ok, so, i've come back from a trip... drove a little under 2000 miles total... and i saw something a few times on my trip that brought out rage in me - surely there has to be a reason for this "thing" that im unaware of, please teach me the reasons that this is a good symbol, and not something that should press the 'run the fucker off the road' button inside me


all it takes is for me to see this, and instantly i hate the person with it... that cant be right i dont like hate, i try not to let it in me, but, on this one i cant figure out any reason to see anything else.


when you see this.... what is your first gut reaction ? and am i being to sensitive ???


http://www.witewillo.home...e_flag.jpg

Sometimes people use the confederate flag as a sign of being a rebel. I think they're rebelling from society in general.
I personally think they should get another symbol, but to each their own.

Sometimes they are racist pigs and the world would be better if they were run off the road.

I'm a Yankee born and raised

I live in the South now ... for the past 20 yrs

I love both flags ... and most the people i know that display that one here ... are some of the greatest people i know

I learned young not to judge by exterior "colors"

So you tell us hun ...what exactly does it stir in your to cause rage ? and yes, i feel maybe that if the simple sight of the rebel flag inrages you ... you have an inside issue that may need airing out

I am from the NORTH and I don't know what this Flag SYMBOLIZES. SCHOOL me I see it Alot out here.

i think it's like the shwastika (i dunno how 2 spell it!)- what i mean is that it could've originally meant something positive but over the years could have been made into something negative (i'm but a canadian, i don't know what it really means )


it has a different meaning 2 everyone, and if the flag makes u mad then hunny it makes u mad..but u gotta deal with it soon before it starts 2 fester

thats what i was asking mach

i dont understand when something is connected with a time period as ugly as what that was...

why would it stand for anything good ?

i mean, yeah, i know, we're from the south, and its a pride thing...


but, its also very hateful, at least from what i know.

thats why i was saying, explain to me, so i dont feel so much hate.


oh, and by the way, my trip was up north as well i would expect more of that from the south, but up north ????

just wondering, really, im serious about this, i dont understand.

What is usually called "The Confederate Flag" or "The Confederate Battle Flag" (actually the Navy Jack as explained above) remains a symbol. The display of the flag is controversial and a very emotional issue, generally because of disagreement over exactly what it symbolizes. To many in the US South it is simply a symbol of regional pride and heritage. Others see it as a symbol of the institution of slavery which the Confederate government defended, or of the Jim Crow laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern States for decades later.

On April 12, 2000, the South Carolina state senate finally passed a bill to remove the flag of the former Confederate States of America from on top of the statehouse dome by a majority vote of 36 to 7. Placed there in 1962, according to one local news report (http://www.infoplease.com/spot/confederate4.html), ��the new bill specified that a more traditional version of the battle flag would be flown in front of the Capitol next to a monument honoring fallen Confederate soldiers. The bill then went to the House, where it encountered some difficulty. But on May 18, 2000, after the bill was modified to ensure that the height of the flag's new pole would be 30 feet, it was passed by a majority of 66 to 43, and Governor Jim Hodges signed the bill five days later. On July 1, the flag was removed from the South Carolina statehouse.�� Current state law prohibits the flag's removal from the statehouse grounds without additional legislation.

In 1955, the Georgia state flag was redesigned to incorporate the Confederate Battle Flag. This caused much controversy, and in January 2001, a new design was adopted intending to recognize the Confederate Battle Flag's historical significance while minimizing its prominence. Voter backlash in 2002 booted the Governor over the issue, giving way for the state's first Republican Governor in 130 years. In 2003, because of the continued controversy, the flag was redesigned yet again, without any image of the Confederate Battle Flag, although it does now strongly resemble the First National Flag of the Confederacy, known as the "Stars and Bars." In March of 2004, another vote was taken giving voters the opportunity to choose between the two most recent designs of the flag, but specifically excluded the Confederate Flag version of 1956.

The Confederate Battle Flag became a part of the Mississippi state flag in 1894, whereupon a strange series of events ensued. In 1906, the flag statutes were omitted by error from the new legal code of the state, leaving Mississippi without an official flag. The omission was not discovered until 1993, when a lawsuit filed by the NAACP regarding the flag was being reviewed by the Mississippi Supreme Court. In 2000, the Governor issued an executive order making the flag official. After continued controversy, the decision was turned over to citizens of the state, who, on April 17, 2001, voted 2-1 to keep the Confederate Battle Flag emblem on the state flag.


here's the link for other information pertaining to the Flag,i hope this helps in understanding.

http://encyclopedia.labor...ontroversy
[Edited 10/23/05 14:12pm]

ok, then, it stands to reason.....


does that mean that a person of color that grew up in the south puts that flag out in their yard ????? or on the back of their car/truck ?????





i dont believe i've ever seen that

another thing....


put in "KKK FLAG" in the search bar, then to images.....


its amazing how many confederate flags come up !!!!!

The first thing that comes to my mind when seeing that flag is the Dukes of Hazard TV show.

im being serious

nakedpianoplayer said:

Actually, so am I. The only time I see it up in these parts of Minnesota is when going to the county fair and someone is selling pins for hats, belt buckles, etc. at one of the stands there. However, there is a guy in the area who has an exact replica of the Dukes of Hazard General Lee which is cool to see. So other than the car, it reminds me of Jeff Foxworthy and his "redneck" jokes. To me, it's kind of a symbol of people who are behind the times, in a way.

I've seen it on TV, a lady on Wife Swap didn't like it and ordered the man to take it down and he refused.

to me that flag symbolizes the south's heritage of slavery and hate. I don't understand why anyone would be proud of that but i'm not from the south so i wouldn't be surprised if i'm missing a few pieces to that puzzle.

all i know is that when i see that flag i always think a cross burning and a lynch mob isn't too far behind and i'm not trying to be anyone's strange fruit.
[Edited 10/23/05 19:52pm]

JasmineFire said:

well said, thank you

nakedpianoplayer said:

its obvious u half read the section in the 1st paragraph of what i posted nor did u click the link to do further research

"Others see it as a symbol of the institution of slavery which the Confederate government defended, or of the Jim Crow laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern States for decades later. "

TheRealFiness said:

i didn't read any of it, honestly. i was responding to nakedpianoplayer's question, which was what do you think of when you see the confederate flag?

i told her what i thought about it and was done with it.

but, what i want to know is why noone is answering my questions ????


do people of color who live in the south have those flags hanging proudly as well ????


why on yahoo, when i put in KKK FLAG under images, it seems to put up several confederate flags ???

the civil war was not only about slavery...yes it was a main issue of the day then...but the civil war had more to do with competing ideas as to how this country should be run. Mainly..how much controll the federal govt was to have over the states...which if you read the consitution...isn't supposed to be much.
the southern states wanted more state control and less federal controll (doesn't seem so bad now huh?) now..that also meant that if a state wanted slavery..then the fed govt couldn't tell them no. Now I in no way think that slavery should be legal in any state..anywhere...ever...but I'm an optimist (I guess) and like to think that just like our fed constitution eventually initiated a constitutional amendment that obolished slavery...I'd like to think that each and every state would have also adopted a similar state constitutional amendment...
anyway...the confederate (con = opposing or against, con-federate is someone against the federal govt.) flag seemed to become a symbol of slavery only because some of the states that were part of the confederate were for slavery at that time...but it really is a sign of rebellion against the federal govt.
thank you....I'm a yankee, and have a nice day.

I'm confused--your thread title talks about wanting help regarding the "hate" you feel inside, yet most of the thread seems focused on the flag and its meaning rather than examining your emotions.

Shorty said:

AnotherLoverToo said:

the idea was to tell me what the flag means, and how i can except it for its intended meaning, and not the racist symbol it appears to be.

This flag occasionally provokes anger in me, though not towards the flag or its people:

nakedpianoplayer said:

I felt I tried to explain it.

Shorty said:

ok, i've read that again.. that part i totally understand.

now can you answer the two questions i put up there before ?


do families of color from the south fly those flags too ???

and


why if under yahoo search i ask for KKK FLAG images they show so many confederate flags ???

and, how can a symbol that even brings such horrible images be tied up with so much "pride" ???

thats the part that confuses me.

http://www.civilwarhome.com/blacks.htm

after reading the above article, I'd have to say yes...I'm sure some "families of color" still fly that flag.

The fed govt. said Slavery should be illegal, the confederacy said it should be up to the state govts to decided it's own laws. I can only guess that because one of the main laws in debate between the north and south was slavery, that some extremists took it to the extreme (surprise, surprise) and used that flag as a symbol of their extreme beliefs. ta-da! how's that?

Mach said:

Mach, you know you my homie. I stay close to you. The North Georgia mountains, SC, NC are full of back woods folks who fly this flag.

Even though Yuppies are moving into the mountains and are quite diverse, they don't fly this flag as much as the back woods people.

Not sterotyping...

It's a dangerous symbol. It reminds me of hate.



...

Shorty said:

Does it really matter if it involved other issues besides slavery?

...
[Edited 10/25/05 9:50am]

AlienX2050 said:

yes

I hate that flag.

I was watching a video the other day..I think with jessica simpson, and they showed a confederate flag on the roof of the car.