Posted on 06/01/2006 9:07:55 AM PDT by stainlessbanner
Last month, Ithaca High School administrators sent a letter home with students, informing their parents that the flag of the Confederacy had been banned. Ithaca High School students can no longer display the emblem on belt buckles, t-shirts, or anywhere else while on school property. Apparently, the students wearing their Dixie Outfitters t-shirts, in a proud nod to our country’s better half, were white. It is unfortunate that civil liberties apply only to those in privileged groups, such as blacks or Hispanics.
Because the United States Supreme Court has ruled in favor of protecting the freedom of speech exercised in displaying the stars and bars, Ithaca High School had to claim that the flag was creating some sort of disruption in the school that hindered the educational process. No specific instances were mentioned in the administration’s letter.
I found the claim interesting, though, because, were it true, it would clearly indicate that racism is much more of a problem in Upstate New York than in my hometown in Southern Virginia. To think that racial hatred could be stirred up by a high school student’s belt buckle is frightening, indeed. The school’s objection to the battle flag is even more astonishing considering the fact that only 6.7% of the population of Ithaca is black. But apparently the race wars here are far more intense than in my hometown, of which 13.34% of the population was black. And yet, in my public high school, where displays of the confederate flag were common on car bumpers, t-shirts, or belt buckles, and where a significant minority of the student body was black, and even in a state that historically had supported slavery, the flag was never accused of disturbing a classroom, much less of inciting racial hatred.
Ithaca’s black population is proportionately only slightly more than half that of the United States. This is an unusually white city. And apparently race relations here are in such tension that they can be upset by a kid’s t-shirt. Schools in the South, much less segregated, are clearly more at ease and have put issues of racism farther behind them;thus, students there can better appreciate the historic and cultural value of the Confederate flag. It leads one to wonder on which side of the Mason-Dixon Line racism is still prevalent today.
The Confederate flag is not—and was never—a representation of the institution of slavery. The North, in an attempt to glorify its states’ fight to suppress the South’s effort to free themselves from the North’s exploitation, has oversimplified and at times even falsified history by painting the War of Northern Aggression as a war fought over issues of morality. Children in Northern schools are never made aware that there were no more abolitionists in the North than in the South.They are never taught that the North never claimed to want to abolish slavery but merely to stop its expansion to ensure that the free states would not be outnumbered in Congress. Many Northerners do no even know that the majority of Southerners who fought and died in the Civil War did not even own slaves.
In accordance with their favored depiction of the Civil War as a moral battle in which they fought for good while the South defended evil, the North has emphasized the issue of slavery while allowing the issues of representation in national politics, economics, and regional identities which primarily caused the war to recede into the background. Erased from history are the values of self-government, freedom, and honor that led Confederates to fight to preserve their home. This is what the Confederate flag represents, and this is why it is still of the utmost importance to Southerners today. It is why black Southerners will proudly call themselves Southern and will fly the Confederate flag. The South is, above all, a cultural entity. Southerners have a dramatically different culture from Northerners; this culture of chivalry, modesty, graciousness, and hospitality is represented by the stars and bars, and it must be remembered and preserved.
If the Confederate flag has in fact caused the feelings of ill will in Ithaca High School that the administration claims, the blame must fall on the administration itself. No Southerner would be so naive as to equate the Confederate flag with support of slavery. It is a failure of Yankee schools that children are not taught the broad scope of economic, political, and even cultural factors which led to the Civil War but are only presented with a gross caricature of a war between good and evil.
Even more frightening than this restriction of freedom of speech in Ithaca High School is what has caused this common misunderstanding of the Confederate flag. In perpetuating their myth of the North as the force of good in the Civil War, the North has revised history in a way that should frighten all Americans. An emblem of a group of people’s heritage and culture has been banned because others have formed prejudices and misconceptions about it. Moreover, these prejudices and misconceptions are fueled by the public school system itself. By banning the Confederate flag, the state attempts to erase from memory the Civil War. To forget that Americans in the past were capable of such atrocities as slavery robs us of the lesson that can be learned and leaves us dangerously vulnerable to repeating past mistakes.
If the Confederate flag calls to mind slavery, and schools wish to erase from common memory all remnants of this dark period in American history, why stop at the flag? Perhaps next, Ithaca parents will receive letters requesting that their children be sent to school clothed in only synthetic fabrics because cotton was once produced through the slave labor of blacks. Or, in order to really be free of uncomfortable memories of our national history, maybe Ithaca High School will ban all black students from school property.
Must Read from junior at Cornell.
I have seen that over and over again in public school districts. Oakland, CA (80+ % black) is much more tolerant than lily-white Portland, or Seattle ( < 4% black).
But then gliberals are never more happy than when fighting a battle - preferably one that has been won in advance and doesn't really require any effort.
Wonder how the kids at Robert E. Lee High School in Tyler, Texas ever get educated, being reminded everyday when they enter the campus and are greeted by that name? Guess they're just not as enlightened as the Ithaca bunch.
HAHA
There goes the credibility of the author's effort.
Spoken like a true liberal.
I wonder if Mexican-Americans (legals) are offended by the Texas Flag?............
This is astonishing. No, not the notion that the antebellum South was being exploited by the North (that's what Reconstruction was for), not even the notion that racism thrives in the North today (Boston riots? Say, what?). No, the gobsmacked fact is that there is a conservative in Ithaca. WTF?
Abolish government schools and the problem disappears.
Odds are, no one at this school would recognize the Stars 'n Bars. Hint: It ain't the notorious Battle Flag...
They were offended by the original name of Houston's new Major Soccer League franchise.... Houston 1836... So much so that the name was changed.
The ones in Houston are apparently offended at any recognition of the importance of 1836 (the year the city of Houston was founded and also the year Texas won its independence from Mexico).
Abolish government schools and the problem disappears.
_______________________________________________________
No doubt about it. It's long past time that these festering grounds for illiteracy and prole-creation be gone!
I wonder why the Brits haven't insisted that the NBA franchise in Philadelphia change its name. Oh, because they know better.
Not by all. I took this photo at the Decoration Day event that I attended this past Sunday.
I did catch that minor error in an otherwise great piece.
Thanks for sharing that Decoration Dady picture.
...a very disturbing article, actually.... I lived half my life in Upstate New York (no, not Hillary's Westchester County "upstate"- the the REAL Upstate New York), and half my life in the Commonwealth of Virginia. All we ever learned in our New York public schools about the (mis-named) Civil War that it was fought to free the slaves. Rubbish; pure and simple. Even down here in God's Country, that's pretty much what you hear ("Misser Lincoln? He free' da slaves...!") and so forth.... No, the Confederate Battle Flag, which was never officially adopted by the Confederate States of America, never was and never will be a sign of racism. One thought might help: "they" represent but 13 per cent of the population, but account for 90 per cent of the BMC (Bitchin', Moanin', an' Complainin') that goes on in this country.....!!!
Paging City Of Evil...
city of evil ping
Everything that perpetuates this terrible and unnecessary system of forced government "education" is disturbing to me.
The "problem" in question is a symptom of the problem, not the actual problem.
The flag represents a rebellion that was put down. If the starts and stripes aren't good enough and one doesn't want to be part of the USA then I suggest taking the confederate battle flag along as the person leaves to find a country they can support and be proud of.
For black people the confederate flag represents the American south of the 16th - 19th centuries which is where slavery was institutionalized and cemented as part of the culture. A black man who waves the confederate flag is simply and ignorant fool. There never was a need to propagandize the confederate battle flag and associate it with slavery, the fact that it was carried into battle by slave owning states that rebelled against the union is association enough.
The rebellion wasn't based only on a desire to continue the institution of human slavery in the USA but state's rights, economic issues and others like the author states but black people see the flag and know who carried it. Men who owned, sold, traded, beat, raped, exploited, and dehumanized thier great great grandparents. Unfortunately for those who warmly reminisce about and associate with that particularly unsuccessful rebellion, this association will always exist.
"...There once was a young Senator from Mass.
who wanted a strange piece of a**.
When he had found it,
he went out and drowned it.
Now, that's what we really call class....!!"
Back around 1980, Robert E. Lee High School dropped their football game tradition that involved running on to the field, unfurling a huge Confederate flag. Although I personally don't identify with the Confederacy (the only ancestors I had in this country then were American Indian), I thought it was a shame then, and do now.
In my opinion, the divisions were strengthened by the move. Rather than demonstrating true inclusion and tolerance, the school lost a tradition due to arbitrary perceptions. The history of Texas could have come to be "owned" (is that a term that dates me, or what?) by all the students.
free dixie,sw
I agree that Confederate symbols should be banned from public school property IF all symbols are banned; political, societal, educational, cultural, etc.
The Confederate flag is not—and was never—a representation of the institution of slavery
The Confederate flag at issue was/is a Battle Flag.
Slavery became the issue in 1863, two years after the start of the war, when disHonest Abe rapidly began losing support to re-colonize the South.
Or, in order to really be free of uncomfortable memories of our national history, maybe Ithaca High School will ban all black students from school property.
Actually, the white students should be banned since whites are the oppressors.
Well.. true. BUT remember, slavery in 'this nation' (USA) only existed from 1787 to 1865, or 78 years. Ergo all this talk of 400 years of slavery in 'America' is hogwash as for the other +/-322 years it was legally done under this flag:
However, the problem for the reparations & race pimps is that their Reparations Lawsuit in British courts for 'damages' was dismissed outright a few years back because as the court ruled - slavery was legal (I LMAO with that).
So now we're the only suckers left.
What Nation?
HAHA
There goes the credibility of the author's effort
You must be a graduate of Ithaca High School.
TOUGH TEAM every year & NOT a Friday night that we "look forward to", either!
otoh, it "does my heart good" to see/hear the student body screaming the REBEL YELL throughout the games (even when the TIGERS are LOSING!), especially since there are so many NON-white students doing just that!
free dixie,sw
I lived in a town that played Tyler Lee also, we didn't look forward to those football games either. We could always beat them in baseball though.
did you learn that silly BILGE as a "victum uv duh gubmint apruved publick screwl sistim"????
free dixie,sw
don't you know that "HS football in TX is not the main thing-it's the ONLY thing!" (lol)
which is YOUR team????
free dixie,sw
....now, take it easy...! don't let your blood pressure go through the roof...! this fellow probably has no clue that there were blacks who fought for the Confederacy, too...! and that some of the worst race riots ever seen in this country took place "up Nawth" and NOT down South; some folks have a way of fergittin' these little facts of life... there are plenty of articles available that document the terrible treatment of free blacks in the New England states before and during The War of Northern Agression, too. No, there probably won't be too many black folks who will wave the Confederate flag (the original "Stars and Bars" was NOT the Confederate battle flag...!), but there are a helluva lot of white Southerners who take a lot of pride in their Southern heritage....and rightly so....!!
*********
HAHA
There goes the credibility of the author's effort.
The U.S. flag of that period is the one which is emblematic of slavery. After all, it flew from the topmasts of the many slave ships and above U.S. port cities where Africans were sold into slavery long before the war.
I think the author's allegations about the Union states' self-glorifying efforts might've been correct up until the 1960s. Since then, white liberal guilt is the motivating force. They are ashamed that slavery, as an institution, ever existed in this nation. The most convenient way to assuage those pangs of guilt is to take it out on anything "Confederate".
Pretty shallow thinking, if you ask me. But then again, we *are* talking about the political left.
Wow, that makes you angy doesn't it. Touches a little nerve?
The facts are the facts and perception is everything.
I learned in school that the civil war was mainly due to states' rights issues, economic exploitation and inequality as the nation's economy moved more towards industry and away from agriculture. Slavery had a part in that because that was the life blood of the plantation system, without slave labor they wouldn't be able to compete with the North's industrialized economy. If they couldn't use thier slaves as part of the census to establish representation they were losing out in political power because the more and more concentrated populions in the North were recieving a percieved unequal amount of representation in Congress.
With all that said, the people who carried the confederate battle flag were in part slave owners and in majority supporters of the institution. You can spin it any way you want but a piece of Sh*t on a silver platter still stinks. The confederate battle emblem represents a rebellion that was put down, defeated and ended badly for those who participated. It was and is a symbol of human slavery, a practice as repugnant as pedophelia, rape, and murder (which were considered ok to commit against one's property). I suspect that those who refuse to see this, like yourself would probably welcome the practice again if they could get away with it.
When you drive down the road with your confederate flag bumper sticker this is what most people think "Dumbass racist redneck"
If you don't like it and it you get angry when people point the truth out to you then take it off and put up the starts & stripes. That is the flag of the country you live in, the country that exists today, the country that put down the rebellion and allowed, for a time black men to participate in the government process for the first time. I know you hate the image "spades" having power over the white man but I thought I'd put it in your little head one more time.
We lived in Marshall, TX for 11 yrs. Our 2 youngest boys went to HS there.
And when you drive down the road with your hammer and sickle bumper sticker most people think, "left wing commie fag."
But that's exactly why the liberals fight so hard to keep the government's education monopoly.
As a good southern gentleman I must state that any history taught by yankees is merely self serving drool. The fact of the norths victory is built upon the corpses of irish immigrants, which were detested by the good burgers of NY who would hire an immigrant to serve his draft notice. If the north did not have an unending supply of irish, swedes, norwegian, et.al stream of immigrants they would have had to sue for peace by 1863. As long as the north made money on the war with others doing the dying they were happy. The fact of the matter you could buy an irish man to serve in your stead for around $250, while to buy a slave in either NC or Delaware the going price was $3,500. I think if you really want to talk about the morality of the Civil War a good place to start would be the immigrant ghettos of New York, Boston, and Philidelphia.
That's part of your problem right there: the fact that you think it was a rebellion - it was not. It was a secession - legally passed by elected legislatures and legally signed by elected governors. The illegal actions were all on the part of the US central government.
Sorry, went to college in Aggieland and like I said, perception is everything.
confederate flag = scared redneck - That's the perception
I'm a Christian conservative man, probably more conservative than you in many ways.
"left wing commie fag."
Very nice, and very telling of your mindset. It's scared old KKK left overs like yourself that give conservatism a bad name and keep feeding ammo to the MSM.
I agree with most of what the rebellion was about, except for the aspects tied to slavery. But, it was a rebellion and it was put down. It is queer that whenever this issue comes up those caught up in the love of the rebellion never actually state how repugnant slavery was, they shift the focus away and talk about how some black people fought for the south or how many more black people are in prison than white people. Or they just call you a liber commie fag.
States rights should be restored and the govt. decentralized.
Free speech, I'm all for it, say what ever racist dumbass statements you want. I'll be laughing at you with the rest of the people as your Chevy POS with its lift kit and "Dixie will rise again" bumper sticker struggles down the road.
2nd Amendment - Everyone should excercise this right before it's taken away.
Immigration - do it legally and bring something useful into the country. Employers should be fined out of business and welfare benefits should be cut off immediately.
I'll bring you up to date:
"The history of Texas could have come to be "Pwn3d" by all the students.
I agree in part, but perception is everything. It was perceived as a rebellion, and put down as such. The triumphant write the history books.
Personally, I think a state should be able to seceed, it would have been more likely back then with a less powerful central govt. and I wish states had more power to do what the citizens in a particular state want for that state today. Those days are long gone unfortunately.
"The Confederate flag is not—and was never—a representation of the institution of slavery. The North, in an attempt to glorify its states’ fight to suppress the South’s effort to free themselves from the North’s exploitation,
HAHA
There goes the credibility of the author's effort."
Several years ago, while idly sufing the web, I ran across some Civil War sites, and was absolutely astounded to find out that more than 9,000 free black men fron the South fought in the ranks of the Confederate army. Confederate General James Longstreet credited their efforts with allowing the Confederacy to prolong the war by a year or more.
Evidently the very first unit to respond to Jefferson Davis' call for troops was the 1st. Louisiana Native Guard; frre black men from New Orleans.
Bet you, like myself weren't taught any of this in school. The victors write history.
Newbie, I've been on these WBTS threads for years and I haven't met any Southerner that defends slavery. OTOH I and my ancestors have been called traitors who should have been shot and hanged. The modern revisions that are described in the above article are meant to do exactly what the author says: paint the WBTS as the war between the good guys - North - and the bad guys - South over one issue - slavery.
What is really queer, to use your word, is the moral high ground that some attempt to grab over that issue. No one defending the precious North has ever shown any of us that the reason the North went to war was to end slavery. It wasn't even on the list. The North, tyrannically, went to war to preserve the Union.
I recall that they changed their nickname from Rebels to Raiders(?) a few years back.
Alas not even Tyler is immune.
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