BY SHERI McWHIRTER
RAPID CITY -- There won't be anymore Confederate flags adorned with racist messages flapping over public events in Rapid City, everyone agrees.
That's what happened in May at a community cookout hosted by local businesses. Someone raised a Confederate flag with the phrases "white power" and "Ku Klux Klan" atop a flag pole, an incident that prompted a strong reaction from both locals and visitors.
Today the little, unincorporated Kalkaska County town is a better place for having an important community discussion about the incident, said Sam Hoiles, owner of Sam's Place auto repair shop in Rapid City.
"But do you wish it never happened? Of course," he said.
Hoiles said some locals were bothered by media attention to the incident and contend the situation was overblown. Nevertheless, the subsequent community discussion was a positive thing, he said.
"The initial event was a stupid mistake. Some people couldn't handle that an individual made that mistake," Hoiles said. "There's no bad blood, but there are remaining feelings. You don't go through something like that without forming a callous."
But for the most part, nobody talks about it any more.
"It's over and done with. I think at the time it was an embarrassing situation," said Joe Mariage, of Rapid City, who was both shocked and offended by the racist flag. "It was just something that happened that should not have happened."
Bill Bockstahler of Alden helped spark the debate and wrote letters to the editor of area newspapers. He's not apologizing for raising the issue.
"I felt strongly about that and felt it needed to be addressed. That's not what Rapid City is all about. The community will not tolerate the flying of a flag like that," he said. "You're not going to change the people who have those beliefs, but that wasn't expected, anyway. In the end, I think Rapid City is a better place for talking about it."
In July, the same group of business owners hosted a pig roast, hoisted Old Glory and attendees even recited the Pledge of Allegiance. There was no derogatory talk about the previous event and nearly 800 people got a plate of pork, said the Rev. Ron Gay from the Torch Lake Assembly of God Church in Rapid City.
"I think we're a whole lot more conscientious of the fact we need to be real careful about what you do or say," Gay said. "If a good situation can come from something bad, it did."
Despite the embarrassment of the racist flag incident, residents rose to the occasion to spread awareness about why that flag was offensive and inappropriate, Gay said.
