The Confederate Flag IS Racist & Excuses For It Are Wrong

(These photos of Confederate flags at Trump rallies are from pinterest.com.)

It's obvious to any reasonable person that the Confederate flag is a racist symbol. It represented a country created solely to protect the institution of slavery, and whether they admit it or not, the people who fly it today are unabashedly flying a racist symbol. They have come up with all kinds of pathetic excuses to deny that racism, but none of them pass the smell test. The flag stinks of racism, and those who fly it are racists.

James Schlarmann has written an excellent article for Modern Liberals, in which he debunks the most popular excuses for flying that odious flag. Here is most of that article:

I want to talk some more about the Confederate Flag, and some of the more idiotic excuses I’ve seen for embracing it. . . .

“Slavery Was On Its Way Out Anyway!”

I bet that would bring much comfort to the slaves of the time.

“Hey man, just hang in there with that whole ‘being someone else’s property’ thing, we swear we’ll be done with slavery…soon…ish.” Because nothing says “we know it’s wrong to do what we’re doing” like keeping right on doing what you’re doing and breaking ties with an entire nation to protect that wrong behavior’s “tradition.”

Also the European slave trade had already been abolished nearly thirty years prior. Slavery, like socialized medicine, was a subject that Americans were just woefully behind the Europeans about. Yet, it’s not like it took 30 years for news to travel the Atlantic; people here knew. Of course they knew. They fought over slavery in the first Continental Congress. It was morally reprehensible then, whether the Southern powers that be wanted to admit it or not.

And all of that is just noise anyway, because the fact still remains that the Civil War was started after Southern states left the union in order to protect their slave trade industry. The confederate flag — any version of it — is a symbol of people who fought to preserve slavery, and it doesn’t actually make them more sympathetic to say slavery was out on its own anyway. It just makes them look like racist, backward, unevolved assholes who knew what they were doing was wrong, but they kept doing it anyway to preserve their little sphere of power.

“The Stars and Stripes Are What Was Flown On Slave Ships!”/”What About The Mistreatment of the Native Americans?”

Oh yay! It’s Deflection Time!

1. Yes, some truly terrible shit was, has been, and still is perpetrated under the good ol’ stars and stripes.
2. That’s why people that share my point of view don’t tend to put a lot of meaning behind any flag because they’re, well, fucking flags.
3. None of this excuses the South’s role in trying to further spread slavery and more importantly…
4. None of this means the confederate flag today, doesn’t still symbolize the confederacy, which again, is historically provable to have been fully committed to the cause of slavery.

“It Was About States’ Rights!”

Sure it was. The states’ “right” to “own black people as property” was threatened by the election of Abraham Lincoln, or at least that’s what the scared Southern power structure believed, and so they started jumping ship. You can try and obfuscate the details of history in any way you please, but applying a modern filter of “states’ rights” on this issue is just a neat little history revisionist’s trick to try and distract everyone from the plain and simple truth the only “right’ the states in the south were fighting to protect was the right own slaves. Ergo, the confederacy was truly about slavery’s preservation at its core, and you flying your goddamned confederate flag does indeed put you right on the same side as the slave-owning bastards who sent southern boys who’d never owned a slave but sure were under the impression that they should be allowed to off to war with their fellow Americans.

“It Was About Economics!”/”Irish Immigrants Were Abused in the Factories of the North!”

Again, these kinds of arguments are only meant to deflect away from slavery. But you cannot extricate slavery from the secession of the confederate states, from the importance it played in this country’s founding from the very beginning, or from the fabric of history that so plainly shows what the tipping point was. Sure, there have been times since that I myself have felt the Federal government was overstepping its bounds — marijuana laws being chief among them — but that doesn’t mean that the fight to legalize pot and end the War on Drugs is even in the same universe as slavery, and if you need me to explain why, just please go get spayed or neutered now so the derp in your bloodline can be quickly snuffed out.

The Irish immigrant thing is cute and all, but it doesn’t mean that your confederate flag isn’t racist. All you’ve pointed out is another era in which Americans were very terribly shitty to foreign immigrant. How the Irish were treated does not in any way negate how black slaves were treated, and again I have to ask that you sterilize yourself if you need me to explain why that is. Oh, and no, they weren’t enslaved like Africans were; that’s white supremacist mythology.

Bottom Line Time: Today Flying That Flag Is Racist

In the end, the facts just stack up this way: slavery was a racist practice. Racist Southern plantation owners practiced slavery (yes, even Thomas Jefferson should be put in that category; dude knew it was wrong and kept right on doing it). When those racist slave owners decided their economic prosperity built on one of the worst abject and gross violations of a populace’s civil rights in history was worth leaving the country for, and ultimately starting a war over, they permanently imbued all iconography associated with their cause with the dark shadow of racism.

Maybe you’re a naturally rebellious person; God knows I am. Maybe you have an irreverent streak in you that says “Fuck the man, I’m my own person!” None of that is bad. In fact, I admire the vocal rebel as much as any other creature of American mythology. But you can be all those things, and declare yourself as such without latching onto the symbols of a truly heinous and disgusting part of our shared history together. The point is that we all should feel shame for the slave trade; not some misplaced anger that people of color have a genuine grievance for how their ancestors were treated and more importantly, how they’re treated to this day.

The way society works is that over time we have these long conversations with each other; we hash out issues like this. And the overwhelming majority of people these days rightfully attribute the flags and other elements of the confederacy with the abhorrent practice of the slave trade. All the hemming and hawing over some other filtration of the data just doesn’t matter. Feel free to fly that piece of racist shit if you want, but don’t piss on our legs and tell us it’s raining.

Your confederate flag represents racism.

Amarillo To Have A Ridiculous "Rebel Flag" Rally

If there was any doubt that idiots and racists still exist in Amarillo, this should settle the matter. Today, there is to be a "Fly Your Flag" rally in the city -- and of course, the flag referred to is the Confederate battle flag (pictured above in a photo from Amarillo's Channel 10 News).

James Roberts, organizer for the event, said, "We're tired of the liberals trying to say our flag is hatred and racist . . . You know, 1860's we battled for our rights and now they're trying to take our rights away again".

Being a resident of Amarillo, I have a few things to say about this.

1. The removal of the Confederate flag from state property in South Carolina (and hopefully some other states) has nothing to do with taking rights from anyone. It simply removes a symbol (that many people are offended by) from flying on government property. State governments represent all citizens of the state, and the only flags that should fly (because they represent all citizens) are the state and U.S. flags. Any person who wants to fly the Confederate flag can still do so (or decorate their property or cars with that flag). The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees them that right -- no matter how offensive it may be to others.

2. There was only one right being defended by the Confederacy (and fought against by the United States) in the 1860's -- the right to continue to own slaves. No other "state right" was in question. And anyone who says otherwise is trying to rewrite history to fit their own bigoted ideas. If this flag represents any heritage, it is a heritage of slavery and white privilege.

3. The Confederate flag does not now, and has never represented, the heritage of the Panhandle of Texas. Note the map of 1866 Texas at the bottom of this page. At the time the Confederate flag was the flag of the South, the Texas Panhandle had no slavery, no plantations, and in fact, had not even been divided into counties. It was Indian country, and had very few (if any) settlers. The Panhandle has never had a "Southern" heritage -- it has a "Western" heritage, and even that didn't really start until after the Civil War (when the Confederacy was nothing but a bad memory). To think the Confederate flag celebrates Panhandle heritage is simply ludicrous.

(PERSONAL NOTE -- I was born and raised in Texas, and still live there. My mother's family came to Texas from Arkansas, and my father's family from Alabama. My Southern roots are strong -- and so is my dislike of this hateful flag.)

Public Gives Emphatic NO To Flying Confederate Flag

The state of South Carolina (and some other Southern States) displays the Confederate flag on state property -- and after the tragic murders in Charleston, this has once again become an issue across the country. Some still try to claim that flag is a symbol of Southern heritage -- neglecting the fact that the heritage represented is one of white supremacy, slavery, and hate.

So what does the country as a whole think about that flag being flown on government property? The YouGov Poll surveyed Americans to find out. Their survey was done between June 23rd and 25th of 1,000 randomly chosen national adults, and the survey has a margin of error of 4.7 points.

It turns out that the public is overwhelmingly against flying that flag on any government property. Only 20% think it should be permissible, while 65% say it should not happen. And that opinion holds across gender, race, political, and regional lines -- and that includes 53% of Republicans and 64% of Southerners.

It's time to take those flags down.

U.S. Public Says Take The Flag Down

After the racist shootings in Charleston, many people were offended that the state of South Carolina continued to fly the Confederate battle flag in front of the state capitol building. It was a slap in the face, not only to the victims of the shooting, but to decent Americans everywhere.

Right-Wingers tried to defend the flag being flown on state property at first, using the old "heritage" argument. But that's not working anymore (except for the racists). Most people understand the heritage being defended is one of hate and racism.

Now Walmart has taken all the Confederate flag memorabilia off their store shelves -- and the governors of South Carolina and Alabama have come out in favor of ceasing to fly that flag, while the governor of Mississippi says it should be removed from their state flag. I say it's about time. No state should be flying that symbol of hate -- a symbol that can't help but offend many of their citizens.

And that seems to be the opinion of a substantial majority of Americans. The Rasmussen Poll asked 1,000 likely voters nationally on June 22nd and 23rd (with a margin of error of 3 points) if the flag should be taken down, and 60% said yes, while only 21% said no. I agree. The Civil War has been over for more than 150 years, and decent people in every state understand that slavery was evil. It's time to stop flying that flag, and put it in the history museums (which is the only proper place for it now). Maybe then we can get busy eliminating the racism that still exists in this country.

(NOTE -- The image at the top of this post is from a Kayne West T-shirt being sold on his latest tour, and was found at The Huffington Post.)

The Confederate Flag Is A Symbol Of Hate - Not Heritage

The flag pictured here is the Confederate battle flag that flies in front of the South Carolina capitol building. It continued to fly at full staff after the Charleston shooting, even though the U.S. and South Carolina flags were lowered to half-staff out of respect for the victims of that hate crime.

There are many who are saying that odious flag should have been lowered or removed out of respect for the victims. I have a different view. It should not have been flying on official government property in the first place -- and it should permanently removed (and as our president said, placed in a museum).

This is NOT a flag of America. It is the flag of an enemy nation of the United States -- and a case could easily be made that flying it is an act of treason.

I know that some claim the flag represents their heritage. That's ludicrous. I was also born and raised in a former Confederate state, and for me the flag is nothing but an embarrassment -- the flag of an enemy nation, and a nation that killed many thousands of Americans to defend its right to keep people in slavery. It is not a defensible symbol of heritage, anymore than the Nazi flag is a symbol of heritage for German-Americans or the North Vietnamese flag is a symbol of heritage for Vietnamese-Americans.

It is however, a symbol of racism and hate. It has been used by the Ku Klux Klan, neo-nazi groups, militia groups, and other groups who support racism and hatred, and for most Americans, it instantly brings to mind racism, bigotry, and hate. That one fact alone should make it indefensible for a sate (or city) government to fly that flag.

There are also those who consider it a free speech issue. And I agree that individuals should be able to fly any flag they want to fly -- no matter how offensive it might be. But we are talking here about the state government of South Carolina flying this symbol of hate -- and that is indefensible. In a country that says it supports freedom and equal rights for all its citizens, it is simply wrong (and immoral) for a government entity to fly this flag.

This country still has serious racial problems (as was demonstrated this week in Charleston), and we need to be having a national discussion on how to solve that problem. But how can we do that when state governments continue to fly symbols of racial hatred?

Supreme Court Says Texas Can Ban Racist Plates

Texas allows certain groups to create their own "vanity" license plates. These plates cost more, and some of the extra money goes to the organization creating the plates. About 5 years ago, the Sons of Confederate Veterans asked the state to allow a plate supporting their organization (pictured above) -- a plate that would have the Confederate battle flag on it.

The state refused to allow the license plate, saying it would be considered offensive by many Texas citizens. I believe they were correct in denying the plate (and I certainly found it offensive). It would be tantamount to the state support (or at least condoning) a racist symbol.

The Sons of Confederate victims filed suit to force the state to issue their plates, claiming the denial was a violation of their freedom of speech -- and a lower court agreed with that argument, saying Texas must issue the plate. Texas appealed to the Supreme Court. They did not see this as a free speech issue (and neither do I).

The Supreme Court has now ruled, and it came down on the side of Texas in a 5 to 4 decision. In an unexpected move, Justice Thomas joined the court's four liberals in saying the state had the right to refuse to issue the plate. The court said:

 "just as Texas cannot require (Sons of Confederate Veterans) to convey 'the state's ideological message...(the Sons of Confederate Veterans) cannot force Texas to include a Confederate battle flag on its specialty license plates."

The Symbol Of Racism In America Today

The flag depicted above was not the official flag of the traitorous Confederate States of America, but it is the flag they most often carried into battle -- and it is the flag most often connected to the CSA. It is also the symbol of racism in America these days.

I know that there are those who will tell you it is just a symbol of "Southern pride" and has nothing to do with any racial views. These are the same people who claim the Civil War was not fought over slavery, but "states rights". They are lying, and they know it. They just don't want to be honest about their racism, because while there are still too many racists in this country, they are a diminishing minority -- and they know that decent people don't approve of their racial depravity.

The truth is that the Civil War would never have been fought if slavery had not existed, and all you have to do is read the constitutions of the 13 states that tried to leave the union to know that. They made it very clear that the right they were defending was the right to enslave their fellow humans. The flag above was at that time a symbol of those who supported slavery -- and today it represents something very similar. It represents hate and racism.

Many racists today prefer to keep their beliefs secret, because they know they will probably be vilified for expressing those beliefs. But many think they can display their racism by displaying the odious flag above, while trying to cloak its reality with a term like "Southern pride". It doesn't work. If you see anyone displaying this symbol of hate, you can be sure they harbor racist beliefs (whether they want to admit it or not). I grew up in one of those 13 states (Texas), and I can assure you that there are many ways to display pride in a home state without displaying a symbol of hate and racism.

That brings me to my reason for this post. A recent YouGov Poll (conducted on October 14th and 15th of 2013 of 1,000 adult Americans, with a margin of error of about 4.3 points) surveyed Americans about this symbol. And I believe it presents a pretty clear snapshot of racism in America today. The results of the survey are displayed in the charts below.

Of particular interest to me was what it showed about the Republican Party. Republicans publicly deny that they are the party preferred by racists, but this poll shows that is just not true. While too many Americans in general say the flag just represents "Southern pride", the only political group with a majority having that belief is the Republican Party. And in the second chart, which shows those who approve of flying that racist symbol in public, note that the Republicans are the only group that have more approving than disapproving. That speaks for itself.

They Don't Even Try To Hide It Anymore

(Image is from the Facebook page of Steve Marmel.)

Southern racists have adopted as one of their symbols the Confederate battle flag (the flag of those states who left the Union so they could preserve the institution of slavery, and went to war against the United States). In the last few years, it has not been acceptable to openly admit to racism, so the racists have taken to saying they fly that odious flag to honor their heritage or their ancestors who fought for the Confederacy.

I have never bought that argument. These people who fly that flag have to know that the great majority of people in the United States consider it to be a racist symbol. I think they fly it because it speaks for their feelings about race without them having to actually admit publicly that they have such feelings.

The scene in the picture above is a teabagger rally outside the White House. The flag being flown there (and accepted by the entire crowd) cannot be said to be flown to honor Southern heritage, since those people were not there to celebrate that heritage (and many of them are probably not even from the South). They were there to demonstrate against President Obama, and that flag was there to demonstrate their feelings about having an African-American president. It was there to insult the president.

Some have tried to claim the tea bagger movement is not racist (in spite of the racist signs that seem to appear at all their rallies). Frankly, their flying the Confederate battle flag outside the White House tells me they aren't even trying to hide their racist feelings anymore. They're proud of their racism.

Sadly, that should be a sign for all decent Americans of just how far we still have to go in this country to conquer racism.

Mistake Or Political Statement ?

Citizens of the state of Mississippi will recognize the top flag above. It is their state flag. The bottom flag is not. It is the battle flag of the Confederacy -- and a modern symbol of racial intolerance. It seems that there are some state workers in Mississippi that can't tell the difference between those two flags.

For a couple of hours last Friday, the bottom flag was flown over the Mississippi Supreme Court building. A spokesman for the state said it was an accident. Here is how that accident happened according to The Clarion-Ledger:

The Confederate battle flag was placed atop the state Supreme Court building about 2 p.m. Friday as a result of a mistake, explained Kym Wiggins, public information officer for the state Department of Finance and Administration.

She said the flag accidentally was put up to replace a Mississippi state flag that was tattered and torn.

Wiggins said workers had gone to the local vendor to get state flags and were given two boxes labeled “Mississippi State Flag.”

Unknown to the workers, the boxes actually contained Confederate battle flags, she said.

A maintenance worker put the flag up at 2 p.m., and it had been replaced by 4 p.m. after the mistake was realized, she said. “It’s unfortunate.”

I don't know about you, but I'm having trouble believing this was an "mistake". Does anyone really believe these workers can't tell the difference between those two flags -- especially since they undoubtably view the real state flag almost every workday? I certainly don't.

I believe these workers were making a political (and probably racist) statement. And once the "mistake" was realized by others, the workers lied about it -- probably suddenly realizing their stupid little venture might actually cost them their jobs.

The "mistake" did provide the chance for a little humor by Joseph Parker, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Southern Mississippi, though. He said, "Have we seceded already? The execution is faster than I thought."

Texas Rejects Confederate License Plate

The picture above shows the license plate that the Sons of Confederate Veterans wanted Texas to approve. The speciality plate would have raised money for the organization -- money they said would be spent honoring Confederate veterans of the Civil War.

The problem with that is that the plate contained the Confederate battle flag, which has become a symbols for hatred and racism across this country. State Sen. Rodney Ellis (D-Houston) put it well when he told the Department of Motor Vehicles Board, "The state of Texas should not sanction what's become a symbol of hatred and racism. The Confederate battle flag has become a symbol of violence, repression, not heritage."

On Thursday, that board voted unanimously to reject the proposed plate. It was the proper decision and I'm very glad the board decided that way. But don't get the idea that Texas Republicans have mended their ways and now want to champion equal rights and minority rights. That's not why the decision was made.

You have to understand that every single one of these board members was appointed by Governor Rick Perry, who just happens to be running for president at the current time. Perry is not the brightest bulb on the tree, but even he knows that an open racist cannot be elected president. Just a few days ago, he made a public statement saying he opposed approving the plate. These board members were simply giving their "boss" what he wanted.

The Sons of Confederate Veterans have indicated they will not give up their efforts to have the plate approved, complete with it's symbol of hate. They may go to court, or they may just wait until the election season is over. Either way, this fight is not over, and there's still a good chance the plate might be approved in the future.

Defeating racism has never been easy. It is a continuing fight that decent people of all colors must wage every day.

Racist License Plate Proposed For Texas

The Sons of Confederate Veterans have asked the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles to approve the above license plate. They believe the plate, bearing the battle flag of the Confederacy, would be appropriate here in the 150th year since the start of the Civil War.

The DMV has taken one vote on the matter and it ended in a tie (with one board member absent). It takes a majority to approve a new plate, so the group was one vote short of getting the plate approved. There will be another vote on this matter -- after Governor Perry appoints a new board member in September (to replace one that died recently).

The group is saying they want to honor Southern heritage. I have to wonder though if this is a heritage that should be honored. This battle flag they want to put on Texas plates was the flag of an enemy of the United States. It was also the flag of an army that fought to defend the institution of slavery. And it has been used since the end of the Civil War as an emblem celebrating racism by many racist groups, including the Ku Klux Klan.

Instead of representing a heritage worthy of honor, this flag is seen as a symbol of hatred by most people these days. And it is a reminder of oppression and segregation to many. Personally, I think it would make just as much sense to put a swastika on a license plate to honor German immigrants in the state -- which would also represent an enemy of this country and oppression of another group (Jews).

Symbols of oppression and bigotry honor no one, and that's what this flag has become. It should never be approved to go on any official state property -- not license plates or anything else.

Confederate Flag Loses Again

The confederate flag has lost again. Only this time, instead of a civil war, the loss happened first in a Texas school and then in a federal courts.

Back in early 2006, two Texas high school girls went to school with purses that bore the image of the confederate battle flag. School officials told them the purses were not permitted at the school in Burleson ( a city of about 30,000 residents located just south of Fort Worth).

School officials tried to confiscate the purses, and when the girls refused to give them up they were sent home. Evidently the girls' parents were as racist as their offspring, because they sued the school district, demanding the school district "clear the girls' student records, acknowledge that their constitutional rights were violated and pay unspecified damages."

When a federal judge dismissed their case in 2008, they appealed the decision. Yesterday, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans affirmed the judges decision. The court decided that the school had the right to ban racist symbols, and no one's constitutional rights had been violated.

I commend the actions of the school, the federal judge and the federal appeals court.

Confederate Flag Problems

It hard to believe anyone would want to fly the confederate flag in this day and age, but a couple of Northeast Tarrant County guys were doing it. You would think they are old enough to know better -- one is 57 years-old and the other is 62 years-old. At least they were too embarrassed to let the newspaper use their names.

The 62 year-old lives in Bedford, and flies both the American and Confederate flags in his back yard on 16 to 18 foot poles. During the night, someone entered his back yard, took the confederate flag, burned it and left it on the front porch with a threatening note. The note said something about finishing what General Sherman started. He put a new flag up the next day.

The 57 year-old lives in the neighboring city of Hurst and also flies the confederate flag. He woke up about 2:00am to find a four foot cross burning in his front yard. There was a note on his front door that said he had a week to take down "the treasonous colors". He has taken down the flag to avoid further trouble.

I don't know why these guys flew the confederate battle flag, but I wouldn't bet against them having some racist tendencies. I'm sure they'll have some story about honoring their Southern heritage, but the fact is that the flag stands for racism to a majority of Americans. I know when I see a confederate flag, drawing or decal, the first word that comes to mind is "racist".

I don't approve of what the night vandals did. No one should trespass on someone else's property and destroy their belongings or threaten them. But these guys have to be stupid if they think they can fly a confederate flag in an urban area and not have someone retaliate. To a large segment of the population, the flag is both an insult and a threat.

This is just another reminder that we are a long way from solving the racial problems in this country. They will never be solved as long as confederate flags are flying.