Confederate Flag: Symbol of ?

[Gadawg73]

Let's first put some things in perspective:

The Civil War DID NOT start over slavery!!! It was a matter of certain states angry over the federal government's telling them what they could and could not do, mostly in matters of selling their goods. Slavery was used as nothing but a political ploy to raise emotions and recruits for the North.

Second, the KKK did not start as just a racist organization but was initially formed to oust the Carpetbaggers who were raping their economy and trying to take their political choices away. They DID become a very racist group - as well as being quite anti-Semite and Catholic. And don't forget, His Royal Highness Robert Byrd, D-WVA, who served longer than any other Senator was a member of the KKK!

The Battle Flag is nothing more than a symbol of one's pride in The South, a special section of this nation that has suffered great poverty for decades but where people still work hard and are proud of their efforts. I do not think the majority of Southerners are racists.

Now, if you want a truly racist symbol, check out this -

Have you lived in the south 58 years?
You got most of it right but to many down here, and in the 50s when we had integration, the flag is all about white power. Take a look why they changed our state flag in the 50s and you will see it was in defiance to integration.
The flag is still a symbol of white dominance in the south to some, a number that is declining every second.
But they are still here. I heard the "hey boy" stuff in the 70s also here.

 

[Gadawg73]

A confederate flag is a symbol of loss, lack of education and racism in my eyes. Something about being a Virginian instead of an American I suppose. If you supoort that flag next time you identify your nationality overseas refer to yourself as a Nevadan or Utahanarian or Mississipan.

If you want to talk about lack of education refer to the northern Generals in the civil war. The south had the cream of the crop of West Point grads, more experience in the field and the most educated officers.
But the north had the economy, the resources, the foundries, the weapons manufacturers, the large banks, manpower, infrastructure, better rails and most importantly, the fortitude.
If you oppose the hyphenated "American" labels folks put on themselves start with "African" American and get back to us.

 

[zed42]

A confederate flag is a symbol of loss, lack of education and racism in my eyes. Something about being a Virginian instead of an American I suppose. If you supoort that flag next time you identify your nationality overseas refer to yourself as a Nevadan or Utahanarian or Mississipan.

Not being PC here, but why identify yourself as an African-American or Mexican-American vice plane ole American? I don't see people calling themselves Irish-American, Polish-American, German-American or whatever nationality-American.

 

[konradv]

A confederate flag is a symbol of loss, lack of education and racism in my eyes. Something about being a Virginian instead of an American I suppose. If you supoort that flag next time you identify your nationality overseas refer to yourself as a Nevadan or Utahanarian or Mississipan.

Not being PC here, but why identify yourself as an African-American or Mexican-American vice plane ole American? I don't see people calling themselves Irish-American, Polish-American, German-American or whatever nationality-American.

The Irish American Club of Washington, D.C.

National Italian American Foundation - www.niaf.org

Polish American Cultural Club

You were saying?!?!

 

[blackhawk]

Speaking as a lifelong Californian, I see a great dichotomy in the perception of the Confederate Flag between White and Black Americans. For my Black friends, it seems to be a symbol of slavery, segregation, discrimination and racism. For my White friends, it is a symbol of Civil War military battles, moonshine and backwoods shenanigans a la the Dukes of Hazard.

I wonder if these divergent views will ever be reconciled.

That flag means different things to different people it always has and always will.

 

[oldfart]

Not being PC here, but why identify yourself as an African-American or Mexican-American vice plane ole American? I don't see people calling themselves Irish-American, Polish-American, German-American or whatever nationality-American.

That depends on what kind of neighborhood you live in. I grew up in a part of the country where white ethncities had strong identities. When I taught at a black college, I had a hard time convincing black students that whites in most of the country often identified not as "white" but by ethnicity.

Quick! Can you tell a person of Puerto Rican heritage from a Cuban? How about a Honduran from a Mexican? Jamaican or Haitian? German or Polish? Russian or Norweigan? Irish or Italian? Greek or Bulgarian? Korean or Japanese? Teton Sioux from Choctaw? It can get fun out there.

 

[thanatos144]

The flag is the the symbol of the democrat party and racism. There is no redeeming qualities in a bunch of slave owning traitors .

 

[candycorn]

This has very little to do with slavery, and very much to do with northerners contempt for all things Southern.

We get it, you don't like us...we don't care.

Only a idiot thinks southern still means confederate.

The Stars and Bars is still the symbol of the south and southern heritage and culture.

Northerners hate the fact the South still stands together.

Get over it.

Silly post.

 

[Gadawg73]

My neighbor is black and that Confederate flag damn sure does not represent any southern heritage he is proud of.
Same with most of the whites in the south these days.
We are proud of those that fought for the south and gave all as most of them could care less about discriminating.
The modern day flag in many cases is all about hate and violence.
However, a flag does not cause one to hate and has nothing to do with violence.

 

[Gadawg73]

the flag is the the symbol of the democrat party and racism. There is no redeeming qualities in a bunch of slave owning traitors .

bs

 

[Gadawg73]

Not being PC here, but why identify yourself as an African-American or Mexican-American vice plane ole American? I don't see people calling themselves Irish-American, Polish-American, German-American or whatever nationality-American.

That depends on what kind of neighborhood you live in. I grew up in a part of the country where white ethncities had strong identities. When I taught at a black college, I had a hard time convincing black students that whites in most of the country often identified not as "white" but by ethnicity.

Quick! Can you tell a person of Puerto Rican heritage from a Cuban? How about a Honduran from a Mexican? Jamaican or Haitian? German or Polish? Russian or Norweigan? Irish or Italian? Greek or Bulgarian? Korean or Japanese? Teton Sioux from Choctaw? It can get fun out there.

Irish or Italian, Jamaican from a Haitian, Russian or Norwegian? Definitely YES!
German or Polish? Yes
Greek or Bulgarian? Probably
Korean or Japanese? Would be hard.
HOnduran from Mexican? Harder but probably as they are shorter.
Teton Sioux from Choctaw? Nope.
Get your point, good post!

 

[zed42]

Not being PC here, but why identify yourself as an African-American or Mexican-American vice plane ole American? I don't see people calling themselves Irish-American, Polish-American, German-American or whatever nationality-American.

That depends on what kind of neighborhood you live in. I grew up in a part of the country where white ethncities had strong identities. When I taught at a black college, I had a hard time convincing black students that whites in most of the country often identified not as "white" but by ethnicity.

Quick! Can you tell a person of Puerto Rican heritage from a Cuban? How about a Honduran from a Mexican? Jamaican or Haitian? German or Polish? Russian or Norweigan? Irish or Italian? Greek or Bulgarian? Korean or Japanese? Teton Sioux from Choctaw? It can get fun out there.

It really shouldn't matter. We, the US, are one Nation and should identify oneself as an American. I realize that "American" is somewhat ambiguous since there is South, Central, and North Americans. But it seems that being "American" means a US citizen to most of the world if not all. I don't advocate losing ones heritage or not have pride in that heritage but why attempt to re-categorize oneself into a specific ethnicity; if you call the US home, just say "I'm an American".

 

[Kiki Cannoli]

I have a group of friends from the Carolinas and Virginia, very proud Southerners who identify with the Confederate flag. I respect their heritage.

Unfortunately, there are others who misrepresent the flag by continuing to fly it as a symbol of racial power. This identity tends to be the loudest and most recognized at least that is how it was growing up in CT.

As far as how a black person feels about it...I'd imagine the range is broad and far reaching and I'll leave it to them to figure it out.

 

[Nightson]

Speaking as a lifelong Californian, I see a great dichotomy in the perception of the Confederate Flag between White and Black Americans. For my Black friends, it seems to be a symbol of slavery, segregation, discrimination and racism. For my White friends, it is a symbol of Civil War military battles, moonshine and backwoods shenanigans a la the Dukes of Hazard.

I wonder if these divergent views will ever be reconciled.

The reaction to such symbols depends upon personal perception. They're meaningless to some, inflammatory to others and for others still, familiar and reassuring. Thusly I doubt divergent views in regard to the Confederate Flag will ever be reconciled so long as its symbolism retains the power to activate various emotional responses.

 

[catzmeow]

I was a little sister to Kappa Alpha Order fraternity while in college many years ago. In those days, KA flew the stars and bars as a symbol of their southern heritage. I don't think I even considered the racial implication of that flag until I was later working for a law enforcement agency and interacting with skinheads who used the flag as a symbol of their racial views and desire to secede from the U.S. government (which they consideredd to be run by jews and mud people).

I think the views of southerners who currently fly the stars and bars are just as mixed. I would not personally use the flag in any context at this point in my life, because of the racial implications.

 

[Gadawg73]

I was a little sister to Kappa Alpha Order fraternity while in college many years ago. In those days, KA flew the stars and bars as a symbol of their southern heritage. I don't think I even considered the racial implication of that flag until I was later working for a law enforcement agency and interacting with skinheads who used the flag as a symbol of their racial views and desire to secede from the U.S. government (which they consideredd to be run by jews and mud people).

I think the views of southerners who currently fly the stars and bars are just as mixed. I would not personally use the flag in any context at this point in my life, because of the racial implications.

Exactly, some of my friends be they black or white or somewhere in the middle are offended by it and from what I saw growing up in the deep south in the late 50s and 60s I respect that.
And Democrats and Republicans in Georgia knew that and supported the change of our state flag.
And I do not give a shit what anyone thinks about that change as it was the right thing to do.

 

[squeeze berry]

And today, the victims of racial violence are WHITES, not blacks.

But since the media doesn't report on that, and the left doesn't care, and the Holder Justice Dept. never heard of the Black Panthers, it's all down the memory hole...

Piffle. You just admitted you have no numbers to back up your false assertion. You have no reports from the Bush administration Justice Department? No statistics from liberal bastions like Texas?

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5JbAO5_NMw]F.B.I and U.S. Justice department Black vs White Crime statistics. - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Jimmy_Jam]

Not being PC here, but why identify yourself as an African-American or Mexican-American vice plane ole American? I don't see people calling themselves Irish-American, Polish-American, German-American or whatever nationality-American.

That depends on what kind of neighborhood you live in. I grew up in a part of the country where white ethncities had strong identities. When I taught at a black college, I had a hard time convincing black students that whites in most of the country often identified not as "white" but by ethnicity.

Quick! Can you tell a person of Puerto Rican heritage from a Cuban? How about a Honduran from a Mexican? Jamaican or Haitian? German or Polish? Russian or Norweigan? Irish or Italian? Greek or Bulgarian? Korean or Japanese? Teton Sioux from Choctaw? It can get fun out there.

It really shouldn't matter. We, the US, are one Nation and should identify oneself as an American. I realize that "American" is somewhat ambiguous since there is South, Central, and North Americans. But it seems that being "American" means a US citizen to most of the world if not all. I don't advocate losing ones heritage or not have pride in that heritage but why attempt to re-categorize oneself into a specific ethnicity; if you call the US home, just say "I'm an American".

In the old days people identified themselves by their heritage, they simply didn't hyphenate. Irish called themselves Irish, Italians called themselves Italians, and so on. Calling oneself "American" was simply not done by very many because it was presumed to be a given. The only people who proclaimed "I am an American" were typically those of little to no discernible ethnic or cultural background, and who also tended to be very patriotic. Count my family among the latter. While our background comes primarily from the British Isles, it is so far back as to be irrelevant, so we were always simply "Americans." But when I grew up, those that had a more immediate cultural background simply identified themselves by it, sans hyphens, and that was it.

I find the hyphenization of cultural identity a bit annoying, but aside from that, why should I really care?

 

[jwoodie]

I was a little sister to Kappa Alpha Order fraternity while in college many years ago. In those days, KA flew the stars and bars as a symbol of their southern heritage. I don't think I even considered the racial implication of that flag until I was later working for a law enforcement agency and interacting with skinheads who used the flag as a symbol of their racial views and desire to secede from the U.S. government (which they consideredd to be run by jews and mud people).

I think the views of southerners who currently fly the stars and bars are just as mixed. I would not personally use the flag in any context at this point in my life, because of the racial implications.

Exactly, some of my friends be they black or white or somewhere in the middle are offended by it and from what I saw growing up in the deep south in the late 50s and 60s I respect that.
And Democrats and Republicans in Georgia knew that and supported the change of our state flag.
And I do not give a shit what anyone thinks about that change as it was the right thing to do.

...and I don't "give a shit" about whether you or your friends are "offended" by what someone else says or does. Since when should the First Amendment be limited by your emotional reactions?

 

[nodoginnafight]

The Constitution doesn't protect anyone from being offended. Obviously you can't ban the confederate flag. But why would anyone want to fly it? You might as well fly a swastika.

Pretty close to the same thing.

Those who choose to exercise that right ... well .... not my kind of people. Sure, everyone doesn't have to be "my kind of people," just don't get all huffy when people look down their nose at you. You asked for it.