First off, I am think the people and companies that have stopped making and selling confederate flag memorabilia and items is going a bit too far. The Dukes of Hazzard thing is just stupid. I believe that people should have every right to fly the flag if they so wish, post it at confederate memorials and fly it at cemetaries of the southern fallen from the civil war. That's all well and good.
What I do have issue with is a state governemt flying a flag of rebellion at a state house and I am unsure of the need to have it as part of a state flag.
It is, after all, a flag of rebellion. A flag that symbolizes the darkest part of America's history. And a flag that is, whether you like it or not, a symbol of slavery and black oppression.
From Mississippi's declaration of succession...
"Our position is thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery- the greatest material interest in the world."
In a speech by Alexander Stevens (VP of the Confederacy) he said.
"The Confederacy's cornerstone rests upon the real truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery- subordination to the superior race- is his natural and normal condition"
And another problem is the timing of the reinstatement of the rebel flag in many parts of the south directly coincided with the civil rights movement in the 1960s.
I am not personally offended by the flag, and have really no stock in whatever decision is made. I just can't understand why many people choose this symbol of racism and division as a proud part of their heritage.
