Confederate Flags in Northern States

[Verrenxnon]

I live in one of America's northern states and I see a lot of Confederate Flag license plates, flags, shot-glasses, T-shirts, etc. Today, for example, I saw a rusted white truck with a Confederate License plate out front. A windshield sticker read, "WHITE TRASH AND PROUD OF IT." Another windshield sticker on another truck surrounded a rebel flag, reading, "NORTHERN RAISED, SOUTHERN WAYS." Considering that I live in a suburban area, these are more than a little striking.

Although I can understand pride in ancestry over serving in the Civil War, I have trouble understanding why the Confederate Flag is still so prominent in the northern states, given what it has historically stood for.

What exactly is the point of it? Is it emblematic of racism, symbolic of "country" values, indicative of being a rebel, or something else entirely?

Or is it only because mud-flap girls look better backed by a Confederate Flag than by stainless steel?

 

[PayneTrayne]

I'm Canadian so I'ma say this. Mudflap girls need purty colours behind them to look better.

 

[Easton Dark]

They're proud to be from the South, and that IS the Southern flag, even if it has no political meaning anymore.

Like Native Americans hold on to things to remind themselves of their heritage, even without their ancestral lands. Just less........ poetic, the way you describe the people displaying the flags.

 

[Lionsfan]

They're proud to be from the South, and that IS the Southern flag, even if it has no political meaning anymore.

I'd be willing to bet that almost all the people flying it up North aren't from the South. It's all just a bunch of posing

 

[Verrenxnon]

It just seems like an odd thing to posture, especially in the north. Without the South's heritage, it almost seems like a degradation.

 

[Ursinedriver]

So, then the equivalent of white guys getting tribal tattoos or Chinese character tattoos?

 

[BlumiereBleck]

We kinda owe it to the democrats...

 

[Verrenxnon]

We kinda owe it to the democrats...

Interesting. Why to the democrats?

 

[Qizx]

They're proud to be from the South, and that IS the Southern flag, even if it has no political meaning anymore.

Like Native Americans hold on to things to remind themselves of their heritage, even without their ancestral lands. Just less........ poetic, the way you describe the people displaying the flags.

I'm German and the Nazi flag was at one point the flag of our nation. Does that mean that we should still use it? My point here I guess is that I find the Confederate flag something that's pretty damn offensive. I mean how many people do you see rocking the Prussian flag? Not too many because they kinda lost the war.

 

[BlumiereBleck]

We kinda owe it to the democrats...

Interesting. Why to the democrats?

Think about it, its modern propaganda...what politcal party was for slavery and against the civil rights movement, best thing for both, get the flag in the North!!!

 

[Vryyk]

They're proud to be from the South, and that IS the Southern flag, even if it has no political meaning anymore.

Like Native Americans hold on to things to remind themselves of their heritage, even without their ancestral lands. Just less........ poetic, the way you describe the people displaying the flags.

I'm German and the Nazi flag was at one point the flag of our nation. Does that mean that we should still use it? My point here I guess is that I find the Confederate flag something that's pretty damn offensive. I mean how many people do you see rocking the Prussian flag? Not too many because they kinda lost the war.

This is about how I feel too. Though to be fair I doubt they use it out of malice or racism, just ignorance and apathy.

 

[Johnny Reb]

i hang one proudly in my room. but seeing as i live in the 3rd of 11 states to secede its kinda hard to find that odd. but yeah man that is kinda strange. i always thought you Northern guys would start rioting in the streets in you even saw a criss-cross flag of any sort lol.

 

[Kpt._Rob]

Imagine, if you will, a man who proudly displays a Nazi flag on his truck, not, he claims, because he has any hatred of the Jews, but because he's proud of his ancestors who fought in WWII. You really want to say you don't think he's being just a little bit disingenuous? Same story with the Confederate flag, if you say you're waving it cause you've got pride in your ancestry, you're being disingenuous.

If my ancestors were rapists, I'm not proud of them. If my ancestors were murderers, I'm not proud of them. And if my ancestors were slave owners, or fought in order to allow slavery to continue, I'm not proud of them.

The Confederate flag IS a symbol of racism, or at the very least, is a symbol of fascination with a much more conservative time in American history. Anything else people try to claim is just an excuse because being a racist isn't socially acceptable anymore.

 

[CarpathianMuffin]

Eh, folks I know that have it here do so out of a sense of pride towards being Southern. No other meaning behind it.

 

[Qizx]

Imagine, if you will, a man who proudly displays a Nazi flag on his truck, not, he claims, because he has any hatred of the Jews, but because he's proud of his ancestors who fought in WWII. You really want to say you don't think he's being just a little bit disingenuous? Same story with the Confederate flag, if you say you're waving it cause you've got pride in your ancestry, you're being disingenuous.

If my ancestors were rapists, I'm not proud of them. If my ancestors were murderers, I'm not proud of them. And if my ancestors were slave owners, or fought in order to allow slavery to continue, I'm not proud of them.

The Confederate flag IS a symbol of racism, or at the very least, is a symbol of fascination with a much more conservative time in American history. Anything else people try to claim is just an excuse because being a racist isn't socially acceptable anymore.

Well said good sir. I agree with you fully on that one!

 

[emeraldrafael]

They're proud to be from the South, and that IS the Southern flag, even if it has no political meaning anymore.

Like Native Americans hold on to things to remind themselves of their heritage, even without their ancestral lands. Just less........ poetic, the way you describe the people displaying the flags.

Are you talking about the Southern flag, or the battle standard? Cause I always preferred this
<spoiler=Southern Flag>http://www.jacksonlamuseum.com/bbf.gif
if I had a choice (which is weird, since I'm from Pittsburgh, which is in the north).

 

[manythings]

We kinda owe it to the democrats...

Interesting. Why to the democrats?

Think about it, its modern propaganda...what politcal party was for slavery and against the civil rights movement, best thing for both, get the flag in the North!!!

Lincoln was a republican.

OT: History should be preserved, good AND bad. The civil war wasn't just about slavery, unlike the war between Texas and Mexico which kicked off because Mexico banned slavery (certainly changes the meaning of "Remember the Alamo"), that's just the one thing everyone remembers. The south had serious economic issues, there were big poitical differences between the Union and the Confederacy. Hell "The Emancipator" only abolished slavery because it was the only option he had, Lincoln was a pretty huge racist (Like Ghandi).

In certain areas of the south there are black communities who fly the confederate flag for any number of reasons. Not to mention the old guy that marches in an old Confederate uniform with the flag to protest how the Union never made reparations for the destruction/theft of property by their soldiers.

 

[92Sierra]

I have to second this confusion. I was born in Georgia and raised in Pennsylvania. I have always maintained strong connections with my Southern brothers and family and so identify myself with the South just as much I do the North. I have ancestors who fought on both sides. But I would probably never fly a Confederate flag. Not that I have anything against it. I just identify myself with the here and now. I have asked Pennsylvanians why they have a Confederate flag on their license plate (I honestly thought it was some kind of Dukes of Hazard fanboy thing) and they always give an answer along the line of it symbolizing rebellion.

 

[richd213]

We kinda owe it to the democrats...

Interesting. Why to the democrats?

Think about it, its modern propaganda...what politcal party was for slavery and against the civil rights movement, best thing for both, get the flag in the North!!!

Democrats were pro-slavery during the civil war but it was only the southern democrats that were against the civil rights movement. That's why Nixon was able to use his southern strategy to get the southern states to become republican (like they are to this day) - because the different groups of democrats had fallen out over the civil rights issue.