Banning banner banter The Battle Flag -- and the Stars and Bars -- are racist symbols: Dump them

Creative Loafing Atlanta ^ | April 16, 2003 | John Suggs

[WhiskeyPapa]

The heritage is hate.

[Lysander]

Fly whatever flag you want.

[My2Cents]

Oh, but don't you know that the South separated from the Union because of unfair trade tariffs? That the shelling of Ft. Sumter was because that was a port of entry for foreign goods that the US gov't. slapped its onerous tariffs on? Didn't you know that Abraham Lincoln was a tyrant, an enemy of liberty, and wore women's underwear? Don't you know that the War of Northern Agression was fought with honor by the freedom-loving slave society of the South?

[My2Cents]

Fly whatever flag you want.

How about this one?

[N. Theknow]

Harry Hervey, wearing a Confederate kepi hat, and his brother, Anthony, dressed in Confederate gray, wave the Confederate battle flag at the Eight Flags display in Gulfport. The Herveys were marching with the flags in support of the Black Confederate Soldier Foundation. They want to bring attention to the fact that blacks fought for the Confederacy too. Sun Herald photo/Tim Isbell

Men say Rebel Flag flies for freedom

For an hour, the Confederate battle flag flew over the former site of the Eight Flags Display on U.S. 90. Dressed in Confederate gray, a black man named Anthony Hervey marched with the banner clutched in his hands. His brother, Harry, accompanied him, wearing jeans and a Robert E. Lee T-shirt.

Hervey's devotion to the flag began when he discovered that a great-great-uncle, James Hervey, was a black American who fought for the Confederacy during the American Civil War. James Hervey served in the Army of Mississippi and was killed at the battle of Shiloh.

Further research helped Hervey discover records of at least 100,000 black Confederates who fought in the war. "I am marching for freedom," Hervey said. "The battle flag stands for freedom and states' rights. The U.S. flag is the flag of slavery. It flew over 100 years of slavery, and Native Americans were annihilated under that flag."

For his march, Hervey chose the site where a Confederate flag once stood, one of eight representing entities that have governed the Coast. Harrison County removed the flags because of protests over the Confederate flag, a racist symbol to many, flying on the public beach.

Hervey's crusade also has taken him to Jackson. In the Jackson City Council chambers June 13, Hervey showed up wearing his battle grays, wrapped in the flag. A scuffle erupted between a Jackson man, who said he supported Hervey, and a city councilman who exchanged words, according to published reports. Hervey was not involved in the shoving match.

Hervey sees a correlation between the past and today's controversies over the flag. "We currently live under a psychological form of reconstruction," he said. "Whites are made to feel guilty for sins of their ancestors, and blacks are made to feel downtrodden. This keeps all of us from communicating. The political correctness of today is killing the pride of the people."

Hervey is the founder of the Black Confederate Soldier Foundation, an Oxford-based, not-for-profit organization. Its stated mission is to foster new thought on the Civil War. Claims that the Confederate flag is a racist symbol are, to the group, part of a nonissue. Black Confederates, the group says, have been misrepresented in historical texts.

Hervey wants to build a memorial that will include the names of the black Confederates who fought and died in the War Between the States.

As the Hervey brothers continued their march, shouts of support and anger could be heard from passing motorists. A group of young black men hanging from car windows shouted at the pair. Hervey instructed his brother to look forward "like a true soldier."

"Don't even look at them," Hervey said, citing the young men's behavior as an example of black psychology today. "They will yell a lot and want you to confront them, but they will not do anything," Hervey said.

"I found it appalling what happened in South Carolina, and I'm afraid this is going to happen in Mississippi." Hervey said. "We seek only to correct the errors in history - to right the wrongs done to the memories of these brave soldiers.

[Sam's Army]

"Didn't you know that Abraham Lincoln was a tyrant, an enemy of liberty, and wore women's underwear?"

Lincoln was also responsible for the Boxer rebellion, typhus, and the 1976-1977 Bucanneers special teams unit.

[Treebeard]

And your legacy on FR will be that of an insufferable shit stirrer, but hey, keep on posting this tripe. Summon your choir girls, now that you've cleared your throat.

By the way, who the hell cares what goes on in Georgia? Maybe the legislature DOES have more pressing things to worry about like decreasing the Georgia average tattoo to teeth ratio, which currently hovers around 5.

[Sam's Army]

"By the way, who the hell cares what goes on in Georgia? Maybe the legislature DOES have more pressing things to worry about like decreasing the Georgia average tattoo to teeth ratio, which currently hovers around 5."

Dayum......that was harsh!

[TomServo]

"Don't even look at them," Hervey said,

An outstanding idea. One that should be applied to Wlat and his never ending white-guilt trip.

[TomServo]

LOL!!! Love the tagline!!!

[Highest Authority]

"In short, it's all very Republican." .... sounds like this guy just plain hates anything Republicans do, including the insertion of the word "God". The Reb. flag is only his smokescreen.

[Treebeard]

Intentionally so. Every time the Georgia legislature farts, Wlat posts an update on the flag controversy. He's FR's answer to a question NO ONE ASKED.

His info is usually taken from the Atlanta Urinal/Constipation and runs something along these lines: "Gov Perdue, taking a restroom break from the flag debate, was observed holding his johnson with three fingers. As we all know, the three finger display has long been a covert symbol of the KKK. What, then, is Gov. Perdue trying to say here? Of course, we'll keep you updated on this breaking wind...er...news!"

[TomServo]

Another damned funny tagline!! You're killin' me!!! (Don't) Stop it!!

[Arkinsaw]

Here are some words in opposition.

RESOLUTION OF SUPPORT
DISPLAY OF BATTLE FLAGS OF THE CONFEDERACY
119TH NATIONAL ENCAMPMENT OF THE
SONS OF UNION VETERANS OF THE CIVIL WAR
LANSING, MICHIGAN AUGUST 19, 2000

A resolution in support of the display of the Confederate Battle Flag.

WHEREAS, we the members of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, condemn the use of the confederate battle flag, as well as the flag of the United States, by any and all hate groups, and

WHEREAS, we the members of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War support the flying of the confederate battle flag as a historical piece of this nation's history, and

WHEREAS, we the members of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War oppose the removal of any Confederate monuments or markers to those gallant soldiers in the former Confederate States, and strongly oppose the removal of ANY reminders of this nation's bloodiest war on the grounds of it being "politically correct," and

WHEREAS, we, as the descendants of Union soldiers and sailors who, as members of the Grand Army of the Republic, met in joint reunions with the confederate veterans under both flags in those bonds of Fraternal Friendship, pledge our support and admiration for those gallant soldiers and of their respective flags;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that we the members of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War in 119th Annual National Encampment hereby adopt this resolution. Dated in Lansing, Michigan, on this nineteenth day of August, in the year of our Lord Two thousand.

By Order of:
Danny L. Wheeler
Commander-in-Chief


Attest:
Todd A. Shillington
National Secretary

[Sam's Army]

I know Walt gets a lot of flak, bit I think a lot of folks who disagree with him are secretly happy that there is someone willing type against them for hours/days on end.

[Hacksaw]

How to post about Nazis and get away with it - the Godwin's Law FAQ

[TomServo]

Nice link...

[Arkinsaw]

but hey, keep on posting this tripe.

It certainly provides an opportunity over and over and over again to point out that not all those on the pro-Union side are foaming at the mouth politically correct fire-eaters on the subject. Including those specifically authorized by the Union veterans to speak for them.

(If anyone has Union ancestors the SUVCW has shown itself to be a patriotic organization and not a politically correct organization on this issue. It has shown a good deal of honor and bravery in speaking up on this issue with a sense of history and brotherliness. As always, they could use new members.)

[Non-Sequitur]

and the 1976-1977 Bucanneers special teams unit

Oooooh, now that's hate speech.

[My2Cents]

I'm not calling anyone a Nazi. I was simply responding to a previous poster who said, "Fly any flag you want." Clearly, it isn't that simple. Why not fly a Nazi flag? Because it represents a system and a society that repressed freedom, subjugated people based on their ethnicity, and was the flag of a nation vanquished by the US and its allies in war. It would be patently offensive to fly a Nazi flag. Some people view the Confederate flag as patently offensive as well. I don't want to equate German fascism with the Confederacy, but both represent vanquished regimes. Why fly such flags?