As a black woman, born in da north, actually I was born in Ohio and the sentiments there are just barely northern, especially when it comes to black folks, the confederate flag just doesn't bother me.
Don't get me wrong, it's not that I am not wholly offended by the confederate flag (not capitalized on purpose) or that I do not go on high- "I am in grave danger" - alert whenever I see one on a license plate, but I am more concerned about the people and their long-held attitudes against blacks (lynchings, beatings, beating and then killing a 14 yr. old boy for supposedly whistling at a white woman, the burning of entire black towns and settlements, that distinctive "ka-chunk of a round being quickly loaded into a rifle and automatically pointed aimed and pointed at a black person) rather than the flag itself.
Jon Stewart on Comedy Central last night exposed the reality that most black folks live.
(http://thedailyshow.cc.com/...). The MSM as well as respected internet sites will consult, agree with and commune with white pundits about the issues that supposedly explains the reality of being black in America rather than listening to, and for the most part, not assigning any value to the valid black experience as stated by a black person.
So, the confederate flag means nothing to me. But the inherent violent undertones that that flag represents to most black Americans, any politician or media pundit that believes it has an inherent value, well folks, you have a verified reason to suspect that individual thinks that all black folks, especially Barack Obama , are simply Niggers!