News Should the Confederate Flag be considered a symbol of heritage or hate?

[Tarheel]

Let me leave you with this.

This was a topic of discussion not long ago on another message board I frequent.
It is the Charlotte.com (My home town) message board.

Another poster put it in terms that I believe would reach you (maybe)
He is a Southern Black Man that often has insightful responses to questions such as these.

The problem here is the past. The Confederate Battle flag has been a symbol of racism for a LONG time. Much longer than it was a country. For some, the flag means fear and intimidation. For others, their ancestors faught and died under the flag. I was torn between the two for a long time. One day I went to a confederate's day celebration. I saw the pride in the sons of the confederacy and how they are about the history, not hate. That day I decided that I should control my fear about the flag. I think the Stars and Bars should fly for their ancestors in some form or fashion. In all good conscious, I cannot ban their history anymore than I want mine banned. Thier history is my history too. We are all Americans.

Here is a link to the thread
http://forums.charlotte.com/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=kr-cltissues&msg=1594.1&maxT=1

Click view results if you want to see how other Southerners feel about it via the poll.

 

[russ_watters]

And it's in this distinction that Americans are not free at all.

Huh? Canada has laws against treason as well. In fact, I'd be surprised if there was a country anywhere that did not. http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/C-46/41535.html

1) Every one commits high treason who, in Canada,

...
(b) levies war against Canada or does any act preparatory thereto; or

(c) assists an enemy at war with Canada, or any armed forces against whom Canadian Forces are engaged in hostilities, whether or not a state of war exists between Canada and the country whose forces they are.

The Confederate flag is a symbol of "lev[ying] war against [the US]".

Now listen - I'm not saying the flag should be outlawed on this basis (its not an important enough issue to be worth that trouble), but it certainly could.

Smurf, as in the thread on Cindy Sheenan's arrest, you are having a knee-jerk reaction to what you percieve as a restriction of freedom and as in that thread, you are wrong about the limits (or lack thereof, as you seem to think) of freedom.

Freedom has limits. Everywhere.

 

[loseyourname]

It stands for slavery to YOU.

To me it stands for fighting for what is right and dying if you have to, to defend those freedoms.
To you it sounds like garbage when tied to the Civil War, yet it is the exact same principle that this Nation was born under when we fought to Secede from Britain. Ah, yes... that was noble.

You lived in the south for 3 years? WOWIE!

I was born and raised there and you are now and always will be an outsider with no possibility of comprehending what it means to be a Southerner.

The bottom line... To you and many other outsiders the flag has a different meaning than it does for me and many Southerners.
The question... If it so offends ANYONE should it be banned?

If we ban everything that offends anyone what would be left?

Stop trying to make the world out of NERF and toughen up a litte sally.

Whether or not it is to be considered a symbol of slavery, Tarheel, it is a symbol of treason and of a rebellion against the United States. No state should be flying a flag that is a symbol of opposition to the US. That's like a Senator wearing an "I Hate Congress" button to work every day.

If individuals want to fly it, so be it.

 

[loseyourname]

I disagree, banning it outright is a violation of free speech, no matter what the circumstances. If people arn't free to dissent they're not free at all.

People being free to dissent is one thing. Like I said, if individuals want to fly the confederate flag, I don't care. A state government, however, should not be free to fly over its capitol a symbol of opposition to and rebellion against its own union. When that happens, we cease to truly have a union.

 

[Smurf]

People being free to dissent is one thing. Like I said, if individuals want to fly the confederate flag, I don't care. A state government, however, should not be free to fly over its capitol a symbol of opposition to and rebellion against its own union. When that happens, we cease to truly have a union.

I agree, states should not be able to fly it, but the populous should.

 

[Smurf]

Huh? Canada has laws against treason as well. In fact, I'd be surprised if there was a country anywhere that did not. http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/C-46/41535.html
The Confederate flag is a symbol of "lev[ying] war against [the US]".

The closest thing Canada has to a traitorous symbol is Louis Riel, and he's considered a hero. Maybe that explains something about my perspective...

 

[SOS2008]

Early in its history, the South's economy became focused nearly exclusively on agriculture, with tobacco being the first big cash crop, followed by cotton from the 1790s onward. Because of the large amount of labor required to cultivate cotton, the South saw a surge in the enslavement of Africans and their descendants.
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However, by the middle of the 19th century sectional differences surrounding the issues of slavery, taxation, tariffs, and states' rights led to the secession of most of the Southern states after the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860. The Southern states that seceded formed the Confederate States of America with Richmond as its capital.
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After the Civil War, the South found itself devastated, both in terms of its population, infrastructure, and economy. ...It is worth noting, though, that not only African Americans suffered in the South after the Civil War. With the region devastated by its loss and the destruction of its civil infrastructure, much of the South was generally unable to recover economically until World War II (1939 - 1945). The South was noted by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt as the "number one priority" in terms of need of assistance during the Great Depression (1929-1939), the lack of capital investment also contributed to its economic hardship.
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Symbolism of the South
Fights over the "Rebel Flag" of the Confederacy still regularly occur, and it and other reminders of the Old South can sometimes be found on automobile bumper stickers, on tee shirts, and flown from homes. On one side of the issues are groups like the League of the South, who promote the idea of secession from the United States and say they want to protect and defend the heritage of the South. On the other side are groups like the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a civil rights group which added the League of the South to its list of watched hate groups.

It is worth noting that most people in the South do not believe in either of these extremes. They instead value their heritage while also recognizing the need to continue improving race relations while also embracing the changing nature of the South.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Southern_states#History