What does the Confederate flag mean to you?

[Boo'sMom]

confederate flag in yankee country??


Well, gee, that just means it's race weekend, and all our friends from the south are here to watch NASCAR!

 

[Viking]

Originally posted by Kendra17
To not acknowledge the inherent purpose and meaning of the Confederate flag would be a disservice to that symbol and to those thousands who died to secure their freedoms as they saw it. To preempt any comparison you might make with Nazi symbology, Confederacy had nothing to do with genocide or global conflicts.

Once again you try block a discussion by stating your opinion as fact: Confederate -or American- flag have nothing to do with genocide
So all the African voluntarily emigrated to the USA, worked themselves to death because the were workoholics?
The Native Americans all committed suicide and gave away their land for free smiling?
Iraq and Vietnam invited you?

GET SERIOUS!!!

If you want to be proud of your country's history, you have to take over responsibility for it's black spots (No pun intended) as well.
As a German I can't be proud of Beethoven, the invention of the car, etc without being ashamed of the Nazi-regime.
The same goes for you!!! Be proud of America's role in WW I & II, but be ashamed about slavery or near-extinction of the Natives.
You can either eat the cake or keep it!!!

BTW, another issue that would be woth another thread: How can you be proud to be an American or German or Canadian or French, etc? It's just a coincidence where you were born. The only exemption are immigrants:
i.e. Arnold Schwarzenegger can be proud to be an American, because he wasn't born there, but gained American citizenship.

 

[Laura]

Originally posted by Pugdog007
IMO the flag is used mainly to "thumb our noses at the North," as someone else stated.

Well, as a "Northerner" it doesn't quite work that way for me, although that's what I generally assume the meaning is behind a person's Confederate flag-waving. It doesn't piss me off, it just makes me think that person needs to get over the past and move on. But if I were a black person I can't imagine having the same reaction.

I'm not saying people shouldn't personally fly whatever flag they want to for whatever reason. Thumbing your nose at the North, displaying racist hatred, showing your pride in being a Southerner, etc. It is a part of free speech. But be prepared for people's reactions.

 

[Sirius]

I see the battle flag of a defunct rebel state. A state that, based on social and economic factors, tried to remove itself from the United States of America, the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution of the United States of America by declaring war on our nation. I see it as anti-American and racial.

By the way, usually, the only people who see it as a symbol of southern pride are white people.

 

[Kendra17]

Originally posted by susy



Oh.. I also have plenty of relatives in Cuba who have NO freedom whatsoever and live under the control of a complete psycho-tyrant.

Susy,

Why don't you start a thread about this? My husband and I wonder, often, about the Hollywood folks who often support Castro, and we hold them all in disdain.

I think a lot of people here might be interested in reading and participating in a thread like that. There's a lot of information you probably have that would be worth sharing!

Kendra

 

[oddball27]

It means Southern Pride to everyone I know, including people from other races. This is Alabama, so it's a pretty big thing. Some people see it as racial, but my family, and friends just see it as a southern thing. Most people have at least one flag{called the rebel flag} on their trucks, but they're not racist.

 

[Tiffany]

Well, I am a white woman who grew up just north of Boston and I think of slavery when I that flag. Also, the KKK comes to mind.

 

[Kendra17]

Originally posted by Sirius


By the way, usually, the only people who see it as a symbol of southern pride are white people.

I see what point you are trying to express, but different people actually have different experiences. For instance there are symbols that are absolutely not racist, but apply do ethnic groups other than mine.
The thing that I find important about this is that for some, the flag is a real part of their history and has no racist connotation for those people. Yes, it was hijacked by the racists, but it doesn't change the symbology for these others. African Americans may not share that symbol. That doesn't mean it's not a valid symbol. I don't share many symbols African Americans share, but their symbols are valid.

I DO understand the opposing view, and I really do empathize, I just hate bowing down to all this political correctness. We SHOULD value our experiences and our symbols. Yes, this particular symbol was hijacked. I'm sure my daughter's IDF shirt causes some heads to turn, but we support them.

Also, although I am in Nashville, I am from Ohio and NYC. . .I love the south but am a northerner. And, to be honest, I have seen less racism here than in the Cleveland suburb where I'm from..

one more thing: a previous poster took issue with one of my comments differentiating slavery and genocide. I'm sorry if I offended you or if you thought for one minute I was defending slavery. My ancestors were slaves, too, you know--and were also victims of the holocaust. I am not justifying slavery, by any means.

 

[dennis99ss]

While it might be viewed by some as a racial statement, it is actually one of a part of this country's history that some people would rather have cleaned from our past. It stands for a southern pride, tradition, and states rights vs. government rights. Further, the flag which you refer to is the battle flag, and not the formal states flag.

Italians fly the Italian flag. Mexicans fly the Mexican flag......in San Antonio no less......Why can't southerns fly the Confederate flag.

I am sorry to those who feel uncomfortable of it, but, the confederacy is as much a part of this country as is MLK. Not meant as a racial statement, but simply as an indication that when political correctness becomes involved, similarities are lost.

 

[FranP]

I always think of that scene in Gone With the Wind, when Scarlett tries to find Dr. Meade to help her deliver Melanie's baby. It's at the train station in Atlanta, and the scene just gets bigger and bigger and wider and wider and shows hundreds and hundreds of dead and dying soldiers, with the torn and battered Confederate flag flying. It always makes me feel such sorrow for the lives lost = NO politics, just loss.

 

[mamajoan]

Originally posted by dennis99ss
[B

I am sorry to those who feel uncomfortable of it, but, the confederacy is as much a part of this country as is MLK. Not meant as a racial statement, but simply as an indication that when political correctness becomes involved, similarities are lost. [/B]

before I set up the soap box... could you please explain this statement?


also nowhere in this thread have I read that no
one should fly the confederate flag....only have read what people feel when they see that flag displayed...

 

[IMGONNABE40!]

Yes, everyone should display whatever flag they wish to display. This is the good ole US of A afterall, and too many of our young citizens are dying for us to debate whether someone should fly the flag of their choosing.

I started this thread to feel the pulse regarding the motivation behind flying this flag. I wanted to make sure that I was not off base in my thinking. To be honest, I appreciate the warning. It is the hidden racists I fear the most. Though after reading through this thread, I understand that not all of the folks who fly this flag are racists who may do my family harm.

I truly appreciate you Southerners who posted to let me know that the flag's meaning goes deeper than the stereotype of "racist redneck".

 

[Grog]

To me it means narrow minded bigots... on both sides of the argument.