Larry Wilmore Offers to Help Take Down the Confederate Flag in SC

Why is there even a debate over whether the Confederate Flag should be removed in South Carolina? Larry Wilmore explored this question on Monday’s edition of The Nightly Show, calling the flag a blatant “symbol of oppression and intimidation.”

In response to Governor Nikki Haley’s belated and circumspect call on Monday to remove (or rather, discuss removing) the Confederate flag, Wilmore says during the segment, “How ’bout just take the damn flag down right now? And then you can debate putting it back up.”

Wilmore also shows footage of presidential candidates Marco Rubio and George Pataki saying the removal decision is in the hands of South Carolina. “The ‘state’s choice’ is the classic presidential cop-out,” says Wilmore.

He then wonders how long it’ll take to remove the flag, which is currently padlocked to its pole. “I wanna know, are you taking this down tomorrow? Are you taking this down tonight? ’Cause I can come over with a flashlight,” says Wilmore.

“We’re not talking about an official government flag,” he argues. “We’re talking about a relic that has no purpose anymore. It’s decorative. You don’t need a declaration to remove a decoration… I get it that plenty of honorable people have fuzzy feelings about the Confederate flag, but that’s irrelevant. Their nostalgia will never trump the people who see it as a symbol of hate.”