Written by Salli Sanfo
Over the past couple of months, there has been a big buzz about taking down Confederate flags. People are starting to realize exactly how deep and evil of a history it has, and starting to see why it shouldn’t be constantly displayed. Of course, the flag has it’s supporters. But here are a couple more reasons why you shouldn’t support the Confederate Flag.
1. Its History and Heritage
The Confederate flag’s origin came from the split of the north and south because the south encouraged slavery, while the north wanted to get rid of it. But, the flag actually wasn’t made famous until the early 1900s, by the KKK. So the “heritage not hate” argument is completely irrelevant here. The heritage of this flag is hate, and it represents the enslavement of millions of people. Flying the flag because your ancestors fought for it doesn’t change its meaning.
2. Its Modern Use
The Confederate flag is used as a major symbol by the KKK, the Aryan Nations and other hate groups. These groups are openly racist and oppressive, and believe that this flag embody their beliefs, including the deportation of PoC because they are too “unclean”, the idea that PoC are less than them, and the support and encouragement of things like the Charleston shooting. That should be enough to make it a terrible symbol.
3. It’s a Treasonous Symbol
The U.S. Constitution states that “treason against the United States shall consist only in levying war against them.” That is exactly what the Confederate flag supporters did. Not to mention attacking their own military, active duty soldiers and veterans who fought and worked so hard for their safety. Flying a flag that represents that betrayal isn’t very “patriotic.” They went to war and betrayed their own country because they didn’t get the outcome they wanted.
The Confederate flag represents the splitting of America. That is considered treason, and the flying of this flag validates those who attempted to destroy this country. These are among many reasons why you shouldn’t support, fly, or validate the Confederate flag. That would be like someone going through Germany wearing a swastica and validating it with statements like “My grandfather was a Nazi.“/”This doesn’t represent the genocide of millions. It represents the New Germany.”/”Hitler didn’t design it, so it’s not hateful.”/“Because I have the right to wear this symbol, I’m going to wear it”. No offense, but I’m pretty sure the founding fathers didn’t put freedom of speech in the Constitution for people to use it to validate the use of offensive symbols. And besides, the swastica is illegal to wear in Germany, it is too big of a part of the history they are ashamed of. Maybe the U.S. needs to take a hint.
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