President Donald Trump and Maine Gov. Paul LePage‘s problematic comments to the contrary, the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia has sparked a nationwide rejection of Confederate-era statues, monuments, and flags. From Baltimore, Maryland to nearly all of North Carolina, this seems to be the direction the majority of people are heading, but what about Six Flags theme parks? Unless you hail from the great state of Texas, then you probably didn’t realize the titular six flags represented the six distinct nations who have claimed the region as their own — including the Confederate States of America.
According to NBC 5 Dallas, however, this will no longer be the case at Six Flags theme parks in the states of Texas and Georgia. The company announced they had removed the Confederate flag (and most others) from its Six Flags Over Texas, Six Flags Fiesta Texas and Six Flags Over Georgia theme parks, which were “only parks where the flags were flown.” In stead, the five empty flag poles were draped with more American flags:
At Six Flags Over Texas we strive every single day to make people happy and to create a fun, thrilling and safe family friendly experience for our guests. We always choose to focus on celebrating the things that unite us versus those that divide us. As such, we have changed the flag displays in our park to feature American flags.
Interestingly, the Confederate flag previously flown at these three parks was not the so-called “battle flag” that most people associate with the American Civil War. Instead, Six Flags flew the “Stars and Bars” version of the flag, which was the first official one sported by the Confederacy.
(Via NBC 5 Dallas)