Stop Wrapping Your Heritage on A Rejected Symbol & Horrible A******s
We should have ‘two’ flags — a ‘peace’ or parade flag, and a ‘war’ flag to be used only on the field of battle — but congress having adjourned no action will be taken on the matter — How would it do us to address the War Dept. on the subject of Regimental or badge flags made of red with two blue bars crossing each other diagonally on which shall be introduced the stars, … We would then on the field of battle know our friends from our Enemies. I wish sincerely that Congress would change the present one.”
That was a letter William Porcher Miles, secessionist, slave owner and confederate flag designer, wrote after the now recognized Confederate flag was rejected as the national flag of the Confederacy. As to that field of battle and their enemies he was referring to, this is what they were fighting for …
Our position is thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery — the greatest material interest of the world. These products are peculiar to the climate verging on the tropical regions, and by an imperious law of nature, none but the black race can bear exposure to the tropical sun. — Mississippi
The prohibition of slavery in the Territories is the cardinal principle of this organization. — Georgia
She was received as a commonwealth holding, maintaining and protecting the institution known as negro slavery — the servitude of the African to the white race within her limits. — Texas
An increasing hostility on the part of the non-slaveholding States to the institution of slavery, has led to a disregard of their obligations, and the laws of the General Government have ceased to effect the objects of the Constitution. — South Carolina
These snippets come from the articles of secession written by the Confederate states, outlining why they wanted to secede from the northern states. This is a historical fact, this is not rhetoric or speculation. A bunch of white men spent inordinate amounts of time and ink composing elaborate defenses and rationale for secession. The main point being the “institution of slavery.” An institution they created! It’s not like the folks from the Mayflower showed up and went, “Hey Indians, tell us about this slavery thing. How does it work?”
Your heritage is lined with the writings of horrible assholes who were willing to kill fellow countrymen over something so horrendously wrong. To coin the phrase, “die on that hill” many in fact did. And this rebellion they would proceed to engage in led to the creation of the confederate flag. Rejected as it was, it was such a pervasive icon that when all was lost, they hung onto it. Just like they decided to cherish the defenders of this institution with statues created and erected decades after this conflict ended.
So why hang on to this symbol? This cherished icon of southern pride for many so much that they emblazon it on everything from hats and t shirts to license plates, bumper stickers, and trinkets. There was even a popular TV show in the 80s (The Dukes of Hazzard) that had this thing covering the roof of a muscle car affectionately called — the General Lee. No one then thought it odd.
What are you proud about that is connected to this flag? What is this heritage you staunchly defend? Are you proud that leaders of this confederacy were so abhorrent in their defense of slavery like what Alexander H Stevens, VP of the new Confederacy wrote in his cornerstone speech of 1861 — -
“Our new government … its foundations are laid, its corner-stone rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery subordination to the superior race is his natural and normal condition.”
Are you proud that this flag and heritage is connected to the bitter pill of loss? It was in fact so distasteful a loss to the South that you have the formation of the KKK a year after the end of the Civil War followed by a campaign of white supremacy and terror (mass lynchings, Jim Crow, Birth of a Nation, white riots, etc) that lasted for another century.
Are you you proud that this flag basically represents a consortium of terrorists who committed treason? Just in case you take umbrage with that characterization …
Treason: the crime of betraying one’s country, especially by attempting to kill the sovereign or overthrow the government = secession + civil war
Terrorist a person who uses unlawful violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims = southern white supremacy + KKK+ the century of violence on black America following the end of the civil war.
And last I checked this country is not a fan of either of those. We’ve been spouting propaganda against the threat of terror for a long time and our current administration makes no bones about sounding the alarms to protect our nation from these attacks. Yet this symbol, this flag, you hold so high in stature is the embodiment of both and tied to Americans who were equal in their villainy to anyone today our current government would identify as a terrorist.
Are you proud that this is connected to a symbol of fear and hate? That flag, when we see it in our rear view on a vehicle or waving proudly outside a house is an a immediate trigger. Black people know what it meant then and what it still means to see someone sporting that flag. It doesn’t matter if the person displaying it is a puppy loving, vegan, environmentalist. It is to black people, as terrifying as having a white police officer make that slow walk toward your car after you’re pulled over (if that is even an option in some cases). That has yet to change in the 100 + years of its existence. What that flag represents will never change no matter how much the south as a region and its heritage does.
So … what is this southern heritage that’s worth yelling matches and venomous social media posts in defense of this flag? I’ve tried to find an answer. I really have, because this country, if anything is steeped in the heritage of the immigrants who settled here and help make it what is. A vast and rich potpourri of worldly traditions and diversity. But in trying to specifically pinpoint or identify the heritage that needs defending as it is connected to the Confederate Flag, I am at a loss. I have though read or heard statements like this ...
Southern history is a great many things before,during, and after The War Between The States — okay. What things? What things outside of the southern lilt of proper enunciation and heart clogging comfort food add up to “a great many things?” Please list them out as things that are distinct and not connected to the perverse history that created it.
The history of white men and women in the South is very diverse and complex — how so? How can someone argue diversity when the South worked so hard to eradicate any inkling of diversity for so long? Where’s the complexity in a collection of states that wanted no national rule and freedom to lord over slaves indefinitely?
Yes, the war was about slavery, but it was also about self-governance and the nature of government.— really? Self governance as in “Don’t tell us we can’t have slaves?” Was that not the main need for self — governance?
The flying of the Confederate flag is not essential to fighting racism because the people who fly it are not inevitably racist. — And alluding to a previous post I wrote about not being racist, this defense is absurd. Basically you’re saying I’m not racist but I’m willing to display something that is considered by many to be just that because I have no empathy or consideration for what this flag means to them.
To many who fly this flag or otherwise display it, it is a symbol of southern pride — but … pride in what? Can you not be proud of your hometown or region without this flag? Are there symbols of the south that are absent of connections to this horrific past? What are those?
If you can’t intellectually defend this piece of cloth with some reasonable arguments that uphold the notion of something to be proud about then let it reside where it belongs — in the past and not on your hat or tattooed bicep. If you can at least separate your pride for the South into a modern contemporary pride of evolution and attempts at growth then part of that evolution has to be the relinquishment of this symbol and more importantly acknowledgement of what this flag actually means.
To try and wrap it all into some defining emblem worthy of praise is like asking Germany to do the same for the Swastika. Your ancestors were not fighting for “freedom” in the classical sense. They were fighting for freedom to conduct and perpetuate their self created institution of forced servitude. And when the time came to double down and actually go to war over this “freedom,” they adopted this very flag as their symbol, their banner, their way to distinguish themselves from others. This is how you want to distinguish yourself?
If you want to celebrate your southern heritage through icons and symbols, find other ones besides a “war flag” representing a battle for white supremacy. Being proud of your heritage is a good thing but— pride can often be a misguided motivator for ineffectual or dangerous action and conflict over an irrational allegiance something not worth the emotional currency being spent on it.
And in the case of the Southern pride, that seems intrinsically connected to a flag, absolutely no one should be proud of.
