and what quotes do you have to back it up, u.s. grant was quoted as saying if he thought the war was over freeing the slaves he would have fought for the south. more than 75 percent of the southern men who fought in the war did not own slaves. it was fought over states rights and the over bearing federal government that was taxing the south to fund the northern government and factories.

the rebel flag in its pure form was meant to show that people were willing to stand up for their rights. what is bad is the way people twist things. everyone talks about how bad the south was,, what did the north do to the southern prisoners? specially black prisoners that were caught in southern uniform? they were shot on sight. if you dont belive that then look up 80 acres of hell camp douglas in illinois.

The Southern Cross and the Swastika both carry nearly-universal controversial and potentially painful connotations. If one chooses to display them, should he/she not be prepared to explain the intent?

The world is not what we wish it to be, it is what it is, as they say. Knowing that, and knowing the connotations these symbols evoke, I think it is the responsibility of the person who displays them to clarify their meaning and intent. (jmho) The only way to change the most common symbolic meanings behind these flags is to promote understanding by sharing your more noble intent, history and heritage...and what the flag truly represents to you. Doing so without defensiveness, derision or anger, will help promote the meaning you wish to be invoked.

I would love to see the negative power and horrifying connotation removed from the Rebel flag, but that may take much time...for now, it evokes the history of pain & suffering our country (north & south!) was built on. It is, what it is...for many of us.

The Civil War was about slavery and only slavery. Anyone that says differently is lying. It was a states rights issue in that the slave states wanted to keep owning slaves eventhough the federal government was outlawing it.

well said. the saying if the confederate flag offends you then you need a history lesson is very true.

and the history books that most people read were written by whom?? the north, who won the war?

Then you made my point. If the South was so great, why did the typical white have nothing and couldnt even find a job? Because of slavery. The rich people wouldnot provide jobs to anyone because they owned slave that they didnt have to pay.

Yeah it stood for the right to own other humans like animals

and if you feel that way mirror, then why do we display the american flag? it was founded by white men that owned slaves. george washington, thomas jefforson all owned slaves. if we are so bad then we maybe should still be flying the british colors. but some men had the idea that they would stand up for what they belive. thats what the south did. they failed to win, but they got the message through that they were willing to stand up for what they belived in.

If you want to fly the rebel flag, expect people to ask why. You should be able to explain why without getting mad or insulting those who are asking.

i dont get mad. i point out what i know and what i have studied. tell them to draw their own thoughts from what they read and learn.

You've been giving your opinion. Just as everyone else has.

Good point Thumper Yes America was founded on slavery. However NOT all states had slaves. It was primarily in the south and only the south. The rest of this nation finally had enough of it and put a stop to it. Correcting your mistakes and righting wrongs is what the American Flag is supposed to stand for.

if the south was the main ones, then why does detroit have a history of them? and that i have personal proof of. certain people didnt want them thats why they outlawed them. the south wanted them, that was their wants. not saying it was right. i have never agreed with slavery. my family never owned slaves. but we fought in the war.

How do you know they didnt own slaves Thumper? All white people say that. Its nearly impossible to tell at this point. Do you realize how many ancestors and relatives you have had since the 1860s?

yeah and most of my family from that period was either poor farm hands from nc or out on the plains. part sioux indian. and since in not fully white then i guess im not most white people

No it was about States rights, State sovereignty.

The North was becoming more and more reliant on big Gov for support. It was getting out of hand and taxes were beginning to be imposed on all.
The South, who were more self reliant and Agriculture based didn't think they should have to pay for services they didn't need.
Only about 15% of all Southerners owned slaves! The war was over States rights which Abe and the Republicans were fast encroaching on.
The issue of slavery was a weapon used by the North in a hope of turning Slaves against their owners. A war behind the lines so to say!
Check the dates of the emancipation laws and how they coincide with the beginning of the war. Check the secession declarations submitted by the Confederates when they seceded.
Several States did not even secede until Federal troops advanced across their borders with intent to attack other Americans!

My family owned slaves, both my northern (Detroit) family and Southern (AL/TN) family. Neither side of my family who fought in the civil war fought for the issue of slavery. The southern states were fighting for the RIGHT to govern themselves as they saw fit (as all people have the RIGHT and OBLIGATION) to do. My northern ancestors were fighting to preserve the country, which was their RIGHT and OBLIGATION to do, as they saw it. Who was right, or wrong? Who the hell knows?

But anyone who believes that the US Flag is not also a symbol of hatred, ignorance, bigotry and racism is just fooling themselves. That flag, our symbol of freedom, has caused more death, hatred, pain and suffering than the so-called rebel flag ever did. Ask any Japanese-American interred in a prison camp during WWII, just to name an example. And, let's not forget the American Indians of this country.

If these African Americans dont think so why should you?


Saturday, March 15, 2008
Black Man Proud Of Confederate Flag
Many heads turned in Ringgold Wednesday when they saw an African-American man dressed in a Confederate soldier's uniform, carrying a Confederate flag.


It wasn't a joke. H.K. Edgerton came to Ringgold to make a bold statement - he opposes city leader's removing the Confederate flag from the city's flag pole.


Edgerton says the Confederate flag is misunderstood, feared and hated because people are trying to be politically correct - which he says desecrates the honor and real meaning of the Civil War era emblem.


"I'm here because your town council climbed into bed with all the politically correct folks who are practicing social, cultural genocide here in the south land of America," Edgerton said.


Edgerton is marching against that cultural genocide as he calls it, and is getting a warm welcome from people in Ringgold who support his fight for the Confederate flag.


Jim Caldwell meet Edgerton carrying the flag and said "it's history, part of history and it don't need to be swept under the rug."


Edgerton is from Asheville, North Carolina, where he's also the immediate past president of the N.A.A.C.P. there. His visit to Ringgold marks the five-year anniversary of the same march he made from Asheville to Austin Texas - 20 miles a day, six days a week.


He says he has no respect for modern day civil rights activists who as he puts it, trash the Confederate flag.


"Just pointing to those scally-wags like Jesse Jackson, and Al Sharpton, who climbed into bed with these folks to increase their coffers to continue tainting and disturbing history," Edgerton said.


Two years ago many people packed Ringgold's city hall to protest the move by city leaders to get rid of the Confederate flag. It flies no more on the town poles.


Edgerton says many people don't understand that black men, alongside whites, fought for the Confederacy and the principals it was founded on.


"So here I am, trying to bring an understanding that there was folks who look like me who earned a place of honor and dignity here under this flag. And this flag is just as much for folks who look like me as any white man in the south land of America," Edgerton said.

I thought I’d only see Caucasians attending a controversial Confederate flag raising ceremony, early on Saturday morning in Tampa, Florida. That’s what I get for thinking.

But there they were- a smattering of African Americans, mixing it up with Caucasian bikers wearing Confederate flag jean jackets and caps. But what really caught my eye was seeing some of those same African American folks also sporting the controversial symbol on their bodies too.

Right smack dab at the politically powerful junction of Interstate 4 and I-75… hoisted 139 feet up in the in the air, was what most Americans call the flag of the Confederacy, but what is more correctly referred to by historians as “a soldiers flag.”

And that flag is huge, 50 feet by 30 feet, about the same size as the U.S. flag, flown over over mega-sized car lots across the country. Car dealers fly the stars and stripes partly out of patriotism, and partly for publicity. And the sons of Confederate veterans, Florida division, is no different.

Throughout the morning, motorcycles rumbled in and out of the parking lot, making it hard to hear, and these folks wanted to be heard. Marion Lambert told me he wants people to notice the flag, wants people to ask, “Why is that huge flag being flown here in Tampa.”

Lamberts answer was simple enough: “I want people to talk to us, let us tell ‘em we’re not for slavery, we’re not for racism, we don’t hate minorities. We just want to show pride and reverence to our ancestors. We don’t agree with the slavery part, it was wrong, but we can’t ignore this flag. It represents our southern heritage, the good that we want to remember, and the bad part we should never forget.”

So there it was, white and black folks, some sitting on cinder blocks, smoking pipes. One elderly African American man wearing a suit and a Confederate tie, back-slapping and joking with a younger Caucasian man wearing so many Confederate symbols, he looked like the poster child for the event. The local NAACP has called these Confederate flag-supporting blacks “out of touch,” saying they don’t represent black America.

I asked the older black man in the Confederate tie, what he thought about the NAACP’s comment, he said “I’m about as black as it gets, I’m the grandson of slaves, I’m a U.S. war veteran, and I’m just as proud of this (Confederate) flag, because it represents my heritage too. And the NAACP doesn’t represent all of black America either.”

Sure wasn’t what I expected to hear.

http://onthescene.blogs.foxnews.com/2008/06/16/controversial-confederate-flag-raising-ceremony/