A professor and I was discussing this yesterday and I just wanted to get everybody's personal take on it.....

 

Not to me.

 

nope

 

Flags cannot be racist. Only people can be racist.

 

Flags are just symbols of our history

 

Asking if a flag is racist is like asking if my refrigerator is a Nazi.

The flag is a symbol. Some people will associate that symbol with racism.

 

Sure, a flag cannot, in and of itself, be racist, and, yes, it does symbolize southern history. But, what history is it that the confederate flag truly symbolizes? Ahhh...the confederacy, right? And, what was one of the core pillars (maybe THE core pillar) of the confederacy? Slavery. And, what is slavery? The most extreme, intolerable, and cruel form of racism. So, while it may not be inherently racist, I think you only need to connect a few dots to see that it is simply a symbol of the South's shameful past that should be left in the past along with the confederacy and its ideals. My $.02 worth.

 

I have to speak up on this, as our state flag is confused with the confederate flag often. We used our state flag as our community badge, but only after we discussed it with other members. They agreed it wasn't racist to them, so we went ahead with it. I hope that no one has ever felt like our badge is in any form racist! So no, I don't think a flag is racist, but some people who like the flag are.

 

The problem is that labelling the South as the "evil empire" just doesn't cut it.
Slavery was going on in a lot of places before and after it was abolished in the South. The fact that a war was brought about in part because of slavery simply makes it that much more memorable (and hence issues today with the confederate flag).

While I'd agree that slavery certainly played a part in the civil war, it wasn't the only reason it took place. Regardless, going through a history lesson here would be next to impossible.

Bottom line for me is this: in current society, you'll tend to get non-Southerners looking at Southerner flying the confederate flag as racists. I for one don't think that's the case... many people fly the flag now because it's a symbol of Southern pride, not because they're racist.

And to be completely honest, the reason the USA is what it is today is because of the freedoms it affords its people. If Joe Blow wants to fly a confederate flag, that's his own damn business. If Suzy Blow is racist, that's her own damn business. I don't believe morality can be legislated, so what certain people chose to leave or not leave in the past is, again, their business.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by bjohnston
Sure, a flag cannot, in and of itself, be racist, and, yes, it does symbolize southern history.