Confederate flag

is often displayed right alongside American flag merch, which seems contradictory, but anyone who buys a Confederate Flag coffee cup is likely the sort of sophisticated thinker who is open-minded enough that she is capable of hating blacks and Arabs at the same time.

However, displayed right alongside all the Confederate flag paraphernalia is a bunch of American flag merch – American flag place mats, patriotic “body crystals,” flag stickers you attach to your skin. Personally, I’m small-minded and literal enough that I see the two symbols as contradictory, especially in a time of war. But I fear that the consumer who buys a Confederate flag coffee cup, which she will then put on her American flag place mat, is the sort of sophisticated thinker who is open-minded enough that she is capable of hating blacks and Arabs at the same time.

Sarah VowellThinkers

Sarah Vowell