Welcome to the Thursday edition of Internet Insider, where we explore identities online and off. Today:
- Woman realizes Confederate flag is racist—and burns it on TikTok
- Here’s where you can get free weed for getting a COVID vaccine
- Self-care: The road to anywhere
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BREAK THE INTERNET
Woman realizes Confederate flag is racist—and burns it on TikTok
A video of a woman apologizing while burning her Confederate battle flag has gone viral on TikTok with more than 492,000 views.
The video shows user @tiktok_hates_me__, whose name is Danielle, cutting the flag from a pole with scissors and burning the corner of the flag with a lighter. “I’m sorry if I ever showed I was ‘racist’ from a flag,” the video caption says. “I’m white. I’m redneck, but never racist. RIP to this racist flag.”
Danielle says she grew up in the South and was never taught that the flag symbolized white supremacy and slavery because the Confederacy fought to uphold slavery during the Civil War. Other people online who also grew up in the South said they could relate.
“I grew up in South Georgia,” one user commented. “It was just a thing that was seen as heritage. Nobody saw it for what it stood for.”
“In short, the flag has been used by various groups of people who oppose civil rights,” Danielle says in a follow-up video. “In particular, civil rights of Black people and minorities.”
Many people online said their respect for her went up and praised her for making the change to educate herself on racist symbols.
“Thank you for swallowing your pride on this,” one user commented. “People need to see this.”
–Jennifer Xia, contributing writer
FROM OUR FRIENDS AT NAUTILUS
Here’s where you can get free weed for getting a COVID vaccine
In some U.S. states, getting your COVID vaccine could earn you free marijuana.
Washington state, New York, and Washington, D.C., are all offering free cannabis to people who get the vaccine. Individual dispensaries in a number of other states, including Arizona and Michigan, are also offering free marijuana to people who get their COVID vaccine.
Washington state’s “Joints for Jabs” campaign is offering one pre-rolled joint to anyone who receives their first or second dose at an on-site vaccination clinic. The campaign, effective immediately, will run through July 12 and is available to anyone 21 or older.
D.C. has its own Joints for Jabs campaign and is likewise offering free joints in exchange for a vaccination. New York is taking a similar approach, but the state—along with D.C.—has struggled to track down enough cannabis to fit demand. Due to regulations, it can be difficult for licensed distributors to donate marijuana. All of the weed included in the Joints for Jabs campaigns has been donated by home growers.
In other states, like Arizona, dispensaries are offering their own incentives. The Mint dispensary has offered customers a free edible for proof of a vaccine, and Greenhouse in Michigan is offering a free pre-rolled joint.
The campaigns have been massively effective. As noted by Greenhouse owner and CEO Jerry Millen, the company’s campaign has garnered an “overwhelming response.”
–Nahila Bonfiglio, contributing writer
SELF-CARE
The road to anywhere
For many during the year of quarantine, road trips became the only way to escape. Whether it was 30 minutes or a full day’s drive, getting in the car became one of the few ways to get a real change of scenery.
This summer, as air travel ramps up—and gets more expensive—an old fashioned road trip may still be one of the best ways to get out there. This weekend, my partner and I will be loading up our car and our two cats for a 1,300-mile to our new home in Salt Lake City, Utah. After 12 years in Texas, it will be a bittersweet journey.
We have our car snacks and an audio book, Donna Tartt’s The Secret History, ready to go. We planned our lunch stops, and we know to expect unexpected road blocks and delays. After a week off from the Thursday Internet Insider, I’ll be back on the other side with more self-care thoughts. Until then, see you on the highway.
–Kris Seavers, IRL editor
Today’s top stories
| ‘Fill her up’: Bartender gives woman a glass of water when the man she’s with orders tequila shot |
| ‘I don’t think my store has even sold one’: Whataburger employees take picture with first customer who bought a burger box |
| ‘It was a template used by anyone in the company’: Travel agent’s ‘condescending’ out-of-office email reply sparks debate |
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