When the organizers of a demolition derby in Utah raised a Confederate Flag during the National Anthem, and man and his family decided to remain seated.
When they saw that a pickup truck rolled in the arena bearing a Confederate flag and a Gadsden “Don’t Tread on Me” flag alongside two American flags, Daniel Argueta and his family sat the anthem out, according to Deseret News.
“You kind of get caught in, yes, you want to stand, you support the U.S. flag,” Argueta told KSTU-TV. “You support the troops, you support police officers, but what is the Confederate flag doing there? For anybody that knows history and understands the negative impact of that flag and how it’s been used historically, it’s hard to stand up.”
The owner of Stirrin’ Dirt Racing, Jim Simko, blamed one of the company’s “helpers” for the incident.
“It wasn’t politically correct, I’m sure, for some people, but there’s some people who look at that flag and say this is the land of the free,” Simko said. “It shouldn’t have happened, but I can’t, unfortunately, watch what everybody does at every minute.”
Confederate flag at @CityWestJordan sponsored demolition derby causes a stir @DaphneChen_https://t.co/1P6LR58GQ1 pic.twitter.com/9P0cdFMzYk
— Deseret News (@Deseret) September 11, 2016
But according to Argueta, the flag was flying on the truck for about an hour before the crowd was asked to salute it.
“It was humiliating, it was demeaning, because with all the controversy going on with the flag recently and people sitting during the anthem, we had all intended to stand, but we couldn’t,” Argueta said. “People probably looked around, probably wondering what we were doing.”
Simko offered to have the employee who flew the flag apologize to anyone who was offended. He also offered free tickets to anyone in the audience who were offended by the incident.
“I honestly think that this is blown way out of proportion,” Simko said.
Featured image via Twitter
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