As the South Carolina government is removing the Confederate flag from its capitol, stores in Myrtle Beach are selling out of Confederate flag merchandise.
David Rainwater of Xtreme Airbrushing told WMBF News, “Yeah, we’ve been selling more Confederate flag stuff, definitely. It’s publicity. People want to show that they are for it or against it.”
Rainwater reiterated, "We’re definitely still selling it. We can, I feel like we should sell it to the people who use it in the right way. That aren’t using it in hatred, that are using it as southern pride.”
WMBF News reports there were “many” gift shops in Myrtle Beach filled with Confederate flag items.
There has been a resurgence in the Confederate flag’s popularity since Walmart, Amazon, Ebay and Sears announced they would no longer be carrying Confederate flag merchandise.
Before Amazon made its decision, the New York Times notes there were over 29,000 items on Amazon featuring the Confederate flag. Some of the items allegedly increased in popularity by over 5,000 percent before they were removed.