After noticing all the media coverage, videos and uproar on social media over the confederate flag, one thing became clear to me. We're worried about the wrong thing. I understand what it could mean to some people, especially in the south, and for that reason only, I'm happy to see it come down. But to me, getting rid of all traces of the confederate flag is such a small battle to win, that it’s almost meaningless .
I was gonna write out this long passionate piece about racism in america, to try to put the grand scheme of things in perspective but that’s for another day. Right now, I just want to give you three reasons why arguing over the confederate flag is a waste of time and why it isn’t as important as a lot of people seem to think.
1) It doesn’t make racist people, any less racist. Even if we actively seek out every single confederate flag in America and destroyed it in the most shocking way possible, it wouldn’t make racist people, any less
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As of right now, if your a noticeable racist, or rep the confederate flag in the wrong place, at any time, you’re likely to get your ass beat. The emotional part of me thinks that's great to hear. I can completely understand the need to let the frustrations and anger out, especially after holding it in for so long, but the logical side of me has to ask, is that really helping our cause?. Black people are portrayed as being confrontational, mischievous and violent. Running around, knocking people or smashing car windows out over a flag only feeds into that stereotype. Anything black people say or do will be used against us in the debate of racism, so we can't afford to give people ammunition to use against us. Not only that, violence has never solved a damn thing. In the grand scheme of achieving racial equality, we must never forget the words of Martin Luther King, “ Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that, hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do
“Land of the free and the home of the brave.” This line has represented the United States for decades. These words were captured in The Star Spangled Banner by Francis Scott Key and since 1913, the United States has adopted The Star-Spangled Banner as its national anthem. We have used the Red, White, and Blue as one of our nation’s symbols. It has fifty stars, to represent the number of states we have in our Union. The military pledges its allegiance to the flag and the country which it represents at all costs. We are the land of the free and the home of the brave, and we are proud to show it.
~~For many American citizens, a controversial flag such as the Confederate flag flying above a government edifice delivers a great amount of pain. Emett Burns, an African-American involved in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, spoke of his views on the Confederate flag: "It [the flag] says to me 'If I could put you in your place, I would.'" (qtd in Schaiver) The NAACP finds the flag extremely offensive and explained their outlook on it with frustration, saying, "enough is enough." (qtd in Cabell) Mims, an African-American 42 year old disabled paper worker, announced his vista upon the flag: "It is like the Germans and the Jews—they are trying to eliminate us." (qtd in Burritt) A recent legal case concerning the Confederate flag, the Plaintiff argued the fla...
Although many corporations have contributed large sums of money to campaign for a new Mississippi flag, that would replace the existing 1894 Confederate flag and improve economic and racial relations throughout the state, chances are slim that a change will occur. Many Mississippians are simply not ready for change and few African-Americans are actually pushing for a change. Many Mississippians view the original flag as part of the state’s heritage and do not want to replace it with a new one. However, I believe it is in the best interest of the state of Mississippi to change the flag, not only to ease racial tensions, but also to boost economic conditions.
Southern Pro-Slavery Rhetoric By 1860, the slave states had approximately four million slaves making up approximately one-third of the South's population. However, opposition to slavery began as early as the 1700's by religious leaders and philosophers in North America and Europe who condemned the practice, arguing that slavery was contrary to God's teachings and violated basic human rights. During the Revolutionary War, many Americans came to feel that slavery in the United States was wrong because they believed that protection of human rights was one of the founding tenets of the United States, and slaves were not accorded rights. Slavery was likely opposed more rapidly in the North, in part because fewer people in the North owned slaves.
The Confederate flag is a famous symbol of the South’s side in the American Civil War. The controversy surrounding this flag has received a great bit of media attention considering how deeply affected and offended some people have become. Southerners consider themselves to be personally affected. A majority of supporters state that banning the Confederate flag strips them of their heritage, referring to the South’s part in the American Civil War. Persons who do not support the continued showing of the Confederate flag, such as non-Southerners, African Americans, and many others say that while the flag is a symbol of southern history, much of the history in the South includes racial segregations, lynchings, and slavery. As a matter of fact, the purpose of the Confederacy in the Civil War was to make sure slavery stayed an institution in America. The man who created the Confederate flag, William T. Thompson, stated this about the symbol of heritage: “As a people we are fighting to maintain the heavenly ordained supremacy of the white man over the inferior or colored race; a white flag would thus be emblematical of our cause” (Miessler par. 3). This alone clearly shows what the goal of the Confederacy
“The Confederate Flag: Controversy and Culture.” David Sarratt American Studies University of Virginia. Web. 22 Feb. 2014
All citizens should be able to look upon their flag with pride and glory. They should feel as though it unites them as a nation. Without a doubt, the current flag of Australia does nothing of the sort. It has become an anachronic symbol of the nation which poorly represents our society through the total disregard for the Indigenous Australians and their heritage. Not only does it suggest that we are a part of a colonial relationship, but it is constantly confused and associated with other countries with similar flag designs. A new flag will reinforce our national identity with a strong and inspiring design that is easily recognisable and unique to our country and its people.
He appeals to the concerns of the audience by addressing the First Amendment mentioning the fact that “Speech protected under the First Amendment does not necessarily mean that it is right, proper, or civil (4).” The opinion of Bok conveys the difference between what is displayed as insensitive of ones beliefs and causes others to be uncomfortable in their environment of higher learning. He argues that the students who displayed the Confederate flag had to have known that their actions would be upsetting and offensive to some students. As a result feelings are involved and could very well affect the community of which the students reside. By pointing this out Bok hopes to persuade universities to come up with a better way to exercise the First Amendment and avoid racial tension amongst the student
I believe people should not be able to take down the Confederate statues.We shouldn't be able to take them down because, it’s apart of our country's history, people lost their lives fighting for what they believe and we don’t want to ignore the fact that our country has flaws and we need to own up to it.
The controversy of the confederate flag has been an issue for many years. Whether one believes in the historical importance of the flag or the negative symbolism of the flag, it is merely an opinion. However, even though there are many pros to the confederate flag, the cons seem to outweigh the
For generations students have been taught an over-simplified version of the civil war and even now I am just coming to a full understanding of the truth. The civil war was a terrible rift in our nation, fought between the northern states (known as the union) and the southern states (the Confederate States of America). The people’s opinions were so divided over the issues of the civil war that, in some families, brother was pit against brother. Eventually, the south succumbed to the north and surrendered on April 9th, 1865 but not before the war had caused 618,000 deaths, more than any other war in U.S. history.(1) In truth, many believe this horrible war was fought purely over the issue of slavery. Nothing could be further from the truth. I am not denying that slavery was a major cause and issue of the civil war, but social and economic differences as well as states’ rights were just as important issues and I will be discussing all three.
The symbols of the Confederacy are not just about supremacy, but also, inextricably, about class. Confederate monuments and flag signify terrorism. They were raised deliberately to send a solid message to all who strolled in their shadows about who was still in control. The majority of African Americans whose descendants were enslaved. There have been many attempts to relocate monuments, remove flags, rename schools, and change the name of various holidays (“Confederate Remembrance 3”). Confederate monuments should be taken down immediately and placed in museums where citizens who support the monuments and the heritage of what happened a long time ago can view them
Even after that talk of the flag died down until now. Recent events have been bringing the Confederate flag back up into questioning. The main event that has recently taken place is the shooting that took place at a church in South Carolina. A white man went to a “black” church, he sat down with them the whole service. he sat in the back quietly and waited until the end. After the service ended he then fired his gun. Nine people died(Eversley). The same thing happened two years ago, except it was a little worse. A black man came into a “white” church. Just like the white man, he sat down, went through the service with the people and at the end fired and killed people. In that situation only four people died. After he killed the people at the church he kidnapped his wife and then killed her(Cowbell). There is not much difference between the two scenarios. The only story that made the news was The first story. An anonymous person quoted this after one of the shootings. “The only reason someone could walk into a church and shoot people praying is out of pure hate.”(Eversley) That quote says it all. It said nothing about race or color or anything. But only the first story made the news because it was a white boy in a black church. After the story was on the news is when everyone said he did it to start a race war.
When even the highly-supported secession documents clearly outline how important slavery was to the southern states, it is hard to deny its fault in the war. The argument that the Confederacy was fighting for states’ rights is the most-often suggested alternative, however all one needs to do is dig deeper and calculate what these
Imagine standing in front of the defaced statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee only to hear two sides of people curse, hurt each other. This situation is too familiar for people who visit Charlottesville, VA, the formerly peaceful town. The controversy between Confederate memorials never ends. Many people argue that Confederate monuments should be taken down because they become the flashpoints of unrest and violence. As far as I am concerned, confederate memorials should remain as these memorials are the legacy of history; history is value-neutral and innocent.