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Misty

Banned
Dec 15, 2011
2,769
752
I believe that they wanted to protest in South Walton because they understand that they are not represented in South Walton at all (less than 1%).

mputnal,
Hold up...this doesn't have anything to do with how well (or not) blacks are represented in SoWal. I'm not sure that this board is totally representative of folks who want that flag removed but the Uhlfelder's (who created this issue) are from SoWal and the majority of people who spoke at the BCC meeting are also from SoWal as are most of the other critics.

I believe that the NAACP was lured into a false sense of "you're welcome in SoWal" by the "remove it crowd" and they totally did not expect the reception they received. I think a real injustice was done because of poor planning by the "remove it" folks. They (specifically the Uhlfelders) should have known and or planned that the "press conference"/"protest gone bad" was inevitable because the NAACP expected to be allowed to park on PRIVATE PROPERTY and that wasn't the case.

The fact that this "protest" occurred during the arrival of the Greater Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce Conference was way more than a mere coincidence.
 

Teresa

SoWal Guide
Staff member
Nov 15, 2004
30,240
9,277
South Walton, FL
sowal.com
First of all Teresa the Shops at Sandestin and the parking spaces provided are there for the patrons of the market shops and are private property! That aside, the market is undergoing renovations and Friday was a scheduled day of maintenance and landscaping. People were told that if they parked in the cordoned off areas their vehicles would be towed and rather than accept what they were told, they became indignant over not being allowed to park on PRIVATE PROPERTY and the" peaceful press conference opposing the confederate flag" became a hostile environment created by the NAACP!! By the NAACP's own admission they were prepared for a (real or imagined) hostile environment. What they don't admit is that they created it!!

Dale Landry (the president of the Tallahassee NAACP) also said he would ask his "leaders" for permission to "take matters up a notch" by boycotting Walton County to now include Sandestin. Those types of threats did not work when they attended the BCC meeting and made them, they didn't work at the hostile protest they created on Friday and chances are greater that if they show their proverbial a$$es again, it won't work for them any better than it has previously.

Misty, I didn't see an article that referenced maintenance, but I did link to all of the article that I posted to try to provide all info. I do hope that The Market Shops has a reason for what happened. Sounds like the NAACP didn't have prior permission for their press conference but I can't say one way or another based on what I've read. Just sharing info. What a fiasco.

I see that someone is saying they are protesting about more than the confederate flag but I believe that person is trying to create something that just isn't the case.
 

Misty

Banned
Dec 15, 2011
2,769
752
P.S. Teresa,

From the article by Tom McLaughlin...

Proffitt Bracken said a portion of the Market Shops parking lot was closed down Friday while paving work was done.
 

mputnal

Beach Fanatic
Nov 10, 2009
2,289
1,799
Teresa, what I (a fellow human) am saying is that this issue started nationally as a protest against the Confederate Flag because of the slavery and racism symbolism being assigned to it in the aftermath of a mentally warped mind with whom non of us identify with. It soon became an opportunity for multiple agendas. There are some who have a political agenda against anything they perceive as conservative. There are some who have a local government political agenda. There are some who have an agenda against rural, poor, less educated people. There are some who want to believe in true equality and the MLK "I have a dream" speech. There are some who genuinely believe it symbolizes racism and white supremacy. Regardless of your reasons the issue has now caused division AND an awareness of South Walton's social and political climate. The NAACP wants the Confederate Flag removed AND much more. When you look at the economic opportunities in Sowal I understand their logic. This is an opportunity for them to have both. It is much more complex than whether or not the Confederate Flag represents a memorial to fallen Confederate Soldiers or whether it represents racism and white supremacy. The NAACP is not going to let this social and economic opportunity slip by.
 

mputnal

Beach Fanatic
Nov 10, 2009
2,289
1,799
Misty, What I am saying is that what began is not what will end. I hope you are right and I am wrong about this but I believe that there is just too much economic opportunity in Sowal for this just to be about a $50.00 flag symbol. I think I understand what you are saying about the Uhlfelder's but that is a local issue while this is very close to becoming a national issue. Someone is going to make money off this.
 

sunspotbaby

SoWal Insider
Mar 31, 2006
5,010
739
Santa Rosa Beach
I've declined to comment thus far. This has divided our community and it saddens me to read the insults by both sides. Now the NAACP is involved and we all know at this point in time, they are the biggest race-baiters in the game of making money off of racial division. booker t washington-.jpg
 
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