By Malice Intended
America has always been in love with symbols. We are suckers for simplistic images that convey an ideal or emotion at a single glance. We hold these images almost as dear as the traditions they are meant to represent, to the point where we refuse to retire them even when their meaning has been lost via misappropriation and outmoded ideas. A symbol is just that, and should never be held as sacred to the point where it eclipses the movement it represents. This holds especially true when the history and intentions of said movement are dubious at best.
Flags are the most prevalent form of symbols in the world. They represent races, countries and armies and employ imagery that evokes the beliefs of those institutions. America’s national identity has always been tied inextricably to the stars and stripes. Even those who do not subscribe to the history behind the flag have to acknowledge its power as a symbol. It stirs emotions in a way that few symbols can.
There is a growing contingent within our nation that has never been satisfied with it. They fly another flag. In their eyes, it harkens back to a “purer” American ideal. They find greater comfort and better representation in the fearsome southern cross of the confederate flag. Those who live in the southeastern United States are too familiar with it, as it emblazons countless pick-up trucks, T-Shirts and trucker caps. Contrary to popular belief, its presence is not limited to the Bible belt. One can spot the Dixie flag as far away as upstate New York, or just about any enclave where such sentiments run deep.
The Confederacy was a collection of states that chose to secede from the union to protect their rights regarding slave ownership. That wasn’t the only reason, but it was the primary one. They saw slavery as a necessary and indispensable part of the American economy as well as a testament to racial superiority.
While the Confederate flag never “officially” represented The Confederate States nationally, it has since been embraced as a symbol of southern pride by many. It has also been appropriated by some of America’s most notorious racist/separatist organizations and militias. Factions of the KKK, the Skinheads and the Aryan Brotherhood have been known to display the flag proudly and brazenly. They do so knowing full and well what that flag represents to many African Americans.
For many of us, the Dixie flag is an emblem flown by those that rebuke our rights as human beings. They’d rather regress to the good old days, when blacks knew their place and mixing of the races on any level was forbidden. In our hearts, it conjures images of Jim Crow, lynching, rapes, dehumanization and just about any other bi product of the African slave trade. It is associated with the greatest crimes committed against us, and celebrates a past in which we were relegated to poverty and squalor.
Those who fly the Dixie Flag as merely a symbol of southern pride should take note. While that flag may not have racial or political implications for you, it has been co-opted by those most vile. These groups mean to halt progress and to impose a regression to separatism and worse. As recent history has shown, they are not above taking up arms and using them against other Americans to see their dreams realized.
Consider the unmitigated gall and audacity of those who fly both the swastika and the Dixie flag side by side with the American Flag (such people actually exist). Consider what that implies. They see the oppression of Nazi Germany and the old south as something that we should aspire to. That’s their version of “The good ole’ days.” Those of us with high melanin counts have no place in that Utopia other than one of subjugation and irrelevance.
Why stand up to be counted with such rabble? You might not think that you align yourselves with such elements merely by displaying a symbol, but why would you want to be identified with a destructive ideology you claim not to support? Regardless of its original intent (which can still be debated), The Dixie flag has come to represent the worst aspects of the old south. The “new” south is a place of progress and rapid expansion, full of migrants hoping to realize the American dream in allits splendor. It also houses over 50% of the African American population in the U.S, many of whom view that flag as a sign that the “new” south is a marketing ploy meant to hide antiquated sentiment.
In a time where the ugliest of hatred becomes more evident with each passing day, those who fly the southern cross need to exercise some accountability and cultural awareness. Do some historical research. Better yet, take a good look at the extreme fringe that also harbors a deep appreciation for that same flag. Ask yourself, what do I have in common with these people? Am I in denial? If not, maybe it’s time to retire the symbols of the past and erect a symbol that represents the current and future south. One where African Americans and other minorities own there own homes and enjoy a better quality of life than their ancestors ever dreamed. Unlike the paradise envisioned by the racist right, there is a place for everyone there. That’s what we should represent.
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that was deep and eloquent.
i think the whole “southern pride” thing is some recent bee ess they cooked up so they wouldn’t have to say: “yes, we are just a bunch of racist f*&(s.”
funny ting is i dont see much of that where i live.
i guess they’ve all moved cause our city is around 56% Black.
I find this page to be an unacceptle pile of ridiculousness. If the rebel flag is offensive to you, then you obviously need a history lesson and stop confusing what the yankee government and education systems claim to what is actually true. This flag is a symbol of southern heritage, not hate.
Racism exists today primarily because minorities continue to cry it.
I fly Dixie, am I automatically considered racist? And us white guys get accused of stereotyping….
The article says stuff about te kkk and such but what about the black panthers or other Black terror groups were they the good guys. The article is full of it and should be taken down because its biasedness. The symbol of the south is the rebel flag. If you don’t like it deal with it or leave. It represents a group of people tired of being pushed around by lincoln republican party. FYI the Emancipation proclamation didn’t actually free a single slave. It wasnt about slavery. It was about preserving tradition and the vast differences between the republican north and democratic south.
I agree with you’re article buddy, people need to stop recreating history once & for all and recognize the Rebel-Flag for just what it truly is: Division & Racism.
Whether these revisionists like it or not. Because the confederates fought & seceded to preserve a racist-way of life that was economical. SO STOP RECREATING-HISTORY!!! I would never display a swastika just to represent my near 45% German heritage, even though I am fiercely-proud of it, so in other words Southern-Pride & The confederate-flag are two totally different-things, so these revisionists need to go on with life and not be stuck in the past
The emancipation of proclamation actually did free slaves. I don’t know where your getting your history from, but it applied to the rebellious states. It was not all of the states, for it only freed the slaves that were in states not under Union control but it was a start. It was a factor in and after the war that led to the rest of the states deciding to free their slaves. And yes, there is irony in that, for the states under Union control were allowed to keep slaves but Lincoln was aware of the need to have them as allies. Yes it was wrong to continue having slavery while your fighting to free them, but without that ironic move, perhaps the Confederate would have one and there would still be slaves. At the end of the day, the Union went through with what they promised and freed the slaves. Please brush up on your history and stop spreading your hate.
I would just like to say that your assumption that the war was started primarily over the right to own slaves is not only wrong but ignorant. That was an issue at the time but the more pressing matter for it was the tarrifs that the north wanted to impose apon the agriculture base the south whos entire econemy at the time was based on agriculture. The slavery issue was not pertinant because slavery was already beginning to be phased out by machines, such as the combine harvester and the cotten gin. They could do the same work load as many slaves could and do it in less time, and they were cheaper. Slavery as an issue was a political ruse by the Lincon administration to vilinize the south in the eyes of their possible allies such as the English. On top of that the Emancipation proclomation caused more defections in the union army than the confederate army, one union soldier even wrote to his family “Im not fighing for the Darkies one way or another”. So I would reason that your whole argument that the emblem of the Confederate battle flag is a racist symbol is not only wrong but a misrepresentation of an entire segment of the united states. As for it being used by racist organizations, that would be like saying that since they use a burning cross that the united methodists are pro slavery too, once again an absurd assumption. If any thing the Confederate battle stood for a point of veiw that one state policy would not be right for another state, and therefore that policy should not be foreced onto said state, and when that will is enforced through coersion it should be met with equal force.
shows yer ignorance mam, just dont get do y’all?
why am i racist cause i love my dixie?