Confederate flag on South Carolina capitol

One less racist symbol to look at.

for the record, I'd rather not see swastikas painted on the back of rednecks trucks either.

Being from the South.. this is ridiculous. It is a pride thing. If other races can be proud of there heritage why can't southerners?

@CWEBB04z:

The Confederate flag was used as a symbol to defend slavery, oppose integration, and still used by white supremacist groups. It's not even a matter of hijacking the flag like the American flag and to compare it to flags of other nations is ridiculous.

It's like if Germans started placing Nazi flags and having Nazi monuments because they're proud of their heritage, ignoring the history of the Nazis and their atrocities similar to the South's defiance of the Union and support for slavery, segregation, and the flag's continued use by said supremacist groups.

lulz. i still laugh every time i think of you people making a big deal out of this while slave owners are on your money and every state in the union is jam packed full of shit named after the founding fathers.

you really can't be this stupid right?

you guys must just be fucking with me.

because otherwise you are so far up your own ass you can give yourself a visual colonoscopy.

@drunk_pi: Its illegal in Germany to fly a flag with a swastika anyway.

Different times, different priorities. Most of the founding fathers opposed slavery and tried to ween off of it. The United States economy and the world relied on slavery. That said, they were products of their era (so they were still probably racist and definitely homophobic). What they fought for (independence, human rights radical for its time) is what they are remembered for and why they are well-liked but to paint a rosy picture or to dismiss them entirely is equally ridiculous. Every historical figure liked by many are flawed in many ways and even then, what they ultimately fought for, died for, or worked for is more important than some of their flaws.

The Confederacy fought to preserve slavery and the flag is used by racist groups. There is no other meaning to the Confederate flag other than supporting segregation, opposition to civil rights, and slavery. Southern heritage my fucking ass.

So basically, get your head out of your own ass.

oh yes of course. how could jefferson ever have any clue that raping slaves and selling the product of that rape is morally wrong?

i mean the guy hardly thought about human rights at all.

no, really, it's cool, you are totally, completely, not at all some guy doing mental gymnastics to believe whatever hypocritical bullshit you need to believe.

look man, i don't give a shit about some hick flag but to call out some slave owners for crimes against humanity and not others is just a joke to me.

Do you have proof that Thomas Jefferson raped Sally Hemmings? Because so far, all I can find is that there is no clear consensus on that matter and it seems to me that you have no clear rebuttal. First we're talking about slavery, all the sudden you pull up the rape stuff. I mean, for fucks sake, one of our founding fathers could have been a pedophile satanic **** for all I care. I'm not excusing any of the founding father's immoral behaviors. Assuming that if Thomas Jefferson did rape Sally Hemmings then yes, it was wrong and he should be judged for that. But ultimately what he fought for (human rights, independence) should be remembered.

And obviously you have no sense of history or judgement to know that hick flag is a symbol of segregation, opposition to civil rights, and slavery.

@drunk_pi: it is impossible for a slave to have consensual sex. they don't own their bodies so the only choice is submit or be punished then submit.

heh, you know what the true irony here is?

how jealous i am of you and your ability to point your finger and have final judgement over who is and is not evil.

of which evil is worthy of being brought up and what gets ignored.

the ability to tell the world the actions of a small group or radicalized fanatics does not represent the entire group then change my mind when i need to change the established narrative.

the ability to boil down someone from history's life into a nice neat little package that says exactly what i want it to say.

the ability to ignore the slave holders on the money and all the monuments to them north of the mason-dixon line but be outraged over the other ones.

to be able to take a symbol that means a multitude of different things to different people and simplify it into exactly what i want it to mean.

hell, i can't even ignore that my home is filled with products and electronics made by slave labor, child labor and sweatshop labor and that i am more evil than any of these people in the past because i know it yet still buy these things.

so you hold on to those gymnastics because better that than seeing the ultimate truth of the matter.

it would certainly make my life easier if i could.

@Riverwolf007:

"hell, i can't even ignore that my home is filled with products and electronics made by slave labor, child labor and sweatshop labor and that i am more evil than any of these people in the past because i know it yet still buy these things."

...

Do you want to talk about it?

i actually do because this is another reason i see this issue as such a joke.

how am i supposed to pretend the most horrible slave owners that ever lived are worse than i am?

http://thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com/category/chocolates-child-slaves/

http://www.unicef.org/pon95/chil0016.html

http://www.cnet.com/news/riots-suicides-and-other-issues-in-foxconns-iphone-factories/

i have exactly zero moral high ground here to be condemning any one elses behavior.

i keep hoping i will figure out how everyone else does it.

You know what's funny? Thailand (I think, I could be wrong) decided to ban child labor and sweatshops. The result were thousands of unemployed kids, who were supporting their families with some of them going into prostitution. Child labor is deplorable yes, but considering that these are developing countries, making drastic changes without forethought can lead to disastrous results. Our founding fathers did oppose slavery but did little to nothing because the need for the South. They did pave a way but it was slow.

Point is, we as a species, are developing and improving ourselves but with new problems on the horizon. Life is good and bad, morality is often in the gray in these kinds of situations.

@Aljosa23: I really wish some people would actually do some research about the flag. Not that i support it, but at least get it right

Since when does that shitty flag represent white heritage? Did your Klanmaster tell you that? That flag NEVER represented white heritage or anything of the sort.

And what exactly is there to be proud of with respect to that flag? That your ancestors fought to keep other humans in bondage? What an awesome bit of history to remember and be proud of.

I think it should be up to the people of each state. State flags are state flags, not federal flags. You can put whatever you want on one. The federal government does not have the authority or right to dictate what state's can put on their flag. That's not a right granted to them by the constitution. Now, I think if many people find something offensive, the practical thing would be to remove it. If I lived in any of those states that had it, I'd vote to remove it.

You know that heritage in which the a bunch of rich white slave owners got a bunch of southern poor people to die in the civil war to ensure their economy would continue to go.. Before people start spouting off that state's rights horse shit, the southern states were in favor of the federal government enforcing the fugitive slave laws on northern free states.. State governments I might add which were basically glorified aristocracy of large land owning families..

cause it's racist and treasonous.

What's interesting is those flags didnt gain in popularity until about 1961 when it was put up in Mississippi.

Right around the time when the civil rights movement was kicking off. lol

@The_Last_Ride said:

@Aljosa23: I really wish some people would actually do some research about the flag. Not that i support it, but at least get it right

Who cares what it represented over 150 years? It's become a cultural meme that represents the Confederacy regardless of if it was ever their actual flag. You're grasping at straws.

@Aljosa23 said:

@The_Last_Ride said:

@Aljosa23: I really wish some people would actually do some research about the flag. Not that i support it, but at least get it right

Who cares what it represented over 150 years? It's become a cultural meme that represents the Confederacy regardless of if it was ever their actual flag. You're grasping at straws.

you're grasping at fallacies

How's what he said a fallacy? You're the one that doesn't understand the very simple concept that things can change meaning over time.

lol please. You're the one that doesn't understand that cultural artifacts/images can take on more than one meaning and change over time. The "battle flag" we are talking about was prominently used in Neo-Confederate movements whose sole purpose was to show the Confederacy as something positive. That's how it became infamous.

Also, the whole Lost Cause thing. Wiki it

Yet it isn't the right flag mate. The US flag stands for much worse things than this one.

lulz. check out walmart being repaid for not having anything to do with hick confederate gear.

comedy gold.

Majority of the South were to poor to own slaves. They were fighting to support slavery and end up buying slaves when they can afford them.

I remember back in high school, this kid wore a jacket with a Confederate flag on it. Let me tell you, it didn't end up well for him.

Ya, I don't want to see the flag of our traitors/enemies hanging in our own Country's state buildings.

**** that.