this post was submitted on 11 Feb 2026

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Virginia House votes to end Confederate tax breaks, license plates (richmond.com)

submitted 1 month ago by ByteOnBikes@slrpnk.net to c/nottheonion@lemmy.world

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[–] spaghettiwestern@sh.itjust.works 125 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (4 children)

“Removal of citizens' right to have (the license plates) is deliberate discrimination by the government and the state of Virginia … only hatred and discrimination by the Commonwealth causes a committee vote to remove them,” Edward Willis, a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, told the panel.

So according to this racist asshole removing the traitor's flag, which is a genuine symbol of hatred and discrimination from a government license plate IS hatred and discrimination.

These people are unbelievable.

[–] Marshezezz@lemmy.blahaj.zone 14 points 1 month ago (1 children)

They speak in bad faith. They’re just racists who are too coward to admit that they’re racist and feign outrage to justify being racist.

[–] BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today 4 points 1 month ago

Exactly. They are the worst people in our nation, absolute unapologetic INTERGENERATIONAL traitors. We have no obligation to listen their treasonous whines. They're lucky their bloodlines still exist, in many places they would have been rounded up and executed over the last 150 years.

Americans, especially Democrats, have a pathological need to be polite, especially to bad people who are trying to exploit us. Not accepting bad treatment from bad people does not make us as bad as them, it makes us strong enough to be leaders. And those who refuse to stand up to bad people don't deserve positions of leadership.

Hear that Schmuck & Jeffries?

[–] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 11 points 1 month ago

These people are unbelievable.

Insert Satre quote about anti-semites

[–] phoenixz@lemmy.ca 9 points 1 month ago

Why do you hate good god-fearing hateful bigot racists?

Well....

[–] ByteOnBikes@slrpnk.net 97 points 1 month ago (5 children)

Authorized in 1999? What in the cousin fucking?

[–] DBT@lemmy.world 64 points 1 month ago (1 children)

That’s how it is in rural VA.

[–] coalie@piefed.zip 15 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Rural Maryland too.

[–] hypnicjerk@lemmy.world 25 points 1 month ago (2 children)

maryland wasn't even in the fucking confederacy

[–] YiddishMcSquidish@lemmy.today 21 points 1 month ago

You should see rural Pennsylvania. It is truly wild how less populated areas universally and unanimously decided to be home to the biggest pieces of shit.

[–] Horsey@lemmy.world 9 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

The Mason-Dixon Line was drawn including Maryland to the south, and defined political divide for centuries. Maryland was considered “southern” until the 60s. It was the first state to become progressive and creep closer to the Union states north of it.

[–] hypnicjerk@lemmy.world 14 points 1 month ago (2 children)

yes, that's my point. maryland was a slave state, but it didn't secede. so there's really only one way to interpret those flags, and it ain't culture or heritage.

[–] Horsey@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

Not correcting you, just adding context for other readers🙂

[–] Horsey@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago

Another fun fact, the Mason-Dixon Line was surveyed and drawn between 1763-1767, predating any belligerence of the revolutionary war.

[–] arrow74@lemmy.zip 2 points 1 month ago

Arguably the main reason it didn't succeed was that Lincoln established Marshall law and sent in federal troops.

Sentiments among the population of Maryland was divided, but definently favorable to succession.

[–] village604@adultswim.fan 7 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Rural everywhere, really

[–] surewhynotlem@lemmy.world 5 points 1 month ago

They can't be near people. They quickly get outed as complete cunts. So they flee to the edges where it's easier to hide.

[–] jontree255@lemmy.world 33 points 1 month ago (1 children)

VA was a red state until very recently. Now it’s like light blue/purple. Still lots of stars and bars being flown down in southwestern VA.

[–] mrsemi@lemmy.world 14 points 1 month ago (1 children)

That's wild. Every time I drive through West Virginia and see confederate flags flying, I have to marvel at the purest form of irony to exist in these modern times.

[–] jontree255@lemmy.world 14 points 1 month ago

Yeah the North/South divide has mostly morphed to Urban/Rural. You’ll see Confederate flags all over central PA too.

[–] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 9 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Hurr durr it's their heritage

[–] tomiant@piefed.social 14 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

My grandparents fought for the Third Reich, that's why I proudly fly the swastika on the bed of my truck! It's just my heritage, bro.

[–] arrow74@lemmy.zip 10 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I grew up in the South and have reflected on this often. Growing up the history of the Confederacy was "white washed" (literally and figuratively). It was always taught as slavery was bad, but the war was about "states rights".

Obviously that is all untrue the war was about slavery, but this is what was taught for generations. The Confederate flag was of course tied to this lie, and companies ran with it. I remember seeing Confederate flag branded merchandise in Walmarts, it was at football games, and of course on TV. It wasn't being displayed in a negative light by companies then, they saw dollars and helped push the symbol.

Overall it's a good change that the flag is being dropped. The Confederacy is not something to be idolized. I do understand why some people were so very attached to the "heritage" aspect of it though. That lie was pushed before my great grandparents were born. Some people are unwilling or unable to critically analyze their beliefs and change them with new information.

It's kinda interesting how people can be both incredibly adaptable and at the same time incredibly cemented in taught cultural traditions. And if you haven't guess by now I do have an anthropology degree lol

[–] GuyFawkesV@lemmy.world 5 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Oh, it was about States’ Rights.

States’ Rights to have slaves. That last part gets ‘em every time.

[–] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 1 month ago

Of course it didn't extend to states' rights to house free slaves after the passing of the Fugitive Slave Act

[–] ugandan_airways@lemmy.zip 7 points 1 month ago

You should check out the history of some state flags like Georgia’s and to a lesser extent Alabama’s. Ridiculous how long the stars and bars was accepted

[–] ch00f@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

That’s not even close to the worst of it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee%E2%80%93Jackson%E2%80%93King_Day

[–] Skullgrid@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Lee–Jackson–King's Day ? They've got this all wrong! It was meant to be "Lee–Jackson : Kings!" Day.

[–] Tempus_Fugit@lemmy.world 40 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Sad loser traitors still virtue signalling all these years later. What a pathetic group of people. Thank fuck I'm not like them.

[–] spaghettiwestern@sh.itjust.works 8 points 1 month ago

They call it the "Recent Troubles."

[–] TomMasz@lemmy.world 29 points 1 month ago

Nothing says white privilege like tax breaks for racist losers.

[–] RestrictedAccount@lemmy.world 10 points 1 month ago (1 children)

It’s a good time to remember that the “stars and bars“ was not commonly used until the 1948 presidential election when the Dixiecrats used it as a Ku Klux Klan dog whistle.

It was never the symbol of the Confederate states of America, only one little battle group in Virginia.

That’s sad, not every Southerner, who takes pride and being a Southerner is a slobbering racist.

if you really wanna get past this current hate filled chapter and move onto a better society, we have to have a way or Southerners to have pride in the good parts of their culture. The same way we let other cultures off the hook for the bad things that have happened in their culture.

it is certainly not fair to hold people of African descent responsible for the fact that the worst part of rounding up the people that were used in the slave trade was done by Africans.

Still, to hell with the MAGAts, they’re doing this shit on purpose and they know what they’re doing.

[–] Votes@sh.itjust.works 4 points 1 month ago

The stars and bars is not the flag in the picture, it's the one with the circle of stars in blue in top left corner with 2 red horizontal stripes and 1 white stripe. That was used as the first flag of the Confederacy. The one in the picture and the one everyone thinks of as the Confederate flag is their battle flag which became part of their second and third flags, the Stainless Banner and the Bloodstained Banner.

[–] NorthoftheBorder@lemmy.ca 8 points 1 month ago

That was a thing?

[–] BigTrout75@lemmy.world 5 points 1 month ago

That's website sucks bad.

[–] BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today 4 points 1 month ago

I think I should be able to celebrate my German heritage with a Swastika on my license plate. It isn't about racism or anti-Semitism, I just want to celebrate my German Pride.

/S, I'm Irish, mostly.

[–] cupcakezealot@piefed.blahaj.zone 3 points 1 month ago

i'm sorry but confederate tax breaks? to where? there has been no confederacy for 150 years.

[–] Mac@mander.xyz 1 points 1 month ago

I personally think everyone should have the right to fly the confederate flag and i also think anyone flying it should be prosecuted for hate crimes.