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CatI feel, of late, that I’ve been veering uncontrollably into the Daddy Blogger genre. I guess that’s what a new baby and two weeks of paternity leave will do to a guy. This bothers me a bit, because one of the things that keeps me interested in blogging is trying to write about a wide range of topics – science, music, politics…football – and, with no offense intended to daddy bloggers, I’m beginning to get a bit bored.
But I was back at work for half a day today, which allowed me to clear the cobwebs from my head. With that clarity, I’ve decided that rather than posting cute photos of my sons or moaning about the hardships of life as a father of two, today I want to talk about race.
Yes, I know that after that prelude, I’ve gone and posted a picture of my kids. I was trying to get a good picture of my study, where I do a fair bit of my writing, for a different post – one that I’m no longer interested in writing. I decided to take this shot, however, as an illustration of why it is essentially impossible for me to work from home right now. Creaking bed springs and gurgling baby are not sounds conducive to writing a lecture on human evolution or a report on a new cancer drug.
Your eye was probably immediately drawn to the two flags on the wall and they are what I want to talk about.
My friend Jamie and I liberated the flag on the right, the banner of the State of Florida, from St. George Island State Park during a drug fueled midnight run to New Orleans. I’m pretty sure that we broke both state and federal laws that night and that’s one of the reasons I’m happy to be living outside the reach of the Florida and U.S. criminal justice systems. However, I’d be happy to assist authorities in the apprehension of my accomplice, who was in fact the criminal mastermind. And a Florida Gator fan, which ought to be a crime.
But let’s be honest, if you’re American your eye was drawn to the flag on the left. The old Georgia flag featuring the Confederate battle flag – one of the most potent and divisive symbols that we’ve got in the States. You were probably thinking to yourself, “Well, I’ll be damned. I know A Free Man has a penchant for college football, but I didn’t realize he was a redneck. A racist. A (shudder) Republican.”
One of the things I don’t miss about the USA is societally mandated political correctness. American society has become so precious about race, gender, disabilities, religion, etc. that it was like a breath of fresh air when I landed in the slightly less PC United Kingdom and dramatically less PC Australia. It’s not that I want to walk the streets spouting racist or sexist diatribes. It has just gone too far in the United States. Gone so far, that a bad joke can get someone fired and exiled from polite society. Gone so far, that we’ve become humourless as a culture.
Gone so far, that legitimate political opposition to a black president is presumed to rooted in racism.
I don’t like the Far Right. I disagree with almost everything that they believe in. But they absolutely have the right to criticize the President. The same way that I, as a radical leftist, had the right to criticize President Bush. I’m sure there are some pissed off white supremacists out there who hate the president because he’s black. But most of the detractors on the right have, in their mind, legitimate political disagreements with Obama. Yes, some of them are being nasty and some are being dishonest. But I think back to 2002-3 when I began to realize that Bush was an incompetent at best or a liar at worse. I wasn’t very nice about him. Nor were a lot of the bomb throwers on the Left. But that had nothing to do with the fact that Bush was a white, Protestant from Texas. Just like the vast majority of the teabaggers’ problems don’t stem from President Obama’s skin color. Let’s get real.
But we need to talk about that Georgia flag. I bought it in 2001 after the state, under heavy political pressure, replaced it with a tepid politically neutral compromise. I picked it up, because at the time I thought Georgia was being cowardly by surrendering to the moral majority of the left – the forces of political correctness. And it was an incredibly unpopular decision in the state, leading to the election of the current governor – Sonny “Praying for Rain” Perdue. (Probably time to get off your knees, governor.) Perdue held a referendum which resulted in the replacement of one Confederate symbol with another one.
I never really ‘flew’ the flag when I was still living in the States. I’m sensitive to the divisiveness of the battle flag and the statement that it makes about an individual who displays it. But that has always annoyed me. Why does it mean I’m a racist if I choose to hang that flag on my wall? I’m kind of an amateur U.S. Civil War history buff and I’ve always had more sympathy for the Confederacy than the Union. I admired the spirit of the rebellious South, their gallant military leaders, their unwillingness to accept the reality that their lifestyle was untenable and their revolution was doomed.
But that doesn’t mean that I’m an advocate of slavery or even racial segregation. And, when it came down to brass tacks, that is what the Confederacy was about – the continuation of slavery. Unfortunately, the symbols of the Confederacy are inextricably tied up with racism.
Ignoring that part of Georgia’s past is nothing more than historical denial. The legacy of slavery and Jim Crow and the battles over segregation are part of what Georgia and the rest of the South are today. I don’t know if you need to fly the Confederate battle flag in front of the state house, but banishing it from the public eye doesn’t do any good either. One could argue that Georgia and the other ten states of the old Confederacy should be required to fly the battle flag lest they forget. It is so oft cited that is almost cliche, but George Santayana’s most famous quote rings true again – “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
Today, I don’t know what that flag means to me. I don’t know why, when I pulled it out of a box of stuff we had shipped from the U.S. to the U.K. to Australia, I decided to hang it on the wall of my study. I like it. It doesn’t bear the heavy burdens here in Australia that it does in the U.S. It reminds me of the five years I spent in Athens in the late 90’s. It reminds me that political correctness is a blunt, ineffective instrument for changing public opinion. But it also serves to remind me of the shameful legacy of race relations in a part of the United States that I love, both despite and because of its history.
It does not, however, mean that I’m a racist. Or a redneck. Or a Republican.
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You better damn well not be a replican. I just don’t think I can tolerate any more in my life.
I’ve always equated the confederate flag with rednecks, but never racist folk. And I only relate that symbol with rednecks bevause of the Dukes of Hazzard. And ignorance.
I call myself ignorant, and prove it be misspelling “because”.
Stupid Blackberry.
I’m glad to know that I’m not the only pro-Obama guy who thinks the anti-Obama stuff isn’t always racist. There is a legitimate question of whether you’d have congressmen yelling “You lie” if they fully respected him, but apparently that wasn’t the first time that guy vocally lost his temper in the Capitol. I’m willing to bet the guy is just an asshole. The only thing is that Clinton wasn’t treated too nicely either, especially on the health care topic and, last I checked, he was pretty white, or at least magenta.
As for the battle flag in the old Georgia flag, I was glad to see it go. It would have been one thing had this been the flag of the state from long ago, but it was added mid-century in protest of integration of the schools. I can’t really support that. Besides, the current flag is very similar to the pre-protest state flag, and, honestly, I think it’s a better looking flag as well. That blue thing with the history of state flags on it? Trash. Utter trash. Also, I think the three bar flag of today had real ties to the Civil War as well, but it doesn’t carry the baggage of public protest against integration and of groups who adopted the battle flag as their own. Plus, like you I don’t automatically associate everything from the South and the Confederacy with racism and slavery. That wasn’t all there was to the region and its culture of the time. It’s just inextricably linked.
If you take the train of logic too far you end up having to hate all of the founding fathers and everything American prior to the Civil Rights movement equally because it was all tied up in slavery and racism.
Jacob´s last blog ..The Voice of the Almighty
I like this a great deal, Free Msn. I am Southern to the tips of my toes and VERY proud to be a Texan; it irritates me to no end when people assume those two facts mean I am a Republican (which I most definitely am not), voted for Bush (which I most definitely did not), am racist (*rolls eyes* if you only knew) and am some sort of Bible-thumping, snake-handling, born-again, evangelical, right-to-lifer moron.
I’m not very PC, either.
What makes all of this even funnier is that I moved to northeast Ohio, where I have come face-to-face with each of those stated prejudices because the people here are Northerners, don’t you know, only to find out that in this provincial little neck of the woods, people are FAR more racist, FAR more conservative and the necks are FAR redder than anyone I associated with in Texas.
Jan´s last blog ..Oh, Baby!
I understand your message, but the reality is that for better or worse the Confederate flag has become a symbol of racism in the U.S. You can’t unring that bell. It happened, and it reminds people of a time when some individuals wanted to own others like property (primarily) because of their race.
Some things become symbols or icons in a time when in the past they were innocuous. For example, the word “fag” used to be a cigarette (and if my colloquial British is up to date, it still is), but in North America, it is a derogatory term. (I wish I had a better example, but alas it is early and I have yet to consume sufficient coffee.)
SciFi Dad´s last blog ..Caught
Joe – You used ‘be’ for ‘by’ as well.
Jacob – I didn’t know any of the history of the old flag until I started writing this post. It kind of threw me, because I had already settled on an argument. But I’ve never been bothered by maintaining an argument in the face of overwhelming facts or logic. I don’t really know how I feel about the flag based on the fact that it was introduced as a protest against Brown vs Board of Education, but I stand by the point that you can’t banish the symbol because of white supremacist assholes.
Jan – The most overt racism that I ran into before leaving the country was in the Pacific Northwest. It has a lot to do with the relative proportion of minorities in the area.
SciFi – Take fag as an example. The gay community has taken that word back, making it less of an insult and something that they can bandy around themselves. I think the point I’m trying to make with that flag is similar. I’m not entirely sure though. I just couldn’t write about my kids for another day.
Oh, and fag is still cigarette in the UK. Which was all kinds of amusing for the first couple of years I lived there as a smoker.
It absolutely drives me nuts that Americans who oppose Obama are automatically called racist. If I had called a black American racist for their opposition to Bush, I would have been tarred and feathered.
And, like you, I have no problem with the Confederate flag. It’s part of our history and why should we hide our history?
Coal Miner’s Granddaughter´s last blog ..Above
The flags did catch my attention first. It generally means more ‘redneck’ to me than anything else on first glance. I used to live in Delaware right above the Mason-Dixon line and if you crossed over we (meaning my husband Cycling Papa and I) used to call it Slower Lower Delaware. Maybe not nice but if it fits…
Very un-pc of me I know. There are too many things you can’t say anymore without fear of offense but on the whole I think of lot of them are things you shouldn’t say anyway. I like Obama and my husband does not. He’s not racist though – just republican.
Blogging Mama Andrea´s last blog ..Monday’s Muse with Cinnamon and Honey: Autism Speaks
If you have no faith in the symbol, it ceases to be such. People don’t understand that half of the things they wear are a symbol for something. I mean, think about tattoos. Half the tattoos out there mean something completely different than what their bearers believe.
I’ve noticed that most of the anti-Obama stuff is not race-related, but religion-related. People still think he’s a secret Muslim with a secret Muslim agenda. I don’t even understand how it’s even possible to believe he’s a Muslim, and I don’t understand why it should matter.
People piss me off.
And I like racism. Did you know that if you call someone a racist, they immediately become more racist in avid defense of their opposition to all things racist? It turns into something like, “Hey, I’m no racist. One of my best friends is black and he comes over all the time. Besides, he doesn’t mind if I make fun of him whenever he eats watermelon. He thinks it’s funny.”
rassles´s last blog ..Spontaneous (Something Intelligent and Relevant)
I thank Jacob for so eloquently writing my thoughts down for me. At the time the change took place I think I would have had no issue with it if it were indeed the original flag, but the knowledge that it was an in-your-face reaction changed my mind. I think moving to GA at 15 left me with a bad taste in my mouth for two reasons. 1) I was accused of being a Northerner because apparently California is north of Atlanta. 2) I have been part of conversations with the phrases “you white folks” and “Civil War” thrown around. In truth, not one member of my family was on US soil. Not one. We are all recent immigrants. My family had not one thing to do with that war, and I refuse to be guilty by association.
BTW–I have a 48 star flag hanging in my closet at my parent’s house. I definitely have a penchant for this kind of thing.
Not Afraid To Use It´s last blog ..Wait For It
I feel conflicted about this. I honestly feel like Jimmy Carter has a point. I’m not saying that everyone that opposes Obama is a racist, but I do think it’s out there bubbling beneath the surface, an anger people can’t express so they lash out in subtle ways.
As for confederate flags, it has a negative association. I’ve known my fair share of southerners and it seems to me that this rebelliousness is part of their cultural identity, not so much racism, just a desire to believe they were right and the north was wrong. But I can’t blame people for hating the sight of that flag. Look what the Nazis did to the swastika. It is a sacred symbol to both buddists and hindus (probably others) but is so tainted in our minds as to make it impossible to see as anything other than a symbol of mass murder, and that’s not really so different from the association of the confederate flag with slavery.
April´s last blog ..Garden Progress
I was annoyed when a ruckus was raised about changing the GA flag a few years ago, until I learned that the state flag changed to include the stars and bars during the civil rights movement. If that’s true (and I haven’t taken the time to research whether it is or not), then I think it should have been changed to something different. No, I’m not opposed to the Confederate battle flag–an entire wall of my fraternity house room at U of A was the flag–but if it was made part of the flag to oppose what was going on with race relations at that time, then I agree with its getting scrapped from the state flag.
Like you, I appreciate the history of the Confederacy and have visited Bull Run, Gettysburg, Antietam, and smaller battlefields in TN, GA, and AL over the course of the last few years. Just yesterday, I was in Col Chamberlain’s final resting place of Brunswick, Maine appreciating his heroics at Little Round Top (despite his fighting for the Union).
But as the Kappa Alpha fraternity t-shirts used to proclaim, it’s about “heritage, not hate.”
muskrat´s last blog ..again
Chris…I’m rolling a blog around in my head right now that addresses a lot of these issues. Its stems from the book The Help, a fictional account of the lives of black maids and their white employers in Jackson, MS in the early ’60s. I recommend it HIGHLY.
Here In Franklin´s last blog ..What About Those Birthday Cards?
Collect a flag, burn a flag. When I arrived in Australia in 1968, you had to stand up for “God Save The Queen” which was played in every movie theatre at that time. Three years later, many of us didn’t stand up as a protest against the war in Vietnam.
In 1981, I attended a baseball game at the Astrodome. When the Anthem started, everyone rose to their feet except me and the wheelchair men.
The last time I went back to The States was after 11/9/2001. Contrary to HB8’s putative argument that I can’t fly, DFW is where I cannot fly to. Or LAX.
Yes, it is getting a bit extreme here. It’s not a bad thing that we have to watch what we say, that makes us think about why we should censure our speech. But yes, it is wrong to go to such an extreme that merely by association people are judged. I try not to do that and I hope I raise my son to know someone before judging them.
Great post.
gotta disagree with you. i think it’s far too easy to dismiss stuff as “political correctness”, when it’s not you in the minority, or on the pointed end of the joke. to me, being politically correct isn’t about changing people’s minds, or conforming – it’s just about showing decency and basic respect for others.
and likewise, whenever someone rails against changing their language or symbols *knowing why* it hurts another group, i have to wonder: why is it so important to them? why do they *need* to say it? (or in this case, display it?) and is it really important enough that they’re willing to deliberately hurt others just to be able to do so?
so i don’t think having a Confederate flag automatically makes someone racist, no.
but then i’d have to argue… it’s not really about you – is it?
just my thoughts.
CMGD – We on the left compared Bush to Hitler and a chimpanzee and that was OK, but do the same to Obama and you’re a racist. I don’t like that. I think that the Right is very, very wrong but most of them aren’t racists. There are some, certainly. Absolutely. But not the vast majority.
Andrea – Most of the time you see a Rebel flag, it is plastered on the back of a pickup right next to a bumper sticker saying “You can pry my gun from my cold dead hands.” So yeah, definitely associated with yahoos. I get that.
Rassles – I laughed and laughed about the end of that comment.
NATUI – My family didn’t have anything to do with America pre 1970, so I get off pretty free as well. I know what you mean about the xenophobia of the South. I went through that when we moved down in 1980. Drove me nuts for a while. But now I kind of understand it. As for the flag thing – the Stars and Bars that they’re using now is derived from the original flag of the Confederacy. Why is that not just as offensive?
April – The swastika is a good example. In Germany, it is illegal to display that symbol. Also, Germany has heavy handed hate crime laws. But do you really think that these measures are going to prevent racism in Germany? Same ides in the States. Some people are racist. Whether or not they’re allowed to fly a certain flag or say a certain thing isn’t going to change that.
Muskrat – It is true. I didn’t know that until I started researching this post. And the more I think of it, the Georgia flag probably should have been scrapped. But, there’s still heavy Confederate symbology in the new flag. Anyway, what are you going to do?
Were you a KA? Y’all were like the rich boys at my school. The posh Southern fraternity.
HIF – Who’s the author of that book?
KCJ – I used to make Dr. O’C stand up in the national anthem at sporting events so we didn’t get beat up by drunken sports fans.
Seattledad – What a concept. Know them before judging. Controversial.
Jen – You’re allowed or even encouraged to disagree with me. Especially when I’m just making a point to start a debate. And very little is about me.
Oh, oh…or when you call someone a racist, and they start talking mad shit about the South, and everyone’s a redneck and everything south of the Mason Dixon line is straight up Deliverance.
Tell me, although that is not racist, is it not a bit geographist? Or something?
What do I know? I hate Indiana.
Rassles´s last blog ..Linguistics, a List, and I Don’t Like Indiana
Completely agree on political correctness causing the world to go apeshit on itself.
The last time I used the word apeshit, my colleague threatened to sue me. He was afro-indian. Go figure.
Monty´s last blog ..Run Lola, Run. Just not away.
Flags and images can be very powerful. The high school I went to in the Deep South had a mascot of a rebel, very much like Ole Miss. Our colors had been changed to Green and Gold, though. Ever seen a replica Confederate battle flag in green and gold? Comical.
I suppose many Southerners live with the history ever present in memory. I know I am a descendant of slave owners from South Carolina, and that these same slave owners fought for independence from England. I know that my lineage moved to Alabama in the 1830s and didn’t own any slaves by that time. I know that some of them took up arms against the republic.
Slavery was an horrific institution, and any that argue about benevolent slavery are woefully mistaken.
I don’t have an issue with the flags flying. But I also wouldn’t be sad to see them go. A little rebellion now and again is a good thing.
Jud´s last blog ..Absent
I agree with Jen here. Only those in positions of privilege who have never experienced the hurt and historical connotations associated with symbols of racism (or sexism, or homophobia) can pretend that a flag is just a scrap of cloth or that a fag is just a word for cigarette or that making jokes about big boobs at work is harmless fun. It’s not just about the symbol but about the arrogance of the displayer/doer/speaker, that they have the right to lay claim to that symbol or action or word in the name of fighting political correctness, with little regard for what it represents to those it oppresses. That is the very definition of white, straight, male privilege and even if not done with ill intentions, I think it’s worth examining the motive behind it.
It doesn’t mean you can’t have your flag, you can do what you want and I would never tell you not to display it, but I don’t think it’s helpful to pretend it’s in the name of some kind of noble “anti-PC” cause. It would be more honest to just say “I know this flag has negative connotations but those negative connotations don’t affect me and I like it so I’m going to display it anyway.” If, in fact, the flag actually represents your frustration at the ever-changing world and your confusion about your place in it now that white-male-straight privilege is being challenged (which are very valid concerns for white, straight men), explore that instead of pinning it on the ‘PC brigade’. That’s just placing blame back on the victims, for lack of a better word.
Thought-provoking post though, thanks. I might have to write one on this topic myself, seeing as my comment turned into a novella!
Noble Savage´s last blog ..“It wasn’t ‘RAPE’ rape”
Am over visiting from another blog and like what I see. I’m with you on the flag thing; I’m originally from Savannah, Georgia and that flag is so much a part of our history in the south. But, I also understand how it can be/is misinterpreted and therefore, I’m confused about it too.
Great post!
Jane Gaston´s last blog ..The Chiropractor That Never Was: Part I
Late to the party here, so it seems everyone has already written what I was going to say. I was not sorry to see the stars and bars go. That flag is rooted in nothing but racism, it was not around during the Civil War, it is not an accurate representation of the South, and it didn’t need to be the Georgia state flag. It’s a symbol of hate. Keeping it as the state flag would be akin to Germany keeping a swastika on its flag.
I do agree that one can differ politically from Obama without being a racist. I like the guy, but I don’t agree with him 100% of the time. Does that mean I’m all for racial harmony when I agree with him and I’m a racist when I don’t? No. Racism is a big part of American history, sure, and there’s still plenty of it around today, but it’s become a witch hunt.
courtney´s last blog ..Late For A Very Important State (Of Mind)
The author is Kathryn Stockett, who, despite the fact that she is a graduate of the University of Alabama, has written a wonderful book.
Here In Franklin´s last blog ..What About Those Birthday Cards?
I went to college in Louisiana in the 80’s. Racism was a live and well at that time, I can tell you that. You have a good point about keeping the flag up to remind people but there is a part of me that doesn’t believe that is the reason why they fly it but rather as a way to maintain their “southern pride” and sometimes as a racist statement. It’s hard to know but I honestly don’t think it does anything to remind those who fly it about their heritage as far as the slaves go.
Jessica´s last blog ..DING DUNG, DING DUNG
Rassles – There isn’t much to love in Indiana. I hate Texas.
Monty – There are lots of terms I can’t use at work. Let’s not get into that, though.
Jud – Who argues benevolent slavery in the 21st century? Anyone who does really is a racist.
NS – Wow. When I was writing this I knew you wouldn’t like what I was saying. Seriously, I said to myself, “Noble Savage is going to rip into me for this”. But “represents your frustration at the ever-changing world and your confusion about your place in it now that white-male-straight privilege is being challenged (which are very valid concerns for white, straight men), explore that…”
Really? Do I come off as that guy? I’ve got no confusion about my place in the world. Not a single bit. What you’ve got to consider is that I’ve come to age in a world in which the white-straight-male privilege is being challenged and it is just the status quo. I know that if I’m up for a job and there is an equally qualified minority or female applicant up for the same job I won’t get it. That’s OK. I’m down with reparations. I’m doing just fine.
I just like the bloody flag.
Jane – Glad to see a new reader. Especially one who agrees with me
Courtney – I don’t like your analogy, but I take your point.
HIF – Wow, ‘Bama produces literate graduates?
Jessica – No, absolutely most people fly it for some sort of ‘Southern pride’.
You know what’s funny? I knew that YOU knew I’d call you out on it too. I almost didn’t, just to confuse you, but you know I can’t resist a little ol’ argument.
I don’t think you’re ‘that guy’, I was just tossing out a possible explanation for why some people might embrace symbols of things that, in practice and in theory, they abhor (like racism, sexism, etc..) and I wondered if it might have a deeper meaning for you.I also suggested that if you just like it despite its negative connotations then that’s your prerogative. All I ask is that you don’t blame “political correctness” when the people whom that symbol hurts are offended by its display.
Noble Savage´s last blog ..Mother-to-mother (in-law)
I miss all the good debates lately….
I will say this belatedly however; sometimes at school I will ask one of my African kids something about their culture or one of my multi-national care group about the attitudes of their culture with respect to an issue…and I get gasps of horror from (mostly) year 9s who stare at me aghast,”You can’t ask that! That’s racist!!!”
Political correctness gone mad.
arizaphale´s last blog ..Quilt Update!
i’m a little late chiming in here, too, but i have to say a couple of things.
first, i agree with april about the similarities to the symbolism the swastika holds for nazi germany and the confederate flag to racism. you can’t separate the two, not anymore, not without a dissertation to explain it. it’s a flag, it’s a symbol, it speaks without language and it means something awful to a lot of people.
for example, i live near an historically black university in pennsylvania and on election day there were hundreds of students lined up to vote at the local polling place. while they were waiting in line, pick-up trucks flying huge confederate flags drove by numerous times. i don’t think they were flying the flag to represent states’ rights or whatever else you might intellectually associate with the confederate flag. they were flying it in the faces of the young black voters for only one reason: to be racists.
also re: “the help,” it is a wonderful book. the really startling thing for me to think about is that jim crow laws were in effect as recently as 40+ years ago. institutionalized racism was the law of the land and even though 40 years sounds like a long time, attitudes and feelings don’t always change that quickly, especially if they’re being perpetuated in your home and family. joe wilson is from south carolina, the state that proudly elected an avowed segregationist to the u.s. senate for 7 terms. you don’t escape that kind of racism very easily.
so although i certainly don’t think that you are a racist or a redneck or, god forbid, a republican (j/k), i do think the flag represents more than you can argue away, no matter how factually and historically you try.
mjrc´s last blog ..I May Have Been a Drummer in a Previous Life
I think you mean the War of Northern Aggression.
Gypsy´s last blog ..When you’re chewing on life’s gristle, don’t grumble, give a whistle
I don’t know.
I guess I have similar feelings towards it than when I see a Nazi symbol. I know that at one point the symbol meant many positive things that didn’t include hatred in it. But still…
As to PCness, I get the feeling of the relaxed sense being abroad, I feel it too here and it used to shock me how innocently Spanish people would talk about the ‘negroes’ or the ‘china man’. On the other hand, PCness often educates a population, albeit forcefully and makes them feel socially ashamed of being verbally hateful and I don’t see that as always a bad thing. In my parents time, you could get away with saying really ugly shit and no one blinked an eye. I like the fact that when my parents talk like openly that my sisters and I lecture them for it. It’s not acceptable and I’m the first to get all PC on their asses.
I actually kind of flipped the hell out when I was home. I was in the with my parents for just a little too long and I had just had it with the never ending talk about the Mexicans draining the economy and the lazy blacks on welfare and the (fill in the blank with anything except a hard-working white male harming our good christian country) and I just lost it. I told them that I just couldn’t stand to listen to them any longer that I was so sorry they lived their lives with that much hatred inside them and that I really honestly pitied them because the world was a much more beautiful place than they were making of it and if they would open up their fucking eyes they would see how much they have in common with the rest of the people they have to share the planet with. I later had to apologize for yelling. Sorry, kinda went off on a tangent but I’m sure my parents think I’m the most annoying PC freak ever.
blues´s last blog ..Gum and Madge
Yes the ol’ Georgia flag the one most old school Georgians remember as “their” state flag. Yes I do agree the battle emblem does have divisive meaning or undertones, but in reality it is a symbol of what the South WAS. It is shameful to disgrace it like they have and not think of the losses many men died under that flag. Not to solely continue on with slavery, as slavery is not the real reason for the civil war. Yes slavery was an institution that kept the south’s agriculture going…was there a better way, yes…but at that time slavery was the way, not to own a person, but to make a living as we do today working for “the man”. We just get paid and have rights now. So, to disgrace the battle emblem and shun it from public is disgracing those men and women who died for what they believed in, right or wrong..they fought the American DREAM, to them it was there way of life. As we know things have changed, the NORTH is no longer what it was and the south has become some other kind of monster…If we are to get past slavery, it was wrong, I totally agree, but to fly that flag in your yard is not a sign of negativity, nor racism nor ignorance, it is a sign of respect to the fallen who died on that hollowed ground you call HOME.