Southern pride? Racism? Both?

[LilAnn]

Brawl Breaks Out In Front Of SC Statehouse Over Confederate Flag « CBS Atlanta

After 9 black people were shot dead at their church in Charleston, SC it became an issue that the confederate flag is flown on the statehouse dome. Roof was seen in a number of pictures with the confederate flag. The issue right now is does the flag represent racism? Or does it represent southern pride? This was the issue when a fight broke out in Columbia between the people for and the people against the flag. One person made the observation that there hasn't been fights breaking out in Charleston, where the shooting occurred, but they have in Columbia.

This is where I give you my opinion, as a southern girl. I have lived in the south my entire life. I was born in Louisiana and over the years moved around SC, NC, Tn, and Ky. I wouldn't trade it for anyplace else... except for maybe Scotland. I love the weather, the country, the farms, the smell of tobacco burning in the barns, the food, the accents and dialects, and so on. I have seen more confederate flags being flown than you can possibly imagine.

I don't wear or fly the flag. My husband has a few shirts and a hat with the flag. He isn't racist at all. I know this because he's my husband. Its all about southern pride. I don't expect anyone who isn't from the south to understand that. I guess its one of those things you have to see for yourself. A lot of people from this world really are proud of it.

Most of us don't think we're better than anyone else, just a lot luckier. We are typically more patriotic towards the south than the country. Its bordering on hubris. Its THAT insanely powerful. The rebel flag represents that, and only that. There's nothing wrong with it.

 

[T-123456]

Brawl Breaks Out In Front Of SC Statehouse Over Confederate Flag « CBS Atlanta

After 9 black people were shot dead at their church in Charleston, SC it became an issue that the confederate flag is flown on the statehouse dome. Roof was seen in a number of pictures with the confederate flag. The issue right now is does the flag represent racism? Or does it represent southern pride? This was the issue when a fight broke out in Columbia between the people for and the people against the flag. One person made the observation that there hasn't been fights breaking out in Charleston, where the shooting occurred, but they have in Columbia.

This is where I give you my opinion, as a southern girl. I have lived in the south my entire life. I was born in Louisiana and over the years moved around SC, NC, Tn, and Ky. I wouldn't trade it for anyplace else... except for maybe Scotland. I love the weather, the country, the farms, the smell of tobacco burning in the barns, the food, the accents and dialects, and so on. I have seen more confederate flags being flown than you can possibly imagine.

I don't wear or fly the flag. My husband has a few shirts and a hat with the flag. He isn't racist at all. I know this because he's my husband. Its all about southern pride. I don't expect anyone who isn't from the south to understand that. I guess its one of those things you have to see for yourself. A lot of people from this world really are proud of it.

Most of us don't think we're better than anyone else, just a lot luckier. We are typically more patriotic towards the south than the country. Its bordering on hubris. Its THAT insanely powerful. The rebel flag represents that, and only that. There's nothing wrong with it.

You could also ask why no one was bothered with the flag until now.

 

[Corzhens]

We also have some kind of racial discrimination here although it is not much of the skin color but of the origina. Our country is composed of 7,100 islands so regionalism can be noted. Sometimes I am asking myself why there is discrimination. Is it because the other person looks different? Or he sounds different? Or he acts (as per his culture) different? Meybe it's about time that we learn how to accept people as our equal regardless of his characteristic.

 

[LilAnn]

You could also ask why no one was bothered with the flag until now.

There have always been people who opposed it being flown. And there have always been racist d-bags who fly the flag for the wrong reason and make the rest of us look like we're racist d-bags, too. So, why now is a really good question, and I can't think of a good answer.

We also have some kind of racial discrimination here although it is not much of the skin color but of the origina. Our country is composed of 7,100 islands so regionalism can be noted. Sometimes I am asking myself why there is discrimination. Is it because the other person looks different? Or he sounds different? Or he acts (as per his culture) different? Meybe it's about time that we learn how to accept people as our equal regardless of his characteristic.

71 islands is a lot. 710 islands is a helluva lot. But 7100??? That's just incredible!

I think people need to feed their ego. The easiest way to do that is find someone who is different from you in some way, and judge them for it and tell yourself you are better than them. Biases will always be a lot more common than acceptance or equality.

 

[User911]

Well, I did support the removal of the flag from official state grounds because really our beautiful American flag and the SC state flag should be enough to represent SC. I do understand that for a lot of people, the confederate flag does represent some terrible things that were committed in the name of racism and that would be a tough pill to swallow. But now, things seem to be getting out of hand and there is a call to remove the flag from everywhere and a lot of other southern symbols. It's getting kind of childish and silly. And what good would it really do to remove all these things? Nothing really. Racism doesn't start with an outward symbol. It starts with the condition of someone's heart. It's an internal issue, not an external one.

 

[Redheart]

There will always be people who will see the Confederate flag as a symbol of racism but a number of African-Americans who live in the south have come out to defend their state saying the flag has little to do with racism, that it is a symbol of Southern heritage and identity. Those who know nothing about the flag should let the Southerners decide whether they want to keep the flag flying or take it down.

 

[CrowdedHighways]

Actually, I think nobody is actually treating the flag as a symbol of their heritage, they are just using it as an excuse. Just like a neo-nazi might use the swastika symbol and claim that it is an ancient symbol that represents well-being and luck. Yes it is, but it is most likely not the reason why you chose this specific symbol, especially if you have at least a little bit of knowledge about WWII and the Nazi.

 

[Corzhens]

71 islands is a lot. 710 islands is a helluva lot. But 7100??? That's just incredible!

That many islands that's why ours is a multi-culture naturally created by those regions separated by waters. But the usual victims of discrimination here are those from far flung provinces that we call rube. They are the butt of jokes. Fortunately now, with the internet, those in the provinces are somehow kept abreast with current events and the cultural differences are just slight.

Now, in relation to that confederate flag, I guess it should not be a big issue if it is proven as isolated case.

 

[LilAnn]

Actually, I think nobody is actually treating the flag as a symbol of their heritage, they are just using it as an excuse. Just like a neo-nazi might use the swastika symbol and claim that it is an ancient symbol that represents well-being and luck. Yes it is, but it is most likely not the reason why you chose this specific symbol, especially if you have at least a little bit of knowledge about WWII and the Nazi.

Not to sound rude, but you are incredibly wrong.Do you suppose it represents racism when black people hang it their house? If you had ever lived in the south you would know that southern pride isn't only a white issue. Maybe this will make sense to you: I don't feel sorry for black people for being black. I DO, however feel sorry for yankees for living in the north. I can't imagine how boring life in the north must be. I'm not proud of being white. But I AM proud of being a southern girl. I have every reason to be proud of my heritage. I'm proud to know all the people I know (black, white, native american, asian, ALL of them). I have never met a KKK member. I wouldn't have any idea where to find one.
Believe me when I say I most certainly AM using it as a symbol of my heritage. The ignorance of people who want to assume they know a DAMN thing about me, or anyone else from around here annoys the s**t out of me!

 

[thomas pendrake]

More than 70,000 black Southerners fought in Southern military under that flag. They were fighting against the plunder of the South by the North. The lie that this War Between the States was about Slavery was told in order to justify it to Yankee civilians, who would never have tolerated the real agenda of the Yankee industrialists.