Fly Rebel Flag
This news sent to me by the Marc, the fireman in N.J. The news of this was a surprise....
Check it out http://abcnews.go.com/US/Story?id=4978568&page=1 I wonder if it ever flew? I'm sure there was some controversy but being a southerner, I am happy to see it. If you read some of the comments after the article at that link, you will see how most Southerners really feel. The flag has nothing to do with slavery for most people in the south. It's a southern pride thing. Life was way different in the south than the north way back when. Contrary to popular belief, the Civil War was not fought over slavery. You wouldn't know the real meaning of the Rebel flag unless you lived your life in the south. People born and raised in the north just don't have any idea what the flag means to those people born and raised in the south and they never will.
Ask Bocephus, he knows. (prompt for music again on Yo-Yo, "turn it up!")
This is a prelude to the next post on shoe shopping in Jaco.
Prostitution is part of the culture and accepted here,,, for now.
The Confederate States flag is about heritage and culture and it changed it's look many times. "The Rebel Flag" most southerners identify with is the one from the battle. It is "The Battle Flag of the Confederacy".
6 comments:
The comment on the article raises an interesting point, which was glossed over quite nicely in school. It's politically expedient to point to a flag and make it a polarizing symbol. I'd like to read up a little more on this. It's funny how I really hated history in school but find it a lot more interesting now.
I know I'll never understand, being a Yankee and all, but...it might be helpful for those of us northern folks if you told us a little about what living in the south means to you, and how that is differentiated in your mind from the north. Honestly, I'd like to hear more, in the interest of understanding.
I have quite a few southern relatives, and I must say that the northern relatives and the southern relatives seem to live on a completely different world sometimes. Our communication is rather stilted, to say the least.
Now that's a hard one to answer. You'd have to live it to know it. Just like me living here in Costa Rica, I'll never understand some of the connections 'cause this is not my birthland. I do relate to Costa Rica and feel they are Rebels at heart. It's not about wars or fighting.
The south has always seemed poor, compared to the north. The educational system, opportunities, etc. We were rich in farmland though. Lots of 'Bubbas' in the south but truly, 'salt of the earth' kinda people.
I guess when you are poor and make a living using your back more than your brain, pride goes a long way.
It's like coyotes, dingos, wild dogs and wolves...similar but they have different ways of doin' thangs!
(southern slur)
...I watch a lot of Animal Planet.
DID ANYONE SEE THE MOVIE "THE FEVER". Makes one stop and think!
It all comes down to money.
That was what the Civil War was all about, money. Slavery was an issue, just like now, with the "WMD".
(Weapons of mass destruction)
This prompts me to put back some tunes on my blog for a bit.
It's all to heavy to understand.
My motto -
"Peace, Love, and Harmony"
or get the hell out!
I have never thought the Stars and Bars represented Rascism either but if you were to ask the average person on the street, "Why the Civil war was fought?" they would say Slavery !, a testimony to the Northern history writers( you realize the History of an war will be written by the winner.). but if you read the unbiased history it was a matter of States Rights for the South and had little to do with slavery specifically ( other than being dictated what to do by the Central Government.. this period of time the STATES actually had more Power to determine their own destiny than the Federal Government) From 1820 to 1860 the population of the United "States" doubled to 30 million people , with 21 million living above the Mason Dixon line. Of the 9 million in the South 3 million were slaves but the vast majority of Southerners did not own a slave( 7 to 1) ,and those that did had one to help on a small farm and there were only 17,000 that had more than one slave, the old image of Gone with the Wind .No one will say Slavery was a good thing,,but a necessary evil at that time as the South was essentially an Agrarian society, whereas the North was Industializing and had no need for slave labor, they had the European immigrants..it was two different economic bases but not to forget either,during the 1850's that was the last time in our country's economic history that an agricultural product made up more than 51% of our country's exports ...KING COTTON . So I understand why a person may take offense,given what they were told, but I also urge one to never forget,there are many factors to consider for any given situation, and to many southerners this Image represents the History of a time and people who sacrificed greatly for what they believed..States Rights, honor and duty... and racism wasn't even in the equation.Even the "Great Imancipator",Abraham Lincoln was quoted to say" If I could preserve the UNION without Freeing One Slave I would do so!'.. And I doubt anyone would ever consider him a Racist.
Couldn't have said it better myself (ever). Thank you Barry!
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