I am a Canadian with friends in Louisiana. Is it wrong for them to be proud of the Confederate flag?

Question

While I am aware that it reminds and to some extent represents a deeply troubled time for the US and it's citizens, it also represents a great love that the people of the southern states have for their heritage. Right or wrong..depending on who you speak with, I quite honestly feel it is a good thing to remember the past. It should be a basic right of all North Americans to wave our Countries flags first..i.e. National, then whatever state flag you feel is right and necessary for you. In my case, I have the Canadian Maple Leaf, the Union Jack (our British Colonial history), then my Provincial Flag (Saskatchewan) with it's symbol of the prairies - wheat. I wonder when the time will be that all people can simply accept our diversity and our need to express our love and pride in ourselves. Few people mean any disrespect, but rather a love of where they come from.

Every country in the world has had some evil in their history. A flag can, and should, remind us of overcoming it.

Answer 1

As a native southerner I fly my rebel flag. As you are already aware, to some it represents hate, but this is the minority.
To the most of us it represents, history, struggle, defeat , the ability to endure, overcome and rebuild, resourcefulness,and a passion for life itself.

As southerners we pride ourselves on hospitality, kindness, and gentility.. It is a diverse area with a rich heritage, there is far more to the south than slavery (which by the way was not the only issue of the Civil War).

At this point in history there is great concern for the embracing and celebration of all cultures and I do not see why "the southern culture" and history should be excluded.

Thanks for you well written commentary!

Answer 2

Do not fret. The Confederate Flag is nothing more than a flag representing the Southern States who succeeded from the union and formed the Confederate States of America. It is an important part of American, not just southern, culture. It is a reminder of our history, values, and traditions. It is NOT a symbol of hate or pro-slavery! The southerners believed their rights were being trampled upon and being taken advantage by the northern states and the booming industrial complex there. Although it was a poor and treasonous move in my eyes for the southern states to succeed, the soldiers on both sides fought admirably and with great honor, each army fought because they believed in their cause. Anybody who claims the flag is a racist symbol or that the American Civil War was a war against racism has no knowledge of the history behind it. Now there are those people who purposely use the Confederate Flag to incite rascism against others, which is unfortunate, but has no bearing on its true meaning. The Christian cross was once carried on the battlefields as a symbol of war, but that was not what the original intention for making the cross a christian symbol. Unfortunately people will always take symbols and try to alter them to serve a different meaning. All that can be expected is that one who owns items bearing controversial distances themselves from such a negative stance. With that done, people must then make their own interpretations, and we can only hope they are smart enough and have the correct knowledge to make the right interpretations. With this said, I would personally not go flying the flag at every event as its correct interpretation is that of a successionist symbol, which rightfully could upset some people.

Answer 3

Interesting argument for the starts and bars, and I can see it that way, but let me make a counter argument. It's good to remember the past, but some southerners love of the confederate flag goes well beyond that. It's a symbol that represents a belief system. Part of those beliefs involved separatism and racism. Those ideals were fought over in the bloodiest conflict in American history and were defeated. That flag and all it stood for should be left in the past. Just as (almost) nobody is still waving the Japanese war flag or the soviet flag anymore. Hundreds of thousands of people died to bring the confederate flag down, and down it should stay.

Answer 4

There is nothing wrong with being proud of the Confederate Flag. I am originally from Illinois and my grandfather was from Tennessee and my whole family is proud of that flag. I have one now that I fly everyday with the American Flag. I have the right just as your friends do to believe and stand up for that flag regardless of what others think. The men and women of the South are strong people and just because others might not understand the true meaning behind what the Confederate stands for doesn't mean that they have the right to criticize your friends for flying it proudly. That's what's wrong with the world today. As Hank Jr. would say " If you don't like it, you all can just kiss my ***!" Fly that flag with pride and don't worry what others think!

Answer 5

No,while it's debatable, but I don't think it's wrong. A couple of people I know proudly hail the Confederate flag, and some of them are black.

Some people who are opposed to the Confederate flag need to consider both sides - the Confederacy and the Southern pride. However, some are going to biased against it.

Answer 6

Personally I feel that flag represents a time when the South wanted to keep the institution of slavery and secede from the rest of the states. I see it as a hate symbol that the south should be only too happy to bury, along with that part of the past. Would Germany want to keep the swastika as a symbol of German nationalism?
My flag has 50 stars and stripes, and it should be good enough for anyone who loves this country.

Answer 7

I think I'd pretty much endorse your position on this. Doesn't bother me to see the Confederate flag displayed and to the extent that it does represent some attention to history and heritage I'm all for that.

Answer 8

Honoring the rebel flag is fine for those who wish to do so humbly and proudly out of love for their heritage. However, many people use the flag for racism and hatred. Too many times in the past I watched the KKK march in my hometown and fly the rebel flag as they walked down the street spewing their filth.

Answer 9

I was born and raised and still live in New Orleans, Louisiana. I can tell you that I am not proud of the Confederate flag. Most people I know aren't proud of it either. At the same time, we're not ashamed of it either. I appreciate its place in history, but I also realize that today the flag symbolizes racial prejudice and those -- 99% -- who wave it today wave it with that negative symbolism in mind.

Answer 10

If the attitude is "Heritage, not hate", I don't see any problem with them. If it's being used by neo-nazis to show how much they miss the "good ole days" of slavery, I do.