Racism and the Rebel Flag?

Question

I got a quick question for ya'll. Why does everyone think the rebel flag is racist? I have a rebel flag hat, shirt, license plate on my truck and even a rebel flag tattoo.... I ain't the least bit racist! The rebel flag is just the flag of the south, it represents heritage, not hate. The racist rebel flag is the flag of the KKK with the KKK cross in the middle of it, replacing the middle star. What are your thoughts about this and why do people think it's racist?

Answer 1

Hey neo nazis and KKK members wave the American flag. The people under the Old Glory massacred the native Americans. Do you associate the US flag with racism everytime you see it? Its just PC bull. Raise the Rebel flag with PRIDE.

Answer 2

I'm with you dude, Rebel Flag History
During the Civil War, many Southern states left the Union. These Confederate or "Rebel" states wanted their own flag to fly. The first Rebel flag that flew over the Confederacy, was the Bonnie Blue. The Bonnie Blue was never adopted by the confederacy, but it was loved by the people. Officially, the first Rebel flag was the Stars and Bars. The Stars and Bars flew from March 1861 to May of 1863. Unfortunately this Rebel flag looked too much like the Union's Stars and Stripes. The Confederate states decided to look further for a more unique design.
The best-known Rebel flag was the Confederate Battle Flag, also known as the "Southern Cross". The Battle flag was carried by Confederate troops during battle. So, on May 1st,1863, the second Confederate flag design was adopted, placing the Battle Flag as the canton on a white field. It was named the Stainless Banner. This Rebel flag was mistaken for a truce flag in calm weather, since it would just hang with mostly white showing. This led the Confederacy to create the third Official Rebel flag. On March 4th,1865, a new pattern was adapted. It was the same as the previous design, but with a wide, red stripe on the fly end. The third flag did not last long, since the war came to an end. It was called the Last Confederate flag.
The Confederate Battle flag is the most recognized Rebel flag. Many people know it from the Dukes of Hazzard TV show. The Rebel flag was painted on the top of the Duke Boys' car, the General Lee. The Confederate flag has also appeared on several southern state flags at one time or another. The only state to keep the Rebel flag as part of their state flag presently, is Mississippi.

Answer 3

Well, if the rebel flag is just like the KKK flag with just a cross in the middle of it, can you see why people get the two confused. You may not be racist, but some of the people around here who wave the Confederate flag say things like "The South will rise again". And a lot of them are racist. That's why I see it as racist.

Answer 4

I don't think most people understand the rebel flag they see it and they think it represent's the south mistreating the slaves ut if they knew the real meaning if the rebel flag they would understand that i represents the heritage of the south. And most people think that all rebel flags represent the KKK whether it has the cross on it or not. So the more people who learn about real rebel flag they will understand it's true heritage.

Answer 5

I got a long answer for your quick question...

First and foremost the true name of the flag is not a rebel flag, but the Confederate Flag, a battle flag.

The battle flag features the cross of St. Andrew (the apostle was martyred by being crucified on an X-shaped cross), and is commonly called the "Southern Cross." A large degree of the Southern population was of Scottish and Scotch-Irish ancestry, and thus familiar with St. Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland. The stars represented the eleven states actually in the Confederacy, plus Kentucky and Missouri. This flag is the flap popularly associated with Robert E. Lee, and is the flag under which he fought.

The Confederate battle flag has also been appropriated by the Ku Klux Klan and other racist hate groups. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, more than 500 extremist groups use the Southern Cross as one of their symbols.
To many in the US South it is a symbol of their heritage and pride in their ancestors who held out during years of war under terrible odds and sacrifice. Others see it as a symbol of the institution of slavery, or of the Jim Crow laws established by the many Southern states enforcing racial segregation within their borders for almost a century later. As a result, there have been numerous political fights over the use of the Confederate battle flag in Southern state flags, at sporting events at Southern universities, and on public buildings. According to Civil War historian and southerner Shelby Foote, the flag traditionally represented the south's resistance to northern political dominance generally; it became racially charged during the Civil Rights Movement, when protecting segregation suddenly became the focal point of that resistance.

Over time the flag has acquired a wide range of meanings, some apparently contradicting one another. Since the CSA was fighting for independence during the Civil War, much as the United States did during the Revolutionary War, the Confederate Flag has always had connotations of rebellion, patriotism, self-determination, dissent, freedom, and liberty. Since the issues of slavery and, later, segregation, are deeply intertwined with the CSA and the Civil Rights Movement, the Confederate Flag has connotations of racism and slavery.

While you may not believe yourself to be racist, you're supporting a heritage of hate by advertising this symbol. It doesn't really matter what you choose to believe the symbol represents. The reality is that the symbol is intertwined with the south's history of slavery and as the bearer of that symbol there is no way for a stranger to differentiate you from a member of an organization like the KKK.

Answer 6

If KKK members didn't wave it around as their representative flag then perhaps that stereotype would have never come about. That's the first thing I think of when I see it so you can blame those idiots for the association between racists and the rebel (Confederate) flag.

Answer 7

I am with you...the Rebel flag in and voe itself is not racist...but in the minds of many it does bring up a time where the south was fighting against the north for among other things to keep slavery alive in the Americas. This is where I think the whole thing stems from...the memories and thoughts of slavery which are seen as racism.

Answer 8

It's a piece of cloth, it has no inherent meaning.

When I lived in Atlanta in the early nineties the state legislature was discussing changing the state flag. Removing the confederate battle flag, that is.

I remember my hearing roomates (all non-Georgians) discussing it. They regurgitated all the carefully crafted rationalizations. Honoring civil war dead, southern heritage, etc. At the tail end of the discussion one said "I'm just tired of hearin' all these ni**ers complain." The other two nodded in agreement.

I was born to the trailer park, I'm well aware of what kind of things motivate the overwhelming majority of the pushy confederate battle flag displayers. None of which are admirable or worthy of commemoration.

Klansmen are not very picky about using the confederate battle flag, a casual image search reveals plenty of KKK/white supremacist sites that employ the unaltered stars and bars.

Answer 9

History, and the location...fueled by ignorance. The south was the main location of slavery, and the evil that came from it. Abraham Lincoln was inspiring..and very noble. It's almost like reverse idolatry...rather than putting a symbol in the place of God..One hates another because of a symbol...Symbolism is something many use to mark the rest areas, or bumpy areas along the highway of life. You find comraderie in a Rebellious Banner..Commemorating a time when Americans Fought amongst themselves.....And those who look at you for idolizing said banner are merely trying to continue that same battle in the present day...HAVEN'T ENOUGH PEOPLE DIED, BEEN MAIMED, LEFT WITHOUT A LOVED ONE...OR EVEN MENTALLY SCARRED DUE TO THE WARS WAGED AROUND THE WORLD FOR CENTURIES?

Answer 10

People think it is racist because they want more things to be upset about. Being from the south, a rebel flag is nothing unusual, and I usually don't assume the people sporting them are racist. But, there may be people out there that use the flag to represent their racist attitude.