Fire just the general way of life is different in the south than it is in the north. In the south everything is laid back, the people are more friendly (for the most part), but also lazy (for the most part), and is generally less wealthy than the north. The north on the other hand has a very busy, stressful, rat race type environment where everyone seems to be competing for the best car/best house/best family. I think the rebel flag more than anything symbolizes the laid back southern lifestyle. And I doubt it's going to cause some sort of uprising so I really don't see anything wrong with it.
The problem with the flag is that it is factually connected with racism and slavery. Seeing as the people who created it fought for slavery to continue. The flag is basically the swastica of America. It's understandable why people see it as a racial smear on the country, since it was created to support such awful things.
They didn't fight for slavery.. slavery sparked the war but they fought for independence because they felt they were being bossed around by the Northern states. They lost.. but that doesn't mean they shouldn't be able to hang up whatever the hell kind of flag they want. Besides.. most of the people in the south know slavery was wrong now and no longer believe in it so the rebel flag really has nothing to do with promoting slavery anymore.
Oh.. I wasn't sure if everyone who fought in it was drafted or if some of it was voluntary too. I still think more than just plantation owners supported the south's independence. I always thought they kinda used slavery as a scapegoat for a reason to try to form their own nation while they really had other reasons to want it as well but I don't know.. I could be wrong.
Doesn't matter what it meant then, but rather what it has come to mean.
Much like the swastika. It was used in many, many cultures and in many good ways until the nazis got their hands on it and ruined it for everyone.
The facts that a) The Civil War's enduring legacy is that of slavery and b) the Confederate flag was on the side of those who supported slavery mean that they ruined it for everyone.
If you think it means pride, then it is pride in, what, 5 or 6 years of your ancestors' history?
Well it looks like I'm beat so I'm done defending it.. I don't even own any rebel flags.. hell I'm from New Jersey and my family wasn't even in this country during the civil war. I just think everyone's a little too touchy over it cause I lived in North Carolina and I know how proud southerners are of that flag (for whatever reason) and I know they aren't getting rid of it so people should be a little more open towards it. If you allow racists to use it as a symbol of hate you're only giving them power to offend people.
The over-whelming causes of the civil war were matters of federal rights v states rights. Was America to be one union, under a strong national government, or would it continue to be a loose confederation of like minded states operating on a state by state basis? Even as far back as Andrew Jackson's presidency there was a tension between the northern states and the southern states. Many Southern states had issues with federal taxes and tariffs. Jackson almost sent troops to South Carolina because a huge number of federal tariffs weren't being paid.
So, basically, (like most wars) the truely central issue was money. Southern states didn't want to pay monies that would support a central federal government that they felt would force them to live under laws that they didn't agree with. That they felt didn't/shouldn't apply to them. A key issue among them was slavery.
I live in North Carolina. I see the rebel flag quite often. And it isn't always in in the back window of a pick-up truck or on a belt buckle. There is a very exclusive neighborhood here that sits just off the highway(yes, it has it's own exit on the highway) outside of town. When you are driving to this neighborhood there is a field that sits off the side of the highway about a half a mile before you reach the exit. This field is part of the neighborhood. In this field is a solitary flag pole, with a rebel flag flying.
So, in answering the question: Is the rebel flag a racist symbol? I guess the answer lies in the intent behind it's display. The flag flying in that field serves as a reminder that black people aren't welcome in that neighborhood, or on their golf courses, in their grocery stores. In all the years I've been going to visit my grandparents there, I've never seen a black person in that neighborhood. So, I guess the message has gotten across.
Conversly, I dated a guy once that had a belt buckle with this flag on it.
In my opinion, the legitimate reasons for the civil war are one thing. But, beginning with the war and ever since, this flag has been considered a symbol of repression and slavery. Take the swastika for example. The Nazis used it as a symbol for their third reich...a muderous, racist institution. Now, the swastika is over 3000 years old. Would anyone here who is saying that people need to calm down about the use of the rebel flag walk around with a swastika flag in the back window of their car? Or wear one on their belt buckle?
I doubt it.
Maybe it's just me but I think the swastika is on a different level then the rebel flag because of the amount of jews that were killed during the holocaust. But I do think that people should calm down about the swastika too. I'm not saying wear it on your belt buckle but I just don't see the point in getting offended by a flag, even if the people who use it are intending to offend you. If everyone calmed down and just ignored shit heads who still boast a swastika the swastika would lose all it's power.
Oh, don't get me wrong. I'm not offended by it. I'm not black. Nor am I offended by the swastika. When you get right down to it, I'm a facist. As for the flag, Ive found that it is most often displayed so proudly by the ignorant minority that still believes that the south will rise again...what ever that means, I mean, they got slapped down eventually.
I was actually thinking about this thread on my way home from work last night. I was behing a guy in a pick-up truck that had three stickers on his bumper. One was a confederate flag in the shape of a flying bird with the words "free bird" emblazzoned on it...I can only assume that it was reffering to the song. The next was an NRA sticker and the third was a length of rope tied in a noose. I considered passing him so he could follow my HRC sticker for a while, but my exit came up.