# Confederate Flag



## QuickSilver (Jun 19, 2015)

Should it be flown over State Capitals?   Should it be banned?   What does it represent?


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## Warrigal (Jun 19, 2015)

Over here the flag act only allows certain officially recognised  flags to be flown on government buildings.
For example, the rebel Eureka flag is a popular symbol with some Australian but is never flown officially.

Is the confederate flag officially recognised at any state or federal government level?


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## tnthomas (Jun 19, 2015)

The issue was raised in 1999 in South Carolina, and I thought that SC had agreed to limit the display of the confederate flag only in civil war exhibits.  But, a quick google search shows that not to be the case, so I was mistaken.   

"What does it represent? " To some it's a symbol of 'southern pride', to others it's a reminder of slavery and and is a logo for racism.

"Should it be banned?"   Banning the confederate flag is not going to lessen racism, so I don't know.


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## Jackie22 (Jun 19, 2015)

As the president said today....it belongs in a museum.


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## AZ Jim (Jun 19, 2015)

It stands a constant reminder in the black community of the horror of KKK, lynching, home burning.  A stab in the heart to those people.  It is the flag of a defeated ideal.  It should come down and never fly again.


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## Ameriscot (Jun 20, 2015)

I agree with Obama. It belongs in a museum


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## QuickSilver (Jun 20, 2015)

I was married to a man from Alabama.. and spent lots of time in the South with his family.  This I can say, Southerners do have a regional pride and identity that is much stronger than any other area of the country.    In the States, most of us identify with our nationality.. (wrong word, as it SHOULD be our descent)  For example, my ancestors were from Germany, so I identify with a lot of German traditions.  When I met my future husband and asked him what "Nationality" he was, he told me he was Southern.  Many Southerners do not identify with anything other than "Southern" and have no idea where their ancestors came from... usually because they have been in this country much longer than a lot of ours..  So I'm pretty convinced that when the majority of Southerners see the Confederate flag, Slavery and it's horrors does not come to their mind.  They are proud of their heritage and the traditions of the American South.


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## oldman (Jun 20, 2015)

I'm probably going to mess this up and my words won't mean exactly what I want them to. I think many Southerners loon at this flag as a time in their cultural that had a completely different meaning from what some of us may regard it to mean. For Southerners, it was a time of attempting to secede from the union and with it came their own flag. The flag to the Southerner is part of their culture and heritage. Slavery and the civil war were also part of this same heritage, but I think it is part of what defined them "back in the day." After all, many had relatives that fought in the Civil War. It is unfortunate that some pro radical groups have chosen to use this flag as a show of racism and extremism. 

I don't think they should be flying it on any government or state buildings, but if they choose to fly it in their front yard, sobeit. If Jim Bob decides to fly the flag in his front yard as a means of honoring his past relatives, then it's no business of mine.


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## Warrigal (Jun 20, 2015)

That's how it is with the Eureka flag over here. It's history is that it was a flag raised at the Eureka stockade when miners on the goldfields rebelled against the oppressive system of licences imposed by the government and harshly administered by the troopers. The rebellion was short lived and the miners paid a heavy price in blood but the system was changed.

Since then, the flag has been appropriated by any group that sees itself as bucking the system. Anyone can fly it because it has no official status. Anyone that is except official government buildings.


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## NancyNGA (Jun 20, 2015)

oldman said:


> ... If Jim Bob decides to fly the flag in his front yard as a means of honoring his past relatives, then it's no business of mine.



All you say is true, oldman, but if Jim Bob flies that flag in his front yard down here, sadly, it's a safe bet he is not honoring his past relatives.


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## Warrigal (Jun 20, 2015)

Here you go







http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/...suspect-dylann-roof?google_editors_picks=true

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jun/20/charleston-shooting-confederate-flag-south-carolina


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## AZ Jim (Jun 20, 2015)

I wonder if this angry little punk felt it was fun to do this too.  The Confederate flag should come down from all government facilities in the entire South.  They lost that war and we wouldn't tolerate a swastika or rising sun flag to fly here on any official building, why should it?  Southern pride my ass, that's just an excuse to reflect the sickness of hate still prevalent  in the south.


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## Cookie (Jun 20, 2015)

I'm aghast that the south still flies the confederate flag.  That is completely ludicrous, is it wishful thinking or are they living in the past.  We Canadians are not impressed.


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## Warrigal (Jun 20, 2015)

I don't think that this young man has any ancestors who were involved in the Civil War either.


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## jujube (Jun 20, 2015)

My opinion: there are only two flags that should be flying at a state capitol building......the American flag and the respective state flag.


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## Warrigal (Jun 21, 2015)

Flags are powerful symbols and the way they are flown can convey powerful messages, like this one where the national and state flag of S. Carolina are being flown at half mast while the Confederate flag is top of its mast.






The respect shown with the half mast flags is cancelled by the contempt expressed by the one at full mast. 
It is a slap in the face for the people grieving the loss of the nine murdered people.


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## AZ Jim (Jun 21, 2015)

Take that rag down Southerners, you lost, get over it.


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## oakapple (Jun 21, 2015)

Do all the US States have their own distinct flag?  I didn't know this, thought it was just the Stars and Stripes.


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## Debby (Jun 21, 2015)

Dame Warrigal said:


> Flags are powerful symbols and the way they are flown can convey powerful messages, like this one where the national and state flag of S. Carolina are being flown at half mast while the Confederate flag is top of its mast.
> 
> ...........
> 
> ...




I'm in agreement with that DW!  I think that if they are going to insist on flying it on their government buildings, the most basic decency would have had them lowering it at a time like this.  I think it just exposes the meanness of their natures.


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## QuickSilver (Jun 21, 2015)

oakapple said:


> Do all the US States have their own distinct flag?  I didn't know this, thought it was just the Stars and Stripes.



Yes.. every state has a State Flag..


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## AZ Jim (Jun 21, 2015)

Actually QS, our Arizona flag has been altered since this was published.  Here is it as it is today.


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## NancyNGA (Jun 21, 2015)

Georgia flag has changed, too. Legislature discovered the older flag was hurting business.


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## Warrigal (Jun 21, 2015)

Australian states all have an official flag too.


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## Warrigal (Jun 22, 2015)

I've been reading comments about the confederate battle flag http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/22/u...ly-in-criticism-of-confederate-flag.html?_r=0

 This one caught my interest



> *sherah*
> 
> texas 6 hours ago
> In 1965 the confederate flag was hung by angry, dangerous people along the 54 mile stretch from Selma to Montgomery.  "Bloody Sunday" wasn't so named because everyone was wearing the color red. People were beaten with that flag hanging next to their bodies. They were beaten bloody with billy clubs. I don't know what the flag stood for before but I know what it stands for now:racism and innocent people being brutally murdered.
> ...



 Can someone enlighten me about the incident in 1965 that Sherah of Texas is referring to?


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## QuickSilver (Jun 22, 2015)

Bloody Sunday was a civil rights march with Martin Luther King where marchers were beaten by police as they crossed the Edmond Pettus bridge.  It took place in Alabama... not Texas.


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## Ralphy1 (Jun 22, 2015)

The Confederate flag is probably as repulsive to most blacks as the swatika flag is to Jews...


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## oldman (Jun 22, 2015)

For our non-American friends, there is a protocol as to how and when the U.S. Flag is to be flown, especially when other flags such as a state flag, the POW flag, another country's flag, etc. are flown alongside of it. There are also rules for flying the flag at night, during bad weather and how to dispose of the U.S. flag when it becomes tattered and/or torn. Growing up in a military family and myself serving in the Marines and combat, I have a great amount of respect for the flag. To this day, I still stand and place my right hand over my heart when the Star Spangled Banner is being played. 

It "used" to really irritate me to watch on TV people in other countries and here in the U.S. burning our flag. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that burning the U.S. flag is to be allowed under the First Amendment of the Constitution.


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## oakapple (Jun 22, 2015)

Thanks everyone for the flag related info.We have the Union Jack flag to represent Britain, but also an English flag,  and a few of our counties have a flag as well, but only Devon and Cornwall that I can actually think of.If anyone English on the forum knows of other counties with one, let us know.


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## Ameriscot (Jun 22, 2015)

oakapple said:


> Thanks everyone for the flag related info.We have the Union Jack flag to represent Britain, but also an English flag,  and a few of our counties have a flag as well, but only Devon and Cornwall that I can actually think of.If anyone English on the forum knows of other counties with one, let us know.



I don't know of any counties in Scotland that have a flag but Scotland has the St Andrews flag which I see flown a lot.


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## Warrigal (Jun 22, 2015)

QuickSilver said:


> Bloody Sunday was a civil rights march with Martin Luther King where marchers were beaten by police as they crossed the Edmond Pettus bridge.  It took place in Alabama... not Texas.



Thanks QS


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## oldman (Jun 22, 2015)

AZ Jim said:


> I wonder if this angry little punk felt it was fun to do this too.  The Confederate flag should come down from all government facilities in the entire South.  They lost that war and we wouldn't tolerate a swastika or rising sun flag to fly here on any official building, why should it?  Southern pride my ass, that's just an excuse to reflect the sickness of hate still prevalent  in the south.View attachment 18783



He's probably a member of the Communist Party or another affiliated regime of that party. I think we have quite a few here in the U.S. They have no direction in life and are easily influenced by haters and anti-government groups.

 I live about 25 miles from Gettysburg and have been there more times than I am old. I have attended many lectures on the battle of Gettysburg and could probably give a tour of the battlefield, if necessary. BTW, they do a recreation every July to commemorate the battle. This year, the recreation will be held July 3-5, instead of July 1-3 when the battle was actually fought.. (It's a weekend, so it makes it easier for people to attend.) I have also spoken with many Southerners while on the battlefield and in the National Cemetery. It's amazing to listen to their stories about their Great Grandfathers and other ancestors that fought in the Civil war and at Gettysburg. I think out of the 100 or more that I have spoken with over the years, maybe ten have made a point about slavery. Most of them have told me that they have the flag either in their home or they display it outside somewhere. I have come to understand that they see it as part of their heritage and really nothing more.


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## Warrigal (Jun 22, 2015)

Why a communist?  I find this rather unlikely.
Have you read his manifesto?


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## QuickSilver (Jun 22, 2015)

Ralphy1 said:


> The Confederate flag is probably as repulsive to most blacks as the swatika flag is to Jews...



Did you know that while Germany has outlawed the display of the swastika, hate groups in Germany are now flying the American Confederate flag in it's place?   So what does that tell you about this flag?


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## Ralphy1 (Jun 22, 2015)

Figures...


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## oldman (Jun 22, 2015)

Dame Warrigal said:


> Why a communist?  I find this rather unlikely.
> Have you read his manifesto?



DW: In this country, a lot of racist groups are tied to communist parties or are supported in part by them. Whether it be the Aryan Brotherhood (mainly a prison organization), white supremacists, skinheads, Nazi Party etc, they have ties and proudly wear or have tattooed the swastika somewhere on their body. So, they may not be directly a member of a communist party, but more than likely have some support by the CP.


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## Warrigal (Jun 22, 2015)

Sorry, oldman. I find that incredible.

Which communist party? The Communist Party of America? or somewhere else?

The Communist Party of Australia collapsed long before the fall of the Berlin Wall. 
Members left in droves after the tanks rolled in to Hungary.
Even so, they were never white supremacists.


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## QuickSilver (Jun 22, 2015)

Dame Warrigal said:


> Sorry, oldman. I find that incredible.
> 
> Which communist party? The Communist Party of America? or somewhere else?
> 
> ...



I agree..  Hate groups are NOT communists.. they may be fascist, or have fascist ideology, but NOT communist at all.


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## oldman (Jun 22, 2015)

Pictures of Aryan Brotherhood, skinhead and white supremacist.


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## QuickSilver (Jun 22, 2015)

Oldman....   Hitler was NOT a communist..In fact he HATED communism.   He was a  Fascist.   White Supremist groups that identify with Nazi's are not communist..

http://spartacus-educational.com/GERfascist.htm



> Once in power Adolf Hitler turned Germany into a fascist state. Fascist was originally used to describe the government of Benito Mussolini in Italy. Mussolini's fascist one-party state emphasized patriotism, national unity, hatred of communism, admiration of military values and unquestioning obedience. Hitler was deeply influenced by Mussolini's Italy and his Germany shared many of the same characteristics.
> 
> The German economic system remained capitalistic but the state played a more prominent role in managing the economy. Industrialists were sometimes told what to produce and what price they should charge for the goods that they made. The government also had the power to order workers to move to where they were required.
> By taking these powers Hitler's government was able to control factors such as inflation and unemployment that had caused considerable distress in previous years. As the government generally allowed companies to maintain their profit margins, industrialists tended to accept the loss of some of their freedoms.
> ...


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## Glinda (Jun 22, 2015)

On Meet the Press yesterday it was pointed out that the flag southerners like to call the "Confederate Flag" is actually the confederate battle flag.  The confederate battle flag became more popular and prevalent as the south resisted integration and attempted  to cling to segregation.  This was the official confederate flag.

 

Both the confederate battle flag and the confederate flag should be in a museum - if anywhere.


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## NancyNGA (Jun 22, 2015)

Interesting, Glinda.  I did not know that.  So the Georgia legislature has not strayed that far from the previous flag.  I doubt if most residents here knew that either.


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## QuickSilver (Jun 22, 2015)

NancyNGA said:


> Interesting, Glinda.  I did not know that.  So the Georgia legislature has not strayed that far from the previous flag.  I doubt if most residents here knew that either.




Looks like they pulled a fast one..  It's very close to the old Confederate flag.


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## Underock1 (Jun 22, 2015)

Dredging my memory here. I think the battle flag originated because, in the smoke of battle, the "Stars and Bars" were being confused with the Union's Stars and Stripes. Not a good thing. Better to have a flag with a big "X".  
Yeah. Its too bad there has to be such a big hoo ha over this. I'm sure, for most, it's all about great grandpa fighting nobly to defend his home land. Unfortunately, others attach their own symbolism to these things. The Swastika is an ancient symbol. One of the groups using it were our native Americans. I believe it used to be a good luck sign. We all know where _that_ went.
 I am a huge history buff, but I do sometimes think, what are we commemorating? Its almost always about past hostilities, and "remember how we beat the * out of "those" so and so's?" On the other side, they are thinking, "We'll get them next time". So 'round and 'round we go. Let it go already. "Those people" are a long time dead. We can do better. Life is not simple.


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## QuickSilver (Jun 22, 2015)

Underock1 said:


> Dredging my memory here. I think the battle flag originated because, in the smoke of battle, the "Stars and Bars" were being confused with the Union's Stars and Stripes. Not a good thing. Better to have a flag with a big "X".
> Yeah. Its too bad there has to be such a big hoo ha over this. I'm sure, for most, it's all about great grandpa fighting nobly to defend his home land. Unfortunately, others attach their own symbolism to these things. The Swastika is an ancient symbol. One of the groups using it were our native Americans. I believe it used to be a good luck sign. We all know where _that_ went.
> I am a huge history buff, but I do sometimes think, what are we commemorating? Its almost always about past hostilities, and "remember how we beat the * out of "those" so and so's?" On the other side, they are thinking, "We'll get them next time". So 'round and 'round we go. Let it go already. "Those people" are a long time dead. We can do better. Life is not simple.



There is hostility.. and I experienced being called a "Damn Yankee" by one of my then husband's relatives while visiting in Alabama..  I couldn't believe it, but she was really mad at me.. and I never met her before that day.   Many in the South are still fighting the war apparently.


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## Jackie22 (Jun 22, 2015)

QuickSilver said:


> I agree..  Hate groups are NOT communists.. they may be fascist, or have fascist ideology, but NOT communist at all.



I agree, by Root's own admission, this is one of the groups that influenced him...

*A Conservative Website Literally Turned Dylann Roof Into The Murdering Racist He Is Today*









*In his own words,* Roof wrote in his manifesto that he hadn’t grown up in a racist household, nor were his friends particularly racist. The white kids and black kids at his school would make racial jokes at each other, and jokes were jokes. 

Then the killing of Trayvon Martin dominated the news cycle, and caught Roof’s attention: 
_“The event that truly awakened me was the Trayvon Martin case. I kept hearing and seeing his name, and eventually I decided to look him up. I read the Wikipedia article and right away I was unable to understand what the big deal was. It was obvious that Zimmerman was in the right. But more importantly this prompted me to type in the words “black on White crime” into Google, and I have never been the same since that day. *The first website I came to was the Council of Conservative Citizens.* There were pages upon pages of these brutal black on White murders. I was in disbelief. At this moment I realized that something was very wrong.”_​
Dr. Sam Francis founded the CCC in 1985, and called it “The country’s most effective conservative activist group.” He was also a syndicated writer for the Washington Times. 

....................... 

*The Council of Conservative Citizens, supports, among other things:* 

That the United States is a Christian country. 
That the people of the United States are part of the European people, no one else. 
“Cultural, national and racial integrity” – A.K.A. xenophobia. 
“States’ Rights, the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, and the Bill of Rights.” 
That the traditional family is the only worthy family – no same sex marriage, interracial marriage, or any homosexual tendencies in society to be accepted under law. 
Women and gays should not serve in the military
. 


*After “researching” deeper, Roof says he became racially aware:* 
_“As an American we are taught to accept living in the melting pot, and black and other minorities have just as much right to be here as we do, since we are all immigrants. But Europe is the homeland of White people, and in many ways the situation is even worse there. From here I found out about the Jewish problem and other issues facing our race, and I can say today that I am completely racially aware.”

......'racially aware' indeed!_​

............. 

http://www.addictinginfo.org/2015/0...n-roof-into-the-murdering-racist-he-is-today/ 
http://www.inquisitr.com/2188668/bl...onvinced-him-to-kill-read-the-cocc-headlines/ 


Notable, typing “Council of Conservative Citizens” into Google right now turns up a CofCC website, which is so busy that only the Google cache of the website is alive. The Council of Conservative Citizens calls itself a conservative activist group. Most of the pages on the Council of Conservative Citizens website are returning a 404 error as of this writing. 

Read more at http://www.inquisitr.com/2188668/bl...-read-the-cocc-headlines/#mkxsefgZL7wPsJ0l.99


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## RadishRose (Jun 22, 2015)

I always thought flying the confederate flag was in some ways treasonous. It should not be displayed on government buildings, property, etc. It was a symbol of another country that never came into being.

Now, people may ascribe whatever meanings they want to that flag, be it a symbol of  some southern history or experience, or a symbol of slavery. My thought is; because it was originally a banner of secession it becomes treasonous to continue to fly it in the face of our government as something to be revered.


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## Debby (Jun 22, 2015)

AZ Jim said:


> Actually QS, our Arizona flag has been altered since this was published.  Here is it as it is today.
> 
> View attachment 18807




Really?  Or are you just kidding around?


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## Glinda (Jun 22, 2015)

AZ Jim said:


> Actually QS, our Arizona flag has been altered since this was published.  Here is it as it is today.
> 
> View attachment 18807




Yeah, right!  What will you Zonies think of next?!


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## Debby (Jun 22, 2015)

QuickSilver said:


> Did you know that while Germany has outlawed the display of the swastika, hate groups in Germany are now flying the American Confederate flag in it's place?   So what does that tell you about this flag?




So Germany outlaws the display of that symbol and yet when Ukraine's previous government was overthrown and the swastika was displayed everywhere by 'protestors', neither Germany, my government or yours have nothing to say about that.    And in the climate of the current tragedy, Southerners fly that flag, don't even lower it to half mast out of respect for the dead and they're shrugging their shoulders and saying 'what???'  

The big picture is that these pieces of cloth are being used to convey messages of serious disrespect to the humanity and sensitivities of people.   That's really the issue isn't it?   How terribly we humans disrespect others?    No sense of connection beyond 'our community' and a willingness to 'put the knife in and give it a good wrench' for any other community.     We have so far to go, so far......


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## RadishRose (Jun 22, 2015)

http://www.nytimes.com/politics/fir...nikki-haleys-lead-on-confederate-battle-flag/

Tongue-tied over the issue for nearly a week, senior Republicans jumped on the bandwagon Monday and called for folding up the Confederate battle flag after Gov. Nikki Haley of South Carolina said the Civil War symbol should be removed from the state Capitol.
Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader, acknowledged that while the flag meant different things to different people, it was time to take it down.
“The fact that it continues to be a painful reminder of racial oppression to many suggests, to me at least, that it’s time to move beyond it, and that the time for a state to fly it has long since passed,” Mr. McConnell said.


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## Warrigal (Jun 22, 2015)

Halleluia for that but is it down yet?


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## Ralphy1 (Jun 23, 2015)

Nope.  The state legislature has to vote on it...


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## Warrigal (Jun 23, 2015)

You mean it can't be struck voluntarily as a matter of good taste?


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## QuickSilver (Jun 23, 2015)

Ralphy1 said:


> Nope.  The state legislature has to vote on it...




and it requires a 2/3 vote too.    The Gov did say that people were free to display the flag on their property... Just watch all the houses being painted with a 10 foot flag on the side...


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## oldman (Jun 27, 2015)

I went to a car show yesterday in Carlisle, PA. All GM cars this time. http://www.carlisleevents.com/carlisle-events/carlisle-gm-nationals/default.aspx (i'll post pictures later.) Anyway, I went by a stand early in the day that had several handheld confederate flags, maybe a dozen larger flags and then also about a half dozen beach towels with the confederate flag on them Before leaving the show in the afternoon, we again walked past the booth selling these flags and towels and he was completely sold out. I asked him how long did it take to sell them and he said he was sold out by noon and then asked me if I knew where he could buy more in the area. I didn't, so he was going to have some over-nighted for the show today. He said there is a trading company online that ships overnight and the flags are made in China, which makes them less valuable. Imagine that.


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## RadishRose (Jun 27, 2015)

Activist removes Confederate flag at S.C. Capitol


A black female activist climbed a flagpole Saturday in Columbia, S.C., and briefly removed a controversial Confederate battle flag from in front of the Statehouse.


After scaling the 30-foot pole and retrieving the flag, she was arrested by State Capitol police who waited for her at the bottom inside a small, wrought-iron fence.


The flag, which is protected by state law, was raised again a short time later. A pro-flag rally was previously planned at the site Saturday morning.


The activist group known as Ferguson Action said on Twitter


 the woman, identified as Bree Newsome, had been arrested.


http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...lag-remove-activist-ferguson-action/29383973/


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## Josiah (Jun 27, 2015)

The Confederate flag gained much of it's current segregationist symbolism during the 1962 riot at the University of Mississippi over the entrance of a first black student.


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## Warrigal (Jun 27, 2015)

Madness. Flags don't kill people. Guns kill people. The flag is a side issue.

Flags are symbols and are important but when the symbol becomes destructive it is time to get a new symbol.


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## charlotta (Jun 30, 2015)

Letter from a proud  Alabamian: Most people outside of the South, think most of us living in the south having ancestors that owned slaves.  I believe this is not true.   My ancestors owned a small farm that raised cotton and had a had a small sawmill. They were poor and all of their neighbors were poor.  In harvest time they helped each other out.  My grandmother was a widow.  My grandfather died of a heart attack and left young children (my dad was 7 years old).  Grandmother told me that there were people who traveled the countryside, during harvest, looking for work and when she could afford it, she would hire them.  I had prejudiced relatives and not prejudiced.  I was fortunate to have progressive parents.  My Dad was a man who fought for Blacks to have the right to vote.  He was in politics and the Blacks in our county were in the majority. There is a small black university in the town so we had many black educated people in this town/county.  He and my Mother were civil right leaders.  No Confederate flags flew, not even on the pickup trucks.  I was not taught hate, but shown by example to respect others. I know I lived in a town that
was unique in the South.   I was fortunate.


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## charlotta (Jun 30, 2015)

To be honest my family and myself have always thought that the flying of the Confederate flag was low class.  I am so glad that our Governor chose to take it down at the Alabama capitol.


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## SeaBreeze (Jul 3, 2015)

The creator of the confederate flag in his own words.  http://www.politicususa.com/2015/07...symbol-white-supremacy-southern-heritage.html








Heritage is often defined as something inherited due to the place, time, or circumstances of someone’s birth. Heritage is not unlike culture which includes the behaviors and beliefs characteristic of a particular group transmitted from one generation to another. Both terms, heritage and culture, have been thrown around a lot recently by Americans living in the former Confederacy to defend their sick twisted clinging to a flag symbolizing white supremacy and treason against the United States of America.

Southerners are quick to claim that the Confederate flag, no matter which version, has nothing whatsoever to do with either white supremacy (racism) or treason. In their estimation they know is a lie, the Confederate flag(s) are just a symbol of Southern heritage and culture. However, that was never what the flag symbolized and there is no better reference to what the flag stands for than the words of the treasonous racist who designed it.

The white supremacist who designed the Confederacy’s flag(s), one William T. Thompson, gave the definitive reason why every Republican, KKK member, and so-called Southern heritage advocate still supports flying that symbol of treason and racism.

 Thompson was proud to admit that “_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. Such a flag would be a suitable emblem of our young confederacy, and sustained by the brave hearts and strong arms of the south, it would soon take rank among the proudest ensigns of the nations, and be hailed by the civilized world as THE WHITE MAN’S FLAG_.”

Many Americans of all races today refer to any of the Confederacy’s flags as “_the white supremacist’s flag_” and they would not have been wrong during the Civil War and they are certainly not wrong in the 21st Century. When the racist flag’s defenders claim it is just an innocent symbol of their Southern heritage and culture, they are defending the white supremacy they know the flag symbolized during the Civil War continuing to the present. It is part of the Southern culture, and their beloved heritage, they have learned all their lives and likely studied in history classes.

The KKK certainly understands what the Confederacy’s flag represents; the South’s white supremacist heritage.  It is why shortly after calls for the racist symbol’s removal from South Carolina government buildings and grounds, the Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan’s Pelham, North Carolina chapter reserved the Statehouse Grounds in South Carolina for a rally next month. 
​


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## Butterfly (Jul 5, 2015)

oldman said:


> For our non-American friends, there is a protocol as to how and when the U.S. Flag is to be flown, especially when other flags such as a state flag, the POW flag, another country's flag, etc. are flown alongside of it. There are also rules for flying the flag at night, during bad weather and how to dispose of the U.S. flag when it becomes tattered and/or torn. Growing up in a military family and myself serving in the Marines and combat, I have a great amount of respect for the flag. To this day, I still stand and place my right hand over my heart when the Star Spangled Banner is being played.
> 
> It "used" to really irritate me to watch on TV people in other countries and here in the U.S. burning our flag. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that burning the U.S. flag is to be allowed under the First Amendment of the Constitution.




It still troubles me to see the burning of the US flag.  Always will.


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## Warrigal (Jul 5, 2015)

I am not overly troubled by flag burning. The only thing that can besmirch a flag IMO is the behaviour of the people who wave it aloft or who serve under it. The Me Lai massacre was a stain on the American flag but some idiot burning it in a demonstration can do it no harm at all. The flag burners simply reveal themselves as people who have not much respect for the feelings of others. Sometimes it might be justified to draw attention to something that is very wrong, but mostly it is just attention seeking.

The Confederate Battle Flag has been appropriated by extremists and as such is more sullied now than ever. It should be removed from their hands. Burning it to make a point is not unreasonable given recent events.


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