do you consider the "rebel flag" I mean the stars and bars racist?

Question

or do you belive it is a symbol of state rights?

I am not going to choose a best answer, so I am leaving it to all who answer. so besure to come back and vote when the time is up

Answer 1

First thing the "Stars and Bars " is the flag for the country (Confederacy) the flag you yankees call the Confederate Flag is the Battle Flag. It was made up so no one could confuse it with the US flag.

I Am Their Flag
In 1861, when they perceived their rights to be threatened, when those who would alter the nature of the government of their fathers were placed in charge, when threatened with change they could not accept, the mighty men of valor began to gather. A band of brothers, native to the Southern soil, they pledged themselves to a cause: the cause of defending family, fireside, and faith. Between the desolation of war and their homes they interposed their bodies and they chose me for their symbol.
I Am Their Flag.
Their mothers, wives, and sweethearts took scissors and thimbles, needles and thread, and from silk or cotton or calico - whatever was the best they had - even from the fabric of their wedding dresses, they cut my pieces and stitched my seams.
I Am Their Flag.
On courthouse lawns, in picnic groves, at train stations across the South the men mustered and the women placed me in their hands. "Fight hard, win if possible, come back if you can; but, above all, maintain your honor. Here is your symbol," they said.
I Am Their Flag.
They flocked to the training grounds and the drill fields. They felt the wrenching sadness of leaving home. They endured sickness, loneliness, boredom, bad food, and poor quarters. They looked to me for inspiration.
I Am Their Flag.
I was at Sumter when they began in jubilation. I was at Big Bethel when the infantry fired its first volley. I smelled the gun smoke along Bull Run in Virginia and at Belmont along the Mississippi. I was in the debacle at Fort Donelson; I led Jackson up the Valley. For Seven Days I flapped in the turgid air of the James River bottoms as McClellan ran from before Richmond. Sidney Johnston died for me at Shiloh as would thousands of others whose graves are marked "Sine Nomine," - without a name - unknown.
I Am Their Flag.
With ammunition gone they defended me along the railroad bed at Manassas by throwing rocks. I saw the fields run red with blood at Sharpsburg. Brave men carried me across Doctor's Creek at Perryville. I saw the blue bodies cover Marye's Heights at Fredericksburg and the Gray ones fall like leaves in the Round Forest at Stones River.
I Am Their Flag.
I was a shroud for the body of Stonewall after Chancellorsville. Men ate rats and mule meat to keep me flying over Vicksburg. I tramped across the wheat field with Kemper and Armistead and Garnett at Gettysburg. I know the thrill of victory, the misery of defeat, the bloody cost of both.
I Am Their Flag.
When Longstreet broke the line at Chickamauga, I was in the lead. I was the last off Lookout Mountain. Men died to rescue me at Missionary Ridge. I was singed by the wildfire that burned to death the wounded in the Wilderness. I was shot to tatters in the Bloody Angle at Spotsylvania. I was in it all from Dalton to Peachtree Creek, and no worse place did I ever see than Kennesaw and New Hope Church. They planted me over the trenches at Petersburg and there I stayed for many long months.
I Am Their Flag.
I was rolled in blood at Franklin; I was stiff with ice at Nashville. Many good men bade me farewell at Sayler's Creek. When the end came at Appomattox, when the last Johnny Reb left Durham Station, many of them carried fragments of my fabric hidden on their bodies.
I Am Their Flag.
In the hard years of so-called "Reconstruction," in the difficulty and despair of years that slowly passed, the veterans, their wives and sons and daughters, they loved me. They kept alive the tales of valor and the legends of bravery. They passed them on to the grandchildren and they to their children, and so they were passed to you.
I Am Their Flag.
I have shrouded the bodies of heroes, I have been laved with the blood of martyrs, I am enshrined in the hearts of millions, living and dead. Salute me with affection and reverence. Keep undying devotion in your hearts. I am history. I am heritage, not hate. I am the inspiration of valor from the past. Look Away, Dixie Land!
I Am Their Flag.





Why is the Confederate flag offensive?
I read with interest the article in The Warren Record about the issue of displaying the Confederate flag in school. I believe we should try to avoid offending people unnecessarily, but the issue begs the question of why it is the battle flag of the C. S. A. that is offensive to people. The heroic and patriotic men such as Robert E. Lee and T. J. "Stonewall" Jackson who served under that flag are examples of Christian manhood that cause our selfish generation to pale in comparison.

They say the flag is offensive because it stands for racism since the South fought a civil war to preserve slavery, which is not historically accurate. Abraham Lincoln and the North are heralded as the champions of civil rights since they defeated the South and ended slavery, but Lincoln only voiced the sentiments of many northerners at the time of the War when he said: "There is a natural disgust in the minds of nearly all white people, to the idea of an indiscriminate amalgamation of the white and black races ... I am not, nor ever have been in favor of making voters or jurors of Negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with white people; and I will say in addition to this that there is a physical difference between the white and black races ... and I as much as any other man am in favor of having the superior position assigned to the white race."

The Confederate Flag:
Should We get Rid of It?

Okay, so what’s wrong with me? In celebration of slain Civil Rights Leader Martin Luther King’s day (week?) if I watch enough news, I should be out there with my black brethren yelling, screaming and looking to burn every free waving Southern Cross I run across. So what’s wrong? Shouldn’t I be offended as well?

In a way, yes. I am. And here’s why:

I had ancestors who fought on both sides of that war – which was anything but civil.

Surprised?

Yes, in Northern Mississippi in fact. Cousin against cousin. One man trying to protect what was his, and one who escaped slavery only to be drafted into taking his cousin’s land away. This little fact, along with all the arguments about Southern Heritage, Southern Pride and Remembering the Gentlemen who in died war gets lost in all the noise about why it’s so “insensitive.”

…And I am just fed up with it.

More than that, I’m fed up with the yellow-bellied, white guys who don’t have the guts to fight back on the issue. I know, no one wants to get labeled the “R” word. To politicians, it’s a label that’s worse than being called a liar, an adultorer or a draft dodger. And heaven knows, you white guys in the public sector better not even bring it up at work or in public. There’s a civil rights lawsuit with your name on it. Yet, I know how many of you – especially you folks south of the Mason-Dixon line must feel right now.

Wanna fight back?

Hold my coat for a minute…

Where were these protests against OUR Confederate battle flag for the last 135 years? Why are these black people allowing themselves to be manipulated by the media and their left-wing, so-called "black leadership?" Whenever I hear a black person talk about this flag issue, I ask them the same questions. Do you know how long that flag has been flying over those state capitals? Haven’t you seen them there before? The answer from most blacks I talk to out west is, “who cares?”

Not good enough for the National Association for the Advancement of Career Politicians (NAACP). Not good enough for these modern-day “Plantation Pimps” who can’t find any other juvenile criminals to fight for so now they retaliate by “dissing” a great hunk of American culture. This is ONLY being done to pander to black voters this political season. You see, back in 1992, folks just decided to burn down Los Angeles while liberal politicians mailed gasoline to the rioters. This time, let’s burn down a heritage instead.

I hope some black person is reading this right now and fuming. You should be. If you think the Confederate flag is insulting to you, you are being used, or as we say it in the hood, you bein’ played – for a fool. By who? Not by those evil conservatives, but by the liberal white man. The ones who’ll take your votes, then tell you you’re not good enough to make it on your own.

But there is no sense giving you the same argument many of the Southern Ladies and Gentleman are trying to give now. You don’t want to hear them, anyway.

Let’s talk about “insensitivity,” shall we?

If you don’t mind, some of us with southern roots are going to find every Vietnamese American citizen in this country, bus them to Washington, D.C. and protest to have the Vietnam Memorial removed from the park. Why stop there? On the way to Washington, we might as well grab every citizen with German or Japanese ancestors. With enough noise, we can get rid of that World War II Memorial, too. After all, These people all had relatives who were killed by the men and women America honors at those Memorials. You liberal, nothing-else-better-to-do black folks wouldn’t mind, would you?

Yes. Let that sink in real good. That’s what you’re doing to these good people of the South. You are DESECRATING THEIR MEMORIAL… Check that – Our Memorial.

What ever happened to Diversity? Tolerance? Must be a one sided thing.

Don’t give me that “Symbol of Slavery” bull****. If that were the case, turn in all those 1, 20, 50, and 100 dollar bills. The faces on these bills were men who were leaders when many blacks were slaves. But let’s get down and dirty, shall we?

The worst riot in American history was not in Los Angeles. It was in New York, back in 1863. You see, there were a bunch of people who, like during Vietnam, didn’t want be conscripted (read: drafted) to serve in an unjust war. Talk to your President about that. Over 1200 people died in just two days. Most when President Lincoln sent federal troops in to put down the “rebellion.” Oh, by the way, 83 blacks were lynched in those two days – right there in The Big Apple. So, which flag do you really want taken down?

But since we’re all told to boycott, will those leftist, black elected leaders in South Carolina boycott the Statehouse while its in session? I doubt it. Will they avoid buying goods in their own state? Doubt it. Our forefathers who wrote the Constitution gave all of us a way to deal with a state’s policies we didn’t like. That’s what the South was fighting for. It was not about slavery. If that were the case, we’d be bombing China right now, and we would not accept license plates made with prison labor right here in the good ol’ USA.

Oh…What’s the black population percentage in prison these days, anyway?

The multicultural extremists can’t call me racist, but in the black socialist community, they have even uglier words for people who refuse to live on that “plantation,” such as me. Just ask Clarence Thomas.

So let that flag wave proudly as a monument to the last Army in this country that actually fought for the Constitution. I am proud to have ancestors who fought with them. And for those people who don’t want their state to fly the Southern Cross, here a solution that’s much easier that protesting…

…leave.

There’s a term for it. Its called “white flight.”

J.J. Johnson – Proud Black American




In closing please allow me to ask "you" a few questions.

How many ships flying the Confederate Jack brought in slaves?

What was Lincolns' plans for blacks?

The Biggest Question of All why is it you drive Japanese cars, use their computers, tv's and so forth when they still fly the "Rising Sun"? That flag killed 30 million civilians much worse then anything my flag could have ever done but yet "YOU" support it and them!

God Bless You and The Southern People.

Answer 2

Stars And Bars Flag

Answer 3

Not racist, not state rights and not a rallying point anymore.
It's a symbol of what may have been and a symbol of a turning point in the history of our nation. It should not be treated as a racist or rebellious evil artifact because quite frankly it's not. At the time of the civil war it was a sign of a nation wanting to protect it's way of life and it's own form of commerce.Though that nation of southern states or the confederacy never got it's chance, it was not evil.
What is evil though is the people who place artifacts like the Stars and bars on a list of racist items along with the swastika!
It's unfair to use a sign that meant so much to the south and the southern way of life at the time of the civil war to fit wants and needs of people today.
Let's think long and hard about crossing what is with what was.
The south was not the only place that had slaves. Nor was it the only place to have plantations. There was enough guilt to pass around as far as slavery goes. The White house once had slave quarters too. No one state and no one people escaped the bonds of slavery.
From the time of Roman conquest to current day people have been enslaved.
Don't use that as a crutch anymore, that dog wont hunt!

Answer 4

It depends on how it is used. It is a piece of southern heritage, however I fail to see how it is a symbol of state rights. I don't think that having a confederate flag is racist, but too often it gets associated with those that are. Hanging the flag in your living room because you think the south will rise again, bad. Hanging the flag as a tribute to the people who died fighting for something that they believed in, not bad. And I hardly consider Bo and Luke Duke racist.

Answer 5

Apparently many people are confused. The Civil War was not fought over slavery. It was fought over states' rights. As a matter of fact, only about 10% of Southerners even owned slaves. Most southerners were poor white farmers, competing against slave labor. Yet, they fought for the Confederacy under the stars and bars. How about that??

The stars represented the Confederate states, not slavery or racism.
Today, I see it as a symbol of southern heritage. However, this flag should not stand alone. We are Americans, first and foremost, and over a half a million people died in the fight for this union to remain whole. The stars and stripes should be flown as well, if we want people to realize it is not about racism but heritage.

Answer 6

To me this flag is an arbitrary symbol that and it's meaning is entirely subjective to the off-hand observer. I feel the same way about the American flag. A flag is a flag THERE IS NOTHING SPECIAL ABOUT A FLAG OF ANY KIND!!! People need symbolism it drives them to believe in a greater cause than themselves. It is the same concept as the overwhelming presence and utilization of idolatry in the Christian church. It is so much simpler to glorify a concept or an idea or a person or entity if there is some tangible representative of it in the vicinity of those who hold it near and dear.

Answer 7

I grew up with this flag and with a lot of southern tradition. My mother and brother both went to Ole Miss. Personally, it doesn't mean racisim to me. However, if I look at it another way - suppose it was the nazi swastika. I'm not jewish, but that flag is sure repulsive and represents nazism and racisim, the murder of hundreds of thousands of jews - that flag is offensive. So, if I can see that, I can see how the rebel flag can also be offensive to others.

The thing is, where do you draw the line? Suppose some American said our flag was offensive. What then? Its very conflicting.

Answer 8

I think it is a flag with a history, just like all of the flags in United States history. The British felt the "Don't Tread on Me" flag was treasonous.

Answer 9

The flag isn't racist; however some of the groups that use it certainly are. Don't confuse the two.

American history isn't as simple as it's taught in our classrooms, and it certainly isn't the way it's portrayed on the news. I'm not going to re-hash all the history of the Civil War, but Americans have a responsibility to themselves to learn it right.

Answer 10

A few of the people I know fly the rebel flag simply because it is a "rebel" flag. I guess they like to think of themselves as rebels.

Answer 11

People automatically associate the Confederate flag with racism because of the Civil War. And of course one of the reasons that war was active was because of the freeing of slaves. The Southern States wanted to keep slavery and because that is their flag....we automatically associate it with racism. In the Southern states I'd say its split as far as their idea of what their flag represents for them. Some of them have Southern pride..some of them are racist. It is better for all of us not to stereotype and assume the individual is racist.