Since I live in the south, I thought I might as well comment on this.

However, the first thing I'll have to throw in there is that this doesn't seem to happen as much in urban areas as it does in rural areas. I live in Houston and you don't get much more urban than this. If you go outside Houston and go into some of the more rural areas, those confederate flags start popping up more and more.

And, secondly, I think a lot of those types, first off, have an extremely narrow view of what racism actually is. For example, a lot of good ol' boys will use the term "ni**er" but, since they don't use it in a way that's intended to be demeaning to black people, they don't consider it racist.

See, the kids move out and straight away have a huge bust up when not supervised

(January 30, 2014 at 8:21 pm)BrokenQuill92 Wrote: Why do southerns keep insisting the Confederate flag isn't a racist symbol?

The idea that the Confederate flag is a racist symbol is fairly recent.

As an example, this was a very popular TV show from 1979 thru 1985 yet was never considered racist despite the prominent display of the Confederate Flag.



I mean can you imagine a similar TV show celebrating the Confederate Flag and General Lee coming out today? It would never happen. People would shit themselves in a frenzy to be the first to denounce it in their social circle.

The "Confederate" flag was a military flag, it was never one of the national flags of the Confederacy. I thought it was amusing a few years ago when Georgia was being attacked for this flag:



So they simply changed it to a near exact copy of one of the official national flags of the Confederacy:



No problem. H'okay.

haha. I mean really?

The Confederate flag became to the Southern people immediately following the US Civil War a symbol of a defiance against tyranny.

Now I'm not going into the entire reasons for the war and all that. I'm not starting a debate about the war.

I'm simply stating that right or wrong, it symbolized to the Southern people defiance against an outside oppressor. Not the internal oppression of minorities though that obviously was done for a century following the war. Go back to the 1920's or so and I would dare you to find a Confederate flag flying in the South. It was a very, very rare thing.

Now during the Civil Rights years some Southerners started waving it around in defiance to the federal government enforcing desegregation. That's when it started to be symbolized as racist. However, it obviously took a while. Civil Rights years were in the 60's, but the Dukes of Hazzard still got a pass as a family friendly, non racist TV show in the early 80's.

It's a shame that it became tainted in that way. But unfortunately it has. Though I am a proud Southerner I wouldn't personally display it even down here simply because of all the drama and misinterpretations you would have to deal with.

I don't own one. Not even on a sticker.

(January 30, 2014 at 8:21 pm)BrokenQuill92 Wrote: Why do southerns keep insisting the Confederate flag isn't a racist symbol?

I didn't know that there was a race or ethnicity called the "confederates".

I live outside of Philadelphia, now and again you see confederate flags up north. Usually the national redneck symbol, and I'm sure they share views on how they feel about non-whites.

(January 31, 2014 at 11:23 pm)kılıç_mehmet Wrote:

(January 30, 2014 at 8:21 pm)BrokenQuill92 Wrote: Why do southerns keep insisting the Confederate flag isn't a racist symbol?

I didn't know that there was a race or ethnicity called the "confederates".

Are you playing dumb or are you actually that stupid? The Confederates were the people who wanted to keep slaves in the US Civil War, hence the Confederate flag is racist.

(January 31, 2014 at 11:23 pm)kılıç_mehmet Wrote:

(January 30, 2014 at 8:21 pm)BrokenQuill92 Wrote: Why do southerns keep insisting the Confederate flag isn't a racist symbol?

I didn't know that there was a race or ethnicity called the "confederates".

Does it have to be called that?

(February 1, 2014 at 2:40 am)futilethewinds Wrote:

(January 31, 2014 at 11:23 pm)kılıç_mehmet Wrote: I didn't know that there was a race or ethnicity called the "confederates".

Are you playing dumb or are you actually that stupid? The Confederates were the people who wanted to keep slaves in the US Civil War, hence the Confederate flag is racist.

Like you mean to tell me that the people who fly confederate flags want to bring back slavery?

Quote:Does it have to be called that?

Well, the Turkish flag is called the Turkish flag for a reason. It bears an ethnic connection, that is.

(February 1, 2014 at 3:32 am)kılıç_mehmet Wrote: Like you mean to tell me that the people who fly confederate flags want to bring back slavery?

Yeah. They think that slavery was better for both white people and black people. Because that's what they teach Southern kids.

(February 1, 2014 at 3:34 am)futilethewinds Wrote:

(February 1, 2014 at 3:32 am)kılıç_mehmet Wrote: Like you mean to tell me that the people who fly confederate flags want to bring back slavery?

Yeah. They think that slavery was better for both white people and black people. Because that's what they teach Southern kids.

Well, I'd say they're right. At least it was honest, the blacks knew they were slaves, the whites knew were masters. It really didn't change anything, the blacks are still slaves, and the whites are still the masters, its just that no one is aware of this. The only thing that changed is that blacks now have to feed themselves.