There’s no such thing as being accidentally racist: an accidental racist is just a real racist who isn’t self-aware enough to know he’s racist. An accidental racist is just a real racist who apologizes profusely for his racism and then continues making racist comments. An accidental racist is like an accidental homophobe—he’s not homophobic, he just believes in the traditional definition of marriage; you know, a definition that denies gay men and women their basic rights.

If you haven’t listened to “Accidentally Racist” here’s a sampling of the lyrics:

“To the man who waited on me at the Starbucks down on Main I hope you understand when I put on that t-shirt
 the only thing I meant to say
 is I’m a Skynyrd fan. The red flag on my chest is somehow like the elephant
 in the corner of the South
 and I just walked him right in the room.”

A confederate flag is not just a red flag. A confederate flag will never be just a flag. It will always be imbued with meaning and it will always be tied to slavery.

“I’m just a white man
 (If you don’t judge my do-rag) Coming to you from the southland 
(I won’t judge your red flag).”

There’s no moral equivalency between a do-rag and a red flag. A do-rag is a fashion statement; the confederate flag, for many, is a symbol, not only of oppression and exclusion, but also of literal enslavement.

I’m not saying the point of the song wasn’t to start some sort of dialogue. What I’m saying, is that the dialogue isn’t working.