Why the Confederate flag is not “just a flag.”

Why the Confederate flag is not “just a flag.”
I currently work with high school students. There was a discussion about the Confederate flag. One student said it was offensive and racist, others said it was just a flag that symbolized “Southern pride.” What the fuck does the South have to be proud of in this context anyway? I agreed with the student that believed the former. I had to explain to her that people her age not only don’t care, they do not understand the history behind the flag. This is untrue because there are plenty of adults that do not understand either.

The rationale behind the students that disagreed with the negative connotation was laughable and it only further proved that they did not understand the history behind it. They said the flag was just a flag and people twisted it and made it into something racist. In actuality is the opposite, the flag was racist and now it is twisted around to mean “Southern pride.” Now if they wanted to use an accurate example they would have used the swastika. Before Hitler took it and altered it to enforce his Nazi agenda, it was recognized in Buddhism and Hinduism as a symbol of well-being or good luck. (It still means the same thing for them.)

The Confederate flag was a symbol of rebellion. The 11 states that seceded from the Union rebelled against the ideologies of Lincoln. In fact, Lincoln never recognized the sovereignty of the Confederacy; he referred to it as states in rebellion. The Civil War is often a touchy subject especially depending on what part of the country you are in when discussing it. The South generally believes that the war was over states’ rights, taxes, and other issues. They sometimes refer to it the War of Northern Aggression. This is because the North “invaded” the South. The North generally believes that the war was over slavery and sometimes refers to it as the War of Southern Aggression. This is because the South fired on Fort Sumter. The North and the South both had interests in this Fort and Lincoln promised that there would not be a war unless the South attacked the Fort. He tried to be a peace keeper and sent supplies to the Fort not including weapons. Once the South attacked, Lincoln had no choice but to declare war.

Was the war fought over slavery? Yes and no. The claim is that it was over states’ rights and they were worried about the North taking away those rights. But what were the rights? To own slaves! So yes states’ rights were being threatened.

Even if the war was not over slavery secession was. All 11 states mentioned slavery as one of the causes in their Declaration of Secession. They believed that the African race was inferior and they had the right to make them slaves and no one else should be able to tell them otherwise. Slavery being banned would badly damage the economy. There would be no more free labor and there was no way in hell that their lazy, entitled asses would get out in the field and work for themselves.

The Emancipation Proclamation did not free the slaves. Lincoln used it as a war measure that only applied to the states in rebellion. There were five states; including four border ones that this did not affect. Part of the reason why he issued it in this manner was because it would suppress the rebellion. He was constantly struck down by Chief Justice Taney of the Supreme Court because he was from a slave owning family and this would affect him. If he issued it as a war measure it could be justified. What actually freed all of the slaves was the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution. After this was passed Johnson vetoed almost every bill that involved protecting the rights of blacks. He holds the record of the president that has vetoed the most. Congress overrode him and got shit done. Johnson was a racist and Congress was tired of the bullshit. He was also impeached due to him breaking the Tenure of Office Act. He removed the Secretary of War when this act explicitly stated that the president could not do so without the approval of Congress. He survived being removed from office by one vote. One fucking vote. Was the person paid off? Probably.

After knowing the history of the Confederacy, rebellion, slavery, and Johnson’s dumbass, how can one support the Confederate flag? After the Confederacy ceased to exist and rejoined the Union, the paraphernalia should have also ceased to exist. It represents a “country” that was founded on the principles of being whiny assholes who wanted to keep slavery and didn’t think anyone should tell them what to do. It also represents treason. The Confederacy betrayed the United States by seceding. Together those states banded together to declare independence from Britain and create their own Constitution and country and they had the audacity to secede and from a new country? Bullshit. Betraying the commitment and loyalty that they made to the rest of the states is an act of treason. For this reason, I think it is ironic to see a Confederate flag and an American flag flying together. Where I live there is this stereotypical pickup truck associated with the South. It flies a very large Confederate flag along with a very large American flag. I can’t help but shake my head and laugh when I see it.

I think that the United States should have done what Germany did. After Hitler, Nazi Germany, and the Third Reich, all Nazi paraphernalia was banned. This is because it symbolized a dark time in German history just as the Confederate flag symbolized a dark time in American history. The punishment for Nazi paraphernalia in Germany can be a fine or even prison time. The United States should have implemented the same policies as Germany. Because of this ban, Germans who still feel some type of way towards other ethnic groups use the Confederate flag. Even Germans realize the significance of this flag in regards to hatred and racism. It is ironic that Neo-Nazis in the United States utilize the swastika when it is banned in the country that perverted the symbol in the first place. I think that if the Confederate flag was banned these white supremacist groups would just use the swastika instead of both that and the Confederate flag. Why do Americans feel so entitled to be able to fly the Confederate flag in the first place? Even if you take racism and slavery out of the equation it still represents much more than just “Southern pride.” It also represents treason.

Bottom Line: The argument for flying the Confederate flag is complete bullshit. One needs to study history from a non-biased viewpoint, one that eliminates the idea of “Southern pride.”
Damn it feels good to be back. Whenever I come across an issue that irks me, I will express my feelings even if no one reads or comments. Lol