Thursday, June 25, 2015
Political Mayhem Thursday: The Confederate Flag
I'm from the North, but I have spent 14 years of my adult life in the South. And it wasn't a few years living in Austin, either. I went to college at a state school in Virginia (William and Mary) where the great majority of students were from the South. I also lived and worked for ten years in Waco, Texas. I've seen the confederate battle flag a lot, and I despise it. I would have no problem with its disappearance from the American cultural landscape.
When I was a freshman or sophomore in college (so, 1982 or 1983), I was walking one night with a few friends through a dark part of campus, thick with trees. There was a group coming towards us, a large group of men. As they got closer I could see that it was the members of an all-white fraternity, Kappa Alpha. They were wearing grey confederate uniforms and carrying a confederate battle flag. This wasn't an isolated incident-- KA chapters did the same thing all over the nation, calling them "Old South Parades." I remember people standing out of the way, black and white, and letting them pass as they sang some "Old South" song. I remember, too, just being ashamed. I was ashamed of my school, ashamed of my nation, and ashamed of myself, for not stepping into the middle of it and making a disturbance, and leading others to do the same. I remember one black student, standing across from me as they passed, and will never forget the look on his face. It wasn't anger, or confusion-- there was no confusing what was going on. It was sadness.
That moment convicted me of the damage these symbols do. I have heard the claims that the confederate flag represents "heritage," but it is a heritage of slavery and the economic and moral system that went with it.
The South has no lock on racism. There was plenty of that in Detroit, of course. But the toxic symbolism that reinforced the racism was, and is, more pronounced in the South.
States should not display Confederate symbols, but individuals have the right under the First Amendment to display a Confederate battle flag (or a skull and crossbones or a swastika or an effigy of the Pope). But if you do, that tells me something about you. And what it tells me is that you have something in common with those Kappa Alphas and their "Old South Parade." America deserves better, and we may be getting there.
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"...as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether."
The current indictment of the confederate battle flag is not especially nuanced or historically accurate or even self aware. On the other hand, while life is not fair or just--it is oftentimes fair and just. Aunt Polly was right: while the flag issue is pregnant with (sometimes willfully) misunderstood evidence, who can say the South is undeserving of punishment and humiliation for myriad other more egregious misdeeds?
While there is prosecutorial hypocrisy by the barrel, there is also truth. The South has sinned against humanity--and there are consequences to collective social trespass. The defense that the South faces disproportionate judgment on distorted and misunderstood charges is no defense at all, for in the heart of every Southerner is the realization that they are historically guilty of crimes deserving of punishment.
The current indictment of the confederate battle flag is not especially nuanced or historically accurate or even self aware. On the other hand, while life is not fair or just--it is oftentimes fair and just. Aunt Polly was right: while the flag issue is pregnant with (sometimes willfully) misunderstood evidence, who can say the South is undeserving of punishment and humiliation for myriad other more egregious misdeeds?
While there is prosecutorial hypocrisy by the barrel, there is also truth. The South has sinned against humanity--and there are consequences to collective social trespass. The defense that the South faces disproportionate judgment on distorted and misunderstood charges is no defense at all, for in the heart of every Southerner is the realization that they are historically guilty of crimes deserving of punishment.
WF, the point is not about sin and punishment. It's about the effects that these symbols have right now on American citizens. It is a constant reminder of a history of nothing short of enslavement.
That's not the same as people who might be offended by, say, a rainbow flag. Unless, I suppose, those offended were part of a group that had at one time been enslaved by lesbians.
That's not the same as people who might be offended by, say, a rainbow flag. Unless, I suppose, those offended were part of a group that had at one time been enslaved by lesbians.
I don't like to talk about that time in my life... I can never look at plaid or a Subaru without breaking into tears.
But in all seriousness, there are flags of genuine pride and hope, even if they have a checkered history, that hold a different place in society than ones that only serve as a reminder of conflict and agony.
But in all seriousness, there are flags of genuine pride and hope, even if they have a checkered history, that hold a different place in society than ones that only serve as a reminder of conflict and agony.
I have never understood the logic of putting a Confederate symbol on a state flag. Aside from the obvious racial aspect of the whole thing, it is just illogical. The Confederate states tried to break away from the Union, with the purpose of forming an independent nation. Why in the world would you put another nation's flag (even one that really never came into existence other) on your state flag? And yes, I'm looking at you Hawaii.
I grew up in the South (NC), and as a child I had a very romantic notion about the "lost cause." Additionally, our families taught us that slavery had "nothing" to do with the "war of northern aggression." Rather, the war was fought over "states' rights."
Well, to use today's phrase, that is "sheer applesauce."
As I grew older and expanded my horizons, my experiences, and my mind, I came to understand that there was absolutely nothing noble about the South's reasons for fighting the Civil War. Likewise, I came to abhor that flag.
In 1994, a couple of years after Spike Lee's movie "X," had come out (and young African Americans were wearing oversized t-shirts with giant X's on them), I passed by a kiosk in a Mobile, AL shopping mall where everything on sale was emblazoned with that flag. The thing I'll never forget about that kiosk was a t-shirt with that flag and the caption, "You wear your X, I'll wear mine."
In 2000, I got into a very heated discussion about that flag with the wife of the general director of the opera company that had hired me (I won't say which, but it was in the Deep South). She was a member of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, and spoke the party line about "heritage." The discussion did not end well, and that opera company never hired me again.
One might render honorable service during wartime, but if the cause for which one fought was dishonorable, then that dishonor completely trumps any honor the individual who fought for the dishonorable side might indeed have rendered.
That flag is as evil a symbol as is the Nazi swastika. Period, end of story.
Well, to use today's phrase, that is "sheer applesauce."
As I grew older and expanded my horizons, my experiences, and my mind, I came to understand that there was absolutely nothing noble about the South's reasons for fighting the Civil War. Likewise, I came to abhor that flag.
In 1994, a couple of years after Spike Lee's movie "X," had come out (and young African Americans were wearing oversized t-shirts with giant X's on them), I passed by a kiosk in a Mobile, AL shopping mall where everything on sale was emblazoned with that flag. The thing I'll never forget about that kiosk was a t-shirt with that flag and the caption, "You wear your X, I'll wear mine."
In 2000, I got into a very heated discussion about that flag with the wife of the general director of the opera company that had hired me (I won't say which, but it was in the Deep South). She was a member of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, and spoke the party line about "heritage." The discussion did not end well, and that opera company never hired me again.
One might render honorable service during wartime, but if the cause for which one fought was dishonorable, then that dishonor completely trumps any honor the individual who fought for the dishonorable side might indeed have rendered.
That flag is as evil a symbol as is the Nazi swastika. Period, end of story.
# posted by 
: 4:36 PM
: 4:36 PM
I am the direct descendant of two Union soldiers. One of whom, Thomas G. Brooke, saw heavy action in Shiloh, Vicksburg and elsewhere with the 77th Ohio. I remember the first time I saw a Confederate Flag on a car -- I was probably about 4 or 5. I asked my Dad, "didn't they lose?" Going to College in "the south" I had similar reactions to those of Talltenor and the Prof. And don't even get me started on the nutjobs that I have encountered at Virginia Republican conventions.
Many southern sympathizers/romanticizers are out and out racists.
But not all. That's the danger of painting with a broad brush.
I absolutely agree that the State of South Carolina, not to mention Alabama, Virginia, etc. should not be sponsoring, affiliating with or otherwise displaying the Confederate battle Flag.
However, whitewashing history bothers me too. The South's cause was not noble. But some of the men who fought for the south were. And many were brilliant.
Moreover, the South did not have a monopoly on the "peculiar institution" As Former Sen. Jim Webb pointed out, there were slave owners in the Union up and through the Civil War, including Union officers. The Emancipation Proclamation did not outlaw slavery nationwide -- it remained legal in Maryland, Kentucky and a couple other states until the Amendment.
What's next? The removal of statues, changes of names for streets, schools, parks, towns, etc.
Yes, the Confederacy attempted to perpetuate a practice that was abhorrent. But there has to be some sort of nuance. If we are to judge all societies of the past by present standards, then we should immediately stop any veneration and appreciation for Native Americans, Vikings, French Catholics, English and Irish Protestants, Irish Catholics, the Spanish and just about every race color and creed. Every civilization and ethnic group has something to be ashamed of in its past.
If any of my kids were to ever bring a Confederate symbol into my house as part of a piece of clothing or as a banner or piece of art, I would demand they return or destroy it. But if they want to study and discuss Robert E. Lee, J.E.B. Stuart, James Longstreet and many others, I am all for it.
Many southern sympathizers/romanticizers are out and out racists.
But not all. That's the danger of painting with a broad brush.
I absolutely agree that the State of South Carolina, not to mention Alabama, Virginia, etc. should not be sponsoring, affiliating with or otherwise displaying the Confederate battle Flag.
However, whitewashing history bothers me too. The South's cause was not noble. But some of the men who fought for the south were. And many were brilliant.
Moreover, the South did not have a monopoly on the "peculiar institution" As Former Sen. Jim Webb pointed out, there were slave owners in the Union up and through the Civil War, including Union officers. The Emancipation Proclamation did not outlaw slavery nationwide -- it remained legal in Maryland, Kentucky and a couple other states until the Amendment.
What's next? The removal of statues, changes of names for streets, schools, parks, towns, etc.
Yes, the Confederacy attempted to perpetuate a practice that was abhorrent. But there has to be some sort of nuance. If we are to judge all societies of the past by present standards, then we should immediately stop any veneration and appreciation for Native Americans, Vikings, French Catholics, English and Irish Protestants, Irish Catholics, the Spanish and just about every race color and creed. Every civilization and ethnic group has something to be ashamed of in its past.
If any of my kids were to ever bring a Confederate symbol into my house as part of a piece of clothing or as a banner or piece of art, I would demand they return or destroy it. But if they want to study and discuss Robert E. Lee, J.E.B. Stuart, James Longstreet and many others, I am all for it.
The issue of a flag has taken us away from a more needed discussion following the betrayal of trust that led to the deaths of 9 faith filled brothers and sisters.
Our American family has a way of finding symbolic and solvable issues while we fail to address the real flaws in our national character. If in our hearts we knew that we are one people and we are all to be treated with equal justice, flags will come down.
We must acknowledge that every day there are very real acts of injustice and discrimination happening under our national and state flags.
Our American family has a way of finding symbolic and solvable issues while we fail to address the real flaws in our national character. If in our hearts we knew that we are one people and we are all to be treated with equal justice, flags will come down.
We must acknowledge that every day there are very real acts of injustice and discrimination happening under our national and state flags.
I'm truly sorry that it took the murder of 9 wonderful people for this to finally become an issue. Certainly, the focus should be on the proliferation of handguns in a nation with more handgun deaths than any other. Still, if this hateful symbol, so used as part of a wider effort to enslave, torture, and emotionally cow an entire race were to forever disappear (save from the history books -- and mainly in the chapters on the KKK, which popularized this particular incarnation) -- I would be overjoyed. I hate it.
Bob
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Bob
# posted by : 3:36 PM
: 3:36 PM << Home
