Canadian by birth, and a U.S. Army veteran, Jeff Easton, 64, flies several flags from Canadian and U.S. history including a Confederate flag, outside his Hartford home Saturday.
“It adds character to the place instead of being boring,” he said of the display.
“It may not appeal to a lot of people, but that’s just the way it is,” Easton said of the Confederate flag. “Nothing personal about it, it’s historical. … Even though it may insult some people, it’s part of our heritage, and you can’t duck it. You can’t get away from your past, and that flag represents our past.” Easton denied that slavery was the driving cause of the Civil War and claimed economic and trade issues caused the southern states to secede.
“If I’m told to take it down, OK, then I’ll take it down, because I won’t violate that sort of, whatever they’re going to throw at me. But right now, that stays up until I’m told otherwise.”
Asked about the rioters who broke into the U.S. Capitol building last week, some carrying Confederate flags, following a rally held by President Trump, Easton said, “It’s not just their Capitol, it’s everybody’s Capitol. You have to treat it with some kind of decency and respect. And I don’t approve of that behavior. I just don’t. You want to get your point across, get it across in a peaceful, decent manner, period, end of story.”
“I think we’re failing too in our leadership. And we need a better president, a better leader,” he said. “And this last one was disastrous in my opinion. … (Trump) has done a lot of damage to this country, credibility wise. Just the way he acts, the way he talks. You just can’t have a president like that. I think the American people woke up and realized replacing him was for America’s better interest.”
