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Several events over the last view years have put the Confederate flag in the national spotlight. It is a controversial symbol and for good reason. I grew up in Georgia and kept hearing the same thing "it represents southern heritage" or "it's about my southern pride". I ask my mother and her response was "I'm southern but it's not my pride". I'll save how I feel about the Confederate flag for later in the thread.
Living in the South, there is one segment of the population that never says that it represents "southern pride" or "southern heritage". That is the Black population. 55 percent of American's Black population lives in the South. Most Blacks regardless of what state they're born in have ancestors from the southern USA (see The Great Migration). By default, the majority of America's Black population are southerners or have southern heritage. However, a majority of Blacks do not claim the Confederate flag as part of their heritage. I can testify to this living in Georgia.
Outside of the "Blacks are brainwashed by the leftists" gaslighting line, I notice very few people can or will answer this question: Why aren't Blacks embracing the Confederate flag as part of their "southern heritage"? This is an important question to ask because. There is a major contrast between how many Whites view the Confederate flag vs how Blacks view the Confederate flag. And there are legitimate reasons for this. However, I'm noticing that said question is not being asked.
By the way, if the only thing anyone has to offer is "Blacks are brainwashed by the left" or some photo of a token Black person brandishing a Confederate flag, this is not the thread for you. I've seen that tactic so many times it's like a broken record. Gaslighting at its finest.
With the battle flag question, 58 percent of African-Americans said they view the flag unfavorably, while only 44 percent of the white respondents felt that way. Similarly, a majority of African-Americans saw the battle flag as a divisive image, while a majority of whites saw it as a representation of “Southern pride.”
Among African-Americans, 72% see the Confederate flag as a symbol of racism, just 25% of whites agree. In the South, the racial divide is even broader. While 75% of Southern whites describe the flag as a symbol of pride and 18% call it a symbol of racism, those figures are almost exactly reversed among Southern African-Americans, with just 11% seeing it as a sign of pride and 75% viewing it as a symbol of racism.
Among whites, there's a sharp divide by education, Among whites, there's a sharp divide by education, and those with more formal education are less apt to see the flag as a symbol of pride. Among whites with a college degree, 51% say it's a symbol of pride, 41% one of racism. Among those whites who do not have a college degree, 73% say it's a sign of Southern pride, 18% racism.
Why do blacks take a more unfavorable view of the confederate flag? Maybe because it was flown by soldiers who were fighting to keep them in bondage in perpetuity.
Why do blacks take a more unfavorable view of the confederate flag? Maybe because it was flown by soldiers who were fighting to keep them in bondage in perpetuity.
And I agree with you on that. What I'm talking is that this is a question that is rarely asked. A majority of African-Americans are southerners, and yet, a majority of African-Americans don't have a positive view of the Confederate flag. And there are individuals who either ignore this fact, or when faced with the fact, will say things like "you need a history lesson" or "the north didn't care about you" or "you're brainwashed by the left". Just gaslighting tactics to make it seem like Black people must somehow be stupid for not liking the Confederate flag. Many people don't ever consider WHY the Confederate flag isn't viewed in a positive light among African-Americans, despite a majority of them being southerners and/or having southern roots.
Why do blacks take a more unfavorable view of the confederate flag? Maybe because it was flown by soldiers who were fighting to keep them in bondage in perpetuity.
In addition to me agreeing with you, the Articles of Secession and the Confederate Constitution backs you up as well. Both point to slavery. I merely started this thread because some hard questions need to be asked.
Confederate stuff is exactly the same Heritage as Nazi stuff....that is, the flags and symbols of a failed effort to enslave other human beings.
Not much more complicated than that. Sure, I feel bad for the poor whites of the South who died and got hurt fighting for their Masters and Politicians. People are often caught at the wrong place and in the wrong time. So be it.
We are only guilty for the sins of our fathers if we fail to heed them and change to the light.
Confederate stuff is exactly the same Heritage as Nazi stuff....that is, the flags and symbols of a failed effort to enslave other human beings.
Not much more complicated than that. Sure, I feel bad for the poor whites of the South who died and got hurt fighting for their Masters and Politicians. People are often caught at the wrong place and in the wrong time. So be it.
We are only guilty for the sins of our fathers if we fail to heed them and change to the light.
And you and me are in a agreement on this. You and me have had a rapport with one another on previous thread. We both know what the Confederate cause was about. However, the amount of gaslighting that goes one, this thread should be started. Alot of people who claim "it's about southern heritage" never think to ask themselves why most Blacks don't see it that way. Some don't care to ask.
The Confederate cause was not an failed effort to enslave human beings. It was a failed effort to CONTINUE such a practice. And the irony is this. Slavery ended up being abolished anyway.
And yes, thousands of men died. I hate the Confederate flag and Confederate symbols. However, many who are pro-Confederate don't ever consider that there are legitimate reasons why many don't see the Confederate flag in a positive light. Many resort to gaslighting when faced with such a question.
I am not here to speak for anyone but me, a life long Southerner. The flag does not represent me. it does not stand for what I stand for. When I see it, I see racism and white supremacy. I see uneducated folks repeating the tired, stale line of "hurritage, not hate." They talk about their ancestors who fought for a morally bankrupt cause. My take is if the only part of the population who likes that flag are white people, then maybe there's something wrong with wht the flag stands for.
When I see it flying now, it's never outside a really nice looking house with a well kept yard and a nice house. It typically flies on the grounds of a ramshackle house or single wide where there are more cars in the weeds in disrepair than there are in the driveway. It's never on the grounds of the best or the brightest. It's at the home of Bubba and Loretta with their five fat kids in tank tops. Judgmental of me? Maybe, but only from 49 years of seeing my fellow Southern white folks.
One guy who has some mutual Facebook friends as me has a rebel flag as his profile pic. But he also has a script at the bottom of it with "United we stand" written over an American flag. I messaged him once and simply wrote, "Oh, the irony." He wrote LOL back. I'm not sure he got what I meant. SMH Maybe he did
When I see it flying now, it's never outside a really nice looking house with a well kept yard and a nice house. It typically flies on the grounds of a ramshackle house or single wide where there are more cars in the weeds in disrepair than there are in the driveway.
Now there is one of the questions of the ages. Why do people in the South always park their cars in on the lawn even if they have a perfectly good driveway and frontage on a street close to the house?
I scratch my head around here (mid-Florida) because locals with a nice machine will drive it right up to near the front door. Maybe 2 or 3 or 4 of 'em.
Only sense I can make of it......are these two possibilities....
1. It's hot as heck and the beer is heavy.
or
2. "I do it because I can" (maybe it even pisses off a stuck up northern transplant).
There are a lot of regional strange things like that. Up in MA. we noticed a few when we moved there....
1. People with really nice houses and grounds will hang out with their friends in chairs ON THE DRIVEWAY in front of the garage. I mean...this is a real THING. At first we thought it was a one-off, but it's not.
2. People in MA, when they bring a 6 pack or whatever to a get together, will pack up the two or three they have left and take them when they leave. Such a thing would never been done in NJ or PA.
I think I figured out these cultural memes also....#2 is obvious, Yankee frugality. #1 is because it is so frigging cold that the blacktop driveway and the fact that the sun can usually hit there....makes it the place of choice (warmth).
Now there is one of the questions of the ages. Why do people in the South always park their cars in on the lawn even if they have a perfectly good driveway and frontage on a street close to the house?
I scratch my head around here (mid-Florida) because locals with a nice machine will drive it right up to near the front door. Maybe 2 or 3 or 4 of 'em.
Only sense I can make of it......are these two possibilities....
1. It's hot as heck and the beer is heavy.
or
2. "I do it because I can" (maybe it even pisses off a stuck up northern transplant).
There are a lot of regional strange things like that. Up in MA. we noticed a few when we moved there....
1. People with really nice houses and grounds will hang out with their friends in chairs ON THE DRIVEWAY in front of the garage. I mean...this is a real THING. At first we thought it was a one-off, but it's not.
2. People in MA, when they bring a 6 pack or whatever to a get together, will pack up the two or three they have left and take them when they leave. Such a thing would never been done in NJ or PA.
I think I figured out these cultural memes also....#2 is obvious, Yankee frugality. #1 is because it is so frigging cold that the blacktop driveway and the fact that the sun can usually hit there....makes it the place of choice (warmth).
If you have a question, ask it. If you're just trying to throw shade on me and my fellow southerners, I'd probably suggest getting a hobby.
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