Critics assail Confederate flag; others defend it in contentious meeting
By BILL BARLOW/Special to the Sentinel
UPPER TOWNSHIP – Race, gender and politics simmered together into a potent stew at the Monday, Oct. 27, Township Committee meeting, which saw tense exchanges between residents and condemnation of the Confederate flag by Mayor Rich Palombo and the other committee members.
More than 140 people attended the virtual meeting, presenting challenges for Palombo in trying to keep the public comment portion of the meeting organized and limited to one person speaking at a time.
Supporters and critics of Hobie Young attended the meeting, exchanging barbs about posts to Facebook he shared that were widely condemned as offensive. But many speakers also wanted to talk about a parade of vehicles supporting President Trump and other Republican candidates on Oct. 18.
Similar parades have been held throughout Cape May County and around the country during this contentious election season. Committeeman Curtis Corson, who is running for reelection and participated in the event, said it was a fun way to support Republican candidates while maintaining social distance during the pandemic.
Critics at the meeting described the parade in far darker terms, describing it as rowdy and intimidating.
Central to the discussion was the assertion that one of the cars participating displayed a Confederate flag, which several speakers described as a symbol of hate.
Corson said he did not see the flag at the start of the parade, and at the meeting said he has no problem condemning its display. The flag, more properly referred to as the Confederate battle flag because it is different than the flag of the civilian government of the Confederacy, has at times been used as a symbol of Southern pride or a rebellious spirit. But is has also long been used by those supporting segregation and white supremacy, embraced by the KKK and other hate groups.
“It’s totally inappropriate to ever fly or put out a Confederate flag in this township,” Palombo said.
A video of the parade was posted to the Facebook page of Corson’s campaign. At the meeting, a resident asked if he would take down the video.
“If the Confederate flag is in a picture, I’ll take it down, yes,” he said. But the speaker was interrupted by others at the meeting, with a man stating, “It’s about history,” while someone else could be heard saying, “Oh, shove it.”
Resident Keisha Bond, who described herself in the call as a black woman who grew up in a military family, said she always loved it in Upper Township. She said she was home with her children when the parade passed. She said drivers and passengers displayed an obscene gesture at her home because she had signs supporting Democratic nominee Joe Biden.
“Then I see the Confederate flag go by. That sucks,” she said. Bond asked what the township would do to make sure her children felt safe in the township. Someone interrupted her with an obscenity while she spoke at the meeting. She said she found that deeply upsetting.
Later in the meeting, another woman who said she was of Korean heritage said she had faced racist comments and slurs in Upper Township, saying it made her feel unsafe.
“Then move away,” a resident said on the line.
Participants in the parade said it was the supporters of Joe Biden and critics of Trump who displayed obscene gestures and acted aggressively. Frank Sannino, one of the parade participants, said there was a motorcycle rider with a Biden flag at the start of the parade in Beesleys Point. Participants told him how nice his bike was, Sannino said.
“Throughout the parade route, there were people out there with Biden flags giving us the middle finger and then they’re crying to you that it happened to them,” he said, stating that it was the other side that behaved aggressively.
He, and others at the meeting, said not everyone who displays a Confederate flag is a racist.
“If you don’t like the flag, look away,” he said. When you live in a country with free speech, he said, you will sometimes be offended. “Just because you’re offended doesn’t mean you’re right.”
Palombo said the flag hurts a lot of people and represents difficult times in the United States.
Corson said there was bad behavior on view from both sides during the parade, which drew unflattering comparisons to an oft-cited Trump quote that there were “very fine people on both sides” in a deadly confrontation in Charlottesville, Va. In 2017.
Township resident Janet Yunghans said she was told participants in the parade were very hostile to those who did not agree.
“I just don’t feel like that’s a very good reflection on our community,” she said.
“I don’t feel very safe,” she said, especially if an elected official participated in the event.
Corson said it was not meant to be aggressive, but was rather a political event.
“It happens all over the country,” he said.
“I’m dismayed that it’s happening all over the country and I’m particularly dismayed that it’s happening in my hometown,” Yunghans said.
Corson said he saw the Confederate flag after the parade was over.
“I did not see what happened and I’m sorry it happened,” Corson said. In the video, multiple cars can be seen with American flags attached, along with flags supporting Trump and signs for other Republican candidates. No Confederate flag appears to be visible in the video.
At one point, a critic of the parade said she heard people say they were attacking the Upper Township community.
“This isn’t your township. This is our township,” she said.
During the meeting, Palombo repeatedly asked for participants to remain courteous to each other and wait their turn to comment.
Palombo said even if he finds the Confederate flag or other displays offensive or problematic, he cannot stop residents of the township from displaying the flag or expressing their opinions, citing the First Amendment of the Constitution.