What the Confederate Flag Now Means to Me"

[Lazamataz]

As a 'damn Yankee' -- that is, a Northerner who came to the South and didn't leave -- the Confederate Flag has never really held meaning for me. I understood that for most who displayed it, it meant a reverence for the heritage of the South and expressed the rebellious spirit I so often find, and admire, here.

Then the events of the shooting in South Carolina played out. Dylann Root was found to have embraced that flag, but for different and objectionable reasons of true racism.

The hysteria that followed was terrifying to watch. Both Democrats and Republicans, media and corporations, all jumped aboard a fevered bandwagon that cast aside rationality for a false emotional response. Apple corporation, for example, banned all Civil War games in their app store. Utterly absurd.

The media breathlessly reported every banning, discontinuation, removal from state grounds, and whipped the masses up as well as they could.

The masses were unresponsive. I saw no turning of opinion, and there was no grassroots groundswell for this Southern cultural cleansing, this was a manufactured hysteria and the classic definition of overreaction, but it was at the organizational level. That, my friends, is censorship.

So the Confederate Flag now has a new meaning for this New York-born Southerner.

• It means a resistance to the tyranny of political correctness.
• It means hostility to censorship.
• It means, opposition to mindless hysteria.
• It means, pure antipathy — nay, hatred! — of the media for fanning the flames of hysteria and aggravating the uproar.
• It means great objection to being backstabbed by the party — the Republicans — that tries to convince me that they are my home.
• Finally, it means I shall never surrender.

[jmyrlefuller]

Well said, Laz, and my sentiments on the flag are very similar. Of course, mine were quite similar to what yours are now beforehand. Although I never flew the Rebel Flag, many of the people I know have done so, and they were fixtures at stands in this northern town's county fairs. I was reminded of why people fly it: not because they are racists, not because they have a connection to the South (maybe some solidarity with its culture), but as a mark of one who does not comply with the mass of society.

Roof may have used that flag, too, but he also used other flags, such as the Rhodesian flag. (I might add that the international community was responsible for deposing Rhodesia and installing Robert Mugabe as leader of Zimbabwe. We all know how that turned out.) Would taking that flag down before he committed his crime spree stopped him? Of course not.

[EC]

Nicely done, Laz!

I was talking over this flag nonsense with a friend a couple of days ago.

Take the Leftist talking point as being 100% true - purely for discussion - that the flag represents slavery and nothing more (Leftists, bless their little locally sourced hemp socks, can't hold more than one thought at a time, so they may honestly believe this).

My friend pointed out to me that, when not outright trying extermination on them, people have been defacing, degrading and destroying Jewish culture and history for over 2000 years and it only made the Jews stronger and more stubborn about keeping their heritage alive.
What would make the Confederate flag any different? Jews are stubborn, but so is every Southerner I've ever met ....

[Bigun]

As a 'damn Yankee' -- that is, a Northerner who came to the South and didn't leave -- the Confederate Flag has never really held meaning for me. I understood that for most who displayed it, it meant a reverence for the heritage of the South and expressed the rebellious spirit I so often find, and admire, here.

Then the events of the shooting in South Carolina played out. Dylann Root was found to have embraced that flag, but for different and objectionable reasons of true racism.

The hysteria that followed was terrifying to watch. Both Democrats and Republicans, media and corporations, all jumped aboard a fevered bandwagon that cast aside rationality for a false emotional response. Apple corporation, for example, banned all Civil War games in their app store. Utterly absurd.

The media breathlessly reported every banning, discontinuation, removal from state grounds, and whipped the masses up as well as they could.

The masses were unresponsive. I saw no turning of opinion, and there was no grassroots groundswell for this Southern cultural cleansing, this was a manufactured hysteria and the classic definition of overreaction, but it was at the organizational level. That, my friends, is censorship.

So the Confederate Flag now has a new meaning for this New York-born Southerner.

• It means a resistance to the tyranny of political correctness.
• It means hostility to censorship.
• It means, opposition to mindless hysteria.
• It means, pure antipathy — nay, hatred! — of the media for fanning the flames of hysteria and aggravating the uproar.
• It means great objection to being backstabbed by the party — the Republicans — that tries to convince me that they are my home.
• Finally, it means I shall never surrender.

As a 100% Texan (my third great uncle on my mother's side is William Barrett Travis) let me say that YOU are all right in my book! You get it!

And by the way I have fond memories of a thread way back in the early days of FR when you made me laugh like I have never before or since! 

[240B]

Ok. It is over. I have in fact gone completely insane.

Is this the real 'Laz'? As in, 'Laz would hit that!'

I truly feel like I have gone back in time. I haven't heard that name for more years than I can remember. How many memories that brings back.

Back in the day, Laz was an icon. He was not even real. He was just an idea.

'Laz would hit that', was like a constant theme for years. It was a very funny running joke for the insiders.

Some crack-head woman would kill her boyfriend, and the first post would always be the same:

'Laz would hit that!'

Wow. This is a timewarp for me. I don't even know what to say. I haven't thought about this stuff in years and years. But it does remind me of how fun FR was, years ago. I can remember laughing myself silly from the posts there, and the interaction of very smart people. The "Why?" thread was always a blast, among many others.

Such clever people over on FR, before they all got zotted or left for one reason or another. In 2005, FR was a laugh riot. It was better than anything on TV. I had so much fun over there. But then JR kept going nuts with his insane rants, and the mood changed. The site became darker and more intimidating.

For me, personally, as a single individual, JR ruined the site for me. But it was a fun ride when it was working without interference from JR and his posse. All he needed to do was to leave it the hell alone and it was great. Every time he became involved the mood turned weird and dark. He is a weird son of a gun, that's for sure.

But anyway, lots of good memories while it lasted. And Laz is one of those.

[DCPatriot]

Ok. It is over. I have in fact gone completely insane.

Is this the real 'Laz'? As in, 'Laz would hit that!'

I truly feel like I have gone back in time. I haven't heard that name for more years than I can remember. How many memories that brings back.

Back in the day, Laz was an icon. He was not even real. He was just an idea.

'Laz would hit that', was like a constant theme for years. It was a very funny running joke for the insiders.

Some crack-head woman would kill her boyfriend, and the first post would always be the same:

'Laz would hit that!'

Wow. This is a timewarp for me. I don't even know what to say. I haven't thought about this stuff in years and years. But it does remind me of how fun FR was, years ago. I can remember laughing myself silly from the posts there, and the interaction of very smart people. The "Why?" thread was always a blast, among many others.

Such clever people over on FR, before they all got zotted or left for one reason or another. In 2005, FR was a laugh riot. It was better than anything on TV. I had so much fun over there. But then JR kept going nuts with his insane rants, and the mood changed. The site became darker and more intimidating.

For me, personally, as a single individual, JR ruined the site for me. But it was a fun ride when it was working without interference from JR and his posse. All he needed to do was to leave it the hell alone and it was great. Every time he became involved the mood turned weird and dark. He is a weird son of a gun, that's for sure.

But anyway, lots of good memories while it lasted. And Laz is one of those.

Absolutely agree, 240B!   

[Lazamataz]

Well said, Laz, and my sentiments on the flag are very similar. Of course, mine were quite similar to what yours are now beforehand. Although I never flew the Rebel Flag, many of the people I know have done so, and they were fixtures at stands in this northern town's county fairs. I was reminded of why people fly it: not because they are racists, not because they have a connection to the South (maybe some solidarity with its culture), but as a mark of one who does not comply with the mass of society.

Roof may have used that flag, too, but he also used other flags, such as the Rhodesian flag. (I might add that the international community was responsible for deposing Rhodesia and installing Robert Mugabe as leader of Zimbabwe. We all know how that turned out.) Would taking that flag down before he committed his crime spree stopped him? Of course not.

Thank you for your kind words, and please circulate this editorial... I hope stop or slow down the Southern Ethnic Cleansing.

[Lazamataz]

Ok. It is over. I have in fact gone completely insane.

Is this the real 'Laz'? As in, 'Laz would hit that!'

I truly feel like I have gone back in time. I haven't heard that name for more years than I can remember. How many memories that brings back.

Back in the day, Laz was an icon. He was not even real. He was just an idea.

'Laz would hit that', was like a constant theme for years. It was a very funny running joke for the insiders.

Some crack-head woman would kill her boyfriend, and the first post would always be the same:

'Laz would hit that!'

It's still a meme. I've tried to abandon it occasionally, to no avail. The public wants what the public wants. :)

In real life, I am very selective about women, and haven't really dated anyone for quite a while. :)

[Lazamataz]

As a 100% Texan (my third great uncle on my mother's side is William Barrett Travis) let me say that YOU are all right in my book! You get it!

And by the way I have fond memories of a thread way back in the early days of FR when you made me laugh like I have never before or since! 

Thank you, kind sir!

[Lazamataz]

Nicely done, Laz!

I was talking over this flag nonsense with a friend a couple of days ago.

Take the Leftist talking point as being 100% true - purely for discussion - that the flag represents slavery and nothing more (Leftists, bless their little locally sourced hemp socks, can't hold more than one thought at a time, so they may honestly believe this).

My friend pointed out to me that, when not outright trying extermination on them, people have been defacing, degrading and destroying Jewish culture and history for over 2000 years and it only made the Jews stronger and more stubborn about keeping their heritage alive.
What would make the Confederate flag any different? Jews are stubborn, but so is every Southerner I've ever met ....

There is one good question that I struggle to answer: Someone who is anti-Confederate Flag on FR asked a tough question....

"Should we allow Germans to fly Nazi flags to honor their relatives who fought in WWII? Is this merely 'German heritage'?"

It's a tough challenge to the Confederate flag supporters, but I guess I can somewhat refute it by saying that Nazism wanted conquest over all of Europe, and the Confederacy merely wanted to be left alone.

[EC]

"Should we allow Germans to fly Nazi flags to honor their relatives who fought in WWII? Is this merely 'German heritage'?"

It's a tough challenge to the Confederate flag supporters, but I guess I can somewhat refute it by saying that Nazism wanted conquest over all of Europe, and the Confederacy merely wanted to be left alone.

Quick answer to that: "We" have no say in that. It is Germany and a German problem, not ours.

If they are German-Americans, well, They are Americans who happened to come from Germany, so the American flag would be the one they fly if they do. Americans of Italian descent don't fly the Italian flag, do they? Despite being fiercely proud of their heritage, mostly. We complain about the La Raza crowd flying their flag, as it is NOTHING to do with US history.

The whole (manufactured) controversy is simply another attempt by the Left to polarize and split people to make them easier to control. Italian-Americans or Cuban-Americans or German-Americans or African-Americans or Anglo-Americans or Southern- Americans didn't put a man on the moon and enforce world peace for 60 years of very tricky times.

Americans did. No hyphen. 

[240B]

It's still a meme. I've tried to abandon it occasionally, to no avail. The public wants what the public wants. :)

In real life, I am very selective about women, and haven't really dated anyone for quite a while. :)

No worries. I don't think anyone takes it literally. You just happen to get chosen somehow for the joke. Like you said, it is only a meme. It is not real. Just a joke.

[Bigun]

Quick answer to that: "We" have no say in that. It is Germany and a German problem, not ours.

If they are German-Americans, well, They are Americans who happened to come from Germany, so the American flag would be the one they fly if they do. Americans of Italian descent don't fly the Italian flag, do they? Despite being fiercely proud of their heritage, mostly. We complain about the La Raza crowd flying their flag, as it is NOTHING to do with US history.

The whole (manufactured) controversy is simply another attempt by the Left to polarize and split people to make them easier to control. Italian-Americans or Cuban-Americans or German-Americans or African-Americans or Anglo-Americans or Southern- Americans didn't put a man on the moon and enforce world peace for 60 years of very tricky times.

Americans did. No hyphen. 

Post of the day! Maybe even the month! 

[rangerrebew]

Shouldn't camp fires be banned?  They are a reminder of the tribes of Africa who cooked over open fires and sold their own into slavery.  Shouldn't flags of islam be banned as they were the prime traders with African tribes?  It would also be wise to ban pictures of old sailing ships which brought slaves to the new world.  While at it, ban pictures of the ocean which provided the medium for conveyance of slaves to the new world.  Rope needs to be done away with since it was used to bind slaves.

Personally I think this controversy is senseless and stupid.  I'd be willing to bet the vast majority of blacks have no earthly idea what the big deal with a flag is.  I taught ghetto kids for 25 years and some of them knew who Martin Luther King was, but that was about the extent of their knowledge of black history.  This "controversy" is nothing but race baiters and racists trying to stir up trouble, ala Cloward/Piven.