The C.S.A. flag is a racist symbol? The U.S.A. flag is a racist symbol? One can wrap a flag in just about anything one chooses...but when a person chooses to treat someone who reveres the C.S.A. flag as being a 'racist' because that is more important than really treating the person who reveres it as a human being - then we have a problem.
Is the flag of Israel a symbol of bigoted oppression against the Palestinians? Should it be banned from the eyes of Palestinians? Is the flag
of Palestine a symbol of Terror? Should it be banned from the eyes of Israelis? Is the Jolly Roger pirate flag a symbol of debauchery and hatred that should be banned from the eyes of law abiding citizens? Is the flag of France the flag of Napolean and warmongering oppression? Should the Irish people be allowed to suffer the spectacle of a British flag and all its history of oppressing the people of Ireland?
There are many flags, and some are more rich than others. I find the Nazi flag to be offensive, but as a civil libertarian, I would not ban it. When I ban it, I give it a kind of cultish power. If you want to turn the C.S.A. flag into a kind of Nazr-esque flag - here's what you need to do: 1) Ban it from the popular culture 2) Tell lies about its real history ie. distort its history 3) Ostracize anyone who doesn't shun it. 4) Allow schools to not discuss its history and encourage teachers to participate in making it a synbol of 'racism.'5) Stigmatize it. Incidentally, it has taken a concerted effort to try and stigmitize the CSA flag into being a symbol of oppression and racism.
The C.S.A. is a good scapegoat ie. the C.S.A is long dead and unable to fight back. The C.S.A. is easily hated but hard to find, so modern class conflicts and racial problems are easily deflected into a witchhunt for those mean ol' southerners with 'C.S.A. flags...who don't exist...except on a few rural pick-up trucks or on the name of some old schools named after folks like Robert E. Lee... The C.S.A. Flag has become a kind of straw man.
Some years ago there was a demand that the Daughters of The Confederacy remove the C.S.A. flag motif from their logo because it was deemed to be a racist symbol. Hmmmmmmmmm....that's a bit like demanding that the Jolly Roger be made into a yellow flag instead of a black one...because it seems to otherwise be a symbol of 'anarchy and piracy.' Nuts!
Helen Keller was an adament socialist/communist and she kept a red flag on her desk at her home office in Alabama. Later the Alabama historical society took it over and replaced her red flag with a State of Alabama flag. Nuts!
History is messy, and if one can't tolerate it - then I guess one can go about banning and censoring it... My psychological need for studying history is greater than my psychological need for labeling someone a racist. I see a little hypocrisy in America these days - a society where the president of the U.S.A. can proclaim that Farrakhan's Million Man March is a good thing and must be tolerated in spite of some of its racist and antisemite overtones - yet,one must demonize the C.S.A. flag? LOL It doesn't even pass the smell test.
I want to walk into Helen Keller's house and see the Red Flag. I want to see a C.S.A. flag on the Daughters of the Confederacy Logo. I want to study history - not political correctness, and if some kid waves the C.S.A. flag or has it as a bumper sticker, I want him to still be able to graduate from high school. If some kid goes to some Farrakhan ralley I want him to graduate from high school. More importantly I'd like to see a little more focus on history instead of indoctrination.
George Washington whipped some of his slaves. and hunted down runaway slaves. Jefferson Davis NEVER did such a thing. Davis - unlike Washington - advocated the gradual abolition of slavery. Yet, I don't mind having George Washington's portrait on the Dollar Bill. I still like George Washington in spite of his racism. I was allowed to graduate too! LOL.
The bottomline is that many schools in the U.S.A. do not tolerate diverse views of historical subjects like the U.S.Civil War or the American Revolution.
Is the flag of Israel a symbol of bigoted oppression against the Palestinians? Should it be banned from the eyes of Palestinians? Is the flag
of Palestine a symbol of Terror? Should it be banned from the eyes of Israelis? Is the Jolly Roger pirate flag a symbol of debauchery and hatred that should be banned from the eyes of law abiding citizens? Is the flag of France the flag of Napolean and warmongering oppression? Should the Irish people be allowed to suffer the spectacle of a British flag and all its history of oppressing the people of Ireland?
There are many flags, and some are more rich than others. I find the Nazi flag to be offensive, but as a civil libertarian, I would not ban it. When I ban it, I give it a kind of cultish power. If you want to turn the C.S.A. flag into a kind of Nazr-esque flag - here's what you need to do: 1) Ban it from the popular culture 2) Tell lies about its real history ie. distort its history 3) Ostracize anyone who doesn't shun it. 4) Allow schools to not discuss its history and encourage teachers to participate in making it a synbol of 'racism.'5) Stigmatize it. Incidentally, it has taken a concerted effort to try and stigmitize the CSA flag into being a symbol of oppression and racism.
The C.S.A. is a good scapegoat ie. the C.S.A is long dead and unable to fight back. The C.S.A. is easily hated but hard to find, so modern class conflicts and racial problems are easily deflected into a witchhunt for those mean ol' southerners with 'C.S.A. flags...who don't exist...except on a few rural pick-up trucks or on the name of some old schools named after folks like Robert E. Lee... The C.S.A. Flag has become a kind of straw man.
Some years ago there was a demand that the Daughters of The Confederacy remove the C.S.A. flag motif from their logo because it was deemed to be a racist symbol. Hmmmmmmmmm....that's a bit like demanding that the Jolly Roger be made into a yellow flag instead of a black one...because it seems to otherwise be a symbol of 'anarchy and piracy.' Nuts!
Helen Keller was an adament socialist/communist and she kept a red flag on her desk at her home office in Alabama. Later the Alabama historical society took it over and replaced her red flag with a State of Alabama flag. Nuts!
History is messy, and if one can't tolerate it - then I guess one can go about banning and censoring it... My psychological need for studying history is greater than my psychological need for labeling someone a racist. I see a little hypocrisy in America these days - a society where the president of the U.S.A. can proclaim that Farrakhan's Million Man March is a good thing and must be tolerated in spite of some of its racist and antisemite overtones - yet,one must demonize the C.S.A. flag? LOL It doesn't even pass the smell test.
I want to walk into Helen Keller's house and see the Red Flag. I want to see a C.S.A. flag on the Daughters of the Confederacy Logo. I want to study history - not political correctness, and if some kid waves the C.S.A. flag or has it as a bumper sticker, I want him to still be able to graduate from high school. If some kid goes to some Farrakhan ralley I want him to graduate from high school. More importantly I'd like to see a little more focus on history instead of indoctrination.
George Washington whipped some of his slaves. and hunted down runaway slaves. Jefferson Davis NEVER did such a thing. Davis - unlike Washington - advocated the gradual abolition of slavery. Yet, I don't mind having George Washington's portrait on the Dollar Bill. I still like George Washington in spite of his racism. I was allowed to graduate too! LOL.
The bottomline is that many schools in the U.S.A. do not tolerate diverse views of historical subjects like the U.S.Civil War or the American Revolution.
