In upstate, there’s an overwhelming silence

by Holly Quinn, Delaware Journalism Collaborative

This story is part of the Delaware Journalism Collaborative, a partnership of local news and community organizations working to bridge divides statewide. Learn more here. 

The Return Day parade in Georgetown might as well be on Mars, or at least that’s how it seems when the subject is brought up in Wilmington. The politicians and the pundits know about it. The media knows about it. But for many, it seems, it’s an obscure parade that, despite being considered A Very Delaware Thing, doesn’t resonate a lot in Wilmington. 

After reaching out to dozens of Delawareans, most of them upstaters, for their perspective on Return Day and the Confederate flag controversy that has made national news, the response was overwhelming silence.

For those who don’t really know about Return Day or the controversy, I get it. Who wants to be quoted about something you might get wrong? For those who didn’t want to jump into a downstate issue and risk harassment or threat to their businesses, I get that too. 

And it says a lot about polarization. 

We live in a time when people get harassed and threatened just for doing their jobs or tweeting the “wrong” view. And it’s exhausting.

There wasn’t much chatter about Return Day on social media, either. On Twitter, Several people tweeted out the Daily Beast’s October 9 opinion piece by Michael Daly that called the parade’s continued association with the Confederate flag the “disgrace that has sparked civil war in a Delaware town.” 

None of the tweets sparked a conversation. 

WHYY’s Mark Eichmann tweeted Chris Barrish’s coverage of the Confederate Flag controversy on October 17, and it received no comments.

It was similar on Facebook – searches turned up posts that shared links to the Daily Beast and WHYY coverage, to virtual crickets. (The sole comment on Facebook said simply that the boycotting officials wouldn’t be missed, apparently unaware that they are not actually boycotting the event itself).

Instagram has a good number of general Return Day posts from previous years, but the most recent one is a photo of the Return Day Marker in Georgetown by Delaware Public Archive in June (this actually makes sense for the Instagram platform, which is generally used to share content of things as they happen).

On TikTok, searches turned up one relevant video, of the town crier announcing the returns from a balcony in 2020.

While finding people talking publicly about this year’s Return Day proved challenging, there was one place where it was discussed openly: Reddit. 

When the topic hit the subreddit r/Delaware, where most users use anonymous screen names, on October 17, it amassed almost 100 comments (not bad for the relatively small subreddit). 

The thread is interesting ride. If you’re unfamiliar with the r/Delaware subreddit, it is fairly politically neutral, though, like the state itself, it does skew Blue. You’ll find running jokes about the notoriously ubiquitous homemade campaign signs for Scott Walker, the defeated 2018 Republican candidate for the U.S. House (he has since switched parties), and occasional cringing about a particularly far right local politician who ran in 2020, but it’s not a place where politics are discussed regularly.

The thread “Return Day boycott over rebel flag” includes general debate over whether the Confederate flag was the official flag of the Confederacy or whether it’s a version popularized by white supremacists in the 1900s. But the thread also takes on the specific topic at hand.

There is a definite political divide to be seen, with some commenters supporting the state’s (predominantly Democrat) politicians in general, some renouncing them, and some appearing to be somewhere in the middle.

Regardless of where the commenters appear to fall politically, none openly supported flying the Confederate flag. (It’s possible that is the result of tight moderation on the subreddit, where racist and “inflammatory” content is forbidden and users who disregard that rule are banned. Still, the pool of commenters are not a political monolith by any means.)

“You like that flag, you’re racist,” said one comment. “I don’t care what your explanation is.”

The argument that stands out the most is not about whether the flag should be flown in Delaware, but whether it’s the Democrats – the party that is calling for boycotting the carriage rides – who are to blame for it flying in Georgetown in the first place.

“The democrats [sic] including [Governor John] Carney are the ones that helped dedicate the memorial and created a whole week to it remembering confederate [sic] soldiers,” said one comment, pointing to a line in The Daily Beast’s reporting that noted that former Gov. Ruth Ann Minner spoke when the flag was raised in 2007 and declared May 12 to 18 “Confederate History and Heritage Week” that year.

The Daily Beast didn’t note that the late Minner was a Democrat, and Delaware’s current governor, John Carney, was her lieutenant governor – but folks on r/Delaware know.

“A lot has changed in how (white) people perceived the flag in that time,” another commenter responded. “People are becoming, yes, awakened to some basic facts. It’s Ok to reappraise your thoughts, values and past actions. It’s growth. […] One side of the aisle IS responsible for perpetuating this. One side is trying to correct it.”

The responder also pointed out that Carney renounced flying the Confederate flag five years ago. 

The top comment, with 80+ upvotes, does not mince words:

“I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating often:

There are people who claim this flag is about heritage and that’s just fine by me. If they want to admit ‘I come from a line of losers who attacked America, killed American troops, and got ground into the dirt for it,’ then be my guest. Anything that allows me to say ‘that person is worthless and anti-American’ before they open their mouth is a gift.

But keep that flag out of anything involving matters of state or public officials. The flags of our defeated enemies have no place being flown over \*anything\* of relevance in America.”

Read more

Taking Sides: Polarization challenges Return Day traditions

History of Return Day: From politics to parties, the tradition dates back to 1812

Main photo: Wilmington, Delaware’s historic district on lower Market Street. Photo by TCDavis (tcd123usa) is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

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