The shooting massacre at a historically black South Carolina church last month hasreignited national debate over the Confederate flag's place in modern society. Dylann Roof, who's charged with murder in the nine shooting deaths, was seen in photos with the Confederate flag.
It's not a symbol of Southern pride. It's not a symbol of racism. It's not a symbol of slavery or hate or the stars in the sky.
Or it is. It's what you read into it. That's what a symbol is. It's whatever you read into it — from your past history, your experience, your current needs. A banana is a phallic symbol if your thoughts are tending that way; a phallus is a banana symbol if you're starving. To argue "It's a symbol of..." calls to mind the old parable of the blind men feeling the different parts of an elephant.
But indeed, a public symbol has a special demand upon it. We expect generally that it represents some basic unity among the citizens it stands before. If people have to take a vote on it, or decide according to a 60/40 poll, it's no longer a representative symbol, it's one big middle finger in front of the State House and a powerful symbol of separation.
Cheers—
Conrad
07-07-2015, 10:30 AM
forveterans49
Re: What is the confederate flag a symbol of ???
When these stories come forward on people still flying the racist southern flag it is only for one damn reason because they like the flag and what it stands for. No more talking about it---done and over!!! We are done with the racist hateful flag of the south!!!!!!
Rather than ask the WP, why don't you ask the people of the South both Black and White, you might find their answers don't conform to what you think.
You see Southerners (I'm engaged to one) live a different way than the rest of the country and I'm not talking about slavery which BTW is a much smaller deal for Southern Blacks than you think it is.
History is written by the winners and is thus complete BS. Only by careful study can one hope to understand what really happened. An example of this is I am a Sephardic Jew, and I don't hate Hitler, but I do absolutely detest Ashkenazi Zionists, and I don't consider the Ashkenazim to actually be Jewish (Neither does genetic research).
07-07-2015, 10:19 PM
wisewomn
Re: What is the confederate flag a symbol of ???
On what do you base your statement that "slavery is a much smaller deal for Southern Blacks than you think it is?"
I lived in North Carolina for seven years so I have a good idea of how Southerners live. I agree that they live differently from Californians but I can't speak for "the rest of the country." They are certainly more tribal and tradition-bound than we are in the West. A military mindset is strong there and it's almost a rite of passage for Southern males to have a stint in the military. I never met one man who hadn't served.
As for the blacks, they kept pretty much to themselves. What can you expect from a people who were terrorized for their entire history there?
The whites gave lip service to racial equality, but there was always an undercurrent of racism. Don't forget, Jesse Helms was their elected representative for way too many years.
Being engaged to a Southerner is not the same thing as living in the South. Also, he doesn't live there anymore, which speaks volumes in itself.
