smaller stories kept appearing, each suggesting an emotional tagline. There was the story of the Confederate flag as a matter of regional pride (“Don’t shame us”). There was the story of “my ancestors were too poor to own slaves” (“Don’t guilt-trip us”). There was the story of affirmative action whereby whites are victims (“Understand our resentment, desires, and needs”), and there was the story of moral strengths (“Black athletes who won’t stand for the Pledge of Allegiance aren’t as grateful to be American as we are. We are the real patriots; respect us for that”).
