Typographic errors are not unknown at the Orthosphere. I have indeed published "typographic errors" that were flat-out spelling errors. But we are a shoestring outfit that does not employ proofreaders.
It is possible that the typographic boner copied to the right was introduced by an alienated or mischievous flunky at our local paper. Perhaps the text was corrupted in in the process of syndication. It is even possible that Professor Watson (who teaches history, Black studies, and gender and sexuality studies at East Tennessee State University) is a ham-handed typist who does not truckle to his spell-checker.
Professor Watson's understanding of symbolism is not what one expects from a man who earns his bread pontificating on what may be broadly classify as cultural questions. Beauty is real, but the meaning of a symbol is entirely in the eye of its beholder. This is why a flag (even the Conderate flag) can call a tear from the eye of one man, and a growl from the mouth of another.
A symbol is a reminder, and any symbol in a diverse culture will remind men of diverse things.
In a totalitarian culture, on the other hand . . .
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