What does the Confederate Flag mean to you?

[dazzleman]

I voted something else.  It means little to me.

I think too much is made of the supposedly oppressive symbolism behind the confederate flag.  The reality is that slavery took place under the stars and stripes as well as the stars and bars.  Should we get rid of the stars and stripes?

I also think that people that obsess over the confederate flag are wrong for two reasons.  First, practically speaking, they are avoiding the reality of today's problems by focusing on symbols of the past.  If they spend half the energy trying to fix today's problems as they did worrying about what happened 150 years ago, or even 50 years ago, they'd be in much better shape than they are.  The "civil rights" movement is so bankrupt at this point; they are devoid of any ideas for dealing with today's problems, other than blaming other people for all their problems and obsessing on things like the confederate flag.

Second, the attack on the confederate flag is ultimately an attack on the whole legitimacy of our society.  Does anybody really believe that if we appease these people by getting rid of the confederate flag, they'll actually be satisfied?  The truth is that they will never be satisfied; they consider our entire society corrupt and don't really see redeeming qualities in it.  Their issue is not really with the confederate flag or white southerners; it is with all of us.

[dazzleman]

I mostly agree with you, but I think it should be noted that the opponents of the Confederate flag are not the only ones who use what happened 150 years ago against other people - those who go around asserting that Lincoln was a tyrant and that the North is evil, etc., are just as guilty of this.

I'd have to say I think you're right.  I don't agree with southern extremism just as I don't agree with a blanket indictment of the south.

I think at this point we should just forget the civil war.  I can't understand why so many people still seem to be so obsessed with it.

[dazzleman]

It simply means Racism.. so both option one and option two. 

By the way the other day I was out scouting properties for the family and I accidentally drove up a poor pocket - a hollow full of shacks and double wides (there are a lot of those still left among the new high end developments in the suburbs here.)  Anyway I saw a mobile home with a huge confederate flag flying above it.  Who knows what the intent of the owner was, though hatred was very likely a part of the message he wished to send.  Naturally my skin crawled.

It's nice to know that you're such a model of civility and tolerance.  As I've said before, you're a shining example to disadvantaged minorities who are struggling to better themselves in a hostile society.  Keep patting yourself on the back.  You have contributed much to the world.

[dazzleman]

The people to fear are the people that run away from alchohol or refuse to go into a sex shop. you can talk to them but they live in world that resembels the 19th century.

You're so right.  Alcohol and sex didn't exist in the 19th century.  They are both recent inventions.

[dazzleman]

The people to fear are the people that run away from alchohol or refuse to go into a sex shop. you can talk to them but they live in world that resembels the 19th century.

You're so right.  Alcohol and sex didn't exist in the 19th century.  They are both recent inventions.

Christianity only developed into a religion as it allowed people who commited themselves to god to be educated.

Thats why people in the 6th century became monks they had nothing else to do so they just learnt to read. 14 centuries education is available to us all but we still have the brainwashing clinics that twists literature. That was why people were afraid of the reformation in the 16th century becaue anyone can read it and translate it to what they want. we can all get quotes that mean one thing and find another that means the direct opposite.

People are happy without religion yet the religious right have a problem with it.

I go to church twice a week as i enjoy it. I like the stories that people tell and how they affect our lifes today. But we live in the 21st century where people enjoy smoking, drinking, having casual sex and watching a ballgame. PROBLEM? off course we aren't allowed to be happy if we haven't accepted Chirst.

Are alcohol and sex really related to whether one accepts Christ or not? 

You should tell that to the alcoholic Catholic priests who are sleeping with young boys.

In all seriousness, one can accept Christ, and also like sex and alcohol.  With sex and alcohol, it is a matter of using them correctly, not avoiding them completely.  Those who attack the Christian position on sex are really arguing that people should use sex and alcohol stupidly, and then push the consequences off onto other people.  That's why I don't agree with them, not for religious reasons.

[dazzleman]

Racism.  It is a flag for heritage, but a heritage that thought slavery & racism was fine

To be objective, the U.S. flag would also stand for racism under that logic. After all, the American heritage involves racism, slavery, discrimination against immigrants, and so on; these were not exclusive to the South.

Granted, but the south embraced slavery longer, formed the Confedercy in part due to fears Lincolin would make slavery illegal.  Formed the Jim Crow laws among other things.

I would beg to disagree. California had discriminatory laws against Chinese immigrants, and also the Japanese during WWII. There was plenty of de facto discrimination against those of African descent in the North. The U.S. as a whole caused the death or displacement of millions of Indian tribes. So, on the whole, I would say that prejudice is not something that is in any way exclusive to one particular region.

Yes, you're right.  Northern elitists love to kid themselves into thinking that prejudice, discrimination, etc. has only existed in the south.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  It's a psychological game these people are playing to make themselves feel better.  These things existed in the north and other sections of the country, and continue to this day.