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Quote:
Originally Posted by caribny
There is racism all over the USA but you must admit that Confederate flag waving small towns in parts of the rural South disguise their racism much less.
Displaying a flag is racist? LOL okay. I guess our PC society has been driven to believe a flag means you're a racist who hates colored folk
But hey, it's better than pretending to be open minded
Displaying a flag is racist? LOL okay. I guess our PC society has been driven to believe a flag means you're a racist who hates colored folk
But hey, it's better than pretending to be open minded
LOL! This is exactly what people mean when they say whites just aren't able to understand. A Confederate flag represents many generations of racism and people living in bondage to other people. That's why it is offensive, as it should be to any thinking person. It's about respect of other people. And the fact that you used the phrase "colored folk" speaks for itself. Wow!
LOL! This is exactly what people mean when they say whites just aren't able to understand. A Confederate flag represents many generations of racism and people living in bondage to other people. That's why it is offensive, as it should be to any thinking person. It's about respect of other people. And the fact that you used the phrase "colored folk" speaks for itself. Wow!
So then going by that train of thought.... is the guy wearing the Malcolm X t-shirt, or some of the other shirts touting black pride a racist?
The Confederate flag doesn't mean someone is racist. If you were born in the south, it's part of your history whether you like it or not. It's only representative of racism if you make it out to be. This works on both sides of the fence but somehow it seems to normally be driven back to whites being racist.
Racism in general is ridiculous and shouldn't happen. But by bringing it up over and over and screaming "That's racist!" anytime someone wants to have something that others find "offensive" is just causing the pot to boil.
I don't personally think we will ever get past racism. It's a sad reality, but too many people on both sides are quick to throw that word around and stoke the fire.
So then going by that train of thought.... is the guy wearing the Malcolm X t-shirt, or some of the other shirts touting black pride a racist?
The Confederate flag doesn't mean someone is racist. If you were born in the south, it's part of your history whether you like it or not. It's only representative of racism if you make it out to be. This works on both sides of the fence but somehow it seems to normally be driven back to whites being racist.
Racism in general is ridiculous and shouldn't happen. But by bringing it up over and over and screaming "That's racist!" anytime someone wants to have something that others find "offensive" is just causing the pot to boil.
I don't personally think we will ever get past racism. It's a sad reality, but too many people on both sides are quick to throw that word around and stoke the fire.
A person wearing a Malcolm X shirt is not displaying racism. Malcolm X was simply a historical figure who, along with others, attempted to affect change. I was born in the south and most of my ancestors came from the deep south, some were slaveholders. The Confederate Flag is not part of my history. It's a part of the history of a country and institution that have been gone for well over a century. Time to move on. Leave that old baggage behind and move on to better things. The Confederate Flag has nothing to do with me.
An old emblem or object or whatever that stood for racism or anything else may still hold those connotations for many. Think about it: Slavery was not so long ago. There were still former slaves alive in my lifetime and Jim Crow happened in my lifetime. Just because something doesn't offend you, doesn't mean it won't offend others.
And the truth of the matter is, if you study history impartially, most, if not all, racism in the US stems from whites--through official and unofficial policies and through social constructs. Just like some Blacks still harbor offense at the Confederate Flag and such, some whites still promote racism, either covertly or overtly.
I agree with you--it shouldn't happen. It's ridiculous and if everyone focused all that energy on something positive, imagine where we could be. And I also agree with you that we will never get past it.
LOL! This is exactly what people mean when they say whites just aren't able to understand. A Confederate flag represents many generations of racism and people living in bondage to other people. That's why it is offensive, as it should be to any thinking person. It's about respect of other people. And the fact that you used the phrase "colored folk" speaks for itself. Wow!
I'm not white
And certain white ethnic groups have faced racism and discrimination. One form or type of racism is not any worse than another
With symbols meaning is in the mind of the beholder. How many times have I read on the internet, "Why should I stand up for the American flag? It's just a piece of cloth." Yet to me it means something.
As a White person from the northern US I never made the connection to the Confederate flag with slavery until after I was in college and better informed. I did, however, make the connection to it with the hundreds of Minnesotans who were killed in the Civil War.
None of that was offensive to me. History isn't offensive to me. It just is. We have people here where I live (the site of the national conflict between the Indians and the settlers,) who would like to erase all mention of those terrible events. That horrifies me. It's as though, if we hide it, it didn't happen.
I say keep the light shining on everything, both positive and negative, so that we don't forget. And let's put the focus where it belongs - on the present.
A person can wave the American flag in honor of a family member who died in the war and that doesn't necessarily mean that he's celebrating the bombing of Hiroshima, you know. I doubt that most people who wear the Confederate flag are secretly saying they support slavery. In fact, it seems absurd to look at it that way.
Rather than judge each other by their symbols how about observing each others' behavior to figure out where they are coming from? If people are treating each other well and as equal that's all that matters, I think.
and to many the American flag represented freedom and salvation form oppression.
Moderator cut: off topic
The confederate flag is an historical piece and doesn't represent anything more than a few states who got sick of the federal government involved in more than they should be.
States rights were what they defended...maybe we need to do that today.
Last edited by Oldhag1; 08-06-2014 at 07:49 AM..
Reason: Unless a thread is specifically about politics discussion of liberalism/conservatism is off topic
and to many the American flag represented freedom and salvation form oppression.
Of course, today's liberals will see it differently because they don't study history..they only want to blame the US for everything.
The confederate flag is an historical piece and doesn't represent anything more than a few states who got sick of the federal government involved in more than they should be.
States rights were what they defended...maybe we need to do that today.
The civil war ended states rights as the founders understood it. Lincoln completely changed our government, how it operates, and how it effects us today.
The Supreme court said Lincoln went out of the bounds of the constitution, he ignored it. He should have been impeached.
The Confederate flag is not a racist symbol. And actually, the flag we speak of is the battle flag of North Virginia. The designers of the flag did not say, 'hey, this is to show that whites are better than blacks'. What they did say was- 'we do not want to be part of this union with the north anymore'. The symbols on the flag express this. there are 13 stars, the colonies and the big X. The X representing the desire to 'cross out' thier place within the union. While many during the time of slavery felt that whites were better, that is not what the flag was for. Is the flag associated with racism, sure, because the flag is viewed as a symbol for the south and the south was big on slavery....and had the mind set that white was superior. But the reality was that most white in the south did not own slaves, and many people in the south disagreed with slavery.
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