About That “Rebel Flag”
I spent 31 years of my adult life living in “The South.” There was much about that time which I enjoyed, and I met many wonderful people. The rest of the nation could stand to learn a few things about the beauty of southern hospitality, and the magical qualities of the word “y'all.”
For me, the magnolia blossom is a symbol of the South. It is lovely and fragrant. The words “boiled peanuts” written on a cardboard sign by a roadside stand symbolize the South. Georgia peaches, Vidalia onions, and sweet tea; swamps and savannahs, palm trees and kudzu; all of these are symbols of the South, and they are the stuff of fond memories that recall lazy, hot, summer afternoons spent tubing down a spring-fed river, looking up at the Spanish moss hanging from the live oak trees, keeping an eye out for gators or snakes in the reeds.
I loved living in the South, and I miss many things about it.
But not the racism. Not the homophobia. And not the paranoia. Yes, these are found anywhere, but in most other places, they don’t have their own flag.
Today, a friend put up a Facebook post daring people to share a picture of a Confederate Battle Flag along with a text about “defending our heritage.” You will not see that on my page.
About ten years ago, I found out our family is of Swiss descent on my father’s side. This was surprising, because we were always told we were German. During the five decades when I thought we were German, I never felt a need to post a picture of a Swastika and dare people to “defend my heritage.”
Like it or not, the “Confederate Battle Flag” is a racist symbol. It represents a society that believed slavery was permissible and non-whites were property. Yes, it may be co-opted to mean “country boys and girls gettin’ down on the farm,” but it cannot be distanced or distinguished from its roots.
The chances of it being “retired” seem slim to me. It might not fly on statehouse flagpoles, but it will still be around, and ignorant people will defend it while others continue to wear it and teach hatred and intolerance.
There are many symbols that represent the good things about the South. The Confederate Battle Flag will never be one of them.
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