[dwills]

remember what south? they never succeeded in seceding, though 600,000 died in the failed treachery

i'm neither ashamed nor proud of my southern roots--since i didn't inherit any wealth from slavery or rebellion, i accept no guilt either

rather, i'm just perplexed by anyone who glorifies a history that should've shamed the actual participants

[CurlyBill]

Not sure where you got your perspective on this. This wasn't a rogue action of a few... the nation was torn in two, and you are calling half of the nation trecherous. Slaves were bought and sold under the American flag... The KKK marched under the American flag, but nobody is trying to ban it or villify any symbolism of pre-Civil War America.

The people of the south ... those with us today, are great patriots and will vote for George Bush in great numbers. The same cannot be said for the likes of Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut and Rhode Island. Am I questioning the Patriotism of the Northeast? ... hard not to when they seem to favor someone who protested with the likes of Jane Fonda. It seems to me as though it is the neo-Yankees who are still fighting the war... they just can't let it go... and they cannot accept any mention or recognition that half of America was aligned with the Confederacy.

[RobRoy]

I was indoctrinated about the war as much as anyone else here. I knew that we beat the south and freed the slaves.

As I studied the issue more and more, my mind slowly turned. I now am more convinced that it was not about slavery at all and they would have been freed even without a war. As we entered the industrial revolution, bringing mechanized farming, etc., slavery was no longer economically, nor socially, feasable.

This was a war about states rights, pure and simple.

[stand watie]

the ACTUAL NUMBER KILLED was about ONE MILLION. about HALF of those were innocent CIVILIANS.

MOST of the civilian deaths were KILLED or otherwise directly caused by the Union forces.

to quote Dr. Susan Brownmiller of Harvard University:

"The Union army raged through the southland like a pack of rabid swine,robbing, murdering,burning,torturing, RAPING & murdering whoever was unfortunate enough to be in their path. The poorest of the poor, slaves & persons of colour suffered WORST OF ALL (emphasis, mine)from the invasion."

that is FACT!

free dixie,sw