Confederate Battle Flag

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm an immigrant and this whole rewriting of history by the winners is amazing to me. The southern states waned to be independent, just like US wanted to be independent from Britain just a hundred years prior. Americans won, so they are heroes. Southerners lost, so they are traitors, right?

And don't kid yourself - the North did not go to war to free the slaves. Lincoln did not give a flying f&#k about them. In fact, in his inaguration speech he assured the South that they would get to keep their slaves. Lincoln cared about power, and a divided America would not be as powerful, so Lincoln proceeded to burn the South to the ground to get what he wanted.

Actually the US did do go to war over slaver. Read "Lies my Teacher told me." Don't rely on your recollection of your high school history book.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Perhaps the recent murders in the church in Charleston will be the turning point in SC changing their state flag.

Fingers crossed

[Anonymous]

Perfect example of taking a tragedy and spinning it for political purposes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Perfect example of taking a tragedy and spinning it for political purposes.

It is the flag the terrorist flies. he burned an American flag but flew the stars and bars.

[Anonymous]

For millions of Americans the Confederate flag is a symbol of racism and oppression and division - the State of South Carolina should not be honoring it. Now if individuals want to raise it on their own property fine that's their prerogative but the State shouldn't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Perfect example of taking a tragedy and spinning it for political purposes.

It is the flag the terrorist flies. he burned an American flag but flew the stars and bars.

Following this logic, we should ban Islam for obvious reasons. And Christianity too, for all those crusades, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Perfect example of taking a tragedy and spinning it for political purposes.

Politics is a way to bring about change, so that future tragedies can be prevented. If we don't learn from tragedy and take steps to change things then those lives lost were nothing but a senseless waste.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Perfect example of taking a tragedy and spinning it for political purposes.

Politics is a way to bring about change, so that future tragedies can be prevented. If we don't learn from tragedy and take steps to change things then those lives lost were nothing but a senseless waste.

No, politics is the way to substitute real problem(s) with one or few imaginary ones and direct public opinion in a certain way to achieve certain objectives.

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Perfect example of taking a tragedy and spinning it for political purposes.

It is the flag the terrorist flies. he burned an American flag but flew the stars and bars.

Following this logic, we should ban Islam for obvious reasons. And Christianity too, for all those crusades, etc.

U.S. Governments are already prohibited from endorsing religion.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:The flag has been located at a Confederate war memorial since 2000. Furthermore, it's not on a pulley. It's within view of the state house, not on the state house itself. It's on the northern end of the grounds.

The Confederate flag has a place at the Confederate war memorial - it's a piece of history.

If you want, you can totally re-write the public school history texts and completely eliminate it and the war. Me? I think it's more important for children to understand history.

This may be true, but I would then argue that the Confederate war memorial does not belong on the living, active State House Grounds in 2015.

Signed,

A native of Columbia, SC

I think that's ridiculous.

Would a Nazi War Memorial belong on the grounds of the Bundestag?

Show me the 6 million blacks killed.

So that's your criteria? A set number of people have to be killed by an institution, to make it evil? Columbia, SC native here again. The only way that state is ever going to move forward is for folks like you to recognize that the WAR IS OVER and was, 150 years ago. It has zero to do with ANYTHING going on in the state at this time. The State House is a vibrant (by Columbia standards, anyway) area in the heart of downtown, with living, breathing people going there every day to influence and debate issues that are truly relevant to 2015. To have this stupid memorial front and center there is absurd.

A lot of folks died fighting for the confederacy. It's part of our history. Erasing symbols of it allows it to disappear from people's minds. You want history repeated? Go ahead and bury it.

First of all, the folks who died fighting for the confederacy were total idiots. If we knew them today, they would be the reddest of the necks. There were a very few extremely wealthy slaveholders and thousands who did their bidding by giving their lives for this stupid "cause," which was nothing more than keeping the money in extremely upper class hands. (And I say this as the descendent of several who took up arms for the south.) Yes, it is all part of our history and I agree that it should not be buried. It should be studied, talked about in schools, etc as it currently is. It should not, however, be celebrated by being memorialized on the state house grounds.

You know it was illegal NOT to fight for the Confederacy, right? Many southerners who lost their lives were forced into battle. Did you not learn history in school? This is Civil War 101.

Of course I know that. There was a draft and all men from teens (pre-teen?) through practically the elderly, by the time it was over, were required to fight. But so what? This was still 150 YEARS AGO. Are you still honoring the individual dead of the First World War? The Spanish American war? The Revolutionary War, for that matter, where Americans truly gave their lives for a noble purpose that lives on for us today? Why does this one aspect of history have such a grip on you? Has there been no achievement in your life, or in the lives of other family members, since then, that makes you cling to these distant ancestors?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Perfect example of taking a tragedy and spinning it for political purposes.

It is the flag the terrorist flies. he burned an American flag but flew the stars and bars.

Following this logic, we should ban Islam for obvious reasons. And Christianity too, for all those crusades, etc.

Hey Charlie Daniels, no one is going to outlaw your oversized belt buckle. This is what flies over government propr., outside of separate museums and war memorials. Last I looked, no religious flags fly there either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is weird that it is flown anywhere outside of private residences. It was the flag of a rebellious treason in the USA. It represents an oppressive regime that sold and purchased black bodies.

What is "rebellious treason" to you can be considered "a quest for independence" by others.

A flag is nothing but a symbol, and of course different people can perceive the same flag in different ways. The Confederate Battle Flag is no exception.

They lost the war; they need to get over it.

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote:U.S. Governments are already prohibited from endorsing religion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

jsteele wrote:U.S. Governments are already prohibited from endorsing religion.

This is not "religion." This is simply a statement of fact!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Perfect example of taking a tragedy and spinning it for political purposes.

Politics is a way to bring about change, so that future tragedies can be prevented. If we don't learn from tragedy and take steps to change things then those lives lost were nothing but a senseless waste.

No, politics is the way to substitute real problem(s) with one or few imaginary ones and direct public opinion in a certain way to achieve certain objectives.

The objective here is to end racist violence. And right now, the Confederate flag is one of the core symbols being used by those who promote racist violence. Getting rid of Confederate flags won't end racist violence, but it will at least end the appearance that the State of South Carolina is out there endorsing racism and racist violence.