Posted on 10/19/2004 5:14:54 PM PDT by stainlessbanner
As I drove down 5th street yesterday, I spied a bumper sticker that addresses an issue I have been waiting for an excuse to write about. It was in the back window of a pickup truck, whose ability to operate I found simply amazing, strategically situated between an empty gun rack and another sticker depicting Calvin (of Calvin and Hobbes fame) urinating on "Osama" with a devilish grin on his face.
I will leave the "Osama" reference and defamation of an innocent newspaper comic strip character alone for the purposes of this article, and will concentrate on the content of the other bumper sticker. It was a simple, Confederate flag, next to which was written the words, "Heritage not Hate". Now, if I have ever read something more deserving of one of my diatribes, I cannot recall.
This statement, which for the record I believe to be sheer nonsense, speaks of an issue with which I had very limited experience before relocating to North Carolina, but an issue of importance nonetheless.
All my life, the Confederate flag was something of a joke to me. M history classes in high school and earlier had taught me that the Confederate defeat during the Civil War was a good thing, that the moral argument against slavery (espoused by the Lincoln government in Washington) was a black and white issue, about right and wrong, and that the Union triumph is 1865 was righteous.
Granted, the history I was taught spoke from a biased perspective, from the moral high ground of the abolitionists and northern intellectuals, and never really addressed the true, underlying reasons for the Civil War, which I would come to learn much later. After considering all the information I have been able to locate on the subject, after long hours of trying to understand just where the Confederacy was coming from and why they wanted to defend their way of life, I have come to a few conclusions.
Naturally, these conclusions reflect my upbringing and Northern perspective, and I am more than confident than my loyal readers will have more than a few comments of their own to contribute.
First of all, "Heritage not Hate", is an extreme cop out. Sure, the Confederate flag, displayed in the year 2004, some 140 years after the actual conflict ended, may stand for some long forgotten Southern pride issue. It may stand for the struggles that people in the Southeastern region of the United States suffered through and the wars that they fought.
It may stand for some perceived difference between the North and South, which apparently has persisted to this day, and may fondly recall the era of Southern dominance of the United States.
Woops, little mistake there. The South has never "dominated" anything. It is another region within the greater whole, just as it was then and remains so today. As for the "Not Hate" part of the bumper sticker, a more laughable statement I cannot recall. There are far too many damning coincidences that will forever relegate the Stars and Bars to the level of racist propaganda.
Why is it that hate groups all over the country, to this day, fly the Confederate flag as a symbol of their ideology. White Supremacist organizations,
, the sad, pitiful remnants of the Klu Klux Klan, along with many other neo-Nazi and racially motivated groups all include the Confederate flag amongst their symbols of worship.
Is this coincidence? Are people who fly the Confederate flag, be it in bumper sticker form or on the end of a flagpole, trying to align themselves with such openly evil and backward-thinking organizations? I don't think so. I think that people fly the flag to recall the once glorious Confederated states of America and celebrate their history, while at the same time somehow overlooking the racial implications inherent in the very symbol they hold so high.
Make no mistake. Whether you choose to recognize it or not, the fact remains the same: The Confederate flag is a racist symbol. It was during the Civil War, it remains so today. I challenge anyone to show me an African-American person with a Confederate Flag bumper sticker or "The South will rise again" written in their computers screensaver.
Is this a coincidence? You would sooner find a swastika flying outside the Israel embassy as you would a Confederate flag flying at an N.A.A.C.P rally. To me, the symbols have long been morally relative to each other. Both stand for hate, oppression, and the wanton murder and destruction of a group of people because of some perceived inferiorities. Plantation owners in the South, before and during the Civil War, treated slaves the same way they treated horses and sheep.
They were not human beings, quite the contrary. They could be bought and sold like farm equipment and with as much compassion. So to during the Nazi era in Germany; Jews were not considered people in the same way that German citizens were, therefore their wholesale murder could be justified. Anyone who cannot see the glaring similarities between the Confederate flag and the Swastika needs to pick up a history book and do some research.
If you care to display a symbol that represents the brutality and viciousness and lack of humanity that was involved in something like the slave trade, as the Confederate flag clearly does, you are entitled. The first Amendment to the Constitution allows you the freedom to display just about whatever you care to, but consider this. If you are going to fly the Stars and Bars, don't sugar coat it. Don't downplay the racial aspects and idealize the cultural aspects. They are one in the same.
Be up front and honest about your feelings. Confederacy= Hate I think would be a far more realistic bumper sticker, and as we speak I am in negotiations to have a number of said bumper stickers produced. Let us just call a spade a spade and forget about the "Heritage not Hate" nonsense. It is hateful, you know it is, and beating around the bush about it only takes away from the power of the argument. Let the responsive mud slinging commence!
it's his "publick screwl edumakashun" showing!!!!
free dixie NOW,sw
I remember the first time I heard the song, "The Bonnie Blue Flag." It was in the John Wayne movie "Horse Soldiers." It was also featured in "Gods and Generals." I like the tune a lot. I also like the flag itself, since its history goes at least 50 years prior to the War, and because of its simplicity. I think the flag, like the Gadsen flag, can stand for the traditional stands that we as conservatives take.
So your argument is that might makes right?
I thought we dismissed the idea of feudalism and trial by battle sometime in the 12th Century. I prefer a more civilized system of rights and laws.
Just another damnyankee that dosen't get it.
Nice post.
Please don't be torn. You should be proud of your yankee kin who came before you. I am.
Many of us recognize the rich American tradition and heritage for what it is when offered respectfully like your's.
We only quarrel with those self righteous (often who came after the war anyhow)who wish to tell us what we can be proud of so they can feel better about what good right thinking folks they are.
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When, where and what did you do about it?
H.K. told me that when he went & camped on the lawn of the TX Capitol with grey uniform, pup tent & LARGE CBF, that he gained "about 15 pounds" from eating all the cakes, pies, tacos,chiterlings,spring rolls,chinese food,enchiladas,pork chops,B-B-Q, turnip greens,cornbread, etc,etc,etc that "ladies of many colours, ethnic & age groups" brought him!
he told me that ONE day he got enough food to feed a platoon! (he ended up sharing his bounty with some of the "needy persons" that inhabit downtown Austin, as he didn't want to waste food.)
free dixie,sw
I am proud of them. :-) I don't know much about them, other than they were Quakers, and where they came from (southwestern England), but I know of one ancestor of mine who made a lasting contribution to my home county.
We only quarrel with those self righteous
Yeah, I am quite aware of all that. They have been either mislead, or are died-in-the-wool leftists.
His introduction to the book (1904) is an awesome read - I'll have to post it here one day. He explains his view of the war, the causes, etc.
In his account, Wharton tells how he was vacationing up north, he spent the 4th of July on a ferry. They yankees found out he was a private to the great General Lee and asked him to speak a few words. He spoke and then closed with a song: the Bonnie Blue Flag, to the crowd's delight.
Later that night the bakers gave everyone on board a small cake with an American Flag and one candle to celebrate the 4th of July. For Wharton, they made a special cake with a Bonnie Blue flag and gathered around him!
When you're dealing with rebellion then quite often is does. Had we lost the revolution I'm sure that our view of the times would be much different.
That's a great anecdote!
Why stop at one? Read them all. Read the speeches and the writings and the arguements made by the southern leaders and you will still find that I am correct. By far the single most often mentioned reason for the southern rebellion was defense of the institution of slavery against what they saw as a threat from the Republican administration.
it might UPSET & CONFUSE the damnyankees & move them away from their ignorant,southHATING,self-righteous, arrogance.
free dixie NOW,sw
Well, I would hope that we would become a bit more civilized in the past 800 years or so.
Citizens have rights. Might does not make right. If a collection of self-governing people choose to alter their form of government, that is entirely their right.
Of course, under a "might makes right" regime, the most oppressive and cruel dictator would be perfectly justified in his actions? If the United States government started imprisoning people without cause or suspended the "right" of free speech and replied, "well, we have all the tanks--what are you going to do about it?" you'd have no problem with that response? After all, might makes right....
it was NEVER adopted as an OFFICIAL flag of anything by the CS government. NONE of the battleflags that units flew were approved by anyone except the unit members.
Nobody cares? I dunno. These threads usually get up to about 3800 posts.
It wasn't US property once secession took place. If you think that the South were agressors, than why were Peace Commissioners from the Confederate Government trying to persuade the Feds to handover the fort from Dec 1860 until April 1861? If they wanted to go to war, they could have reduced it immediately. All the South wanted was to be "left alone", and Abe Lincoln wasn't about to do that. He took a course guaranteed to provoke conflict.
The governor was authorized to enroll those between the ages of fifteen and fifty.
I did "say those things"! They come from the mouths of those who were there. It seems I am continually apologizing for bring out the truth.
you don't want to confuse the damnyankees.
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