tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193444339911574734.post8357083137136999764..comments2024-02-14T13:01:44.087-06:00Comments on Bob Lemke's Blog: Yes, that is a Confederate flag on my Civil War News customBob Lemkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13161159323885411503noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193444339911574734.post-27667070656722042412015-07-12T09:58:33.072-05:002015-07-12T09:58:33.072-05:00I'm sorry that demonizing slavery and white su...I'm sorry that demonizing slavery and white supremacy bothers you so much. Personally, I think it's precisely the right reaction to such things.<br /><br />As for the comparison to ISIS, they have been *destroying* the historical artifacts. No one destroyed the flag that was hanging in South Carolina. There's been talk of removing Confederate statues and such, but not of blowing them up. That's the difference. Brett Alanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15909286892005353279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4193444339911574734.post-65926750846757663842015-07-11T13:36:57.329-05:002015-07-11T13:36:57.329-05:00I respect you greatly, Bob, but.... It wasn't...I respect you greatly, Bob, but.... It wasn't "pointy-headed liberals" who called for the removal of the so-called Confederate Flag following the racially motivated massacre at a South Carolina church. It was conservatives, who were shamed by the grace of the victims' families and who very much wanted a distraction from the discussion on gun violence that otherwise would have dominated. They decided to sacrifice the flag rather than face an honest debate about doing something tangible to curb gun violence, even if that only means universal background checks (which better than three-fourths of the country support).<br /><br />The flag in question was never the flag of the Confederate states; it was a battle flag used by Robert E. Lee's troops in Virginia. It was the Klan that kept the "stars and bars" alive after the War. It did not fly over state houses either during or following the Civil War. That only became "a thing" in the 1960s as a direct response to Brown v. Board of Education and other federal government attempts to end forced segregation that persisted for nearly a century after the War. Go back and read what those promoting the flag in those days had to say about it. They were much more honest then, saying directly the flag symbolized their determination to maintain separation of the races. The only "heritage" the Confederate Flag was intended to symbolize was the heritage of slavery, racism and treason. We know this because the promoters of that flag told us so. You'll find no other example in human history where the losing side of a Civil War was afforded so much leniency--no place where the losing side is permitted any symbol of their cause. Whether that speaks to the tolerance of America's winning side or its stupidity (or, indeed, their own racism) I can not say.<br /><br />And its not as though attitudes on race have changed all that much in the American south. It wasn't that long ago I moved here. The first person I met told me, "You're gonna like it here; our n****** know their place." The local real estate people assumed I was black over the phone and would only show me vermin infested, completely run down properties. As soon as they realized I was white, they started showing me beautiful homes in beautiful neighborhoods. I know this because I asked and they told me. "Why wouldn't you show me these places to begin with?" "We thought you were black." Their excuse was that they figured, if I was black, I couldn't afford the nicer places. And maybe that would have been reasonable...had not the prices of the vermin infested properties exceeded the prices of the nicer places in every instance. And neither you nor I will ever have to worry that a routine traffic stop will end with our being shot dead because of the color of our skin.<br /><br />All that said, if someone wants to celebrate the "heritage" of treason and racial hatred by displaying a Confederate Flag, I say go right ahead. At least everyone will know what you are. I would much rather have had the universal background checks.Stubbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07010142558613227433noreply@blogger.com