‘Redneck’ burns Confederate flag and apologizes on learning history, goes viral
A TikTok user went viral on social media after she took to the app to share a video of her renouncing Southern pride and setting her Confederate flag on fire. With over 2.2 million views on the video, the user who has been reportedly identified as Danielle received praise from thousands of people for stepping up and learning her history.
In a short clip posted to her TikTok account, Danielle, who now has 10.2K followers, can be seen cutting the Confederate flag off the pole and then setting it on fire. "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 wrote as captions in the video.
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Danielle captioned the video, "#endracismnow2020 #endthestigma #ally #blm #imsorry."
@tiktok_hates_me__ ##endracismnow2020 ##endthestigma ##ally ##blm ##imsorry
♬ Fast - Sueco the Child
Danielle points out in her TikTok videos that, interestingly, she was never thought about the meaning of it. "In the South, everybody flies their flags, so it was more like, ‘Well, everybody else is doing it so that’s something that we should do,’ that’s really it," she said in a follow-up video when a user asked what she thought the flag meant. "I don’t really remember being taught about it in school. It wasn’t like ‘this is the flag’ or ‘this is what it means,’ it wasn’t that," Danielle added.
"In short, the flag has been used by various groups of people who oppose civil rights," Danielle said in a follow-up video. "In particular, civil rights of Black people and minorities."
Ever since she posted these videos, social media users are supporting Danielle's journey towards change. "YES! Never be afraid to admit you’re wrong and grow as a person!!", a user named Payton Rusk said. Another user said it was "never too late to unlearn hate".
“Thank you for swallowing your pride on this,” one user commented. “People need to see this.”
“You’re like almost there but you gotta keep working and learning and listening to POC,” one user commented. “It takes that and much more for us white folk to unlearn.”
For some, the Confederate flag is seen as a symbol of southern pride. But it is not unknown to people that the flag has long been a symbol of division and racism. Extremists often also use the flag to spread hate and white supremacy as it was flown by the South during the Civil War. It must also be noted that the flag was also carried by one of the rioters during the US Capitol riots on January 6, 2021.
The flag is even banned by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who signed a bill late last year banning the sale or display of Confederate flags, swastikas, and other “symbols of hate” on state property in NYC. "This country faces a pervasive, growing attitude of intolerance and hate - what I have referred to in the body politic as an American cancer," Cuomo said 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."