Today in Tampa FL, the Son's of Confederate soldiers has erected a confederate flag in honor or their heritage. The NAACP is up in arms about this. Do you think that they should be allowed 2 fly the flag due to the heritage that FL holds w/ the Civil War?
by 
snakelover
ANSWERS: 10
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If they would just stop using the battle flag and start using the lesser known national flag then it wouldn't catch so much attention. Don't First Amendment Rights in the United States allow for the flag to fly?
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I am a member of the sons of the confederacy in Alabama and we have proudly had a flag up along I-65 for 4 years now. So, Yes.
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That is about an hour from me and I have no problem with it. The NAACP is an issue all itself.
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Absolutely. But it would be proper to have the US flag flying above it.
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The Confederate flag is an American flag! If gays can have parades, then why can't these folks fly a flag? It has nothing to do with race, nor does the civil war. Lincoln himself was quoted saying, " If I could defeat the South without ending slavery, I would." The war was about economics, and industrialization, and TAX REVENUE, not slavery. This flag DOES NOT represent slavery. Unfortunately, some racists think it does, and use it for that purpose. Maybe I will use the Gay flag as symbol of having AIDS. Get the picture?
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The flag has developed such bad press since the Civil Rights era, I don't think many people see it as a Southern heritage thing any longer, but more of a racist symbol. This is the bigger issue. I consider myself a Southerner, and although the Northern Aggression is over and the whole race thing ought to be over with, we should be able to honor those that fought for what they believed in without instantly thinking "racist." The rebel flag, though, doesn't symbolize that any longer. I agree that we should honor our ancestors, but we need to use a different flag like the Confederate state one for each state. Here's Florida's: http://www.confederateflags.org/states/FOTCflorida.htm If the rebel flag didn't have such racist symbolism, I'd say to stfu and let us honor our dead, but it's not about the Civil War any longer. It's about bigotry and racism, which is really sad.
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I think it's delicate ground. Yes, the flag is about heritage and was intended as a new American flag. Yes, it was about Southern pride and independence. Yes, we know the Civil War was about many things besides slavery. However, the image of the confederate flag became distorted over decades. Unfortunately, the issue of slavery became intermingled with it and many times when there was a lynching, cross burning or other racists outing, there was a confederate flag nearby. The Nazi flag didn't start out as a symbol of genocide, but it became one. It, too, was intended to symbolize pride, strength and independence. Most of us don't use those words when we see one today. The First Amendment grants us the right to free speech. If neo-Nazis or the KKK want to display the Nazi flag, they have that right. If proud Southerners want to display the confederate flag, that's their right. But they must do so with the understanding that it represents different things to different people.
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yah. its their history that they are honering. not like their doing it to be racist
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People are entitled to display there beliefs even if there beliefs suck. The NAACP has no legal recourse.
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I will defend them to fly that flag just like I would defend the Black Panthers to fly their flag in the name of free speech. We may not like it, but free speech is one of our most important rights.
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