Is the Confederate flag a symbol of racism?

Ahh yes- Because all northerners are huge assholes who have a problem with the south...and ALL southerners support flying the stars and bars and are polite and have huge front porches.

NOT.

If folks who stop generalizing about huge groups- Life would get alot easier. Just saying. Then- You could fly your flag because of your pride (which- you should do anyway. if you are proud of something you should be able to explain/defend it intelligently). And everyone else could do their thing without being judged on some small, rare occurance.

 

I believe I must have hit a touchy spot.
I seriously doubt all Southerners would fly the confederate flag, in fact most are proud Americans and are happy to fly the Stars and Stripes, but IMO if they did fly the Confederate flag we all know what the rest would say about them.
My point hasn't changed much from my 1st posting. We have flags/emblems for all different groups, but anything that might possibly irritate select people is considered bad or racist depending on who's mouth it comes from.
Southerners are Proud people, just not allowed to openly express it..

 

The Dixie flag is definatly not racist, as many people think... Heritage, not hate

 

i've read some good responses so far. mainly the ones who say it depends on who flys it and the context. flying it UNDER the American flag at a home or a courthouse or state house in a confederate state is simply displaying a historic flag for our region. a bunch of rednecks driving through a NAACP rally with it flying from the tailgate of their truck while they yell racial slurs is obviously racist. Either way its a part of our history and asking us to take it down is asking us to turn out back on who we are and where we came from. i dont consider myself a racist, i hate all people equally. i am a son of the confederacy (two of my distant relatives died while fighting for the south), and i still dont fly it on my truck or at my house. i dont have a problem with it, i just dont do it. but if they ever tell me i CANT fly it, i'll have it plastered anywhere i can put it.

very good post

 

not in my opinion. i don't always automatically associate the conferderate flag with slavery. though i admit, it can be viewed as one under the right context.


now THIS is most assuredly a symbol of racism:



look who had one back in '66...


i think if Ronnie had the stars & bars flying instead of Jocko sitting out front, he would've been viewed as less of a racist.

seriously though...being born in '77...i almost always think of The General Lee when i see the confederate flag as the dukes of hazzard was pretty big during my childhood.

symbols are just symbols...it's people who add the good or bad to them by their actions & ideals.

 

as per the poll results, a few peoples misconceptions ruin it for everyone else

 

too true

 

Wow. 14 pages overnight. My best thread yet! I knew this would be a touchy subject. I think people have been keeping pretty civil though, for the most part. Thanks for the info guys. It's nice to see how the real world thinks every once in a while.

 

Not at all.. I find it funny, when I was in vietnam the Khmer Rouge killed millions and nobody talks about that. Its just a t shirt I'm not waring it out to dinner just around the house, if people don't like this kinda shit shut down companys that sell it..

 

thats what I was thinking. I left work yesterday at 430 and was at about page 3...got on this morning and it had blown up.

 

I am impressed with how civil this has been.

 

Me too.

Waaaaay off topic here, but a quick question for any Vietnam vets. There is an old timer that works with me, Vietnam vet himself. He wears the typical vietnamese / chinese style hat all day, every day. He was suprised this last memorial day at all the dirty looks he was getting from Vietnam vets. Is this something that would offend you?

 

are you referring to the one that looks like a cone made from straw..??

 

Yes I am. He has worn them for as long as anyone can remember.

 

I'm not a vet but my uncle is and he is not bothered by it or them. Them being the Chinese or Vietnamese people. He said it was a war and he was doing his job, he didn't always like it but figured it had to be done. He was doing if for his country.

 

Not sure why he'd get dirty looks, I'm not a Vietnam vet either. But I can see how wearing a hat could be looked at with disgust. It's not the type of hat you'd wear to a formal dinner party though....lol

 

Well, he would wear it to a dinner party. He wears this thing EVERYWHERE. He will wear slacks, shirt and tie, and his hat. Also, he always has his BATMAN belt. It's a fanny pack with all sorts of pouches zip tied to it. 300 hundred or so keys. Two phone pouches. A PDA case. Box cutter. The works. Crazy old man. I remember last year at his dads funeral we was all dressed up and had his belt and hat on.

 

A lot of the VC and the rice farmers wore them, it was always kinda hard to tell them apart, but no doest bother me in the least to see someone with one. As hot as it got there who could blame them out in the middle of a rice patties and no shade, hell I would have sported one. Lol

 

never leave home without a fanny pack

 

How true. I will try to get a picture of him.