[bvw]

Look, lifetime slavery was a abomination. The indentured servitude it subsumed was reasonable, livable -- but that lifetime slavery made a mockery of human respect for fellow humans. It was a black man who first sued in court to make his indentured slaves, slaves for life. He won. That became a very bad thing and black African descendants suffered great prejudice and pain because of that -- the horrors of lifetime slavery telescoped onto descendants of black Africans and whites seems to have been kept out of that terrible oppression.

There is no denying that many southerners were racist -- so were many NORTHERNERS and the racism of the northerner, to my view, is the worst and continues in our day. Few men of the South to my experience fail to have great respect to any man of any race once he proves himself. Whereas in the north you will find -- especially among liberals -- a well-hidden far deeper racism where they can almost never accept a man who is of the wrong race or class no matter how well he proves himself.

But what that rebel flag stood for -- to a far far greater degree than any base racist sentiment -- was State's Rights. A noble cause.

[NationUnderGod]

A misguided cause. Fighting for the right to keep human beings enslaved is not noble by any stretch of the imagination. When we were in the deep south not long ago we saw those flags flying over the capitols. And how are black Americans in those cities supposed to feel about it? It was an oppresive feeling to us who were just passing through.