Deny, Deride, Deflect
My post yesterday about the doctored photograph purporting to show a Marine raising the Confederate Battle Flag on Okinawa was intended as a one-off – direct, self-contained, and not really necessitating a follow-up. But it turns out that it prompted a response that’s a near-perfect example of how the True Southrons™ insulate themselves from information that challenges their preferred notions.
A few hours after my post, this thread popped up on the Southern Heritage Preservation Group, one of the largest and oldest “heritage” forums on social media:
It follows a well-established pattern:
First, make a vague inquiry about the truth of a claim, that doesn’t cite the specific image challenged, doesn’t provide the detailed critiques made of it, and doesn’t include a link where others can review and assess it for themselves.
Second, make a flat assertion that the image is authentic, with a link to one of the many websites that feature it.
Third, post a follow-up complaining that anyone who questions the image is obviously “crazy” or a “Leftist,” and so presumably shouldn’t be taken seriously.
And finally, post an image completely unrelated to the one in question, that (again, presumably) is to be taken as evidence that the first one is authentic.
Deny, deride, deflect. Repeat as often as needed.
It seems obvious to me that the original inquiry wasn’t about getting to the observable, knowable truth about the Okinawa image; it was seeking assurance that yes, in fact, that really was a Confederate Battle Flag in the picture. No wonder these folks seem impervious to observable, empirical evidence – they work awfully hard at it.
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Dead Confederates, A Civil War Era Blog 
I was on Twitter yesterday looking to see if you’re on Twitter and I saw confederate liars (True Southrons, call them what you will) using an article of yours (one they obviously hadn’t read) to prove that there were Black Confederates. This is the article. https://deadconfederates.com/2012/06/20/stonewall-jacksons-regiment-of-free-negroes/
I’m not on Twitter myself, but I’d love to see that link.
Andy, I’m going to back off of my comment above. I saw Twitter users, who appeared to be Confederate apologists, posting your article without comment or context so that it looks as if though you are supporting the idea that Jackson had regiments of free blacks (that’s what it looks like if you just read the headline). I just went back to look again and it’s not clear what point they were trying to make.
“True Southron” is a term I picked up from the late Gary Adams, who used it in a non-sarcastic way. You might say I re-purposed it.
Yes, an officer with a CBF on a coffee mug certainly proves the Marines planted the same flag on Iwo Jima! Who can argue with such logic?
The connection between the CBF with the “greatest generation” also has a bit of irony: the World War II military was segregated.
And yet, it was also that generation (in large part) that went on to transform America during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 60s.
The True Southrons in this case are mainly interested in establishing the Confederate flag as a symbol of U.S. patriotism. There are plenty of real images of U.S. service members displaying Battle Flags; why someone felt the need to fake one is beyond me.
Yes, and so was the Union Army during the Late Rebellion, but at least there were about 200,000 African Americans under arms fighting for the Union and their freedom. As I’ve detailed before, there were very few blacks in Confederate Service. The biggest single group of which was the Louisiana Native Guard, but this unit didn’t last long, and were disbanded, when the state decided that all militia members needed to be white. Then, when the Yankees occupied New Orleans, about 10 percent of them became Yankees.
For more details, see: http://www.blackpast.org/aah/1st-louisiana-native-guard-csa-1861-1862
It’s called the dumbing down of America. Our beautiful Whitehouse will have to be tented and fumigated when these criminals are finally turned out. Money is now the country’s deity.
I know Eddie Inman from an older online group. He was rather impervious to facts and logic which went against his preferred narrative.
They’ve since snapped to the fact that this is from those awful haters, Corey Meyer and Andy Hall, which is sufficient excuse to ignore it. Same as it ever was.
The Coffee cup photo of Admiral Burke is real I believe. Most of the websites indicate he received it from the sailor in the photo – supposedly he was from Tennessee.
I’m sure it is. There are lots of real photos, which makes the effort put into making a fake one all the more bizarre.
And of course there’s the strange argument apparently being made that, because there are real photos of U.S. military personnel with Confederate flags, then the Okinawa picture is too, or the transparent dishonesty of it doesn’t matter, or something.