Warner Bros.(LOS ANGELES) — A former Dukes of Hazzard star is wading into the debate over the Confederate flag, calling it a “symbol that represents the indomitable spirit of independence.”
Ben Jones, who played Cooter on the 1980s series and is a former Democratic congressman, wrote a post on Facebook in which he states, in all caps, “I THINK ALL OF HAZZARD NATION UNDERSTANDS THAT THE CONFEDERATE BATTLE FLAG IS THE SYMBOL THAT REPRESENTS THE INDOMITABLE SPIRIT OF INDEPENDENCE WHICH KEEPS US ‘MAKIN’ OUR WAY THE ONLY WAY WE KNOW HOW.'”
He writes, “OUR BELOVED SYMBOL IS NOW BEING ATTACKED IN A WAVE OF POLITICAL CORRECTNESS THAT IS UNPRECEDENTED IN OUR NATION OF FREE SPEECH AND FREE EXPRESSION. ACTIVISTS AND POLITICIANS ARE VILLIFYING SOUTHERN CULTURE AND OUR HERITAGE AS BEING BIGOTED AND RACIST. WE KNOW THAT THIS IS NOT THE CASE. AND WE KNOW THAT IN HAZZARD COUNTY THERE WAS NEVER ANY RACISM.”
Jones goes on to say that his Cooter’s Place stores in Virginia and Tennessee will continue to sell Confederate items.
Amazon, Walmart, Sears and eBay are among the companies that have banned the sales of Confederate flag merchandise in the aftermath of the massacre at a Charleston, South Carolina, church that claimed the lives of nine people.
Earlier this week, Warner Bros. told Vulture it will no longer sanction the manufacturing of Dukes of Hazzard merchandise featuring the flag, which was painted on the roof of the show’s famous General Lee car.
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