American Flag = Hate Speech

Thanks go to Peggy for this find. . .

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28 Responses to American Flag = Hate Speech

  1. Tina says:

    How sad.

    The flag, like the confederate flag, is an easy target for radicals. Instead of heralding the fight for individual rights that both flags symbolize in our history (slavery was defeated as an American institution in a bloody war), they narrow the vision to sully and tarnish our history. Yes, there was a fierce argument but in the end we came together as a nation rather than splitting apart. Does that step in our history not count for anything? America continued for another 1oo years to wrestle with the issue and again and again justice and unity won out. Thrust has not been toward injustice and division, in fact, we are the most tolerant nation on earth having absorbed peoples from all around the world! The struggle for some continues but America IS NOT systemically racist…never has been!

    The vast number of oppressed people in America continue to feel oppressed because they believe this cr*p!

    This kid knows nothing about American history other than the talking points of the most radical and divisive elements of the left. And it’s being promoted, consciously and unconsciously, in our schools and institutions of higher (?) learning.

    This kids parents came here to escape poverty and despair from a nation whose history is not dissimilar to ours…their civil rights record is not exactly sterling:

    …65% of Mexico’s population is indigenous. A significant percentage do not speak Spanish. The Naramuri tribe, in the copper canyons of Chihuahua, are an example. The Spaniards called them Tarahumara. Young Naramuri learn spanish in government schools. But, older generations speak only their native dialect.. In the Maya region of Mexico, especially the state of Chiapas, there are over 14 different native dialects spoken in lieu of Spanish.

    The approximate racial make up of Baja California is: forty percent European, thirty six percent Mestizo, nine percent east Asian (predominantly Chinese, Japanese and Korean) and the remaining fifteen percent is Native American. Mostly of Mexican and Central American origins, and includes Cherokees from the U.S… Less than one percent of Baja’s population is Black African.

    In the 15th century there were more black slaves in Mexico than in North America. Mexico being the central marketplace for slaves sold and sent North to America and South to various islands in the Caribbean It is estimated that a third of all Mexicans have African descendents in their lineage. The African influence is most apparent in the states of Vera Cruz and Guerrero.

    More here:

    oddly enough, when it comes to Mexicans, it is little known that they are mostly mestizos, or of indigenous and European bloodlines. And Mexico has long been influenced by the many different cultures that still exist today: African, French, Spanish, Asian, German, Irish, Italian and more.

    And here:

    ‘The racist character of Mexican society is an “unquestionable” phenomenon, appearing since the Colonial period when the dominant classes established an entire class system in order to justify their privileges’, pointed out Alicia Castellanos, a professor and researcher in the Department of Anthropology at the Iztapalapa campus of the Autonomous Metropolitan University (UAM).

    The academic detailed that, although formal discourse has change over more than 400 years, these hierarchies remained deeply rooted, creating categories of race in the social consciousness and associating them with the supposed inferiority or superiority of peoples and cultures and reinforcing sayings such as ‘ it’s not the fault of the Indian but of what he does’ and ‘we need to improve the race’.

    Over the years racism has been made invisible with the discourse that Mexico is a society of mestizos where ‘we are all equal’ but, according to one specialist, it is overlooked that in this supposed equality the highest positions are occupied by those who are further away from the Indian spectrum and closer to the white.

    And yet after coming to America his family prospered enough for him and his brother to attend college. His opportunities depend on two things, his attitude and his dedication and desire to succeed. With a little effort he can do anything he wants in America. Anyone can!

    People are still coming to America to escape the injustices and poverty of their native lands. Even in this lousy Obama economy, they come because opportunity and justice under our Constitution and the rule of law is better here.

    Young skulls full of mush can be forgiven this ridiculous position due to their inadequate training and inexperience.

    Those who push this radical left tripe must be pushed back into their dark holes through enlightenment and education.

    I’m both sad and angry!

  2. Chris says:

    This guy is dumb.

  3. Chris says:

    Tina: “The flag, like the confederate flag, is an easy target for radicals. Instead of heralding the fight for individual rights that both flags symbolize in our history”

    The confederate flag does not stand for the fight for individual rights. The Confederacy did not arise out of a desire to fight for individual rights. The Confederacy arose out of a desire to oppress and subjugate. Alexander Stephens himself said that his government was based on the principle that the Negro is inferior to the white man, and that slavery is his natural condition. Comparing the confederate flag to the American flag is an insult to the American flag. The Confederacy was a racist, anti-American terrorist group that believed only in freedom for themselves.

    “(slavery was defeated as an American institution in a bloody war)”

    What’s with the passive voice? Slavery was defeated BECAUSE the Confederacy was defeated. There was a bloody war because the Confederacy STARTED a bloody war, for no other reason other than to keep others in chains. There is no good reason for any patriotic American to hold up the Confederate flag as a positive symbol. The Confederacy literally committed treason.

    One can either believe in the American flag or the Confederate flag; one cannot believe in both. The principles of each are completely opposed.

    “The struggle for some continues but America IS NOT systemically racist…never has been!”

    Really? “Never?” America wasn’t systemically racist under slavery? What in the heck would you consider “systemic racism” if not that?

    • Tina says:

      The confederate flag is part of our history. It represents a lot of things, one of which is the fight to end slavery in which the side that was for it, LOST and still the nation remained united under a Constitution that insists that all people are created equal (By God).

      “Comparing the confederate flag to the American flag is an insult to the American flag.”

      I wasn’t commenting on what the American flag represents (which includes a history of slavery and a long battle for individual rights). I was commenting on it’s being an easy target! You refuse to see that the attitude this kid has toward America, and the American flag, is the same attitude that some people have toward the confederate flag and for the same reason.

      “What’s with the passive voice? Slavery was defeated BECAUSE the Confederacy was defeated. ”

      It wasn’t a “passive voice”!

      It was a responsible voice!!! The history of the United States IS MY HISTORY as an American. You are stuck in we/them thinking about our history…you refuse to own it.

      “There is no good reason for any patriotic American to hold up the Confederate flag as a positive symbol.”

      Man you’re judgmental and unforgiving! Southerners have done a lot to erase the stain of racism since the sixties. At the same time their relatives were involved in that war and they think of the flag as representing the sacrifice and the South, not racism. They can do that because they own the history.

      That’s not to say there are not racist individuals who fly that flag. But labeling everyone in the Southern population as racist over this symbol of our history, and forcing the removal of it in the public square, is a bogus political ploy that only raises it’s ugly head during election cycles. This time around it goes along with the bogus “white cops are murdering black kids” lie, also designed to stir up the black vote.

      “One can either believe in the American flag or the Confederate flag; one cannot believe in both.”

      The flag is a symbol; one doesn’t “believe in” a flag…any flag.

      The Southern people do embrace the principles of our nation just like the rest of us. To say they don’t is patently ridiculous…a charge designed for division and strife. Democrats are a phony bunch! You were the original racists. You have kept the black man in “his place” through policy since the sixties; you have manipulated history to put the racism charge onto Republicans; you teach our kids to focus on race and bigotry and to believe America is “systemically” racist/bigoted, and you keep this division alive with political ploys…all for power What a disgrace!

      “America wasn’t systemically racist under slavery?”

      Do you know what systemic means? It means, in this instance, that racism ran through the entire fabric of the nation.

      There were two positions in that time regarding slavery. The entire nation did not own slaves or support the idea that blacks were inferior. Many whites lost their lives in defense of equality for blacks and the fight to free them. States were established as being against slave ownership. And, black men fought on the side of the South!

      Systemic:

      …something that is spread throughout, system-wide, affecting a group or system, such as a body, economy, market or society as a whole.

      The current position of the Democrat Party as articulated by it’s leaders is that America has a “systemic” racism problem. It’s a lie but it sure stirs the pot! It sure deflects attention from more pressing issues concerning the failures of Obama’s policies that have resulted in the numbers of blacks in poverty and without jobs and opportunity. We are not talking much about black on black crime that has grown worse under Obama. We are not talking about blacks feeling justified to randomly attack white citizens and their businesses as individuals or in mobs .

      • Chris says:

        Tina: “The confederate flag is part of our history. It represents a lot of things, one of which is the fight to end slavery in which the side that was for it, LOST and still the nation remained united under a Constitution that insists that all people are created equal (By God).”

        That doesn’t make any sense. Does this mean the swastika represents the fight to end the Holocaust? Would you reasonably assume someone wearing or displaying a swastika is doing so to commemorate the Nazis’ defeat?

        No one is saying we shouldn’t remember this part of our history. What we’re saying is that those who fought on the losing side, in defense of slavery, should not be honored as heroes.

        “You refuse to see that the attitude this kid has toward America, and the American flag, is the same attitude that some people have toward the confederate flag and for the same reason.”

        Except that the attitude toward the Confederate flag is justified and the attitude toward the American flag isn’t. Bad things have been done in the name of America, but it wasn’t founded for the express purposes of preserving slavery, as the Confederacy was. We’ve also had a long and varied history while the Confederacy only lasted a few years before it was rightly abolished. The differences are huge, and again, the comparison is insulting toward America.

        “It wasn’t a “passive voice”!”

        Yes, it was by definition passive voice. Look it up.

        “Man you’re judgmental and unforgiving! Southerners have done a lot to erase the stain of racism since the sixties. At the same time their relatives were involved in that war and they think of the flag as representing the sacrifice and the South, not racism. They can do that because they own the history.”

        Would you say the same of a German descendent of a Nazi soldier displaying a swastika?

        “That’s not to say there are not racist individuals who fly that flag. But labeling everyone in the Southern population as racist over this symbol of our history,”

        When the heck did I do anything like that?

        “and forcing the removal of it in the public square,”

        Treasonous flags of failed nations have no business in the public square. They can be displayed by private individuals, but the government has no business endorsing them.

        “The Southern people do embrace the principles of our nation just like the rest of us. To say they don’t is patently ridiculous…”

        Yes, it is…good thing I never said anything like that. Please avoid strawman; they’re a fire hazard.

        “Democrats are a phony bunch! You were the original racists.”

        Yes, and the original Confederates. Defending the Confederacy, while at the same time holding Democrats responsible for the racism that occured under the Confederacy, is particularly bizarre. How do you manage to hold so many contradictory ideas at once?

        “Do you know what systemic means? It means, in this instance, that racism ran through the entire fabric of the nation.”

        Yes, and at the time, racism ran through the entire fabric of the nation. This is indisputable. That slavery did not exist in the North does not change this obvious fact; you are aware that blacks were discriminated in numerous other ways, aren’t you?

        Your assertion that systemic racism was “never” an issue in America significantly weakens your point about systemic racism today; if you can’t acknowledge that it ever existed in America, then of course you’d be unable to acknowledge it today.

        • Tina says:

          Chris ” Does this mean the swastika represents the fight to end the Holocaust?”

          We weren’t fighting to “end the Holocaust”…we didn’t know about it until the war ended. We were in the war to defeat a maniac who thought his race was superior and he should rule the world. He had expanded his totalitarian control over several European nations at the point of a gun. Your comparison doesn’t hold up.

          “No one is saying we shouldn’t remember this part of our history…. those who fought on the losing side, in defense of slavery, should not be honored as heroes”

          But you are assigning your thinking to others, attempting to make the rules about how they remember history, and dictating how Southerners think of their ancestors…a bit arrogant and tyrannical if you ask me.

          “Would you reasonably assume …”

          I don’t spend a lot of time making assumptions about the motives and sentiments of others.

          “Except that the attitude toward the Confederate flag is justified and the attitude toward the American flag isn’t.”

          Not according to the person making the case about the American flag! That was the point!!

          “When the heck did I do anything like that? ”

          Pardon me it was my understanding that since you support the removal of the flag, and believe the war was only about slavery, you also assigned racism to those who fly it or support flying it.

          We have nations that support terrorism flying in New York City…nobody seems to mind.

          “Bad things have been done in the name of America, but it wasn’t founded for the express purposes of preserving slavery, as the Confederacy was.”

          Slavery, in terms of it’s legality, had not been addressed at this time. The South was fighting what was to them a fight for a legal right. Eight Southern states allowed slavery. Some of the eight Northern states still tolerated slavery as citizens grappled with the issue and formed anti-slavery movements. It wasn’t until after the war that slavery was made illegal in all states. Based on these facts alone the argument that the South was fighting for states rights makes sense. It was a different time and as Jack and I have both said, and you agreed, it isn’t fair to judge them by the standards we have today.

          People today who enjoy flying the Confederate flag are being judged by the circumstances of yesterday when their ancestors, and the Southern states together, stood for what they believed was their legal right.

          “Would you say the same of a German descendent of a Nazi soldier displaying a swastika?”

          The Holocost made that symbol one of pure evil. No one of conscience thought rounding up an entire race of people, taking their property, performing despicable experiments on them, beating them, murdering them in mass graves, separating them from their children, forcing them to labor for their captives cause, and cooking them in ovens after they removed their gold teeth was the same as an accepted practice that had been around for thousands of years. The comparison is grossly off base. Blacks held slaves. Blacks and Arabs sold their neighbors into slavery. The thinking at the time was not the same.

          Because of the horror of the Holocaust the Germans banned the symbol. Still it remains a part of the history of Germany and everyone knows it. Democrats even used it to vilify GWB throughout his term as President.

          “Defending the Confederacy, while at the same time holding Democrats responsible for the racism that occured under the Confederacy, is particularly bizarre. How do you manage to hold so many contradictory ideas at once?””

          It’s only bizarre if you view history through a very narrow window. I can do it because I own the history. Southerners, now mostly republican, also mostly own the history. The only people in America who don’t own it are the race baiters and those in your party who obsess about it for political reasons…let it go!

          “Yes, and at the time, racism ran through the entire fabric of the nation. This is indisputable.”

          Patently false! The abolitionist movement was widespread and growing. The nation was so divided on the issue that brother fought against brother. The North outnumbered the South approximately two to one.

          “Your assertion that systemic racism was “never” an issue in America significantly weakens your point about systemic racism today…”

          The term “systemic racism” is political. It’s like the term “white Hispanic.” It’s new in the lexicon and it’s designed for a a specific purpose, to make the black community think whites are racists and America, where “white privilege” rules, is and always has been, a racist nation. I will not lend support to such nonsense.

          Putting forth the notion that all Americans were racist and supported slavery in our early history is insulting to the wisdom of our founders and to the good people who argued the point before and during the civil war. It insults the long struggle to rid ourselves of even the smallest prejudice. If America had been “systemically” racist the war would never have been fought, arguments in court through the years would never have been brought forward or moved us forward, and blacks would not be millionaires today…they’d still be property.

          Your party and our schools system have taught this ugly lopsided version of our history and view of America today. it’s sick. Is it any wonder that kid in the video can’t think critically?

          • Chris says:

            Tina: “We have nations that support terrorism flying in New York City…nobody seems to mind.”

            I’m sorry, but what an absolutely stupid statement. “No one seems to mind?” As if we’re not going anything about the problem of terrorism? As if and reasonable person thinks it’s OK? Get ahold of yourself.

            “Pardon me it was my understanding that since you support the removal of the flag, and believe the war was only about slavery, you also assigned racism to those who fly it or support flying it.”

            Flying the racist flag of the Confederacy is a racist action, yes. That is not the same as saying all Southerners are racist, which is what you accused me of saying. Not all Southerners fly the Confederate flag. Many have come forward to denounce the flag.

            Again, read the Cornerstone Speech. Read the Declarations of Secession. You will clearly see that the Confederacy’s view on slavery was NOT common in the United States at the time, and that the Confederates thought their pro-slavery views were unique in the world. Judged by the standards of their time, the Confederacy was unusually racist and pro-slavery.

            “Patently false! The abolitionist movement was widespread and growing.”

            You’re contradicting yourself all over the place. First you say that the South’s views on slavery were common, then you say racism was never systemic because abolitionism was widespread. Both of these things can’t be true but you need them to justify your theory that racism isn’t systemic now and wasn’t systemic then. The former is understandable but the latter is so bizarre I’ve never heard anyone make it.

            You once again imply that slavery is the only indicator of systemic racism in a society. That is nuts. Even many abolitionists were still racist, as was society as a whole. Do you know what Lincoln said about black people?

  4. Chris says:

    I just find it so strange that the same people who accuse others of hating America can hold up the Confederate flag and not see their hypocrisy. What were the Confederates, if not America-haters?

    • Post Scripts says:

      Chris, the Confederates were not America haters, but they were patriots that felt they were being pushed around by the federal government. Their pride and just the times they lived in got the best of them.

      The Battle for Charleston, N.C., during the Revolutionary War was one of the bloodiest. Many in the South fought hard for the Revolution, you don’t do that and then suddenly switch to hating those things you fought for.

      So I say no, the people of the South didn’t hate America. They felt they were part of America that was being abused by the North. You should read some history about the Old South to understand the complexity of what led to the Civil War.

      Robert E. Lee was a hero of the United States Army. He was asked to lead the Union Army, but for very personal family reasons and loyalty to the Confederate cause, he left the US Army and went to the Confederate side…but, he didn’t hate America. After the war he was still an honored soldier and patriot by many in the North.

      Please don’t judge what was in the hearts of the Southern patriots until you know more about their situation. You must consider the times they lived in too. To judge them by today’s standards is unfair.

      • Chris says:

        Jack: “The Battle for Charleston, N.C., during the Revolutionary War was one of the bloodiest. Many in the South fought hard for the Revolution, you don’t do that and then suddenly switch to hating those things you fought for.”

        Huh? The Revolutionary War and the Civil War were separated by nearly a century. There was nothing “sudden” about it.

        I don’t really care what was in the hearts of those who chose to fight for the Confederacy. I judge men by their actions.

        I’m also not judging them based on today’s standards; the Confederacy was unusually racist and oppressive even by the standards of their time, and they openly bragged about this (see again the Cornerstone speech and the declarations of secession). They believed they were the only nation based on the doctrine of white supremacy. By the standards of their time, the Confederacy was awful and anti-freedom.

        I’m sure they felt very oppressed. Privileged whiners often do; that’s not a new phenomenon. But had they stayed in the union, they would have been able to resolve the tariff thing; they had the votes. What they knew they weren’t going to be able to resolve, at least in the long term, was the question of slavery. So they took the ball and went home and tried to build another nation on the backs of slaves. They also fired the first shot against the Americans. That they were welcomed back at all after the war they started speaks to the generosity of the North, not the patriotism of the South.

        • Tina says:

          Chris: “I don’t really care what was in the hearts of those who chose to fight for the Confederacy. I judge men by their actions. ”

          No, you judge the entire South’s motives by the words of the few, you’re still deciding the rules.

          At the time they had a legal right to own slaves and their opinions, however distasteful and disgusting now, were not uncommon in the world. Not even in Africa where one tribe enslaved members of another tribe and thought of them as inferior..or sold them into slavery!

          • Chris says:

            Tina: “No, you judge the entire South’s motives by the words of the few”

            No. Please stop with the strawmen.

            I am judging the Confederacy, as a nation, for its founding principles. That is 100% valid.

            I am also judging those who wave the flag of this failed, treasonous nation, as a sign of honor. That is also 100% valid.

            I am not, nor have I ever, judged the “entire South” for anything.

            Got it?

            “At the time they had a legal right to own slaves and their opinions, however distasteful and disgusting now, were not uncommon in the world. Not even in Africa where one tribe enslaved members of another tribe and thought of them as inferior..or sold them into slavery!”

            Their views were uncommon in civilized countries, and they thought so themselves:

            “Our new Government is founded upon exactly the opposite ideas; its foundations are laid, its cornerstone rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery, subordination to the superior race, is his natural and normal condition.

            . . . look with confidence to the ultimate universal acknowledgement of the truths upon which our system rests? It is the first government ever instituted upon the principles in strict conformity to nature, and the ordination of Providence, in furnishing the materials of human society. Many governments have been founded upon the principle of the subordination and serfdom of certain classes of the same race; such were and are in violation of the laws of nature. Our system commits no such violation of nature’s laws.” –Alexander Stephens

      • Tina says:

        Well said Jack Lee!

  5. Peggy says:

    Does make me wonder what they’re being taught since we already know by whom.

    Since when did it become America’s responsibility to provide jobs, house, feed, educate, etc. for Mexico’s citizens when we can’t or won’t take care of our own vets.

    This kids attitude is what upset me when I saw the video. This country educated him and yet he wasn’t taught to appreciate what this country did for him and his whole family, which is more than what his would have done for an American citizen in Mexico.

    Our high school kids in Morgan Hill were told to not wear an American flag on cinco de mayo. Universities are now their ground zero with cheerleaders and activist like Jorge Ramos and LaRaza.

    American pride needs a leader with a backbone after this spineless advocate for one world order.

  6. Pie Guevara says:

    Off Topic —

    What two Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Homes stories are word for word exactly the same for several paragraphs?

  7. Post Scripts says:

    “I don’t really care what was in the hearts of those who chose to fight for the Confederacy. I judge men by their actions. ”

    Chris only shallow people would do that, you’re not shallow are you? Consider that in every courtroom in America the actions of the accused are but one part of it. They jury is asked to weigh the extenuating circumstances and the defendants state of mind… mens rea. It all counts towards the verdict.

    You said, “I’m also not judging them based on today’s standards;”

    Yes you are or you wouldn’t say, “the Confederacy was unusually racist and oppressive.” They were not unusually anything, okay, so some in their midst were evil people who said evil things, but by no means were all of them of this opinion, that’s illogical to think that. There were nut cases in the North too.

    There were far, far, more Southerners who never owned a slave, never endorsed slavery and were good Christians and good Americans who embraced the Constitution. However, they were caught up in something greater than themselves and they supported their neighbors against what they saw as aggression, rightly or wrongly. That’s how most of them saw it and there was a lot of miscommunications and misunderstandings because of poor methods of delivering the news. It all added up to a conflict….as we know.

    I’ve heard the stories and read the accounts passed down to me from my ancestors and this gives me a perspective that you may not have? However, I can understand how you may have arrived at your position, but can you say the same for me? Do you not see any mitigating circumstances for the South’s side in the Civil War? None?

  8. Chris says:

    Jack, I’m sure there were many Germans who were motivated by “mitigating circumstances” into joining the Nazi party. That doesn’t make the swastika any less a symbol of oppression and hatred.

    The Confederate flag debate is not about the individual mindsets of every single person who fought for the Confederacy. That’s not how we judge any symbol. We have to look at the Confederacy as a whole, and the cause it fought for. That cause was evil, plain and simple. Of course not every Confederate soldier fought for slavery; all soldiers have their individual reasons for fighting in any army. That doesn’t make any difference when evaluating the merits of the flag itself.

    • Tina says:

      Chris you are a good little political soldier for the radicals who love the idea of keeping our nation divided and suspicious of each other, I’ll give you that.

      • Chris says:

        The Confederate flag keeps our nation divided and suspicious of each other. How could it not? It’s the symbol of a treasonous government that caused our greatest division ever, for the purpose of dividing people into different classes based on race.

        That it’s those who object to the flag, not the flag wavers themselves, who are accused of spreading division is the height of irony.

        It’s funny that you told me to “let it go” earlier–have you heard what some Confederate flag wavers say about their history? The resentment is palpable. Some still call it “The War of Northern Aggression” and Lincoln a tyrant. Some actually mourn the loss of the Confederacy. Why not tell them to “let it go?”

        • Post Scripts says:

          “Confederate flag keeps our nation divided and suspicious of each other” Chris

          Chris, granted, it might divide some of us, but all I see is history and it doesn’t divide me from anyone.

          Do you think having Civil War reinactors divides the country? If reinactors offend somebody, should we take away their uniforms and denounce them as un-American?

          I’ve never owned a confederate flag and I would not want to have a confederate flag sticker on my pick-up truck. But, thats ok because I’m making a very personal judgement call and its a lot easier to make that personal call than to impose my will on others. I have no wish to presume what owners of a confederate flag or a bumper sticker are thinking, because there are many reasons possible, unlike wearing a white KKK hood. People that assume the worst about owning or selling a Confederate flag like they would someone in KKK bed sheet are being unfair, in my opinion.

          Chris, you’re supposed to be a liberal, but you want to control and censor something that was part of our nations history? This is silly, and it sounds an awful lot like McCarthyism. Are you really sure you want to go there?

          I know other liberals can’t wait to be PC. They had a hissy-fit and pressured Amazon, eBay, Walmart, etc. not to sell the flag, and that’s wrong too. We’re suppose to be a free society and this ridiculous issue doesn’t not meet the litmus test IMHO for censorship or banning. No, this is just more hyper-PC baloney… people are getting their knickers in a twist over nothing.

          • Chris says:

            Jack, I’m not trying to censor or ban anything. Individuals are free to fly the Confederate flag whenever they want, and I’m free to criticize them for that choice. That’s free speech. Yes, there are some lefties who want the flag completely banned, but the “hate speech isn’t free speech” crowd are, frankly, a bunch of morons in my opinion.

            “Do you think having Civil War reinactors divides the country?”

            No. That’s a play. Displaying the Confederate flag for the purpose of honoring the Confederacy, or using it as a point of Southern pride, tells me something about a person’s actual ideology and view of the Confederacy; simply re-enacting battles does not.

            “I have no wish to presume what owners of a confederate flag or a bumper sticker are thinking, because there are many reasons possible, unlike wearing a white KKK hood. People that assume the worst about owning or selling a Confederate flag like they would someone in KKK bed sheet are being unfair, in my opinion.”

            Again, I don’t care about intentions so much as effect. Many who fly the Confederate flag are ignorant about the Confederacy’s true purpose. Many still argue that it wasn’t even about slavery, or that slavery was a side issue, when the founding documents of the Confederacy make it clear that preserving slavery was their primary aim. (For the record, I’m glad we’re not having that debate here, and Tina has been very clear that slavery was the primary cause.)

            But the solution to that ignorance is education, not excuse-making. The Confederate stood for slavery, not individual rights or even states’ rights (remember, the Confederacy opposed ANY state giving further rights to blacks because it weakened their rationale for slavery; they also tried to control the behavior of other states regarding slavery, i.e. the Fugitive Slave Act. Small government they weren’t). We can remember our history, even the ugly parts, without glorifying the bad guys.

            I didn’t participate in the pressuring of stores to stop selling the Confederate flag, but that isn’t censorship, that’s free speech and the free market. Consumers are free to pressure businesses to align with their principles, whether they’re the correct principles or not.

        • Tina says:

          Chris: “That it’s those who object to the flag, not the flag wavers themselves, who are accused of spreading division is the height of irony. ”

          Right, especially since the “objectors” only care about it during elections cycles.

          “…have you heard what some Confederate flag wavers say about their history – “The War of Northern Aggression.”

          Southerners use that phrase in conversation and laugh…most do not mean it literally or say it seriously. They’ve used it in movies for decades, always as a poit of humor.

          Do you have any idea what the percentage of Southerners there are that “…actually mourn the loss of the Confederacy?”

          I would guess the number is too small to count.

          “Why not tell them to “let it go?”

          I would!

          Interesting that you thought I wouldn’t.

          That minuscule few of nut bags don’t own the history either!

  9. Pie Guevara says:

    For personal reasons I find Confederate battle flags offensive, but not nearly as offensive as liberals banning them and attempting to re-write history to make themselves feel more comfortable. Or to make political hash out of it.

    PBS is airing a remaster of Ken Burns’ Civil War. Some people might benefit from some of that education, especially liberals, who are amongst the most divisive people on the planet.

    Divide and conquer is the liberal motto.

  10. Dewey says:

    There is more than one confederate flag. I find any flag of treason offensive. Others may not.

    Bars and stripes was a battle flag of treason. Any flag of treason is just that.

    Liberals? When you coin people into 2 groups…
    1) It does not represent ll Americans
    2) It becomes dictatorship, not the will of the people.

    United We Stand, Divided We Fall

    Divide and conquer is not the answer

  11. Pie Guevara says:

    Yet divide and conquer is what Dewey is all about.

  12. Tina says:

    “Bars and stripes was a battle flag of treason. Any flag of treason is just that.”

    The American flag was a flag of treason, or had you forgotten.

    “United We Stand, Divided We Fall”

    Not all of the good citizens of the “Crown” in America supported the revolution. They thought of themselves as British subjects and called our founders fathers treasonous…they lost; WE WON.

    We also won the civil war.

    Very few of those who objected and were left after the smoke cleared didn’t remain to benefit from freedom or unity.

    The cConfederate flag is one of the symbols that mark a very serious argument in which freedom won…blacks in America won…the serious division was resolved even though we would continue to struggle. The sight of it should stand as a reminder to our commitment to freedom and unity as part of our history.

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