If you are brave, read on. I can pretty much guarantee that
this entry will not turn out the way you think it will, so if you are going to
read any of it, please read it in its entirety. I guess the reason I actually
decided to write this entry was for selfish reasons. I said something on
Facebook about how I don’t like the Confederate flag, and my cousin promptly
deleted me from his friends list. I didn’t say anything rude. I simply said
something about it being a shame that so many people are waving it around. We
never had an argument about it. I never called him names. I never said anything
about not liking that he likes the flag. Nothing. Normally, I guess I wouldn’t
care if a family member didn’t want to be friends with me on Facebook, because
I’d still likely see him/her in person on a regular basis anyway, so we could
keep in touch in other ways. But this cousin lives in Nebraska, and technically
we’re no longer family, because my mom divorced his uncle years ago. When my
mom and his uncle divorced, he always told me that we’d always be cousins, no
matter what. Once family, always family. Besides that, he was one of my best
friends for a long time. With him living in Nebraska, he’s very far away from
me! So literally there’s pretty much no way for me to keep in touch with him
anymore, except over Facebook. So I have to say, I was pretty upset and hurt by
him deleting me – much more than I probably should’ve been. I felt like it was
a giant slap in the face – as if, since our beliefs are different, he was
firing me from his family. And now I’ll likely never hear from him again. But
there’s something I wish he knew about the statement I made, which I will never
get to tell him, and I guess that’s why I’m writing this, because that’s how I
get things out: I write. I especially write about my opinions, as if anyone
actually cares what one person in this world thinks. But it makes me feel
better, so I’m going to write this, in hopes to clear up any views on the
subject and try to make people be a little more understanding about this
subject and anything else like it.
First, I’ll go ahead and be the first one to tell you I
don’t like the Confederate flag. Why? Because I grew up in the deep south. As a
kid growing up here, I was taught that that flag was racist – that only
rednecks who hate black people wave it around. I guess I might have changed my
perspective on it if so many people hadn’t reinforced that. Every time I ever
spoke to anyone who had those flags all over their houses, cars, etc, they were
very openly racist. They threw the “N-word” around all over the place without
caring who heard. They very openly spoke about black people as if they are less
than human. One guy even shamed me for having a black boyfriend one time. I
will never forget him telling me “Well, it’s not ok for you to date a black
guy, but have you had sex with him?” As if it was any of his business, I told
him no, because I was a virgin, and he replied with “Well, at least you haven’t
had sex with him. That would be unforgivable!” I’ll never forget that. So, due
to these experiences and what I’ve been taught throughout my childhood about
the flag, you can’t really blame me for feeling the way I do. I’m not
uneducated. I’m not ignorant. And as a lot of people who defend the flag claim,
I do not “need a history lesson.” It has nothing to do with that. Like a lot of
people who agree that they don’t personally like the Confederate flag, I know
my history, and I still don’t like the flag, based on personal views and experiences
with people who defend it. I don’t look at it as a symbol of my heritage.
Honestly, I don’t really care about southern heritage, especially since my
southern heritage is very racist! (To me, I’m more embarrassed by my racist
southern roots than proud.) I care that I am an American. And if I’m going to
wave a flag, it’s going to be my country’s flag. And that’s just my personal
belief. I realize not everyone shares that belief, and I’m not really worried
about that. Everyone has a right to view things in their own light.
While the Rebel flag may have not been the actual battle
flag for the south in the Civil War, it was apart of the war, so that’s good enough
for me. That being said, remember that the Rebel flag was on the LOSING side of
a war that was fought for states’ rights to own slaves. That’s what gets me. This
war was literally fought, because the south was mad at the north for wanting to
abolish slavery nationwide. While there
were other issues that were the purpose of the war, slavery was the big thing.
That was the main goal and the main cause for the war. Furthermore, this flag
was on the side of a war that took up arms against its own country. That’s
TREASON. If anything, I would think that people would be against the group of
people who committed treason against their country. I know I am! You can’t fly
the American flag with pride and then turn around and also fly the Confederate
flag. Either you love your country, or you love the traitors of your country. And
this flag is not just a symbol of a LOSING slavery-crazed team that committed
treason against my country. This flag has been adopted by pretty much every
racial hate group in America, including the KKK. Forgive me if I don’t
understand why anyone would want to wave it around with pride on the premise
that it’s in celebration of their heritage, when all of these other hate groups
are waving around the exact same flag on the premise of white supremacy. That’s
like me waving around a swastika to show my German pride. The swastika was a
completely unremarkable symbol back before Hitler adopted it, and now everyone views
it as a symbol of racial hatred and genocide. I wonder how much everyone would
hate me and look down on me if I waved that around based on the premise that I
have “German pride.”
I was checking out an article online called “America
Urgently Needs a History Lesson about the Confederate Flag” by Charles D.
Ellison, and I wanted to share something a commenter named Walter Cox said
perfectly: “Though the flag was rejected as a symbol of the Confederate
government, (General Lee did adopt it as the battle flag of the Army of
Northern Virginia,) it was created by white supremacists who supported the
institution of slavery as necessary to the economic well-being of the south.
The Confederate states seceded from the United States of America, because they
were willing to defend the institution of slavery with their lives. [The
Confederate flag] is specific to the Civil War period and has no roots in the
history of the south before that time. Since the Civil War, the Confederate flag,
along with other symbols of the Confederacy, have been used by the Ku Klux Klan
and other white supremacist groups, because the historical meaning of the flag
is in alignment with their ideals.
Think of it like this too. A friend of mine, Graeme
Monahan-Rial, actually brought this concept up to me as an example: Think of a
rainbow. What do you immediately think of? It’s likely that, especially after
recent events, you thought about gay rights and the rainbow flag. Now, if you
are a Christian, it’s likely you’ve heard of what the rainbow is supposed to
represent in the Bible. It’s outlined in the story of Noah’s Ark, where God sends
Noah and his family a rainbow to promise to never destroy the earth by flood
again. But Christians who do not agree with marriage equality don’t generally associate
a rainbow with the rainbow presented in their Bible; rather, they associate it
with gay rights. Why? Because the gay community has taken the symbol of the
rainbow and turned it into a symbol for gay rights, so that’s what everyone
associates it with. So since that symbol has been changed, Christians who are
against gay rights don’t typically like that symbol, even though, for them, it
originally symbolized something special in their holy book. The point is,
symbols change when they are adopted by certain groups of people. In the case
of the Confederate flag, it has been adopted by all kinds of racial hate
groups, including the KKK, so it’s hard for a lot of people to keep from
associating that flag with racial hatred.
You might say, “Well, it’s a flag. Nothing more. Why is
everyone getting so upset and offended over a silly flag? People get offended
by everything these days! It’s just a symbol, and it’s not like it can actually
do anything to oppress other people. PEOPLE oppress people, not their symbol.”
Ok, I get it. I really do. But symbols are important to many people. Clearly
it’s important to the wavers of the Rebel flag, because, in their eyes, it
symbolizes something that’s important to them – their southern heritage. Otherwise,
why would they jump to defend it so vigorously? It’s just as important to them
as it is offensive to people who don’t agree with it. Why do you think so many
people get upset when other people stomp on the American flag? It’s just a
symbol, right? Nothing to get worked up over? Well, it symbolizes our country. When
people stomp on the American flag, it’s infuriating, because it’s like stomping
on all the people fought and died for our freedom. So by the logic of “Well,
it’s just a flag,” the American flag is also “just a flag,” and no one should
get upset when other people desecrate it. Also, why do you think so many men
around the world spend thousands of dollars on a silly ring that is worth way
less than what its sells for? Because it’s a symbol of their undying love and
devotion to their soon-to-be wives. Obviously, symbols can really mean
something to a lot of people. Symbols can be pretty powerful too. Not only can
they empower the group they belong to, (That’s the reason for such symbols in
the first place,) but it can also discourage the party that feels victimized.
Imagine if your husband or wife divorced you. Would you want to look at your
wedding ring every day? The ring won’t do anything to you. The ring can not
physically harm you. But it’s the emotional aspect that will take a toll on
you, because that ring symbolized your marriage and your mutual love between
you and your spouse who broke that promise to you. If you wouldn’t want to look
at that symbol all the time, what makes you think black people want to be
subjected to looking at a flag that constantly reminds them of their oppressed
and enslaved ancestors, and that reminds them that there are STILL racial hate
groups in the world today?
Look, I’m not saying I’m really offended by the flag. I’m
not. It’s annoying to look at when it’s all over place all the time, especially
now that it’s become so popular, but in my eyes, it just gives everyone else a
hint about who these flag-wavers are as a people, whether or not that view is
completely judgmental or wrong. But, if you’re one of these people, that’s what
you’re putting out there and the impression you’re giving a LOT of people.
Again, I’m not going to say I’m offended by the Rebel flag, because I’m really
not. It’s more just annoying than anything else, but it’s not even my business
if someone else is waving it around. I just choose to use my beliefs about this
as a guideline for how I personally live my own life – Rebel flag-free.
But I do have something that I wish my cousin knew about
this. I would fight for his right to wave that thing around like the world
would end if he didn’t. Because that’s what makes our country free – We have the
right to do as we please. His right to have that flag posted outside of his house,
or to post a photo of it on his Facebook page, is protected by his freedom of
expression under the U.S. Constitution. I would ALWAYS fight for my cousin’s
right to express himself in any way he sees fit. Heck, if we are allowed to
stomp on our own country’s flag, we should have the right to wave the
Confederate flag if we want. As long as we are not infringing on someone else’s
rights or harming/endangering someone else, we should be free to do what we
please. That is what our Constitution allows, and that is what makes this
country so great – the fact that we can do what we want. So my cousin should be
allowed to “show his southern pride,” (even though he’s not a southerner,) by
waving around the Confederate flag. Yes, it might annoy some people. Yes, it
will likely offend about 80% of the country. No, I don’t think it’s nice. No, I
wouldn’t do it myself, because I don’t want to be associated with the KKK or
any other hate group, and I don’t want to affiliate myself with a losing team
that committed treason against my country for the sole purpose of maintaining
their slaves. But everyone has the right to do it if they want, and I would
fight to no end for my cousin to maintain that right. And I really wish he knew
that.
Now, of course, that being said, I don’t think it’s really
the best idea for government buildings to display, because those are government
grounds, and it’s kind of hard to believe that the government would fly a flag
that, to a lot of its own people, represents slavery and treason. It’s not
about destroying history, forgetting it, or pushing it behind us. It’s about
putting history where it should be – in museums and history books. It’s not
about taking away people’s right to do as they please, (or at least it
shouldn’t be.) It’s not about censoring people or making them feel bad about a
personal choice they make. It’s not about people being “ignorant” or “needing a
history lesson.” A lot of highly educated people who know their history, yet
there are plenty of people who stand on both sides of this debate. It’s about
being respectful to the 80% (-ish) of America who are highly offended by the
flag, whether it’s silly to be offended or not. Obviously, these people have
some kind of standing, or that many people wouldn’t be offended. Charles D.
Ellison says it best in the same article I mentioned above: “Does classifying
the Rebel flag as treasonous then mean that we should convict private
organizations and citizens for promoting their proud southern heritage through
front-yard Confederate flags and bumper stickers? Probably not. But just as
none of us would want enemies of the state like ISIS, also known as the Islamic
State group, pimping vanity plates for their cause, we should also be drawing a
hard line against state-approved or -funded symbols of a hateful cause that nearly
destroyed a nation and enslaved every black citizen within it.” However, even
though I don’t think it is really the best idea to wave the flag over a
government building when a lot of those government’s citizens view it is a
symbol of racial hatred and treason, that doesn’t mean I don’t think every
individual should maintain their right to wave the flag, put it up on their
front lawns, stick it on their cars, etc. America is all about freedom, and the
only way for us to be free is if we can do whatever we decide to do (unless it
infringes on someone else’s rights,) no matter who disagrees with it or is
offended by it.
PS< Stop it with the "You need a history lesson" bull crap. I think most people know U.S. history pretty well. I know I do. But depending on all kinds of factors, such as your own personal view of the world, as well as how you were raised, gives you your own personal opinion on all kinds of issues. Everyone's opinion is going to be different, but that doesn't mean the people whose views differ from your need a history lesson. It just means we all have our own unique opinions, and that's ok.
These people are in England, so do you think this has anything to do with Southern American pride? No, they chose this flag, because it's in alignment with their beliefs of white supremacy.
For some comedic relief.
