US people - is the confederate flag a symbol of racism?

[The Grand Nudger]

It's all now you see. Yesterday won't be over until tomorrow and tomorrow began ten thousand years ago. For every Southern boy fourteen years old, not once but whenever he wants it, there is the instant when it's still not yet two o'clock on that July afternoon in 1863, the brigades are in position behind the rail fence, the guns are laid and ready in the woods and the furled flags are already loosened to break out and Pickett himself with his long oiled ringlets and his hat in one hand probably and his sword in the other looking up the hill waiting for Longstreet to give the word and it's all in the balance, it hasn't happened yet, it hasn't even begun yet, it not only hasn't begun yet but there is still time for it not to begin against that position and those circumstances which made more men than Garnett and Kemper and Armistead and Wilcox look grave yet it's going to begin, we all know that, we have come too far with too much at stake and that moment doesn't need even a fourteen-year-old boy to think This time. Maybe this time with all this much to lose than all this much to gain: Pennsylvania, Maryland, the world, the golden dome of Washington itself to crown with desperate and unbelievable victory the desperate gamble, the cast made two years ago; or to anyone who ever sailed a skiff under a quilt sail, the moment in 1492 when somebody thought This is it: the absolute edge of no return, to turn back now and make home or sail irrevocably on and either find land or plunge over the world's roaring rim.

-Faulkner.

[Mermaid]

Yes. Yes it is.

[arewethereyet]

When I was a kid, in the 60s and 70s, I viewed the battle flag as a symbol of the south.  I didn't think about slavery or racist connotations because slavery was in the past and civil rights were on the upward trend.  It was a symbol of good southern values, not the ugly ones.  When southern rock bands used the flag or Dukes of Hazzard painted it on a car, I didn't see hate.  When Skynyrd played Knebworth in 1976, Brits waved the rebel flag.  (Paul and Lynda were in the crowd.)  Of course, using the flag was MCA's idea, not the band's.  

That changed over the following decade, and now there's no viewing the flag as anything but a symbol of racism and hate, especially if it has Hank Jr.'s face on it.  Because I grew up in newly integrated Hope, Arkansas schools, making friends with whomever was nice and patient enough to put up with me, I thought race relations were advancing for the better and would continue to improve.  Boy, was I wrong, being a stupid kid notwithstanding.  I didn't know yankees were just as racist, sometimes more so, than southerners.  After all, yankees were the good guys in the war, right?

Very well done analysis.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Living here in West Crackerstan it's easy to equate waving the Stars and Bars with racism.

[Spongebob]

I grew up in Mississippi (yeah, that state) and my family owned numerous items emblazoned with the stars and bars (SAB). I had a beach towel with that print on it and my motorcycle helmet had one as well. Lots of cars had a front tag with the SAB. At the University of Mississippi the SAB was waved at sporting events; it was a sea of read and blue. At the time I had no real idea what it represented except what older people said and they all seemed ok with it. All through school, I never had a single class that mentioned the SAB in any discussion regarding slavery or racism. In a way, the SAB just seemed to exist of its own accord, disconnected from any sort of bigotry, somehow representing a our culture. But my home town was deeply segregated. There was a "white" city pool and a "black" city pool and no one crossed that line. Every black family lived in one area and I can't remember ever seeing a black person shopping at, much less owning, one of the downtown businesses. Years later, after I had time to educate myself, I learned of all the history behind the SAB and realized that no matter what my family or any white person says the SAB represents, to black people it represents one thing and one thing only, oppression. Because of that, I believe the symbol should be banned from public display except in museums for historical context and I don't believe any white person should display it if they have any respect or compassion for black American citizens. Even if you feel it represents some distant, fanciful ideal of Southern culture, it's still immensely hurtful to the black community. So unless you enjoy hurting other people, don't use it. And that goes double for Christians if you actually profess love for your fellow humans. There's no excuse for displaying something that you know is hurtful to so many people when it does absolutely nothing for you. You want to celebrate southern pride? Do something to improve your community, donate your time to make it look better. Better yet, help someone who is down on their luck because if they prosper, your community will prosper. And there's nothing that screams pride like a strong community that nearby communities envy for your success.