others will say it symbolizes slavery. Moot point in this case, though. The flag was gone.

As the day wore on, however, I couldn’t help but wonder what happened there. Why was the flag in the window? Was the person who lived there making some kind of statement about Martin Luther King Jr.? Did someone make the owner take it down? Was the whole thing just some crazy misunderstanding?

Sure, it was possible that some racist crazy lived in the apartment and was trying to make some kind of statement. But wasn’t it equally possible that the person who lived there was just looking for something to block out the morning sun, and only grabbed the flag because it was the right size. That might explain why it was taken down so early. But it wouldn’t answer why such a person would have a Confederate Flag lying around in the first place.

Possibly the person owns a Confederate Flag, not because it is a racist symbol, but because he or she wants to celebrate Southern heritage. But then why would this person be in such a rush to take it down so early in the morning? If someone complained, but you didn’t agree it was offensive, would you still take it down? But if the person does see the flag as a racist symbol and someone complained, wouldn’t the person have been prepared for that, maybe even expecting it? One would think that such a person wouldn’t be so quick to take it down.

I don’t know. I haven’t a clue what was going on with the flag. I only know that it was there a little before 8 a.m. and it was gone by 8:20 a.m. And to tell you the truth, I don’t want to think about it anymore.

(Jan. 18, 2007)

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