The Confederate Flag: A Disturbing Trend?

Originally posted by AlreadyGone
Hey Mods...this may be a slight departure, but not reall, considering the course this conversation has taken.

Some say the Confederate Battle Flag is a symbol of racism... racists fly the flag, therefore it is a symbols of racism.

The KKK uses white sheets for outfits..and is a well known historical symbol...white sheets are used by racists..

As such, White Sheets are symbols of racism

Only racists have white sheets...so, how many clean, white sheet using "racists" are in the group now?

I think the question should be so how many clean white sheet using, who fashion those sheets into cloaks and pointy masks and burn crosses and threaten folk in their communities in a cowardly way, are in the group right now?

reply to post by sparrowstail


Well that gets to the point of the OP and the round about point I was trying to make...INTENT.

Some have white sheets and fly the rebel flag out of hate...some fly the flag and have the white sheets because they are proud of their heritage and want to sleep in a clean bed....

Intent...if we saw a white man that fit the mold of the stereotypical "redneck"...and he was getting into his pick up with a wooden cross in the back and some cans of gasoline. Would we assume he is..

A -a racist going to a cross burning
B -a Christian
C -going home to put the gas into a hand held ground auger to drill a hole to put the cross in and mount a mail box on one side facing the road

It's all about intent...

White sheets do not always equate KKK and rebel flags don't always equate racism

Almost every black person in the world will agree with the fact that the confederate flag is symbolic of oppression and racism. Weird how white southerners think it represents rebellion or freedom...

reply to post by AlreadyGone



Just the other day I saw a pick up truck with a gun rack in the window and a confederate flag sticker in the corner of the window. Also on the flag sticker it read One Love. Ever see that before? Me neither.

Just saying that symbols represent ideas and beliefs. Many people have the wrong ideas and beliefs. In fact were prolly all walking hypocrites and fallacies. This works both ways I know but you can't dismiss the wrong ideas. When every KKK member in any particular community does in fact have a Confederate flag displayed within his everyday culture then conclusions will have to be and are drawn.

Not everyone who has a peace sticker on their car is a hyppie pot smokin grateful dead head. But many are.

This thread is funny....

I am from the South, Georgia specifically.

I laugh at this thread, and the posters who cry the flag is racist, and represents the KKK, blah, blah....

heres how stupid some people are.....The KKK was created by CHRISTIAN DEMOCRATS.

DEMOCRATS/LIBERALS STARTED THE KKK.....to express their constitutional right, to be who they are.

Im not getting political, but the posts are absurd, the exact same people who call them selves democratic/liberal doen even know what that means. People against the flag dont even know what it means. People against the flag, are not even worth arguing with....

"Never argue with a crazy person, because from a distance, noone can tell who the crazy person is". Have a great day, Im off to a parade with my family of 5, and outr little american plags in hands, with my confederate flag sticker on my truck.

I sort of relate the confederate flag in my town as an outward sign of who is carrying a firearm....

So yea, Today, My AMERICAN FAMILY, will waive our AMERICAN FLAGS, and drive our AMERICAN TRUCK, to an AMERIAN PARADE, WITH OUR CONFEDERATE FLAG STICKERS, AND OUR CONCEALED WEAPON ON MY HIP.

Cause Im a Legal, Taxpaying, Gun carrying, Responsible, Sober, Diligent, Independent, Confederate Flag Carrying American father/husband living in the South and proud of my Heritage, and I am not a racist...

and i think I represent tens of thousands of men in Georgia

Originally posted by TreesusChrist
Almost every black person in the world will agree with the fact that the confederate flag is symbolic of oppression and racism. Weird how white southerners think it represents rebellion or freedom...

weird how every tom dick and harrry think they know what others think huh? fact that its symbolic of oppression and racism? think again

the flag is a part of American history. the saying "heritage not hate" holds true. the flag is hung up on my wall, no im not a southerner, i'm an American.

When people look at the confederate flag they see what symbolism they want to see. weird huh?

Originally posted by TreesusChrist
Almost every black person in the world will agree with the fact that the confederate flag is symbolic of oppression and racism. Weird how white southerners think it represents rebellion or freedom...

2/3 of the blacks in the world do not know a single thing about the confederate flag, 2/3 of blacks in the workld do not speak English, 2/3 blacks in the world dont care about our American bull#, so your attempt to be a drama queen has failed.

Your exaggerrations are silly, your over the top statement s loaded with deceit, and stinks of ignorance and a dramatic flair to present your argument regardless of facts or reality......

What else should someone expect here on this thread? Nevermind....carry, on....Ill leave instead....

Dear me, It really saddens me to see how many people here are Ignorant of their own history. Seriously people do some reading on the civil war and learn the truth about it. Not the baloney they taught in the school you went to. There are many good books on it in the library. You know what that is right. The building with the books. Not everything can be learned from the internet and utube videos you know.Take some time and learn the real causes of the civil war.

I see a few folks here who know the truth. Unfortunately they are in the minority.I was raised in the south,Tennessee to be specific.However I live and was born in the north.I have read books that detail both sides of the conflict and it's not what most of you think.

People in the north are starting to fly the rebel flag,not because they are racist but because it represents rebellion against an oppressive government. Many of them also fly the "Don't Tread On Me" as well for the same reason.In my experience it is the person who screams racism who is the greatest racist.For many it is a shield to hide their ignorance behind.

A confederate flag is deep in meaning. I do not believe it represents racism anymore. I personally believeit is meant to displays defiance against a system a leadership. Back in the day it was used in the south which was fighting to preserve slavery ( a thing the people wanted to keep) , also the south wanted to stay within the brittish rule the flag represented brittish rule...(thinking outloud, isnt BRIC trying to get into americas business, lifes?). DOwn here in texas, louisianna, the southern states alot of people have been flying the confiederate flag sense its beggining they never stopped using it. Look up the full meaning of the flag and we may be surprised it actually fits into todays situations. I do not personalize that flag to a color of skin, it represents religion, social disorders, govenrment....)
( wanna see racism? california, arizona are prime examples of racism across all races fioghting against each other for the sake of the color of their skin)
...peace out people

Once the subject of white sheets came up I had to find and post this.



And noooo they are not KKK members


They are priests in Seville Spain, the robes they are wearing are called Nazareno and they wear them during the Holy Week of Semana Santa

What it actually and historically means is small potatoes compared to what it has come to be believed to mean. I understand that the history is quite specific and honorable and not racist in any way. However the mainstream media and conspicuous consumptive culture full with its symbols and snipits is where people make up their minds.

It is all about perception. Let me share my experience...when I was young we moved around a lot, Dad was in the military (Air Force). One big example came when we lived in Florida...and I was influenced by the local culture of what was "COOL"... Then My dad was transferred again, this time to Viet-Nam...we couldn't go obviously so the rest of the family moved to Arizona, where a friend we had met when we lived in Japan was living. MY first day of school was a complete eye opener for me that changed my life forever. Got dressed that morning with the "Cool" cultural clothes from Florida...My Tight Jeans...London Fog Jacket, and polished "saddle oxford shoes"...OH yeah I was Hip...right?....wrong!!! The labels that were bestowed upon me from the locals classmates there were devastating...and have shaped my life ever since...what is cool one place is not in another..Never fell into fads ever again.

The point I am making is that you are judging one culture through the eyes of another and it never ever will be the truth. Be tolerant of others, for you have not walked in the shoes of their cultural influences and therefore know not the meanings of their worn symbols.

peace

Originally posted by xEphon
I'm curious to see if this has been happening in the places you live too. I've noticed this here in PA. I hear many people claim it isn't about racism and frankly that's just BS. The confederate flag always has and always will be about racism.

I'm not for the flag either way, but this claim is dubious. What makes it racist? Just because you say so? I find lots of things racist and offensive that I have to live with anyway. The black caucus comes to mind.

Originally posted by fireysnowman29

Originally posted by TreesusChrist
Almost every black person in the world will agree with the fact that the confederate flag is symbolic of oppression and racism. Weird how white southerners think it represents rebellion or freedom...

weird how every tom dick and harrry think they know what others think huh? fact that its symbolic of oppression and racism? think again

the flag is a part of American history. the saying "heritage not hate" holds true. the flag is hung up on my wall, no im not a southerner, i'm an American.

When people look at the confederate flag they see what symbolism they want to see. weird huh?

edit on 17-9-2011 by fireysnowman29 because: because i can

All that doesn't change what it means to black people.

Originally posted by MentalGiant

2/3 of the blacks in the world do not know a single thing about the confederate flag, 2/3 of blacks in the workld do not speak English, 2/3 blacks in the world dont care about our American bull#, so your attempt to be a drama queen has failed.

Your exaggerrations are silly, your over the top statement s loaded with deceit, and stinks of ignorance and a dramatic flair to present your argument regardless of facts or reality......

What else should someone expect here on this thread? Nevermind....carry, on....Ill leave instead....

Almost every black person in America would see that flag as a symbol of oppression and hate. There, does that make you feel better?

I know quite a few black folks from the north and the south and none of them could care less about that flag.Sweeping generalizations are never true.

reply to post by lonegurkha


If I would have said "ALL blacks in America..." , then your post would matter.

Originally posted by xEphon
I'm curious to see if this has been happening in the places you live too. I've noticed this here in PA. I hear many people claim it isn't about racism and frankly that's just BS. The confederate flag always has and always will be about racism.

The Inside Geek

Over the past few months I’ve noticed a disturbing trend developing here in my little corner of Northeast Pennsylvania. It comes in the form of a rectangular piece of cloth, crisscrossed by two blue bars, thirteen stars, and has found its way onto all sorts of things. The confederate flag, or rebel flag, has been a sensitive topic ever since the civil rights movement of the 1960s when the counter movement used it as a symbol of opposition, most notably the Ku Klux Klan.

The Confederate flag is a part of American history and heritage. It was not about racism, or even slavery. It was about the issue of free states remaining free. I won't go into the details of "federalism" but to say that the founding fathers were not federalists. Not until Thomas Jefferson and his kind through the Supreme Court (which was stacked in his favor) declared it so, giving the central government broad powers that exist today.

For a few years, the Confederate States of America was it's own nation and had a president, a congress, and even coined it's own money. It had an army and a navy. But after a very bloody war costing 150,000+ American lives on both sides was the new nation defeated.

Slavery was only one aspect of the south (CSA). Lincoln did not want to do anything about slavery himself but chose to do so because northern moral was wearing on the populace and they needed a just cause to go on. The south was winning the war up till that time and after the proclamation the tide turned in the favor of the north.

The flag of the old South is history to those who understand, not some racist symbol. People fought and died under that flag in the belief of the right of each state to be sovereign and free. The Federalists won. But the flag is about the heritage of a free and independent south.

Now I ask you. Do you like what Federalism has brought you. High taxation, federal laws that interfere with States seeking to remedy problems such as illegal immigration, abortion, gay activism, etc. Under the Confederacy, each state would have retained there rights described in the Constitution as "Free States" joined in a union for the purposes for which the Constitution was created. protect the union, interstate commerce, foreign treaties, etc. Not internal state affairs on day to day living.

So next time you look at a confederate flag, remember what it was really about.

Originally posted by redoubt

Originally posted by SG-17

Originally posted by tankerpilot
Nonsense.

Do a little research willya? The Civil War was NOT about race. It was about states rights. It wasnt until after the emancipation proclaimation that the war became about race and slavery. The confederate flag respresented a group of states that stood up to the federal government. IT HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH RACE. Get over yourself. By playing the race card in every aspect of life you prove only one thing....that you are a rascist!!!!

Oh yes, it was about state's rights.


The "right" of the Southern States to hold slaves. Don't delude yourself. The War was, from the very beginning, about slavery.

If I may, over 90 percent of those who fought for the south were dirt poor farmers who had never even seen a slave. These guys were answering the call of their country to defend what they were told was an invasion.

But... it does no good to argue this subject. Those who have rewritten history to their point of view will certainly not change it just because it is wrong.

So... do believe what you will.

The majority of were conscripts. Never mind that the entire ruling class in the south was Gentry Plantation Owners. If their economy collapsed it would also destroy the peasant farmer's economy as well. Slavery was the backbone of the entire South. They left because Lincoln was vehemently opposed to slavery. Just read their damned Acts of Secession.

The only rewriting of history here is by the Southern Apologists trying to downplay the importance of slavery in the entire war.

reply to post by SG-17


Lincoln was not opposed to slavery. Go back and read history. he did not want to involve himself in it. He only did so to use it as a tool to defeat the south. That's all. Slaves were not the backbone of the south, The south was not all a bunch of slave owners owning slaves. You need to read up more, really.