The Confederate flag

[Guts]

Michigan business owner denies being a racist despite hanging nooses and a Confederate flag outside his properties
Even thought he said the noose is meant as a tribute to a friend who died, which sounds like an unusual thing to do, the flag plus the noose is definitely going to make people think you are a racist when they see it.

 

[I SEE SPIDEY]

Your head is deeply planted in the sand yet you tell people who are offended to do "do research and learn the facts".

It's extremely ironic.

Here are the facts, go ahead and disprove them with your deep historical knowledge.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/outlo...e-south-seceded/2011/01/03/ABHr6jD_story.html

You think feeling apathy towards ugly symbols like the swastika and the Confederate flag makes you tough skinned? No, it only shows ignorance and a lack of empathy towards your fellow man.

If this were twitter I'd RT and fav this post, hard.

Lack of empathy is the in thing these days and ignorance is celebrated.

 

[SlamAdams]

Michigan business owner denies being a racist despite hanging nooses and a Confederate flag outside his properties
Even thought he said the noose is meant as a tribute to a friend who died, which sounds like an unusual thing to do, the flag plus the noose is definitely going to make people think you are a racist when they see it.

lol that reminds me of the Bill Hicks joke about Christians and crosses

 

[Blitzkrieg Bop]

Typical historical revisionism.

The South gave their reasons for seceding in writing. It's an official historical document.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Declar...sion_of_South_Carolina_from_the_Federal_Union

It mentions slavery far more often than state's rights.

We all know the south wanted slavery during that time, but I don't think that means people who display the flag today are calling for slavery to come back or are saying that whites are superior. Symbols mean whatever meaning you give them. In my eyes, the flag is just a symbol of rebellion and southern pride. Not a pro-slavery banner.

 

[Quasimod0]

We all know the south wanted slavery during that time, but I don't think that means people who display the flag today are calling for slavery to come back or are saying that whites are superior. Symbols mean whatever meaning you give them. In my eyes, the flag is just a symbol of rebellion and southern pride. Not a pro-slavery banner.

Pretty much my thoughts as well. I don't automatically assume that people who display the flag are racist and want slavery back.
But at the same time, I feel like its time to retire that flag. Its over. The Civil War was a long time ago. I saw just fly the American flag if you wanna show pride in your homeland.

 

[Mad Ones]

It's used on parts of Ontario as a "country pride" symbol. No reasonable historical connection to Canada at all; it's just a racist rallying cry. :

I'm in Alberta and see it all the time here too. I agree with you.

Also, I accidentally voted no, when I most certainly meant yes.

Edit: If anyone can change my vote I'd really appreciate it!

 

[Pink Ranger]

I'm in Alberta and see it all the time here too. I agree with you.

Also, I accidentally voted no, when I most certainly meant yes.

The parts of Ontario where this has become popular are also the places where they lynch Asians still, so yeah, smoking gun.

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

We all know the south wanted slavery during that time, but I don't think that means people who display the flag today are calling for slavery to come back or are saying that whites are superior. Symbols mean whatever meaning you give them. In my eyes, the flag is just a symbol of rebellion and southern pride. Not a pro-slavery banner.

Separating slavery from the confederate flag is like separating the Holocaust from the swastika. It doesn't really work.

A person can say that they only display the swastika to support their heritage and they don't hate jews but ultimately there's always going to be that negative association.

You'd have to erase important history to remove that association. So if you don't care about that association then go ahead, display that flag. But don't expect everyone to pretend the association with slavery doesn't exist.

 

[Parker Wayne]

I find it distasteful. Yes it's a symbol of Southern pride. You could also say the Nazi flag was a symbol of German pride, but we all know there was more to it than that, it had racist connotations and so does the Confederate flag.

This. It is naive to say that there are no racist connotations of the Confederate flag and that it's "only to stand against oppressive government and Southern Pride" when basically, the Confederacy stood for slavery and saw minorities as less than human beings. You can't separate what the Confederacy stood for, which was slavery.

The confederate flag is very distasteful.

 

[Mad Ones]

The parts of Ontario where this has become popular are also the places where they lynch Asians still, so yeah, smoking gun.

There are major problems with racism against first nations people where I am. Lynching Asians though?

 

[Warhammer]

I find it distasteful. Yes it's a symbol of Southern pride. You could also say the Nazi flag was a symbol of German pride, but we all know there was more to it than that, it had racist connotations and so does the Confederate flag.

Yes, yes, and yes.

This shouldn't matter but to anyone that thinks it does, I live in a Southern state.

 

[Warhammer]

Separating slavery from the confederate flag is like separating the Holocaust from the swastika. It doesn't really work.

A person can say that they only display the swastika to support their heritage and they don't hate jews but ultimately there's always going to be that negative association.

You'd have to erase important history to remove that association. So if you don't care about that association then go ahead, display that flag. But don't expect everyone to pretend the association with slavery doesn't exist.

Yes.

 

[DeadPresident]

What Messiah and Schlosser said. If people are so keen on Southern pride and rebellion invent another ****ing symbol for it.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to buy some Pentagrams and wear them in a very un-Satanic way.

 

[Evelisse]

heh, southern pride, nonsense

 

[Victarion]

heh, southern pride, nonsense

There's the rich musical history that's worth celebrating, the slaves' tenacity in their bids for freedom, the decadent decay as seen in the Fall of the House of Usher, for example. Not that I think it's what the Confed flag flyers have in mind.

 

[Evelisse]

There's the rich musical history that's worth celebrating, the slaves' tenacity in their bids for freedom, the decadent decay as seen in the Fall of the House of Usher, for example. Not that I think it's what the Confed flag flyers have in mind.

Oh I'm sure there is, I meant Southern pride used as an excuse to fly the Confederate Flag is just highly suspect.

 

[Schlosser85]

I live in Ohio, and my high school's parking lot had its share of pickup trucks with Confederate flags flapping proudly. Was that Southern pride, from Ohioans?

 

[Soapy]

I live in the South and have known many people to fly the flag, and while I'm sure some them might have ignorant attitudes toward race the vast majority of them that I've encountered just fly it to show some "rebellious spirit" I guess you might call it. I honestly believe most of them don't give a thought to race or even southern pride when they fly it.

 

[Thundercrack85]

People that have the confederate flag up are using it to display their love and pride in the Southern/country way of life. There is nothing wrong with it. People need to get over themselves.

That way of life was slavery though.

 

[JJJ's Ulcer]

How about we King Solomon this and say…. 85% are angry racists, and 15% are purely into this Southern pride stuff. Yeah, that sounds about right.

If you have a Confed flag and you live ABOVE the Mason-Dixon line, I'm going to assume you're racist though.

 

[I SEE SPIDEY]

I live in Ohio, and my high school's parking lot had its share of pickup trucks with Confederate flags flapping proudly. Was that Southern pride, from Ohioans?

Exactly, I see those same flags here in Columbus Ohio. Newsflash, Ohio is in the Midwest, not the south.

 

[CaptainWagner]

Separating slavery from the confederate flag is like separating the Holocaust from the swastika. It doesn't really work.

A person can say that they only display the swastika to support their heritage and they don't hate jews but ultimately there's always going to be that negative association.

You'd have to erase important history to remove that association. So if you don't care about that association then go ahead, display that flag. But don't expect everyone to pretend the association with slavery doesn't exist.

While making slavery the vocal point of the Civil War is historically inaccurate, that's a whole different discussion for another thread.

However, I believe the vast majority of people displaying Confederate flag parphanelia aren't racist at all, I know a handfull of them, and none of them have racist tendacies. I think it has a lot more to do with simply wanting to "be a rebel".

 

[moviedoors]

I've lived in the south my whole life. That flag sucks.

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

While making slavery the vocal point of the Civil War is historically inaccurate, that's a whole different discussion for another thread.

However, I believe the vast majority of people displaying Confederate flag parphanelia aren't racist at all, I know a handfull of them, and none of them have racist tendacies. I think it has a lot more to do with simply wanting to "be a rebel".

It's not historically inaccurate.

The states themselves stated that ending slavery was a major reason for secession right before the Civil War. I already posted the links.

The people who display the flag solely as an act of rebellion are the ones who are misinformed, not those offended by it.

 

[CaptainWagner]

It's not historically inaccurate.

The states themselves stated that ending slavery was a major reason for secession right before the Civil War. I already posted the links.

The people who display the flag solely as an act of rebellion are the ones who are misinformed, not those offended by it.

Okay, so completely inaccurate was robably ot the right term. The fight over slavery was oe of te top concerns of the southern states at the time. But it wasn't the only reason lumped togther under the basic issue of states rights. What I'm saying is that the flag shouldn't be seen as a "symbol of slavery".