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The Confederate Flag

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bongsaway

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I was born and raised in a large northeastern city where I lived for thirty six years. I now live in florida for over thirty years. Yesterday at a pizza place I spoke to a man with confederate flags on his truck. I asked him what does the confederate flag mean to him? He told me he was born in alabama and it was his heritage, not a racist thing like most people think. He said he was proud of his southern heritage. Unless I'm mistaken birmingham was once called bombingham for a reason and it wasn't for southern hospitality. I wondered to myself how he could he be proud of his heritage when his heritage was lynching and blowing up black folks?

When you see someone flying or displaying a confederate flag, what thoughts come to your mind?
 
So, you're a Yankee and you're going to tell a Southerner was his heritage is? Even AFTER he explains what the flag means to him?
That's awfully presumptive and frankly, dismissive.
Why'd you even bother asking when you had no intention of considering his good opinion?
 
Lynyrd Skynyrd...:2razz:
 
bongsaway said:
I was born and raised in a large northeastern city where I lived for thirty six years. I now live in florida for over thirty years. Yesterday at a pizza place I spoke to a man with confederate flags on his truck. I asked him what does the confederate flag mean to him? He told me he was born in alabama and it was his heritage, not a racist thing like most people think. He said he was proud of his southern heritage. Unless I'm mistaken birmingham was once called bombingham for a reason and it wasn't for southern hospitality. I wondered to myself how he could he be proud of his heritage when his heritage was lynching and blowing up black folks?

When you see someone flying or displaying a confederate flag, what thoughts come to your mind?
Click to expand...

The confederate flag is flown for Historical significance.
 
bongsaway said:
I was born and raised in a large northeastern city where I lived for thirty six years. I now live in florida for over thirty years. Yesterday at a pizza place I spoke to a man with confederate flags on his truck. I asked him what does the confederate flag mean to him? He told me he was born in alabama and it was his heritage, not a racist thing like most people think. He said he was proud of his southern heritage. Unless I'm mistaken birmingham was once called bombingham for a reason and it wasn't for southern hospitality. I wondered to myself how he could he be proud of his heritage when his heritage was lynching and blowing up black folks?

When you see someone flying or displaying a confederate flag, what thoughts come to your mind?
Click to expand...

How can they not know that the heritage is racist because the heritage is "we fought to defend our decision to secede, which we did because we wanted to preserve slavery so our economy still functioned as well as possible for the well-off amongst us."

They can wrap it in "the north wanted to burn our homes" and the like, but you cannot honestly sever the why from that. Just as much as the fact that if a person claims a general heritage, they can't simply jettison the unsavory bits and consider themselves honest.



Note the kind of evasive BS:

AlphaOmega said:
The confederate flag is flown for Historical significance.
Click to expand...

Only the parts you're willing to openly admit liking, of course...

But just as much as you cannot fly a nazi flag only for celebrating the "heritage" of an industrious people, you cannot fly a confederate flag only for celebrating the "heritage" of banjo playing and cotton farming....
 
bongsaway said:
I was born and raised in a large northeastern city where I lived for thirty six years. I now live in florida for over thirty years. Yesterday at a pizza place I spoke to a man with confederate flags on his truck. I asked him what does the confederate flag mean to him? He told me he was born in alabama and it was his heritage, not a racist thing like most people think. He said he was proud of his southern heritage. Unless I'm mistaken birmingham was once called bombingham for a reason and it wasn't for southern hospitality. I wondered to myself how he could he be proud of his heritage when his heritage was lynching and blowing up black folks?

When you see someone flying or displaying a confederate flag, what thoughts come to your mind?
Click to expand...

About the same thing pin stripes would mean to a Red Sox fan.
 
AlphaOmega said:
The confederate flag is flown for Historical significance.
Click to expand...

Why would people advertise they are in favor of slavery? Isn't that the historical reference of the confederate flag? Oh wait, let me guess, it's all about states rights.

The right to own slaves.
 
bongsaway said:
I was born and raised in a large northeastern city where I lived for thirty six years. I now live in florida for over thirty years. Yesterday at a pizza place I spoke to a man with confederate flags on his truck. I asked him what does the confederate flag mean to him? He told me he was born in alabama and it was his heritage, not a racist thing like most people think. He said he was proud of his southern heritage. Unless I'm mistaken birmingham was once called bombingham for a reason and it wasn't for southern hospitality. I wondered to myself how he could he be proud of his heritage when his heritage was lynching and blowing up black folks?

When you see someone flying or displaying a confederate flag, what thoughts come to your mind?
Click to expand...

I come from the South and have never understood why the fluffers of the Confederacy still debate that anything associated with the Confederate nation was anything less than the heritage promoting white supremacy, enslavement of a people and traitors to the union.
 
Acadia said:
So, you're a Yankee and you're going to tell a Southerner was his heritage is? Even AFTER he explains what the flag means to him?
That's awfully presumptive and frankly, dismissive.
Why'd you even bother asking when you had no intention of considering his good opinion?
Click to expand...

I did consider his opinion but I certainly didn't think it was good. I also married a woman from louisiana. This is how they spoke, do you remember the nice nigger lady that used to live down the street? The nice nigger lady, versus the bad niggers. I also saw confederate flags all over the place. Is that the kind of heritage you mean?
 
bongsaway said:
I did consider his opinion but I certainly didn't think it was good. I also married a woman from louisiana. This is how they spoke, do you remember the nice nigger lady that used to live down the street? The nice nigger lady, versus the bad niggers. I also saw confederate flags all over the place. Is that the kind of heritage you mean?
Click to expand...

I don't think Southern "pride" is synonymous with bigotry and racism. I think taking individual experiences is important.
 
Acadia said:
I don't think Southern "pride" is synonymous with bigotry and racism. I think taking individual experiences is important.
Click to expand...

Individual experiences are important. However taken as a whole I view southern pride in this light...the south shall rise again. To me that says, we will have slaves again.
 
Acadia said:
I don't think Southern "pride" is synonymous with bigotry and racism. I think taking individual experiences is important.
Click to expand...

So if someone had a swastika on them you would feel comfortable hiring that person and bringing them around your family if they said it was for German Pride?
 
bongsaway said:
I was born and raised in a large northeastern city where I lived for thirty six years. I now live in florida for over thirty years. Yesterday at a pizza place I spoke to a man with confederate flags on his truck. I asked him what does the confederate flag mean to him? He told me he was born in alabama and it was his heritage, not a racist thing like most people think. He said he was proud of his southern heritage. Unless I'm mistaken birmingham was once called bombingham for a reason and it wasn't for southern hospitality. I wondered to myself how he could he be proud of his heritage when his heritage was lynching and blowing up black folks?

When you see someone flying or displaying a confederate flag, what thoughts come to your mind?
Click to expand...

It it hard to overlook the fact that ANYONE who flies a flag on their truck, any flag, is trying to make a big statement. Since the Confederate Flag is seen by many many citizens as a racist symbol, it's difficult to believe someone thinks he's making a simple statement of pride in his heritage by traveling around under the Confederate Flag. What's the matter with his American heritage?

What comes to my mind is "there goes a person looking for an argument"
 
Acadia said:
So, you're a Yankee and you're going to tell a Southerner was his heritage is? Even AFTER he explains what the flag means to him?
That's awfully presumptive and frankly, dismissive.
Why'd you even bother asking when you had no intention of considering his good opinion?
Click to expand...

“I’m a German, and I consider the Nazi flag and the SS insignia to be my heritage. I don’t give a **** about all the people they murdered and brutally oppressed, it’s my “heritage”. How dare you non-Germans try to tell me the Nazi party is bad! It’s awfully presumptive and dismissive of you”.

See the problem yet?:roll:
 
Acadia said:
So, you're a Yankee and you're going to tell a Southerner was his heritage is? Even AFTER he explains what the flag means to him?
That's awfully presumptive and frankly, dismissive.
Why'd you even bother asking when you had no intention of considering his good opinion?
Click to expand...

There is nothing wrong with the Confederate flag if you venerate traitors and losers. By the way one of my great grandfathers was a confederate soldier. Besides being on the wrong side he served without distinction or honor. Classic case of a rich man's war and a poor man's fight.
 
bongsaway said:
I was born and raised in a large northeastern city where I lived for thirty six years. I now live in florida for over thirty years. Yesterday at a pizza place I spoke to a man with confederate flags on his truck. I asked him what does the confederate flag mean to him? He told me he was born in alabama and it was his heritage, not a racist thing like most people think. He said he was proud of his southern heritage. Unless I'm mistaken birmingham was once called bombingham for a reason and it wasn't for southern hospitality. I wondered to myself how he could he be proud of his heritage when his heritage was lynching and blowing up black folks?

When you see someone flying or displaying a confederate flag, what thoughts come to your mind?
Click to expand...

You inadvertently(?) admitted that Florida isn’t really a Southern state. Which is something most Southerners know full well!
 
bongsaway said:
I was born and raised in a large northeastern city where I lived for thirty six years. I now live in florida for over thirty years. Yesterday at a pizza place I spoke to a man with confederate flags on his truck. I asked him what does the confederate flag mean to him? He told me he was born in alabama and it was his heritage, not a racist thing like most people think. He said he was proud of his southern heritage. Unless I'm mistaken birmingham was once called bombingham for a reason and it wasn't for southern hospitality. I wondered to myself how he could he be proud of his heritage when his heritage was lynching and blowing up black folks?

When you see someone flying or displaying a confederate flag, what thoughts come to your mind?
Click to expand...

What do you see in the American flag. How many negative events in United States history are you proud of? When you think about what the US has done, are you proud of your country’s heritage?
 
When I see a confederate flag on a truck, I figure that it's there because of racism. This is because most of the time, that's why it's there.
 
TomFitz said:
You inadvertently(?) admitted that Florida isn’t really a Southern state. Which is something most Southerners know full well!
Click to expand...

? Florida is more south than the rest of the southern states but it's not a southern state? Out of curiosity, why do some people here describe themselves as florida crackers and coon asses?
 
Tigerace117 said:
“I’m a German, and I consider the Nazi flag and the SS insignia to be my heritage. I don’t give a **** about all the people they murdered and brutally oppressed, it’s my “heritage”. How dare you non-Germans try to tell me the Nazi party is bad! It’s awfully presumptive and dismissive of you”.

See the problem yet?:roll:
Click to expand...

Are you also critical of the Japanese flag?
 
bongsaway said:
I was born and raised in a large northeastern city where I lived for thirty six years. I now live in florida for over thirty years. Yesterday at a pizza place I spoke to a man with confederate flags on his truck. I asked him what does the confederate flag mean to him? He told me he was born in alabama and it was his heritage, not a racist thing like most people think. He said he was proud of his southern heritage. Unless I'm mistaken birmingham was once called bombingham for a reason and it wasn't for southern hospitality. I wondered to myself how he could he be proud of his heritage when his heritage was lynching and blowing up black folks?

When you see someone flying or displaying a confederate flag, what thoughts come to your mind?
Click to expand...

My views are somewhat complex, owing to being raised by parents who were originally from the Deep South, and who grew up in a world where segregation and worse were normal. Still, they worked hard not to pass old prejudices on.

So, we were taught to accept the realities of the South (mainly because we saw a lot of it first hand), but to see it as part of America.

So, I have generally taken the Confederate flag as part of our overall American heritage, warts and all. It will always be there. I have the same view on monuments.

What I don’t approve of was the way white supremacists and segretationists seized upon it as their symbol, beginning in the early 1960’s, and continuing to this day.

They are stealing the heritage of the Confederacy and twisting it to evil means.
 
Outlook said:
What do you see in the American flag. How many negative events in United States history are you proud of? When you think about what the US has done, are you proud of your country’s heritage?
Click to expand...

Hell no I'm not proud of a good portion of what america and americans have done. We have much to improve. Locking up our own citizens, overthrowing governments and installing our chosen leaders, false flag operations to get us into wars and the list goes on.

To our credit, we saved the world from fascism when we entered the second world war. We help other countries with money and goods. We give to people in need and we used to stand by our allies.

We have a lot to be proud about, we also have a lot to be ashamed about.
 
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