Majority sees Confederate battle flag as symbol of pride

Here's what I see as the big difference between the battle flag of the Army of Northern Virginia and endlessly compared flag of Nazi Germany:

The Nazi flag was frozen into history as the symbol of military aggression and genocidal racism because Germany has no 1st amendment. Nazi symbols are banned, effectively locking out the possibility of any benign meanings to emerge. The Confederate flag, on the other hand, was not similarly locked into its role as a symbol of treason and slavery, due to our codified freedom of speech.

While there is no denying that it is in certain quarters used to symbolize racial hatred, during the 150 years since the Civil War it has accrued many benign and sentimental meanings for millions of Southerners. I, for one, think there is something deeply unjust about telling those Southerners that their respectful regard for a symbol of their history and heritage is, in fact, nothing but an expression of hatred for which evidence (aside from their flying those colors) simply cannot be found.

Is the Confederate flag offensive to many? Absolutely. But there is no right not to be offended.

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2 Comments | Leave a comment
  1. TheGreenHornet says:

    Growing up in the south, we always called it the rebel flag. As teenagers it would fly on pick ups in the school parking lot. We would go 4 wheeling, listening to Molly Hatchet, The Outlaws, Marshall Tucker, Lynyrd Skynyrd. I saw that flag, as did my counter parts as rebellion against the north. I was then and even more now, tired of damn Yankees telling me how to live my life. I’ve had to listen most of my life about how great everything is “up north” and how lousy it is down here. Well, why are you people here then? Oh, that’s right. There are no jobs, high rent, and high taxes. Then they try to turn my state in to the thing they ran away from. Yankee go home.

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