‘Redneck’ TikTok user sets fire to Confederate flag in viral video

A user on TikTok set her Confederate flag on fire in a viral video that received praise from thousands of people.

“I’m sorry if I ever showed I was ‘racist’ from a flag. We burnt it tonight! I’m sorry our culture taught us this was ok, it’s not. I’m white, I’m redneck, but never racist. RIP to this racist flag,” Danielle put as captions on the video. 

The video proceeds to show the woman cutting the flag off the pole and setting it on fire. 

@tiktok_hates_me__

##endracismnow2020 ##endthestigma ##ally ##blm ##imsorry

♬ Fast – Sueco the Child

The Confederate flag is seen by a majority of citizens as a racist symbol as it was flown by the South during the Civil War. 

Some try to argue the flag is a symbol of southern pride; however, Danielle said she never thought about the meaning of it.

“In the South, everybody flies their flags, so it was more like, ‘Well, everybody else is doing it so that’s something that we should do,’ that’s really it,” she said in a follow-up video when asked what she thought the flag meant.

“I don’t really remember being taught about it in school. It wasn’t like ‘this is the flag’ or ‘this is what it means,’ it wasn’t that,” Danielle added. 

@tiktok_hates_me__ Reply to @desireejaygee ♬ original sound – No

Her video has received over 283,000 likes and over 14,000 comments with most praising her for changing her mind.

“YES! Never be afraid to admit you’re wrong and grow as a person!!” one user commented.

“It’s great to see when people come around to reject symbols of hate,” the Democratic Coalition said in a tweet about the video.

It’s great to see when people come around to reject symbols of hate

The TikTok video shows the user setting fire to the flag she previously supported after learning about its history and current use by hate groups.https://t.co/aGzuBFEFGJ

— Democratic Coalition (@TheDemCoalition) June 9, 2021