I don't understand; why do people defend things such as the confederate flag

[Silver]

The south has many wonderful traditions and a rich culture that I find beautiful and fascinating.  When have I ever said anything nasty about southerners?  There are many wonderful people who live in the south, and many rat bastards who live in the north.

But I won't go so far as to deny slavery being the main reason for their secession.  That's just dishonest. They themselves said so at the time!  Yes, there were many, many reasons, and a lot of massive disagreements leading up to it.  But the straw that broke that camels back was slavery, it became the driving force.  That does not make every southerner in 1860 a racist, nor every northerner a paragon of virtue, nor am I saying that, or even alluding to it.

I love Germany, despite atrocities committed by some people there in the past.  People need to own up to their mistakes, not make excuses for them.  I respect people who do the former, as the Germans have done.

I agree.

Any single area of the world is filled with both good and bad people. There is no escaping that.

However, according to my boyfriend the one place he will never live is Alabama. And the one place I will never live is Texas.