Students in the Scott County town of Waldron paraded pickups flying the Confederate battle flag past Waldron High School on Tuesday in response to a ban on the flag on school property. School superintendent Gary Wayman, citing complaints, has asked students to remove Confederate flags from their trucks while parked on school property. 

At the protest on Tuesday, one gloriously bemulleted organizer (flying his sacred banner from an old golf club, no less) told 40/29 TV:  “That flag represents freedom, just like that American flag represents freedom. People died for both of them. Why not fly both of them?”

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Another student, who told 40/29 he feared the protest would hurt the image of the town, said: “I can understand trying to take pride, but is it worth it? That’s the real question.” 

Southwest Times Record in Fort Smith reports that students have complied with the superintendent’s request to not fly the flags on school property, with students being allowed to fly the flags until they reach the school parking lot in the morning, then raise them again before they drive off in the afternoon. Wayman told the paper that no students have been disciplined in connection with the protest. 

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