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I know that we have freedom of speech under the First Amendment so technically the rebel flag CAN be flown anywhere in the nation. However with more debates heating up about kids being sent home from school for flying it or wearing it there's been debate about what settings its "appropriate" and when it isn't. Its especially controversial where I live now in West Virginia and where I previously lived in Maryland since both are south of the Mason-Dixon Line and both were forced to stay in the Union against their will (a lot of theories of how WV separated from Virginia since at that time a majority of people in what's now WV's 55 counties did NOT want to leave Virginia and wanted to be in the Confederacy).
There are some who say that because of the First Amendment the rebel flag should be acceptable anywhere in the US.
There are some who say that the rebel flag is only acceptable south of the Mason-Dixon Line, and some that say its only acceptable in states that used to be part of the Confederacy.
Then there are those who make it racial and say that its acceptable if you are in the former Confederacy AND you are in a mostly white (or at least non-black) setting.
I live in the southern half of West Virginia and here is it NOT seen as a symbol of racism or slavery. I am a non-white person and have it and so do many of my closest friends and this has also been the case living in a working class area in Maryland as well. I know people who fly the flag who are in interracial marriages. I see it as showing pride in living in a rural area and it represents a country lifestyle and Southern pride as well as opposition to the federal government, which I believe to be the main cause of the war.
My personal opinion is that it should be acceptable anywhere in the nation but that it can be kind of disrespectful if flown north of the Mason Dixon Line. I personally don't wear it above the Mason-Dixon Line though I've seen it flown in Ohio and Pennsylvania and these were from people's homes, though the Columbus area in particular does have a lot of transplants from West Virginia and Kentucky. I also avoid having it when going to areas with high black populations since they are often brainwashed by the liberal media and liberal teachers and have the wrong idea of what the flag represents. I don't see why the liberals interpretation of the flag should supersede mine but its not worth a physical confrontation.
As a personal statement - say on the bumper of a pickup truck - it's fine by me everywhere, in the sense that the owner of that truck has every right to put it there, regardless of the negative feelings anyone else might have about it.
As an official symbol of allegiance - say, flying alongside the US flag in front of the county courthouse - it is not acceptable anywhere.
As a personal statement - say on the bumper of a pickup truck - it's fine by me everywhere, in the sense that the owner of that truck has every right to put it there, regardless of the negative feelings anyone else might have about it.
As an official symbol of allegiance - say, flying alongside the US flag in front of the county courthouse - it is not acceptable anywhere.
I met socially acceptable to fly in front of your house, have on a t-shirt or on a bumper sticker. I do think only the national, state, and county flags should be displayed "officially" in front of a public building but I'm okay with the flag in the South Carolina statehouse as it doesn't have official status.
I think anywhere south of the Mason Dixon Line, it should be socially acceptable for a private business to display a rebel flag, or for it to be brought to football games, concerts, parades, etc and of course on private property. I do try to avoid wearing my Confederate colors when I travel north of the Mason-Dixon Line, though a point CAN be made that if its okay for illegal aliens to fly the Mexican flag after coming to the US, why can't a transplanted Southerner living in Ohio fly their flag there.
It's a shame some people outside the South have a negative perception of the flag just because of the liberal media, liberal Hollywood and the liberal public school systems. Even within the South there are liberal educators (and not all of them are transplants) who are trying to ban the Confederate flag from schools. The people I know who fly the flag are NOT racist. I do know that it really gets the liberal elite riled up when they see it when they travel here to West Virginia and see the flag flying. I don't see why it is a symbol of racism just because the liberal elite says it is. Their beliefs to not take precedence over ours.
I've noticed people from the north who are Civil War buffs and have studied American history extensively are usually NOT offended by the rebel flag and understand that the war was not mainly about slavery. There was some debate about how during the government shutdown a tea party protestor brought a Confederate flag to the White House and the liberal elite media said it was racist but the war was as much over taxes and the unfair tariffs charged on the South than it was about slavery and it also represents rebellion against an overreaching and overbearing federal government much like the one we see today.
People have the freedom to fly it. However, I don't consider it appropriate to fly it anywhere. I don't want to ever see it flown. I have my own personal reasons for that.
It has its place in cemeteries and at battlefields and historic places associated with the Civil War. I'm also okay with it down south on private property if that's their thing. Up north, its pretty much a dork statement. Ditto flags of foreign countries.
Private property (regardless of location-they're popular in rural Australia for some reason) and any ex-CSA city/county/state buildings/flags if the majority chooses.
I'm from New York so I don't care much per se (though I have seen them flying in rural New York), but the above approach gibes with my ideas on freedom of expression and association.
I will say I find the "stars and bars" vastly aesthetically superior to the irritatingly asymmetrical American flag.
People should be able to fly whatever flag they want wherever they want. It might not make them very popular in their community but the community is free to express their dislike just as much as the person is free to fly their flag.
People should be able to fly whatever flag they want wherever they want. It might not make them very popular in their community but the community is free to express their dislike just as much as the person is free to fly their flag.
In times past when nations meant something, if you raised a flag other than the Republics, it meant another nation owned that ground and was usually a cause to go to war.
The flag meant many things, and told a story, how it was presented.(half mask, upside-down)
I wonder why people focus so much on flying or displaying the battle flag of the Army of Northern Virginia (which is commonly shown)?
Would it be appropriate for those that live in the thirteen original colonies, and whom wish to show their displeasure over the American Revolution and the resulting severance from the United Kingdom, to fly the UK flag in their yard, or have it on bumper stickers?
Here in Texas I guess I have my choice of flags: I can fly the Spanish flag to show my reverence for the Spanish empire; or perhaps the flag of France to show my displeasure with the Spanish. I could then move on to the flag of Mexico, to show my adherence to Mexico and disdain of France. Of course, I have stored away my old Flag of the Republic of Texas, to show my longing for the old days of true Texas independence. When I get misty eyed, I could then pull out the Stars and Bars of the United States of America, only to yank it down to put up the battle flag of the Army of Northern Virginia (since the official Confederate flag is not 'cool' looking). If I am afraid of what the neighbors will think, then I can put the Stars and Bars of the USA back up.
I guess I shall store away all the old flags, and show my allegiance to the country I was born in: the United States of America. I shall not waste my time dreaming of times far ago.
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