Those who fly the Confederate flag (and deny that it is a symbol of segregation and racism) say that having that flag aloft is all about history. It is true that the Confederate battle flag did have a role in our history. But it was a brief and ignominious one. It was used by forces that were fighting to maintain white supremacy and keep black people enslaved. It certainly shouldn't be revered as some seem to feel.
http://www.dailykos.com/...
In the 20th century, a version of that flag was revived to represent those who wanted to continue segregation. It raised its ugly head at KKK meetings, white supremacy rallies and other sites where bigots gathered. And it's being used for that same purpose today, in spite of what some of its supporters say.
This month
[t]he Klan will rally at the South Carolina statehouse grounds under the Confederate battle flag. When it was at its peak, in the 1920s, the Klan’s members paraded under the American flag.
The fact is that in the 1950s and 1960s, the Confederate battle flag was hijacked and dishonored by racists and white supremacists who were opposed to the Federal government’s implementation of the 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education Supreme Court decision ending public school segregation. Two years after the decision, in 1956, the Georgia Legislature incorporated the battle flag into the state flag as a protest against integration. The battle flag was first raised over the South Carolina state Capitol on April 11, 1961, to mark the beginning of the Civil War Centennial; in March 1962 the Legislature voted to leave it there as a protest against the civil rights movement. Its 20th century symbolism is clear to anyone who examines the historical record, and it is not something to honor or revere.
http://www.rawstory.com/...
Again, nothing to be proud of and certainly no reason to fly it anywhere. Keeping one at a local museum for historical purposes to remind us of that period in our history might be appropriate. That should be more than enough.
If supporters of the Stars and Bars are really looking from just a historical (i.e. non-racist) viewpoint, then there are other flags that are also very important historically. Consider what other flags might also need remembered on Independence Day as part of a historical perspective.
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If we follow the argument of those racists who want to fly the Confederate flag in any form, because of "history" then maybe we ought to hoist some other flags to fly to give us a true picture of history through flags.
Native Americans were here long before the first Europeans. Thousands of them from a multitude of different tribes. Today, many Native American tribes have tribal flags. Those could be flown on national holidays like Independence Day, Thanksgiving, Memorial Day and others. And we could display some recreations of artifacts from the 1700s, when some Native Americans identified with their tribe by using decorated warriors' shields. We could display some of those, as well. Certainly, the destruction of the First American culture is as shameful as what the Confederate States of America tried to do.
Also, from a historical perspective, there are many other flags that we should fly emphasizing our diverse history.
Christopher Columbus was the first to land in what is present-day America. (That is, if we disallow the Norsemen from Iceland who established a colony in Greenland 1000 years ago, since Greenland isn't a part of America.) Columbus sailed for Spain, but was Italian. So there is a case for both the Italian and Spanish flags to fly during holidays.
The Spanish were followed by the French, British and Dutch. The flags of those countries have significance in the construction of what the U.S. is today and should be flown so that we remember those countries and their settlers.
Thousands of years ago, Siberian people crossed into Alaska and started settlements there. Perhaps a Russian flag would be appropriate, also. The Siberians found some Aleut natives there when they arrived, so shouldn't we include some symbol of the Aleuts and other Alaskan native groups?
A Chinese flag to commemorate the tens of thousands of Chinese who emigrated here, could be part of the display. And flags from a number of African countries, marking the origin of the slaves that we imported, virtually as trade goods.
Oh, and we'd need to remember the Tainos from Puerto Rico, the Polynesians from a number of islands like Bora Bora, Raiatea, Tahiti and others. The Ciboney, Arawaks, Caribe Indians and the Danish who all lived on the U.S. Virgin Islands. Natives from Guam, American Samoa, Micronesia and the Northern Marianas Islands. Lest we forget . . . well, you get the idea.
And I'm not including former U.S. possessions that are now separate from the U.S. But, a case could be made to include those, as well.
If we, indeed, need to fly more than one flag for historical accuracy, then we need to be inclusive of all of the flags that have played a part in our culture. Not just the flag of intolerance, divisiveness, hate and greed.
By the way, if you'd like to see just how many versions of the U.S. flag that we'd need to remember, you can tale a look here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/...
and here
https://en.wikipedia.org/...
With all of those flags that we'd have to display, if the Confederate flag were left out, no one should really miss it much at all.
Have a safe and peaceful Fourth of July!