Salina car buff defends displaying Confederate flag at Lindsborg show - Salina Journal
LINDSBORG — If Jim Hardy’s shiny red 1968 Corvette wasn’t enough to snare attention Saturday morning in Swensson Park, the Confederate flag sticking out of the backseat of his convertible turned some heads. “It means different things to different people,” said the 69-year-old car buff. American freedom means you have the right to fly any flag you wish, he said, and displaying what he calls a “rebel flag” at the car show is exercising his rights as a United States citizen. “If they let them (expletive) burn the American flag, they better not say anything about my flag,” Hardy said. The accused gunman, Dylann Roof, calling himself a white supremacist and displaying the Confederate battle flag in photos, led to the removal of the flag from the South Carolina State House. Some view the flag as a symbol of Southern pride, Hardy said, but he also agreed that others see it as an illustration of slavery and racism. That flag has nothing to do with racism,” he said. It doesn’t matter if you’re white or black, you’re gonna have crazy people. Hardy received the flag as a birthday gift from his wife. “People say they’re glad I’m flying it,” he said. Source: www.salina.com
