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by AntigoneRising on June 22nd, 2007
There are several views on this. A flag cannot be inherently anything. It doesn't hold views. However, it is a symbol of many things/ideas. The Confederate Flag represents many things, but they are embodied in that which was the Confederacy.
The South (later Confederacy) was an agrarian economy based upon slave (free) labor. This came into a conflict of interest with the industrial North. They argued a lot over taxes, trade, and tariffs. The slave labor was all non-white, and a belief in white superiority was all but universal. However, the same can be said of the North. Most abolistionists didn't believe in full equality of all races.
I believe it has its place in history, and a place among the fallen Confederate soldiers; however, in general it is associated with racism (if not inherently racist) and should not be associated with the present. To display it in such a way is inherently disrespectful and callous towards the suffering imposed upon the slaves.
by Sketchy Mess Jeoffory on June 22nd, 2007
The flag itself isn't racist. The problem is that MANY people use it to advertise their racist beliefs in a tongue-in-cheek manner. It is a symbol to others like them as well as others NOT like them that they share a certain view of the world- one which is often tempered by racism.
Should they be allowed to do so? Of course, that's the great thing about the US. You are free to be an arsehole if you want to.
by unknown on June 22nd, 2007
No, they are just flags. The society they represent was and still is racist. I think that people from the former Confederate States can find a better way to show solidarity. It's time to let that part of our past go and move on to better things.
by Firebrand on December 13th, 2008
As a Flag I like it.
The idea that it conveys to many people is very sad .
by Arisztid on December 13th, 2008
It is a part of American past and a part of many people's heritage.
It also is associated with racists but not all people who fly it or like it are racist.
I spent two years with a family that flew it a couple times a year and were very proud of their Confederate roots. This family faced Hell from flying it. (edited in: the rest of the year they flew the American flag... just a few times a year they flew the Confederate).
If they were racists they most certainly would not have me in their house.
I think that it is too bad that racists have latched on to it to the point where decent folks proud of their heritage cannot fly it without being labeled as racists.
Here is a pretty good link explaining its meaning and history:
http://www.worldflags101.com/other-flags/confederate-flag.aspx
by Jack Wallace on November 2nd, 2007
No. They are a symbol and statement of defiance against Federal tyranny and despotism, and resistance to intervention by an alien power into local community affairs violating all principles of self-government.
by Carrot and Stick on December 13th, 2008
It reflects a time in history that was rooted in racism. There is nothing wrong with taking pride in your roots, but I personally wouldn't feel pride in knowing that my ancestors supported slavery, the holocaust, or any of that. I don't like seeing the confederate flag, and I assume the person who flies it is racist or ignorant.
by Smart2 is back! Did you miss me? on August 1st, 2008
For some it is. For others it is a symbol of their heritage. I live in South Carolina where the Confederate flag has been the subject of debate, boycotts, division, and hatred. Once it flew over our State House dome along with the SC and USA flags. No one really paid any attention to it. The NAACP effectively got the legislature to remove the flag from atop the dome where no one really noticed it and now it flys in front of the Confederate memorial directly in front of the State House where the whole world sees it.
For many years, it was a symbol of a proud heritage of ancestors who fought in the Civil War. I wonder how quickly any group would work to remove signs of oppression that offended white people in this politically-correct era in which we live.
As a Southerner, I have no feelings about the flag one way of the other.
by Pizza Man on June 22nd, 2007
I suppose it depends on the intent of the person or group that is displaying it.
If it's a redneck carrying one in the back of his pickup and he hates blacks, yeah it racist.
If it's flown over a confederate cemetery, it's not racist. It's just remembering fallen soldiers from a terrible war.
by Cipher on August 1st, 2008
No. The proof is that, for the most part, the world knows and recognizes only the Confederate Battle Flag. The vast majority of people are unaware that the national flag -- the one that flew over Richmond -- was the state flag and not the battle flag. If you saw the state flag would you read racism in to it? Probably not. Probably you wouldn't even recognize it.
The Confederate Battle flag is a racist symbol only if the viewer reads racism in to it... otherwise, we would see racism in the Confederate state flag when viewing it for the very first time.
by El Soupy spanish for the soupy on August 1st, 2008
Yes. Because it is represents the "pro slavery" movement. AN while most people today feel it represents the "south". its roots are based on pro slavery values
by Highlander is semi-retired from AB on September 13th, 2007
No.
by RadiationDude on June 22nd, 2007
I live here in the south and yes it is our heritage. I hate that so many believe its a racial sign. True, some people go overboard and display it in red-neck fashion. I also was disappointed when so many people here in the south started relating to it in a racial mannor. The civil war was an awful war however both whites and blacks lost lives during this terrible episode of history. However if this had not happened we Americans would not have the joys and pleasures of living in this great FREE country.
by Zibbys Mind Is In the Gutter Today on June 22nd, 2007
I don't think so, not anymore, it's more about the southern heritage than anything.
by MG1942 Has a Life Penguin on August 4th, 2008
No. The rednecks driving around with them in their rear windows are;)
by Firebrand on August 1st, 2008
No I personally do not believe it is.
by Squirrel Face on August 1st, 2008
I don't see it that way, but some people do. I guess it has different meanings to different people.
by Rollie on August 1st, 2008
No.
It is a symbol of Anti-American pride. The South sceeded from the U.S. Instead of belonging to the United States of America, they formed the Conferedate States of America. A seperate country!
I don't think people in the South really realize that to people in the North it is a rebel symbol. Displaying it just continues the bad feelings of the rebellion and the Civil War.
Wake up!!
by RazorSharp on August 1st, 2008
I don't think it is. I think it has gained that perception because of various groups claiming it as a banner for their beliefs.
The Confederate Flag, in my opinion, is representative of a way of life that has become arbitrarily condemned by those that don't really understand it. It maintains an appeal of rebellion, which is ironic since most of those that condemn the banner are now or were rebellious against conformity or established standards themselves.
by FreshApples on March 7th, 2009
definitely not.
if it is, the American flag is also. The Union abolitionists also believed in inequality towards black,s Irish and German immigrants (naturalization), and so on.
The majority of the Confederacy were not planters, they were poor white farmers who did not have slaves.
The flag in connotative. To me it represents rebellion, courage, and determination.
by Rebelheart on January 26th, 2009
No.
The flag and the reasons for the war are too complex to explain in 1000 words or less which is all you are allowed here.
by Anonymous on January 16th, 2009
The flag itself is not racist it never was. The problem lies with racist groups hijacking it as a symbol for racism. It's just ignorance on their part.
by amarillowoman on December 13th, 2008
It reminds me of the Civil War and all the people who died. It does not shout "racist" to me as it does to some people.
by LarryH54 on December 13th, 2008
I'd tell you, but last time I did, it cost me a whole lot of DR's. So much intolerance here!
by jin jang on December 13th, 2008
Antique,a thing of the past,dead and gone,never to return,I hope, for the sake of sanity,for the sake of humanity.The flag represented inequality,and slavery,a dark time in US history.
by philosopher-saint on August 31st, 2008
Do porcupines copulate carefully?! ;-)
by krazymike on August 19th, 2008
They are a piece of our history. They represent the battle over states' rights, and should be respected for that.
by Aintthatapip - Kevonian Overlord on August 17th, 2008
Everyone who rocks it today, knows full well its racist.
Even if it didn't start out that way. Everyone knows full well today it is just as bad as a schwastika.
by Shavale is very happy on August 17th, 2008
Not technically, but it's silly. The confederates were defeated, ergo their flag should have become a footnote in history. Instead it's still used, why?
by Anonymous on August 17th, 2008
You ever seen Black people fly it?
by val gal on August 12th, 2008
If you have to ask the question of whether or not something is racist then you already have the answer. The answer is in the question...RACIST.
by marriedandhappy on August 9th, 2008
I live in the New england area and if someone sees you with a confederate flag we assume your racist, but I visit the South quite often and found that white and black americans will hang or use the Confederate flag to show that they are proud to be from the South..
by artguy on August 9th, 2008
no, but i think that many who fly them are. the "stars and bars" has come to mean racism whether people like it or not. just like the swastika was originally a sun symbol it was perverted by the nazis and connotes racism, it's the same with the confederate flag. no matter how much it sucks for those that like that flag, sorry folks, most everyone else will see it as racist. it has already been tainted in the minds of the public.
by shady on August 5th, 2008
Absolutely not. It's just another example of having to tiptoe around so people aren't offended over nothing
by kidalbino on August 4th, 2008
The flag symbolizes racism no matter how you say it. It may symbolize keeping the governmant from telling them how to live but the slave owners where telling slaves how to live. What the conferderate flag represents is rich white people having the freedom to live how they choose while stripping the basic human rights of blacks and forcing them to work for no pay. Sounds racist to me.
by Phillis - Zacks little sister on June 7th, 2008
Some people live and die by that damn flag. Hell yes, it's racist and I dare anyone who carries it to tell me it's not because you would be a baldfaced liar.
And while I'm on the subject, that country song by Hank Williams, jr. about "the south's gonna do it again" is completely retarded. What is the south going to do again - get their asses kicked?
Sorry for the rant.
by Tex on May 20th, 2008
Confederate flags could be both.
For most of us from the South, it doesn't stand as a symbol for racism, more just a symbol of our pride for the South. I've seen many people up here in Northern Illinois (right outside of Chicago) that ride around with the flag on their trucks, and they've never EVER even sniffed the South, and think they are cool cuz they have it, and that they are somehow gonna be thought of as Southern. I despise those people because they have no clue why we love that flag. I know many black people down South that wear that flag. Also, I know many black people that hate that flag, and many white people that use that flag as their symbol for their racism.
It just goes to show how diverse the feelings, and reasons, are for loving or hating that flag.
I personally love it, because of my love for the south, and no, I'm not racist, I have many black friends, including one of my best friends, and I've dated black women, including my ex whom I was engaged to.
by Williamstown on March 16th, 2008
The flag was never racist. However when you have a person that believes in the kkk or the unlawful treatment of others yes it is. I do own my own but I don't flaunt it in under everyone's nose continously.
I like the design nothing else. You and I both know that when someone says you cannot own what they call racist a person is going to make a point of buying 3 or 4. If people would have dropped the idea alot less flags would've been sold.
by kramont on November 26th, 2007
Bad flag...you racist again?
Study why the Civil War was really fought.
The flag may have flown over an area of the country where a large number of slaves were used.
But then, the US flag also flew over slavery!
by Chicken Pee on October 30th, 2007
No....the people waving them are.
by Kathie524 on October 23rd, 2007
I think so, yes. It represents a society that was racist so I think the symbol itself is racist. My neighbors have 1 hanging outside their house I'd really love 2 rip it down & shove it up their asses. (I live in NY)
by Anonymous on September 17th, 2007
Yes. If we are being honest, yes. Whatever it meant originally has been transmuted into a divisive symbol in modern times.
by SASSYWI-Q-Sassia-Jetpacking with NASCAR on September 13th, 2007
In reality no; but the minds of certain people tend to give their thinking on that flag a racist meaning!!!!!!!!
by Highlander is semi-retired from AB on June 27th, 2007
I don't think so; at least I haven't seen them perform any racist acts.
by Katie on June 22nd, 2007
When used as a racist statement, yes. Otherwise, it is a part of history especially in the South.
by - Amazinq - on October 30th, 2009
- Yes it is no matter if it is just a simple flag .
by Ditto on March 4th, 2009
Not at all. The flag is hijacked however by racists not bright enough to come up with an original symbol.
by amy on February 24th, 2009
no
by millamain on February 24th, 2009
No yhey are not.The american flag flew over slavery just as long as the confederate flag did.the confederate flag symbolizes the south which in the past may have supported slavery but now does not
by I am a USN Sailor on January 26th, 2009
no. i dont think they are
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Comments
Great answer. : )
by unknown on June 22nd, 2007
Thank you.
by AntigoneRising on June 22nd, 2007
YW You know something? You really do give good answers. We don't always agree; but, that doesn't mean you don't know what you're talking about. I have a great deal of respect for you.
by unknown on June 22nd, 2007
Same back at you...no, really. :)
by AntigoneRising on June 22nd, 2007
LOL Thanks. : )
by unknown on June 22nd, 2007
What about the Saudi Arabian flag - which explicitly states "There is no god but allah...", is that not an inherent symbol of theocracy?
by ACCOUNT CLOSED on August 14th, 2008
There were white slave indentured servants many were never freed. And white slavery exist today in the form of the sex trade.
by The Wraith of God is Coming on October 1st, 2008
Wraith, I'm missing the relevance of your comment, frankly. The confederacy didn't run on white indentured servants. Comparative numbers for both groups are staggeringly unbalanced, especially at that time in history. I wouldn't separate it into white slavery for the sex trade. All "races" (race is sociological, not biological) are effected. Indeed, such practices are much more common in Subsaharan Africa and Southern Asia than anywhere else. You seem to single out whites in sex slavery as if it were disproportionate (it isn't), or as if whites should somehow be immune to this social disease.
by AntigoneRising on October 1st, 2008
No I am saying the White slavery still exist and non one cares while I hear about people who were freed from slavery some 200 years ago as if it is relevent today.
by The Wraith of God is Coming on October 1st, 2008
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.omdurman.org/stalk.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.omdurman.org/leaflets/whiteslv.html&h=397&w=397&sz=30&hl=en&start=2&usg=__mHc2MCZs3Zv_WDjowvGNwtzN6uk=&tbnid=Kxt3TBphkr7ViM:&tbnh=124&tbnw=124&prev=/images%3Fq%3D%2522white%2Bslavery%2522%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff
here is an example a bit over the top or perhaps accurate.
by The Wraith of God is Coming on October 1st, 2008
Slavery of women and children in the sex trade still exists. It doesn't have a race or color. This is different, though, then the systematic and legal slavery of millions. It is, unfortunately, still relevant today. The effects are still being felt by the black community. They were not socially emancipated until the last 50 years, and the inability to own property or retain wealth and pass it on to future generations continues to be an economic issue. The economic issues persist, and they have their roots in slavery.
by AntigoneRising on October 1st, 2008
I am 40 and have been actively discriminated against in my life time for being white and male they can get over it already. I am oppressed and minorities get special treatment.
by The Wraith of God is Coming on October 1st, 2008
In what ways have you been oppressed or discriminated against?
by AntigoneRising on October 1st, 2008
Aww, the privileged are no longer as privileged, now that the oppressed are no longer as oppressed.
.
I wouldn't usually condone blaming individuals for crimes which they themselves had nothing to do with; but if there's one person I will never pity - unapologetically - it's the White-Male-Christian-American who says "why don't they [blacks, natives, jews, or whoever] just get over it"...And I'm not even Black, Native, or Jewish.
by ACCOUNT CLOSED on October 1st, 2008
Welll being that I have Native American blood in my why don't they get over it. Glad to know you Anti-Semantic is a hater racist!
by The Wraith of God is Coming on October 2nd, 2008
HA! You're the one telling black people to "get over it", while I'm saying you have no right to trivialize their strong feelings about the past...and I'm the racist here? That's quite a projection.
by ACCOUNT CLOSED on October 2nd, 2008
I'd call it a cognitive distortion.
by AntigoneRising on October 2nd, 2008
No it's called I am from here and owe them nothing an d was noy involved in the slave trade and have been actively discriminated against in my life time and it stops now. Also I fund out the housing problem was caused by creative accounting for minorities to get loans and they are all defaulting and expect me to pay for it. I will not be a slave or second class citizen your white ggilt is showing if yyou wanty to pay then you may I do not feel I need to.
by The Wraith of God is Coming on October 2nd, 2008
The entire economy has collapsed on due to en-masse-defaulting minorities? What are you a PR agent for all white people? Because that's the biggest croc (among many) you've said so far.
by ACCOUNT CLOSED on October 2nd, 2008
Pretty much that is what happened deal with it, it's economic affirmative action enjoy paying for other peoples homes.
by The Wraith of God is Coming on October 3rd, 2008
Right, and the millions of White Americans who have also defaulted have had nothing to do with it.
.
Oh wait, I forgot, White people are infallible - they are ALL excellent at economics, and they ALL have good jobs, and NONE of them would ever try deceive for the sake of owning a home. Pardon my blasphemy...
by ACCOUNT CLOSED on October 3rd, 2008