It barely made the news, but Mt. Olive Pickle Company dropped out of being part of the North Carolina booth for the Great American State Fair because there was a Confederate Flag in the video being played on a loop. A spokesperson for the booth said that the flag was “unapproved”, while the governor’s office said that it, “condemned the inclusion.” The state also said that it could not afford to fund the booth, so it was paid for by private, N. Carolina-based companies. Part of the official statement from the pickle company is, “We are proud of our North Carolina roots, and we agreed to be a part of an exhibit, as presented to us, that would represent the best of our great state,” the company wrote on its X account. “We were unaware that an image of the Confederate flag was included in a video as part of this exhibit, and we have withdrawn our participation. Our company stands on values of human dignity, opportunity, and freedom.”
The video was reedited, the USA Today article claims, after this became public. Now – this doesn’t mean that the companies involved are racists, even though others jumped in to take Mt. Olives place. This doesn’t mean that everyone else involved in this was in cahoots – maybe it was just a bad editing job. This doesn’t mean that the Great American State Fair was racist. And to be clear, the N. Carolina flag has never had a Confederate Flag as part of its structure. What this does mean, to me, is that the people of Mt. Olive Pickle Company were the only ones who thought this was enough of a problem to leave in protest. They said no to bigotry. They said no to racism. Instead of accepting the excuses given, they took a stand. Good for them. Why the others didn’t do the same is a serious question.
Bigotry, institutionalized in the original sin of slavery, has always been an American problem, and it continues today. We see it in the growing amount of culturally approved antisemitism in political races. We see it in the hate-crimes against Muslims. We see it in a backlash against Asians out of anger against China. We see it in the expected mass-deportation of Haitians who are legally in this country. We see it in decisions being made by Sec. of Defense Hegseth. Like Mt. Olive, we might find out that something we support or are involved in is spreading a message counter to our moral context, and we can’t be faulted for that. We can, however, be blamed if we ignore hatred and bigotry. Not acting – not speaking up – not walking out – is the same as supporting it. The more we say no to bigotry, the healthier we and our nation will be. Be like Mt. Olive Pickle Company – say no to bigotry.
Prayer – Remind us, God, that hate in any form goes against Your desires, and we will pay the price if we participate. Amen.
Our picture is the Confederate flag that was displayed at the North Carolina exhibit of the America’s Fair in Washington, D.C. (Spectrum News 1).