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Friday, November 30, 2012

Music / TV This Year's Rockefeller Tree Lighting Featured A Surprise Confederate Flag

Posted by Virginia K. Smith on Fri, Nov 30, 2012 at 11:20 AM

A lot of people forget this, but Christmas in America doesn't have its roots so much as a "fun, albeit expensive, time of year where everyone tries to forget their differences and just be nice," but rather as "the perfect time dredge up disputes that should be long-dead re: the civil war." It's sort of what we unofficially refer to as the Reason for the Season.

Trace Adkins, however, has not forgotten, and made the bold move of wearing a confederate flag earpiece for his otherwise unremarkable performance at this week's Rockefeller Christmas tree lighting.

While some people are upset that Adkins picked a nice family event to remind everyone of a terrible era of racism and perhaps the biggest, most scarring blight on our nation's history, the singer has now clarified that he does not condone "oppression of any kind" and went on, "I am a descendant of Confederate soldiers who followed that flag into battle. To those who view the flag as a symbol of racism, that was not my message and I did not intend offense."

Whether or not that makes any sense at all, Adkins has garnered Twitter support from Donald Trump (and commenters on his site who identify as "very NON-racist"), and criticism from fake Abraham Lincoln, so that's what, about an even split? I don't even know anymore.

Follow Virginia K. Smith on Twitter @vksmith.

Tags: Christmas, holidays, Trace Adkins, Rockefeller Tree Lighting, confederate flag, Lincoln, Video