In many parts of rural America, white supremacist loyalties lead a semi-public kind of existence. White racism is in the public square, but not justified in explicitly racist terms. That's especially the case with the Confederate flag. Confederate flags and Confederate flag paraphernalia have popped everywhere in my home town of Morehead, KY since the flag controversies in Georgia and South Carolina in 2002. The Confederate flags are especially popular as bumper stickers on cars, but can be seen in yards, on shirts, as bandanas, and on motorcycle helmets. If Confederate flags aren't more popular than American flags in Morehead, they're running a close second.
The Confederate "flaggers" have all types of non-racial justifications for their displays that they'll tell you with a little smirk on their faces. For the flaggers, the Confederate battle flag is about regional pride, family, independence, rebel spirit, and opposition to political correctness instead of racism. However, the flaggers know just as well as everybody else that Confederate flags are the pre-eminent symbol of racism all over the South. In adapting the battle flag as a general symbol for everything they like about the South, flaggers have made white racism the uber sentiment that defines all things Southern.
The flag controversy has sprouted back up in Kentucky this week as controversy has erupted over the use of the Confederate flag as a school symbol at Allen County Central High School in Prestonsburg. The all-white high school uses a version of the Confederate flag as its school emblem, features rebel flags at all of its sporting event, and fosters "rebel pride" on its web site right next to educational cliches like "authentic," "interactive," and "learner centered." The few black students and athletes at other high schools in mountainous Floyd County and neighboring Pike County are offended by the flag but don't protest or seek boycotts. Members of the Louisville-based Justice Resource Center travelled to Prestonsburg to talk with the school superintendent about the connection between the Confederate flag and slavery and emphasize the need to prepare students to live in "a diverse society where these symbols have already been eliminated." Unfortunately, their appeals fell on deaf ears as students rallied to the defense of the flag, defending it as "our tradition."
And that's really the core of the issue. Many people in Eastern Kentucky and other rural areas bordering on the South have made the symbolism of slavery and bigotry into the defining element of "their tradition." Of course, Allen Central could embrace its tradition more closely if it just renamed itself "Racism Central High."
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3 comments:
Well, you will be happy to hear the epilogue of this issue.
What started out as a complaint by a retiring Kentucky democratic party lawyer and big Clinton supporter Mickey McGuire, grew into a real firestorm for about 3 weeks.
The media grabbed the story, and next thing you know, busted shakedown race pimp Reverend Louis Coleman from Louisville made a trip to Allen Central and began his standard MO - demanding this and threatening that.
Then a rival (David) school basketball coach New York Lawyer and coach Ned Pillersdorf, fresh from being busted for illegal campaign contributions to his wife's supreme court bid, stated his team had voted to boycott ACHS because thier black player was taunted by flag wavers last year.
The left was screaming for blood, and calling them everything but late for dinner - just like you did in your blog here!
Next thing you know, Ned Pillersdorf is busted for creating the entire situation. His player wasw never taunted, the players never voted to boycott, and they had no problem with ACHS.
At the much anticipated school board meeting, Rev. Coleman was nowhere to be seen, and the school board voted to retain the flag - which had never caused any problems to begin with.
McGuire has retired, Pillersdorf is being considered for termination and is ruined in that small community forever, and Coleman didn't make a dime or dent.
Being a flaming liberal must really suck.
I'm pretty sure it won't be the final epilogue.
What's interesting to me is that you don't address the Confederate flag issue.
Given that the Confederacy and the slaveocracy that the Confederacy represented was one of the great evils of the modern world, it's hard to imagine why any school would want to be waving Confederate flags. It's kind of like adopting the Nazi flag or the hammer and sickle as a symbol of school pride. As long as that's the case, there will always be pressure on schools to give up the symbol.
Naw Ric, what is scary is that you didn't bat an eye when all the info was laid out on the table. Remember these men are so called leaders in that community, and they are a crooked as a warped slinky.
OK I'll bite on the flag. What do you want to hear? The flag means slavery? The war was about slavery? The south was bad?
What do you not want to talk about? The war was not about slavery. The flag has no ties to slavery.
OK Let's go the war angle.
Had the South not left the Union, the Corwin Amendment would have been ratified, which guarenteed slavery forever, but seeing as how the south turned this offer down, it was about something other than slavery.
South Carolina seceeds in 1860. There is no war.
By February 1861, 6 more states leave the Union and form the Confederate States of America. Still no war.
After 2 months of peace, Confederate forces have worked out a deal with the Commander of Ft Sumpter to allow them to peacefully evacuate the base. Lincoln sends the Star of the West in an agressive act of war to resupply Sumpter. Both the Star and Sumpter were fired on. The Ft was not resupplied, but Lincoln's plan to force the South into firing 1st works.
After Lincoln calls for 75,000 troops to invade the Confederacy without his asking permission from Congress, Va, NC, Ar, and Tenn join the CSA to protect them and blast Lincoln and his starting the Civil War.
When war is begun, and for 2 years well into the conflict, not a single peep, a legal document, a speech, or a newspaper interview is given that somehow the war is about "slavery"
When Lincoln finally plays the slave card, he only 'frees' the Confederate Slaves in Confederate territory under Confederate control, and leaves in bondage slaves in Confederate territory under Union control,border and slave holding Union states, and exempts the entire state of Tennessee. In 1863, Lincoln admits West Virginia as a slave state.
Finally, Slavery was not ended until after the war was over and Licoln was dead, in Dec 1865. No, the war was not about slavery.
The Flag? It was the Confederate banner created by Confederate soldiers for Confederate soldiers used to rally, lead, and muster Confederate soldiers on a field of battle. No politics, no legislative action, no official designation, just like a flag patch, a dog tag, or a name plate in today's military. No, the flag is not a flag of slavery.
This year is the 400th anniversary of Jamestown. Out of 400 years, slavery in America was legal for about 250 years - more than 1/2 our existance. No, slavery is not strictly a Confederate invention, nor is the Confederate states to take any blame for continuing to practice it for it's 4 year existance while it continued in Lincoln's Union and for 250 years prior.
If you don't like the flag, that's fine, but don't try to create some bogus information or hype the situation with false propaganda ala Nazi Germany or Communist Russia/China/NKorea.Cuba/NVietNam
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