Celebrating Tyranny

The flag named for Christopher Gadsden, which he presented to the South Carolina Congress in February, 1776.

Christopher Gadsden (1724-1805) was a leader of the South Carolina Patriot movement during the American Revolution.  He was a delegate to the Continental Congress and a general in the Continental Army during the revolutionary war.  He was one of the men who risked his life to form the United States of America.

In February of 1776, he presented the flag above to the 'Provincial Congress of South Carolina'.  This flag is now commonly referred to as the 'Gadsden Flag'.

Here's the description of the 'Gadsden Flag' in the 'Journal of the Provincial Congress of South Carolina', from the entry dated February 9, 1776 --

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https://books.google.com/books?id=_Y01AQAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

Col. Gadsden presented to the Congress an elegant standard, such as is to be used by the commander in chief of the American Navy; being a yellow field, with a lively representation of a rattlesnake in the middle, in the attitude of going to strike, and these words underneath, "Don't tread on me."

Part of the entry from the Journal of the Provincial Congress of South Carolina, dated February 9, 1776.

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Here's a tweet mocking the 'Gadsden Flag', as if the struggle that gave rise to it, and what it represents — defiance of tyranny — aren't worthy of defense or celebration --

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https://twitter.com/DahmPublishing/status/543893502942531586

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How can anyone make sense of this?

If you don't like the positions of a political group or movement that uses the 'Gadsden Flag' as a symbol, then you should criticize those positions — not attempt to denigrate a symbol that helped to unite people against a real oppressor, and that represents a real human virtue — independence.

Nothing positive or constructive can be said in support of the tweet above — I assume Nora Wahlquist was attempting to be cute, but her tweet is just plain stupid.  If she was attempting to denigrate anyone or anything other than herself, she failed.