Jon Stewart has a provocative, slightly condescending idea for Confederate flag nostalgists

Jon Stewart has a suggestion for Confederate flag-loving Southerners

(Image credit: The Daily Show)

After South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) came out in support of ditching the Confederate battle flag, followed by Walmart, "it's becoming harder and harder to find public figures who aren't suddenly on board with at least considering ditching this archaic symbol of racist insurrection," Jon Stewart said on Wednesday's Daily Show, a development he's obviously happy about. "Harder, but not impossible."

One state senator compared removing the Confederate flag from the South Carolina capitol to a "Stalinist purge" — Stewart had a lot of fun with that one — but the most common complaint is that the Confederate flag stands for Southern pride and Southern heritage. That "heritage" is that Southerners fought against the United States to defend slavery, Stewart said.

Individual Confederate soldiers had redeeming qualities, but using that point to back the Confederate flag is "like saying you support flying the Nazi flag because you're proud of their robust anti-smoking agenda," Stewart said. "That wasn't really their thing." Normally when you bring up Hitler, that's a sign you're losing the argument, but Stewart was determined to be helpful: "What Southern people need is a flag that represents the aspects of their heritage that we can all celebrate." His suggestion: A flag celebrating the creation of BBQ. The Nightly Show's Larry Wilmore is doing a great job with this South Carolina tragedy, but this is one of those times it would be nice to have Stephen Colbert — a South Carolina native — on after Stewart to offer the needed rebuttal. Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.