[chj]

Originally Posted by nebulous1

Very few Southerners owned slaves.

Lincoln did not free the slaves because he thought it was wrong.

During the war, he freed the slaves in certain states, in order to insure anarchy and to cripple them.

Had he believed slavery was wrong, he would have freed them before any war.

Both Grant and Lee knew the war was not fought over slavery. Slavery was on its way out with mechanization around the bend.

The war simply was not fought over slavery. It was fought over tariffs and differences of government.

I agree with you, but, for people to understand this they actually have to study history instead of just repeating what they heard other people say it was over. while the civil war freed slaves its whole intent was over state's rights and how much power the federal government had. the part I don't get is that people say the confederate flag represents slavery when slaves only lived under in during the civil war, however, they lived under the american flag and other flags from the time that colonization began in america. also, the talk about the confederate flag represents opression, but, the confederate government was not the ones that forced native americans off of their land and put them on reservations it was the united states government that done it. I don't want to come off as anti-united states I am proud of this country, but, for people to use the argument that the confederate flag represents slavery is unfair. while america has done horrible things in its past does not mean that the american flag represents those things. to me the confederate flag represents southern heritage and states rights. I also agree with you that slavery was on its way out anyway with advances in technology. also, less than 10% of the south owned slaves and I don't think it was just those 10% that fought in the civil war.

[acrossthepond]

It amazes me how people react to the flag. My father earned the bronze star, distinguished flying cross and the purple heart in the US Army Air Corps defending this country and the state of Alabama under the American Flag. My Great Great Grandfather gave his life in defense of the South and the State of Alabama in 1863. Both were heroes who just happened to fight under a different flag. You can't just change history to back your agenda. We can all agree slavery is wrong, but removing flags from the graves of fallen heroes is just plain wrong. I don't hear anyone here saying the flags should be removed from the graves of northern soldiers. This is just a modern day phenonomen. I bet if the flags flying from the graves were Confederate flags and not the St. Andrews Cross that the majority wouldn't even know what they were. I have a cousin who was dubbed the "Angel of Mayres Heights" at the battle of Fredricksburg and later gave his life to the southern cause. His monument stands on the battlefield at Fredricksburg. He also was a true hero and his life should be celebrated in death showing respect to the true hero he was. I am not sure you could do that without the ability to fly some type of southern flag. And to the person who equates southernors to Nazis, man you need to see someone concerning your hatred.

[Alatex]

No matter anyone's opinion on that flag or any other, messing with people's graves is wrong. A grave site is private property, and stealing anything from it (be it flags or flowers or potato chips) is just as wrong as stealing things from someone's house or car.

[Lindsey_Mcfarren]

Be bothered all you want by the flag, it bothers me in some contexts, but these men gave their lives for a country they believed in and I think they have a right to display that countries flag on their grave.

[zenjenn]

Like most issues, people are polarized and the truth is somewhere in the middle.

To compare the Confederate flag to a swastika makes me want to puke. A) the Civil War was not exclusively about slavery and B) slaveholding in the mid-19th century, in accordance with laws at the time, and states arguing for their rights to grapple with new moral issues for themselves (and at the time it was a new moral issue) is a far cry from the genocidal extermination that occurred in 20th century Nazi Germany under a totalitarian regime. Judge both by the context of the history of their time, and you'll see it is comparing very rotten apples to oranges.

On the other hand, it sticking your head in the sand to try to claim that the Confederate flag is in no way a negative symbol in 2009. Symbols do not have intrinsic meaning - they only have the meaning that people/society assigns to them. For better or worse, the flag has that negative meaning. As I said in another thread on this subject, if our society slowly changed over the years and many people in some sort of twist of evolved social etiquette decided that waving was a gesture that had the meaning of "F - you", then I'd jolly well stop waving at people in public. I might wave amongst my contemporaries who understood it was not an offensive gesture, but I'd be kind of a bitter old woman to run around waving in public and saying "IN MY DAY, WAVING JUST MEANT HELLO! LIVE WITH IT!" I'd further be a stubborn woman to get all wankled if people got offended when I continued to wave at them anyways.

That said, those flags are private property, and it is, to borrow a term from Jon Stewart, kind of a "dick move" to remove anything from graves that people put there to honor the dead, especially as some kind of political stunt.

[mimpdaddy]

Now that I think about it, I don't agree with the guy who took those flags.Those soldiers did fight in the civil war.
This is what there saying on confederate day:

Video - WSFA 12 News Montgomery, AL |
Video - WSFA 12 News Montgomery, AL |
Alabama is truly the heart of the south.

[mainegirl]

Originally Posted by Alatex

No matter anyone's opinion on that flag or any other, messing with people's graves is wrong. A grave site is private property, and stealing anything from it (be it flags or flowers or potato chips) is just as wrong as stealing things from someone's house or car.

I agree with you, even though I find the confederate flag offensive.

[elston]

Originally Posted by runswithscissors

I forgot to ask, is the Civil War a big topic in Maine? I'm surprised since that's the state with the greatest amount of Non Hispanic White population coming in at a whopping 98.08 % white population with a .77% Black population and most of your immigration coming from Canada right?

The State of Maine is part of the United States of America and every town square in Maine has a memorial to those who died defending America from the terrorists and insurgents who declared war on the country.

The soldiers from Maine fought with the Massachusetts regiments, as Maine was still part of Massachussets at that time. As a Mainer, and a great grandnephew of one of the fallen Union soldiers....I have a right to have and to express my opinion. I lived in Alabama for a year and have close relatives who live within view of Fort Sumter, in SC.

[phonelady61]

Originally Posted by Alatex

No matter anyone's opinion on that flag or any other, messing with people's graves is wrong. A grave site is private property, and stealing anything from it (be it flags or flowers or potato chips) is just as wrong as stealing things from someone's house or car.

My thoughts exactly and I had a similar sittuation with a cemetery where my brother is buried and has been buried for years ,he was my twin and he died when we were 7 . well I have always gone on sundays when I lived close by and will do so again when i get back . however here was the problem I would put down artificial flowers and the attendant would pull them up . well I caught him one day and told him "You know you and I need to come to terms on this flower pulling thing . I proceeded to tell him he could be out there everyday in the hot sun pulling those up and then having me put new ones there every other day or he could leave them alone and we would not have to fight over it . guess what we came to terms and the flowers are always there when my sister goes to check and I will continue this untill I pass and then hopefully one of my other sisters or brothers continues this for me .I agree with you completely no one has the right except family to mess with another loved ones grave .

[TheJagMan]

Interesting augruement...Not whether or not you find the Confederate flag offensive, but if you did find something offensive, such as a Nazi flag on american grave, does anyone have the right to remove it?