A disgrace to the brave New Yorkers who fought and died

During the Civil War, around 400,000 New Yorkers served in the Union Army. Of these, 53,832 died while in service. The patriotism and bravery of these men is disgraced by the peddlers of various kinds of cheap shit bearing the rag of rebellion on it at several of the county fairs now running across the state.

Under a white tent at the Ulster County Fair — wedged between a homemade fudge stand and a basketball toss, and near an array of “Save the Hooters” shirts and “I ♥ Mommy” bibs — hung a black extra-large T-shirt emblazoned with the Confederate battle flag.

A couple of midways away at a stand called Mirror Magic, the rebel flag adorned a whole rack of decorative license plates — two flaming hearts forming a flag, a pair of luscious flag-patterned lips above the word Rebelicious, a pullet in a flag costume labeled “Southern Chick.”

At another booth, a car salesman named Ed paused to point a flag T-shirt out to his brother — it carried the legend “Its Heritage Not HATE” — but kept moving: He was looking for a full-size battle flag to hang from his truck.

There were none to be had on a recent Saturday night, but not because they were unwelcome at the fair.

“I sold out of them a month ago, in Syracuse,” said Ryan Powers, manning the Titan Telescoping Flagpoles booth, amid stacks of American flags. “I sold 60 in one day.” Last year at the same event, he said, he did not sell one. Now, he said, manufacturers have stopped making the flag and he cannot get any more.

Disgusting. And the pussies who buy this crap would shit their pants and run like hell at the thought of facing a volley from an enemy brigade. Something all those thousands of New York soldiers and those from the many other states did not do.