The Valley News, a newspaper serving the Upper Valley of Vermont and New Hampshire, brings us the story of Kenny Rogers, a man who flies a Confederate Flag outside his home, much to the chagrin of his neighbors. You might be asking first: Wait—Kenny Rogers? No, no, my friend—not that Kenny Rogers. You might be asking next: Wait—Vermont, New Hampshire, Confederate Flag? Yes, my friend—and that’s not all.

Rogers, who lives in Vermont’s White River Junction, flies the flag in the name of free speech. He’s opposed to censorship, and got fired up when some networks pulled Dukes of Hazzard from syndication after the Charleston shooting. But the politics of the Confederacy—hatred and subjugation of black people, fear of a powerful centralized government—don’t quite line up with Rogers’ own.

This is Vermont, man! He’s for Bernie!

The journalist Ruth Graham highlighted the important bit on Twitter.

America is a funny place.


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