All right, we at the Independent Florida Alligator leave our posts for a week and the United States decides to up and blow its top with national news and national controversies bubbling over like some witch’s brew.
A racist guns down and kills nine Charleston churchgoers, including a South Carolina state senator.
Consequently, the status of the Confederate flag is being unravelled throughout the U.S. as major retailers drop it from the market in the midst of a spurred initiative to take it down.
Oh, and the Supreme Court rules 5-4 that same-sex marriages are a constitutionally guaranteed right.
So yeah. A lot of stuff happened, and the world doesn’t exactly run on the schedules of a few-dozen college journalists.
First off, it’s pretty old hat for Floridians that same-sex marriage is fairly legal activity considering we tackled the matter about five months ago.
But when the Supreme Court decides to settle the question for all 50 states, that’s a fairly monumental deal.
Like any other legal decision, it’s got its detractors, especially considering the choice was made with only a slight majority in the court, but a decision has been made and here’s to hoping that true love prevails.
Meanwhile, in a much foggier state of things, a lot of people want to take down the Confederate flag in outrage over the Charleston shootings.
Not to mention normal outrage over its sometimes-cited use as an emblem of slavery, racism and generally disagreeable notions of Union traitorhood.
Where do we stand on the matter? Well... it’s true that the legacy and ideals of the Confederate flag aren’t always the most innocuous or pure, but is whitewashing a shameful part of American history really an ideal we should strive for?
Meanwhile, isn’t the controversy just kind of glossing over broader issues of contemporary discrimination?
What’s the point of bringing down the flag if we don’t right the position of the flag pole?
We’ll leave that to the typical discussions we get in our comments section online.
And there ye have it. We’re back. Our apologies for the radio silence. We’re packing away our swimsuits, taking off the vacation hats, oiling off our cameras, loading the positron cannons and we’re ready to tackle how news like the aforementioned might have an impact on you local peeps.
Editor's Note: A revision has been made to reflect a correction. Clementa Pinckney, who was killed in the Charleston shooting, was a South Carolina State Senator, not a U.S. Senator.
[A version of this story ran on page 6 on 6/29/15]
