Keep it quiet though... Now they're gonna wanna ban this one too....
Posted on 04/27/2006 5:53:50 AM PDT by Guard Dog
One of the most divisive symbols of the country's racist past — the Confederate flag — flew over Lake Worth City Hall on Wednesday without raising a peep of protest.
Mayor Marc Drautz, who cleared the way for the symbol of the South to be hoisted, suggested that would-be protestors may not have recognized the red-and-white-striped flag for what it was.
And, he acknowledged, that's just the way he wanted it.
When the mayor, for a second year, gave Palm Beach County members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans the go-ahead to raise a flag to mark Confederate Memorial Day, he made one demand: no Southern Cross.
Knowing that the well-known Rebel flag ignites fierce passions, he asked the commander of the 12-member group to fly one of the other flags that Southern states, including Florida, rallied around when they seceded from the Union during the Civil War.
So, shortly after 7 a.m., the Stars and Bars was raised to commemorate the estimated 258,000 Confederate soldiers who died in battle or of disease in the bloody conflict that members of the veterans group prefer to call the War Between the States.
Jimmy Shirley, commander of the county group known as Camp 1599, said he had no problem flying the more obscure symbol that served as the official flag of the Confederacy from March 1861 to May 1863.
He said he was just happy he found one elected official who agreed to let him fly a flag at all.
"These are politically correct times," he said. "There's an ongoing effort to eliminate the Confederacy from public sight."
Even though Confederate Memorial Day is a recognized state holiday, Shirley has had difficulty getting other elected officials to return his phone calls, let alone agree to fly the flag, he said.
"Certainly in West Palm Beach I felt resistance. When I left my name and told her why I was calling, I heard the edge to her voice," he said of a phone call he made to city hall last year.
Officials in his hometown of Palm Springs were equally reluctant to embrace the holiday, which is observed on various dates in 11 Southern states.
So when Drautz was amenable to letting his small group honor Confederate veterans, Shirley agreed to fly the lesser-known flag for one day and to raise it sans ceremony.
"It would be great to keep it up all month long," Shirley said, noting that April is Confederate History Month. "But little steps at a time. Maybe we can build up to that."
He said he didn't know of any other cities in the state that agreed to fly the flag over their city halls. Other chapters of his group around the state marked the day in different ways. Some placed wreaths on graves of Civil War veterans; others held private memorials.
For years, members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans in Tampa have spent the day dressed in replica uniforms and shouldering replica rifles while standing alongside a Confederate monument at the Hillsborough County Courthouse.
Such displays are described by Confederate enthusiasts as a way to remind people of lives that were lost in the South.Shirley said part of his mission is to debunk the myth that the war was about slavery.
"It was like all wars — nothing is fought over one single issue," he said. "It was over a multitude of issues — certainly prominent among them was human bondage."
But self-governance, states' rights and other issues were of equal importance, he said.
Drautz, a kindergarten teacher, said he was impressed by Shirley's knowledge.
"Usually you think of it as just a racial thing," he said. "But the guys were fighting for a lot of different reasons that had nothing to do with slavery. It's an interesting take on history."
Most important, however, Drautz's approval of the flag-flying was a way to make good on a campaign promise, he said.
"These were citizens asking to be able to fly the flag, and I said I'd support everyone," he said.
Criticism, Drautz said, just goes with the job.
"I got more complaints about the (gay) pride flag being flown."
And he was right to do so, although not for the reason he expects I think. If so many people were not utterly ignorant of history, this would have been a bigger news event, complete with screaming protests from the PC crowd. Ironicly what most consider the "Confederate Flag" or "Southern Cross" was never a national symbol of the CSA, but a version of the battle standard. The reason I found this article interesting is that the very cause of the civil war was the dispute over true "federalisim", state autonomy, and the role of the central government. That is a debate still being had today, especially with the potential overturn of Roe v Wade on the horizon.
Dixie ping
Keep it quiet though... Now they're gonna wanna ban this one too....
Prepare for the arrival of the 'secession is treason' trolls and their associates. A group that is as tiresome and even more self righteous than the 'Lincoln was a fascist' faction here at FR.
I just fly the Bonnie Blue or First National. That opens the door to conversation and education instead of anger and resistance.
Also, I know some black men who are historical reenactors. They fly the usual Confederate "battleflag," the naval jack, at educational occasions, which they call "living history". Then they explain why to the visitors, who I am told are shocked. This is in Maryland and northern Virginia.
The dolts probably thought it was a Cuban flag. Otherwise, they'd have been in high dudgeon.
There's just no reason to continue reading after the first sentence. Because the writer injects her opinion so early, any illusion of objectivity is shattered.
"Ironicly what most consider the "Confederate Flag" or "Southern Cross" was never a national symbol of the CSA, but a version of the battle standard."
Irony, indeed. Simply put, it's NOT "The Confederate Flag". As a Southerner, I care noting about flying the actual Confederate Flag because it is the flag of a defeated nation. The stars and bars more accurately represent the Southern culture which is why we call it the "Rebel Flag".
We take joy and pride in being Southern. We are proud of our little sub-cultural contribution to that larger culture which is America. Euorpe and some more northern areas of America will probably never understand. Being referred to as a "cowboy" is a compliment. You couldn't find a more rugged and individualistic symbol. We like being called "rednecks". It means we've been out doing hard work in the abundant sunshine to provide for our families. When evidence of an honest hard-day's work is fodder for ridicule, something is wrong.
We tend to be the first to come when our country calls. We do not think twice about fighting for those who would burn our symbolic flag and cast it into the garbage bin of history.
Essentially, I see the stars and bars as the southern version of "Don't Tread on Me". When you see someone flying the stars and bars, if you think more than, "There goes a southern boy", you have read too much into it.
One of the most divisive symbols of the country's racist past — the Confederate flag
The author of this piece almost certaily buys into the notion that it was all about slavery. But that was just the spark in the powder keg. Also, if the government were to suspend all or part of the constitution at some point in the future, or impliment an extra constitutional policy such as mass seizure of private land, or property, would secession, and armed insurrection be considered treason then? I seriously doubt that would ever happen but it is worth discussing.
The confederate flag should be renamed as the "flag of fools and revisionists".
No argument there. But on Confederate Memorial day it's appropriate to fly the "real" confederate flag.
THE FIRST BATTLE FLAGS by Don Troiani
November 1861, a memorable moment for Southerners. On the field near the huts of their winter quarters in Centerville, Virginia, they are presented with new battle flags of the Confederate States Of America.
The War of Northern Aggression
How pleasant, gracious, and considerate you seem.
ping
"But some 260000 men thought otherwise and gave their very lives to that cause."
Well to historically accurate, a significant portion of those men were conscripted (drafted) and didn't have a whole lot of choice in the matter.
The Confederate States of America instituted military drafts in April 1862 and the United States followed suit about a year later.
On both sides, there were men in the armies who truly believed in what they were fighting for, but as someone who had read literally thousands of soldier's letters written during the war, the overwhelming sentiment of soldiers on both sides, particularly after 1862, was that they just wanted to go home.
Here's one I don't think you'll want to miss, FRiend...
I have the Stars and Bars on my car, and very rarely is it recognized for what it is (even here in the Commonwealth of Virginia!)
"But on Confederate Memorial day it's appropriate to fly the "real" confederate flag."
Agreed. It was my intention to include that in my post. Hadn't had coffee yet, then. :)
War of Southern Rebellion.
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