Outsourcing Confederate pride

By Sue Sturgis / August 5, 2008

What is allegedly the world's largest Confederate battle flag recently began flapping from a 139-foot flagpole at the crossroads of Interstates 10 and 4 in Florida, placed there by the Sons of Confederate Veterans.

It's one of at at least four Confederate flag memorials along the highways in that state and in neighboring Alabama, the Christian Science Monitor reports. More are planned for Tennessee, Georgia, Kentucky, and maybe South Carolina.

So where do you imagine the battle flag -- a symbol of Southern pride to its proponents -- was manufactured? Perhaps right here in a region once renowned for its fine textiles?

No. They're made in China -- the country that's been blamed for the loss of 79,800 jobs from North Carolina alone since the United States instituted an open trade policy in 2001.

The industries hit hardest by the policy? Apparel and textiles.

(Photo from the website of Sons of Confederate Veterans, Florida Division)

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