[Mature]South Carolina.... and The "Confederate Battle Flag"

[Victor Wolfe]

Let me reitterate: it's not illegal to buy, sell or own the confederate flag. It is not censored

Actually that depends on the country in the case of the Swastika I am pretty sure it is totally illegal in Germany and probably a few other country's. My view is that people should be allowed to fly the flag they want as long as they accept the consequences of it, and that flags with a polarizing history should not be used by state owned buildings and agency's.

[Tearen Wover]

The confederate flag bothers me because it's a symbol of divisiveness. Flying it is basically like saying "Fuck everyone else, I'm Southern!"

...it's kinda childish.

[Thaal Sinestro]

Let me reitterate: it's not illegal to buy, sell or own the confederate flag. It is not censored

Actually that depends on the country in the case of the Swastika I am pretty sure it is totally illegal in Germany and probably a few other country's. My view is that people should be allowed to fly the flag they want as long as they accept the consequences of it, and that flags with a polarizing history should not be used by state owned buildings and agency's.

Right, I only meant in the context of America, but it is illegal to have ANY kind of Nazi propaganda in Germany.

[Claraina]

Right, I only meant in the context of America, but it is illegal to have ANY kind of Nazi propaganda in Germany.

Probably because they realize it is a black mark on their history and while I do not believe they would not teach their children about that past I do believe they try their best to stamp out that symbol and the ideology it represented.

If you want to be a closet racist and hang that flag within the confines of your own home there is no law against it as far as I know. The moment you start openly and proudly displaying that mark of racism you place a label on yourself for the rest of the world to judge you by.

There should be no "Southern Pride" attached to the CBF because the Confederates were not fighting the Union over some slight against their honor, it was a matter of the South wishing to own slaves and the North refusing to allow it.

The Confederacy was defeated in the Civil War. You are an American now, not a Southern. Get over it and raise an American flag or overthrow the government so that you can put your preferred laws and flag in place.

[Tearen Wover]

There should be no "Southern Pride" attached to the CBF because the Confederates were not fighting the Union over some slight against their honor, it was a matter of the South wishing to own slaves and the North refusing to allow it.

There was a little more to it than just slavery, but I agree with your overall sentiment.

[Mickey Mouse]

Personally, I don't believe that the Confederate Battle Flag should be censored when it comes to recognizing its historical relevance -- if a video game, or a film, or a television show uses it for some purpose to highlight the era it takes place in, or to expand upon the themes, or even simply to just be historically accurate, yes, go for it.

But otherwise, I personally believe that it is a symbol of absolute racism and I cannot tolerate it in public places. Sure, put it in a museum. But flying it over a state building? Hanging it outside your house? Putting it on the back of your car? That's absolutely deplorable and, in my opinion, totally ostracizes an entire group of people (black people) from your company, perhaps without you even realizing it.

The whole point of this country, especially in recent days, is to create a place where people of all nationalities, cultures, races, etc can come and feel like they belong. It doesn't always work, but that's because we aren't brave enough to acknowledge that steps like this need to be taken.

I went to a small college in rural Georgia, and once I walked by someone's dorm room window. I didn't see blinds there, I saw a big Confederate Battle Flag hanging in the window. Immediately my thoughts ventured to how it must feel for a black person (I'm white) to walk past that window. Sure, not every black person would be offended, or feel uncomfortable, but isn't it a natural reaction, perhaps, to walk by and see that and immediately feel like you don't belong there? Someone is literally shoving the symbol of people who fought to keep your ancestors enslaved in your face, under the guise of "history" or "Southern pride."

How in the world have we made it this long allowing this to go on and masquerading it as "freedom of expression"? I believe everyone has the right to believe what they believe, but I also believe that, most importantly, everyone has the right to feel safe in this country. "The pursuit of happiness," and all that shit.

Oh, and for reference, Proto, here's Georgia's flag:



What you're thinking of is the old one, replaced in 2001 by the one above:

[Proto Man]

My bad. I was thinking of Mississippi. Fuck you, Mississippi.

[Deadpool]

The confederates had more than one battle flag, which only a few of had parts of the Rebel flag incorporated.

The Rebel flag gained most of its notoriety during Civil Rights times, where it was used to promote bigotry.



EDIT: While not all of the issues between the Union and Confederacy revolved around slavery (some was over taxes and such), but it was a main component.

Had to do with southerners wanting to move into new western north states, and bringing their slaves. A big conflict, because the new northern states were free-states, but slaves were considered property and you can't make someone's property illegal when they move to another state.