Why I think removal of the Confederate Flag symbolizes hatred more than leaving it does.
The confederate flag has long been a source of contention and debate, perhaps none more so than the one the was prominantly displayed in front of the South Carolina statehouse. Now that it is taken down from the statehouse grounds I am sure some people feel a great victory has been won and are giving themselves a big pat on the back. I don’t see it that way. This is my attempt to explain why.
Mind you I have no great love for the Confederate Flag. I grew up out west and the South could have been a country on a foreign continent for all I cared. In fact I was more emotionally invested in some foreign countries than I was that sector of our own. It wasn’t until I came down South and married into some Southerners that I realized there were some very different takes on the Civil War time period than I was taught from the history books.
But I was taught some of the history from that time period. I learned the Civil War was about more than just slavery. That was a hot topic of the day and the Civil War caused the issue to be resolved in a dramatic fashion, but the war was not a bunch of benevolent Northerners trying to instill a sense of morals in evil racist, oppressive southerners. The War started for different reasons, and I doubt it was a single issue. I read a quote the other day that Lincoln said if he could have won the war without freeing the slaves he would have. I am no historian, I will not speak to the veracity of the comment, but I do recall the issue of Slavery being leverage and used as such. So slavery was not the cause of the Civil War, but a political tool used to gain support for the side of the North. Not really much different that today’s topics of immigration, health care, minimum wage, etc. except rather than North vs. South it is Republican vs. Democrat.
The point is the Confederate flag doesn’t represent a desire to have Slaves. They were never synonymous. It doesn’t represent a desire to oppress people, white elitism, or racism. As far as I can see it has represented Southern Pride for decades. That is why it was on the Dukes of Hazard car, featured during Lynyrd Skynyrd’s performance of “Sweet Home Alabama”, and adorned many a college dorm room and southern home. It has been a major emblem in many of the southern states. For decades it has been around and waved proudly, the war is long over (150 years done and gone) so why now is there all of the sudden such a movement against the flag?
In fairness the issue isn’t all of the sudden, as I said it has long been a source of contention and debate though not with its current fervor. But why when displayed prominently on TV, during sporting events (nascar), and other performances are we so vehemently against it now? I am familiar with the shooting incident in which a man gunned down black people in a church with the confederate flag as his banner. It requires more than one fool to ruin the flags reputation though. Is it because we are more aware as a society now compared to our foolish selves of 30 years ago?
I had some young cousins that were part of a protest to take the confederate flag down, the signs they held said it has been used for a symbol of hate. I had a lot of friends and family congratulate them, were proud of them, and encouraged them. I too was pleased to see them stand for cause, undeterred by its controversial nature or the reviling of the people who had different views. However, I couldn’t help but feel saddened by the stance they took and the opinions posted meant as support.
I think it should be obvious by now I wanted the flag to stay-this is not, however, because I care for the flag. It is because what the removal of the flags signifies. It signifies that we have let the flag be redefined for hate. That we have let ourselves believe that the war was principally about slavery and racism. That we have let a flag that many people love for various reasons be stripped of all virtue and pride. And it means that we have become naïve and to think this a great moral victory.
The principal reason I am saddened is because of our intolerance. We think that the hating of terrible things means we are good people. But what is really happening is we are trying to kill hatred by hating it. That cannot work, it will not work. It may sound like fighting fire with fire but that only works because you can control one of the fires,. . . you hope. It works by exhausting the fuel the other fire needs to burn. Fighting Hate with Hatred cannot accomplish this, there are no firm boundries, you can’t control it, you can’t exhaust the fuel supply.
As an illustration to my point, look at what is happening in the aftermath of the removal of the flag. There are now calls to remove dozens of confederate themed monuments and statues. What people passed by on there way to work for years probably never knowing who the statue was of, now all of the sudden that statue is offensive. Why? Because the confederate flag is offensive because it was part of the Civil War which had to do with slavery which is synonymous with racism which is bad and I don’t know what this prominent southern leader did or what he believed but I know he was part of the Civil War and so he must represent the same thing the flag did and should go too. How far are we going to go? Erasing it from the history books is too far, but what about museums? What will we lose?
The flag and the statues of the confederate leaders have been harmless for decades. What is more I actually came to see them as a sign of maturity. If you look at Nazi Germany, Soviet Russia, and the modern day Isis you see something different than what you see in the South. They seek to oppress differing thoughts and views and eliminate other society and culture. Do you think any of those regimes would have let the losers of the war celebrate the generals and leaders on losers. Isis sells or destroys any relic it comes across that is not in harmony with its teachings, whether a world heritage site or not. I was surprised to see Stone Mountain with Jefferson Davis and Generals Lee and Jackson on the side. This is an incredible monument which took decades of toil to accomplish. But moreover it is a monument which celebrates the virtues of men who found themselves on the losing side of the battle but are still celebrated for their virtues. Something I had encountered once before when my travels around London, England took me by a statue of George Washington.
By associating the flag (and other monuments) with slavery/racism and oppression, we do ourselves a disservice. We ignore the other side. The North was not all virtuous and the South all Evil. They were both filled with people trying to do the best they could for themselves and their countrymen. Neither side was inherently good or bad. We have forgotten what the war was really about, sure some historians know and more complex motivations can be found in history texts but we as a society, in general, have forgotten.
I have not stressed enough what this is about, I said it once, no, it is not hatred, it is intolerance. This intolerance leads to hatred, fuels it. How many people cry for acceptance, which is more than just tolerance, and do not tolerate not gaining acceptance. The LGBT community fights to be accepted by the religious community, when the religious community says they will tolerate it the LGBT community decries the injustice and defames the religions that don't align with their viewpoint. Of course, the reverse has been true for far longer. This intolerance is why the fight to remove the flag will not stop now that the flag has been removed. It will and has spawned new fights.
I heard that the woman who started MADD, mothers against drunk driving, criticized the organization she had helped create because it had morphed into something she did not intend. This is the essence of mob mentality. Ideas feed off each other and when you are surrounded by enough people who agree with you even bad ideas start to sound good. Worse, though you may realize when something is about to go too far that is not to say somebody you inspired by your actions will.
That is what saddened me by my cousins protest, I saw people encouraging hate, not defeating it. I could see it as an impetus for far more severe and drastic measures like calling for the erasing of the Stone Mountain monument. I could also see it as the same type of thing that caused the fire spark in the first place, somebody convincing a person that the confederate flag stood for hate and racism, only instead of eschewing it he should embrace it since racism is still relevant and we shouldn’t tolerate people of the black race, and that should be your banner as you demonstrate your conviction. While the reaction to the flag is opposite the story isn’t that much different. It starts with seeing the flag as a symbol for hate and racism, instead of embracing it we should destroy it or eliminate it, and using that as an example demonstrate your conviction by removing more monuments and destroying not people, but their work and heritage.
The other aspect that caused me concern was the comments once it was down, more often that not they are bitter and spiteful. This is part of the problem, this is what fuels the intolerance, this is the start of the mob mentality. A lot of comments are snarky and mean. Somebody agrees, this agreement means validation. The comments are not wrong, invalid, or necessarily improper, just negative. They do invite more of the same, however. Soon these comments invite enough support they are made into arguments. The problem is the tone of the arguments is derisive, it encourages division and shames the opposing view before it is made. While a popular and effective strategy I believe it is damaging because it hampers communication.
Look at all the negativity on the internet, whether in social media or the comment section on articles. It is evident people enjoy being negative and blasting somebody for stupidity, a mistake, or for no good reason at all. This is not how you resolve issues, this is how you start them.
Everybody knows you fight fire with a fire extinguisher. You don’t kill hatred by hating it, you kill it by loving instead. We focused on the flag, if we had put half the effort into the church and families affected the world would now be a far better place. We should look for virtues and not for issues. Seek for reasons to come together not things that tear us apart. If we come close enough together other things can’t come between us. The confederate flag would not be an issue, because it would no longer stand for hatred, it would stand for pride and heritage alone. It could be flown by people of all races and colors and become a non-issue. Many people will probably think I am naïve, perhaps I am, but I am pretty sure if you look at history you can find many examples of this. By embracing things they become a source pride and not division.
So that is why I see the flag coming down as a symbol of hatred rather than a noble gesture of new found virtue. I see the underlying cause one of intolerance and an eagerness to be confrontational. I find the arguments to be based on distilling the complicated and extensive history down to the most vile and wretched aspects which we are then obligated to hate. And I see the fact that this relic of 150 years is now one of the most hotly debated topics on the internet a sign that our intolerance is reaching new levels. I don't see this as a victory against hatred, racism, or injustice, I see this as an eagerness to find more instances of it.
My hope in writing this is not to restore the flag. I do not live in South Carolina or have any claim on the issue from either side. My hope is that people see the underlying problem, and resolve to fix it. I hope that people are able to come together rather than be torn apart. I hope that we can see our hatred for what it is and find a better way to solve problems. I hope. . . .
Mind you I have no great love for the Confederate Flag. I grew up out west and the South could have been a country on a foreign continent for all I cared. In fact I was more emotionally invested in some foreign countries than I was that sector of our own. It wasn’t until I came down South and married into some Southerners that I realized there were some very different takes on the Civil War time period than I was taught from the history books.
But I was taught some of the history from that time period. I learned the Civil War was about more than just slavery. That was a hot topic of the day and the Civil War caused the issue to be resolved in a dramatic fashion, but the war was not a bunch of benevolent Northerners trying to instill a sense of morals in evil racist, oppressive southerners. The War started for different reasons, and I doubt it was a single issue. I read a quote the other day that Lincoln said if he could have won the war without freeing the slaves he would have. I am no historian, I will not speak to the veracity of the comment, but I do recall the issue of Slavery being leverage and used as such. So slavery was not the cause of the Civil War, but a political tool used to gain support for the side of the North. Not really much different that today’s topics of immigration, health care, minimum wage, etc. except rather than North vs. South it is Republican vs. Democrat.
The point is the Confederate flag doesn’t represent a desire to have Slaves. They were never synonymous. It doesn’t represent a desire to oppress people, white elitism, or racism. As far as I can see it has represented Southern Pride for decades. That is why it was on the Dukes of Hazard car, featured during Lynyrd Skynyrd’s performance of “Sweet Home Alabama”, and adorned many a college dorm room and southern home. It has been a major emblem in many of the southern states. For decades it has been around and waved proudly, the war is long over (150 years done and gone) so why now is there all of the sudden such a movement against the flag?
In fairness the issue isn’t all of the sudden, as I said it has long been a source of contention and debate though not with its current fervor. But why when displayed prominently on TV, during sporting events (nascar), and other performances are we so vehemently against it now? I am familiar with the shooting incident in which a man gunned down black people in a church with the confederate flag as his banner. It requires more than one fool to ruin the flags reputation though. Is it because we are more aware as a society now compared to our foolish selves of 30 years ago?
I had some young cousins that were part of a protest to take the confederate flag down, the signs they held said it has been used for a symbol of hate. I had a lot of friends and family congratulate them, were proud of them, and encouraged them. I too was pleased to see them stand for cause, undeterred by its controversial nature or the reviling of the people who had different views. However, I couldn’t help but feel saddened by the stance they took and the opinions posted meant as support.
I think it should be obvious by now I wanted the flag to stay-this is not, however, because I care for the flag. It is because what the removal of the flags signifies. It signifies that we have let the flag be redefined for hate. That we have let ourselves believe that the war was principally about slavery and racism. That we have let a flag that many people love for various reasons be stripped of all virtue and pride. And it means that we have become naïve and to think this a great moral victory.
The principal reason I am saddened is because of our intolerance. We think that the hating of terrible things means we are good people. But what is really happening is we are trying to kill hatred by hating it. That cannot work, it will not work. It may sound like fighting fire with fire but that only works because you can control one of the fires,. . . you hope. It works by exhausting the fuel the other fire needs to burn. Fighting Hate with Hatred cannot accomplish this, there are no firm boundries, you can’t control it, you can’t exhaust the fuel supply.
As an illustration to my point, look at what is happening in the aftermath of the removal of the flag. There are now calls to remove dozens of confederate themed monuments and statues. What people passed by on there way to work for years probably never knowing who the statue was of, now all of the sudden that statue is offensive. Why? Because the confederate flag is offensive because it was part of the Civil War which had to do with slavery which is synonymous with racism which is bad and I don’t know what this prominent southern leader did or what he believed but I know he was part of the Civil War and so he must represent the same thing the flag did and should go too. How far are we going to go? Erasing it from the history books is too far, but what about museums? What will we lose?
The flag and the statues of the confederate leaders have been harmless for decades. What is more I actually came to see them as a sign of maturity. If you look at Nazi Germany, Soviet Russia, and the modern day Isis you see something different than what you see in the South. They seek to oppress differing thoughts and views and eliminate other society and culture. Do you think any of those regimes would have let the losers of the war celebrate the generals and leaders on losers. Isis sells or destroys any relic it comes across that is not in harmony with its teachings, whether a world heritage site or not. I was surprised to see Stone Mountain with Jefferson Davis and Generals Lee and Jackson on the side. This is an incredible monument which took decades of toil to accomplish. But moreover it is a monument which celebrates the virtues of men who found themselves on the losing side of the battle but are still celebrated for their virtues. Something I had encountered once before when my travels around London, England took me by a statue of George Washington.
By associating the flag (and other monuments) with slavery/racism and oppression, we do ourselves a disservice. We ignore the other side. The North was not all virtuous and the South all Evil. They were both filled with people trying to do the best they could for themselves and their countrymen. Neither side was inherently good or bad. We have forgotten what the war was really about, sure some historians know and more complex motivations can be found in history texts but we as a society, in general, have forgotten.
I have not stressed enough what this is about, I said it once, no, it is not hatred, it is intolerance. This intolerance leads to hatred, fuels it. How many people cry for acceptance, which is more than just tolerance, and do not tolerate not gaining acceptance. The LGBT community fights to be accepted by the religious community, when the religious community says they will tolerate it the LGBT community decries the injustice and defames the religions that don't align with their viewpoint. Of course, the reverse has been true for far longer. This intolerance is why the fight to remove the flag will not stop now that the flag has been removed. It will and has spawned new fights.
I heard that the woman who started MADD, mothers against drunk driving, criticized the organization she had helped create because it had morphed into something she did not intend. This is the essence of mob mentality. Ideas feed off each other and when you are surrounded by enough people who agree with you even bad ideas start to sound good. Worse, though you may realize when something is about to go too far that is not to say somebody you inspired by your actions will.
That is what saddened me by my cousins protest, I saw people encouraging hate, not defeating it. I could see it as an impetus for far more severe and drastic measures like calling for the erasing of the Stone Mountain monument. I could also see it as the same type of thing that caused the fire spark in the first place, somebody convincing a person that the confederate flag stood for hate and racism, only instead of eschewing it he should embrace it since racism is still relevant and we shouldn’t tolerate people of the black race, and that should be your banner as you demonstrate your conviction. While the reaction to the flag is opposite the story isn’t that much different. It starts with seeing the flag as a symbol for hate and racism, instead of embracing it we should destroy it or eliminate it, and using that as an example demonstrate your conviction by removing more monuments and destroying not people, but their work and heritage.
The other aspect that caused me concern was the comments once it was down, more often that not they are bitter and spiteful. This is part of the problem, this is what fuels the intolerance, this is the start of the mob mentality. A lot of comments are snarky and mean. Somebody agrees, this agreement means validation. The comments are not wrong, invalid, or necessarily improper, just negative. They do invite more of the same, however. Soon these comments invite enough support they are made into arguments. The problem is the tone of the arguments is derisive, it encourages division and shames the opposing view before it is made. While a popular and effective strategy I believe it is damaging because it hampers communication.
Look at all the negativity on the internet, whether in social media or the comment section on articles. It is evident people enjoy being negative and blasting somebody for stupidity, a mistake, or for no good reason at all. This is not how you resolve issues, this is how you start them.
Everybody knows you fight fire with a fire extinguisher. You don’t kill hatred by hating it, you kill it by loving instead. We focused on the flag, if we had put half the effort into the church and families affected the world would now be a far better place. We should look for virtues and not for issues. Seek for reasons to come together not things that tear us apart. If we come close enough together other things can’t come between us. The confederate flag would not be an issue, because it would no longer stand for hatred, it would stand for pride and heritage alone. It could be flown by people of all races and colors and become a non-issue. Many people will probably think I am naïve, perhaps I am, but I am pretty sure if you look at history you can find many examples of this. By embracing things they become a source pride and not division.
So that is why I see the flag coming down as a symbol of hatred rather than a noble gesture of new found virtue. I see the underlying cause one of intolerance and an eagerness to be confrontational. I find the arguments to be based on distilling the complicated and extensive history down to the most vile and wretched aspects which we are then obligated to hate. And I see the fact that this relic of 150 years is now one of the most hotly debated topics on the internet a sign that our intolerance is reaching new levels. I don't see this as a victory against hatred, racism, or injustice, I see this as an eagerness to find more instances of it.
My hope in writing this is not to restore the flag. I do not live in South Carolina or have any claim on the issue from either side. My hope is that people see the underlying problem, and resolve to fix it. I hope that people are able to come together rather than be torn apart. I hope that we can see our hatred for what it is and find a better way to solve problems. I hope. . . .