Has anyone else noticed more Confederate flags around, lately? (Cookeville: taxes, living in)

[Craziaskowboi]

I've noticed an increase in Confederate flags flying in northeast Georgia, including the Athens area.

[smpliving]

How is this tolerance and attitude of the Confederate flag viewed by blacks in Tennessee? Growing up on the West coast and living in the Upper Midwest, I've never understood this mentality. Seems to represent a period of time when black slavery was accepted as the norm. I know whites have their pride in their history, yet I don't get it when the flag represents a time of severe oppression for blacks.

[UKWildcat1981]

Flags shouldn't bother anyone, much important issues to worry about in America than a flag. Nobody can make you mad, you control your own thoughts.

[rainroosty]

The Confederate flag has a very important place in American history and will live on forever.

[Babe_Ruth]

Originally Posted by Ted Bear

The flag.. deserves to be told in a museum..

Ted, I agree the history & ideas of the Confederacy deserve an accounting in a museum setting, but my opinion, it's history/symbols shouldn't be solely, or forcefully, confined to museums.
I'm finding the assertion that the Battle Flag should only be hung on a museum wall is an argument designed to encourage capitulation from it's defenders. No one's telling Revolutionary War buffs to relegate their Betsy Ross flags to museum exhibits, etc. The argument that the Confederate flag is uniquely immoral is a selective, bigoted demonization.

Hypothetically, a Confederate flag supporter may buy into this unfair request: relegate your flag to a museum, & stop expressing your perspective.. in order to spare the feelings of those who hate, or are offended by the Battle flag. But now even museums are banning the flag. It's a fraudulent deal/offer.
Here's the account of Gettysburg's Seminary Ridge Museum, where they told re-enactors (on the seminary's grounds) not to fly the Confederate flags even in this purely historical context.
Historic Gettysburg seminary bans Confederate flags | News | witf.org

Keep the flag flying, don't allow people who hate it, to determine/define it's destiny. This is a free society, where different viewpoints should be respected, or at least tolerated.

[titanspreds_04]

I've certainly seen a rise in confederate flags around Nashville metro. I'm not a fan of the confederate flag, but I still have no idea what the flag had to do with the Charleston shooting. The Charleston shooting was absolutely tragic, but how will taking away the flag solve anything. If anything, I think it's being flown far more now than ever.

It's interesting to me how the media blamed a red flag with stars for the Charleston shooting. Yet when planned parenthood is recorded on video essentially killing babies, the media just sweeps this under the rug as if nothing happened. I typically don't ever get political, but it's becoming very apparent to me lately how biased the media is. It also seems that now more than ever that good/evil are often skewed.

That's just my humble Tennessee opinion. The above was not written to offend anybody.

[nashvols]

Originally Posted by Babe_Ruth

Ted, I agree the history & ideas of the Confederacy deserve an accounting in a museum setting, but my opinion, it's history/symbols shouldn't be solely, or forcefully, confined to museums.
I'm finding the assertion that the Battle Flag should only be hung on a museum wall is an argument designed to encourage capitulation from it's defenders. No one's telling Revolutionary War buffs to relegate their Betsy Ross flags to museum exhibits, etc. The argument that the Confederate flag is uniquely immoral is a selective, bigoted demonization.

I'm not one to tell people what they should and should not do. If you want to fly the flag, that's your decision. To me, it comes down to freedom of expression.

However, I would like to draw a distinct difference between the Revolutionary War and the Civil War. I do not think it is equivalent to compare the Betsy Ross flag to the Confederate flag. One represents a nation that still exists, and one represents the battle flag of a nation that no longer exists, and has not for 150 years.

I do not know of any native American citizen that does not wish that the American Revolution did not occur, or that we did not "win". However, as a native Southerner, I can tell you that I and many, many others, who are not at all shamed by the history of the Civil War, but are very glad that the Confederacy did not succeed.

I personally feel that the battle flag is more appropriate for a museum simply because it is a part of history, and has no real place in the present. On top of this, I will also say that I vehemently oppose the removal of historical confederate memorials (not so much newer creations like the heinous NBF statue on I-65 in Nashville). We should not scrub our history for political correctness. We should celebrate it. Not because of which side we were on, but we because survived it as a nation. Forget "good guys vs. bad guys", the whole saga is incredibly fascinating and worthy of study. Removing all things that offend anyone just further gives the excuse to NOT study a very, very important time in our nation's history.

Originally Posted by Babe_Ruth

Hypothetically, a Confederate flag supporter may buy into this unfair request: relegate your flag to a museum, & stop expressing your perspective.. in order to spare the feelings of those who hate, or are offended by the Battle flag. But now even museums are banning the flag. It's a fraudulent deal/offer.
Here's the account of Gettysburg's Seminary Ridge Museum, where they told re-enactors (on the seminary's grounds) not to fly the Confederate flags even in this purely historical context.
Historic Gettysburg seminary bans Confederate flags | News | witf.org

Keep the flag flying, don't allow people who hate it, to determine/define it's destiny. This is a free society, where different viewpoints should be respected, or at least tolerated.

Like I said, I strongly disapprove of trying to sanitize history.

It is a free society, but I can't say I understand the need to fly it outside of historical context. Are you a rebel soldier?

[Vascodagama]

Originally Posted by Ted Bear

Don't let it get you down. I find it quite scary, knowing what the flag stands for and seeing the ignorance, bigotry and racism SO openly displayed. But all they are doing is reminding us that it is here, needs to be cautiously avoided, and it will fade with successive generations.

Tennessee is the birthplace of the KKK and this uproar with the flag reminds us that we need to be vigilant against those people who would tear down years/decades of advancement in our country. It is sad, but nevertheless, an important awakening to be careful. Just like religious zealots, I don't think they mean any harm, necessarily, but their message is frightening and harkens back to another time...an ugly time..in our country.

Carry on. The Union is secure. The flag has a tremendous history and the story deserves to be told in a museum. I am sure there are those patriots among us that will ensure that is exactly how this current increase of flag incidents will resolve.

It's the radical progressive activists who are race-baiting our society for political gain (divide and conquer). They are trying to spark race violence around the nation ... and they are succeeding.

[An Einnseanair]

Originally Posted by 2mares

All I can say is do some research on the ACTUAL history of the civil war, slavery and racism, including actual documents, letters, and timelines as well throw in some 1800's sociology.

I remember studying American history in jr. high school. Civil war was a short chapter and basically said Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves. Well upon further study I found that's not exactly accurate and that war was so complex people still cant figure it all out.

Be careful doing research on divisive topics. There is a lot of info out there, published by both sides, that features so much "spin" it borders on outright lies. I believe the current term used to describe such information is "woo", although usually that term is used more for pseudoscience rather than revisionist history.

The best place to start with zero spin is with actual Civil War Era documents that are short, to the point, and written by the people who actually voted to secede specifically to convey the precise reasons why they did so: The Declaration of Causes or Seceding States. I recommend starting with Mississippi, as it's the shortest. For a lark, count the number of sentences that reference the different reasons currently used to explain the war (slavery, taxes, states' rights, etc.) to see which reason the authors considered the most important.

Originally Posted by 2mares

I think the number of people that identify with that flag (excluding the crazies and occasional extreme backwards redneck) certainly don't support slavery, don't hate blacks and aren't racists. I'm sorry that you feel that way. I think a lot of the folks displaying the flag now are only doing it because the PC police are telling them they cant.
I agree with Nashvols that all the hoopla is unnecessary and dumb on both sides.

I also agree. To one side, the flag has retained its original meaning, as a symbol representing a army fighting for a government that wanted to keep their people in literal chains. To the other side it has a completely different meaning. A whole generation has grown up where the only place they saw that flag was at Southern Rock concerts ("Freebird!!") and on the roof of a hot Dodge Charger associated with an even hotter girl wearing "Daisy Dukes". The "Rebel" symbolism switched from a traitorous insurrection against their own government into a couple of good ol' boys fighting against a corrupt local government. After all, they were "never meanin' no harm."

Originally Posted by Don9

It's the radical progressive activists who are race-baiting our society for political gain (divide and conquer).

You're halfway there. The full and correct statement should be:

"It's the radical progressive activists [working together with the radical conservative hatemongers] who are [] baiting our society for political gain (divide and conquer)."

I know more people of various races, religions, and sexual preferences than I can bother to count, and I have more similarities with all of them than I have differences. And yet, if I were to listen to Faux News or MSNBC or conservative talk radio or Huff Po I would find out that we have nothing in common and we should all hate each other.

[NCN]

It is sad that so many people were murdered in church but it is so dumb to start hatred toward a flag. As I have said before, I had ancestors fight under that flag and I will not join you in your effort to dishonor them. Leave history alone. It's history and history is not supposed to be changed. There are a lot of things going on now in the United States to be offended and disgusted about but most have nothing to do with the confederate states.

If you want to do something to remove hateful practices then defund Planned Parenthood. That has always been a disgusting organization. Better yet, take away its tax exempt status.