First let me say that if you are black and you hate the Confederate Battle Flag - I understand. We all agree that slavery is horrible. It was a world wide institution that barely exists today. And excluding current issues of Human Trafficking, there has not been a slave in this country for over 135 years. I am sorry that to you the Flag represents only slavery.
For me, the Confederate Battle Flag represents a belief in states rights and certain independence from the federal governments interference. You see the situation that existed in the United States Pre Civil War was that the entire country was debating the issue of slavery. (as it had since it inception see Article 1 section 9 of the US constitution) Many northern states had outlawed slavery and were pressing the US government to outlaw slavery nationally. Most of the northern states did not rely on slave labor they used poor immigrates as their slave substitutes - hence the term "slave wages". And slave importation had ceased back in 1808, so no new salve were coming here. The trouble was they didn't have the votes to outlaw slavery. And there were great debates about what the effect of 4 million newly freed slaves might be on the economy and where they would go once freed. (the north didn't really want them and wanted to insure that they would stay in the south or be sent back to Africa) Slavery could only be abolished via amendment, so the US or Federal government began to govern the slavery issue via executive orders, taxation and by insuring that new territories would not allow slavery in order to join the union. So, rather than work to get an amendment passed, they subverted the process and the constitution.
Now keep in mind this government was barely 50 years old - think World War II in our time. And the Constitution they signed and agreed to in becoming part of the US was not being followed and was not worth in their estimation the paper it was written on. So, they said if you aren't going to follow the constitution then we quit. It is that independent attitude. It is that belief that the Constitution needs to be honored and followed rather than interpreted to mean whatever you need it to mean. It is the belief that one group (the north) had no business enacting legislation that didn't effect them directly (the south)
If this story sounds to you a little like it could have been written about our Government as it is today - I award a gold star! If you don't see that then please don't even comment your mind is closed and I really don't care what you think and probably wont even read your comment, because YOU are the problem, and the reason why I love the Confederate Battle Flag --- because YOU seeing the flag as celebrating slavery is YOUR problem and not mine. BUT when YOU start to feel that YOUR discomfort requires ME to change to accommodate YOU that is where I say FUCK YOU and proudly raise my Confederate Battle Flag - not to call you a slave or to support slavery but to say I'LL RUN MY LIFE and YOU RUN YOURS!