This might be a big mistake...

And this post says it all. Some people see what they want to see. Even after this beautiful lady explained to a gentleman that she meant no harm with the Rebel symbol, he still pesters her as if she did. So some will see nothing but racism no matter what. It appears to be in some peoples' DNA to be offended at others actions while never admitting their own actions are less than stellar or could just be misinterpreted.

Avery, you have been given a pile of advice. Hopefully you will report back as to how you proceeded. Good luck and I for one hope you take Becky's advice and not TexasTusHogs. Originally Posted by WTF

you have a good heart WTF

My handle / ECCIE ID likely suggests to many the image of a beer guzzling racist in a pickup truck with an assortment of "Rebel" accoutrements at hand. I have no problem with that.

My family was repesented by frontline soldiers in the War between the states, the Spanish American battles, World War I and II, the Korean Conflict, and Vietnam.

No one in my family has ever owned a slave, been a member of the KKK or addicted to rascism.

As a young man and an adult I earned my living working along side men and women with a variety of ethic characteristics.

My point is this: I am pround to be an American that was fortunate to be born and bred in the South. I honor my heritage.

My point is this: I am proud to be an American that was fortunate to be born and bred in the South. I honor my heritage. Originally Posted by rednecksatyr

Hear, hear! I too am proud to be an American that was fortunate enough to be born and bred in the North. I honor our heritage.

you have a good heart WTF Originally Posted by nevergaveitathought

OMG, now he'll be intolerable.

Hear, hear! I too am proud to be an American that was fortunate enough to be born and bred in the North. I honor our heritage. Originally Posted by SR Only

C'mon SR. The one-up-man-ship is beneath you.

C'mon SR. The one-up-man-ship is beneath you. Originally Posted by Rudyard K

The only thing I'd *like* beneath me is Becky, or Ansley, or Lauren, or Olivia, or Nicolette B, or ......

OMG, now he'll be intolerable. Originally Posted by Rudyard K

now? he ever was, is and will remain

The rebel flag was and is a symbol of the south.

A widely held and mistaken perception is that the civil war was over the issue of slavery. It was not. The civil war was a battle over states rights.

Here we are almost 2 decades later and that same issue is at the forefront of battles being staged in California and Arizona.

Like any flag or symbol, you can perceive negative connotations based on how it has been used my some people historically. Many people have died or been persecuted by the symbol of the crucifix, the swastika, the rebel flag, you name it. Context is everything and people put too much emphasis and meaning into a symbol.

Have a wonderful weekend!

The only thing I'd *like* beneath me is Becky, or Ansley, or Lauren, or Olivia, or Nicolette B, or ...... Originally Posted by SR Only

Yeah, yeah

The rebel flag was and is a symbol of the south.

A widely held and mistaken perception is that the civil war was over the issue of slavery. It was not. The civil war was a battle over states rights.
Originally Posted by cpi3000

The civil war was about many things. State rights was one of them.

So, is this a symbol of Judy Garland or NGLT Alliance???

Originally Posted by cpi3000

A rainbow by any other name is still a rainbow.

CONGA LINE!!!!

A widely held and mistaken perception is that the civil war was over the issue of slavery. It was not. The civil war was a battle over states rights. Originally Posted by cpi3000

This point has been debated since Appomattox. While I don't disagree with it to an extent, you can not say that it was to sole reason. If this were true, why when Lee suggested the south free all of the slaves the government refused to do so? If this would have happened it would have changed history. The north wouldn't had the stomach for a long war and the south would have won. Then, the states could have all the "rights" they wanted. That is the reason Lee suggest emancipation. Also wouldn't one of the rights the southern states wanted was the right to have a work force they didn't have to pay wages to?

A widely held and mistaken perception is that the civil war was over the issue of slavery. It was not. The civil war was a battle over states rights. Originally Posted by cpi3000

The how do you explain the fact that the Confederate Constitution explicitly protected the institution of slavery to the point that no state in the confederacy could abolish it?

Or how to you explain the Cornerstone Speech by the Vice President of the Confederacy, Alexander Stephens.The prevailing ideas entertained by [Thomas Jefferson] and most of the leading statesmen at the time of the formation of the old constitution, were that the enslavement of the African was in violation of the laws of nature; that it was wrong in principle, socially, morally, and politically ... Those ideas, however, were fundamentally wrong. They rested upon the assumption of the equality of races. This was an error. It was a sandy foundation, and the government built upon it fell when the "storm came and the wind blew."

Our new government is founded upon exactly the opposite idea; its foundations are laid, its corner-stone rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery subordination to the superior race is his natural and normal condition. This, our new government, is the first, in the history of the world, based upon this great physical, philosophical, and moral truth.

http://teachingamericanhistory.org/l...cumentprint=76

Or the fact that when Lee formulated a plan for peace that would have ended the institution of slavery it was roundly rejected with these types of comments:

Brig. Gen. Clement H. Stevens: "If slavery is to be abolished then I take no more interest in our fight."

Gov. Zebulon Vance of North Carolina: "Our independence is chiefly desirable for the preservation of our political institutions, the principal of which is slavery."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...030201518.html

Also see:

http://www.splcenter.org/get-informe...mer/white-lies

You live and make your money in the South.Enough said.

The rebel flag was and is a symbol of the south.

A widely held and mistaken perception is that the civil war was over the issue of slavery. It was not. The civil war was a battle over states rights.
Originally Posted by cpi3000

Sure there were other reasons for the Civil War, but slavery was the main reason. If you look, most of the other issues were ancillary, caused by the central debate over slavery.

1. The Mexican War Ended - 1848
With the end of the Mexican War, America was ceded western territories. This posed a problem: as these new territories would be admitted as states, would they be free or slave? To deal with this, Congress passed the Compromise of 1850 which basically made California free and allowed the people to pick in Utah and New Mexico. This ability of a state to decide whether it would allow slavery was called popular sovereignty.

2. Fugitive Slave Act - 1850
The Fugitive Slave Act was passed as part of the Compromise of 1850. This act forced any federal official who did not arrest a runaway slave liable to pay a fine. This was the most controversial part of the Compromise of 1850 and caused many abolitionists to increase their efforts against slavery. This act increased the Underground Railroad activity as fleeing slaves made their way to Canada.

3. Uncle Tom's Cabin Was Released
Uncle Tom's Cabin or Life Among the Lowly was written in 1852 by Harriet Beecher Stowe. Stowe was an abolitionist who wrote this book to show the evils of slavery. This book, which was a best seller at the time, had a huge impact on the way that northerners viewed slavery. It helped further the cause of abolition and even Abraham Lincoln recognized that this book was one of the events that led to the outbreak of the Civil War.

4. Bleeding Kansas shocked Northerners
In 1854, the Kansas-Nebraska Act was passed allowing the Kansas and Nebraska territories to decide for themselves using popular sovereignty whether they wanted to be free or slave. By 1856, Kansas had become a hotbed of violence as pro- and anti-slavery forces fought over the state's future. The widely reported violent events were a small taste of the violence to come with the Civil War.

5. Charles Sumner is Attacked by Preston on the Floor of the Senate
One of the most publicized events in Bleeding Kansas was when on May 21, 1856 Border Ruffians ransacked Lawrence, Kansas which was known to be a staunch free-state area. One day later, violence occurred on the floor of the U.S. Senate. Pro-slavery Congressman Preston Brooks attacked Charles Sumner with a cane after Sumner had given a speech attacking the pro-slavery forces for the violence occurring in Kansas.

6. Dred Scott Decision
In 1857, Dred Scott lost his case proving that he should be free because he had been held as a slave while living in a free state. The Court ruled that his petition could not be seen because he did not hold any property. But it went further, to state that even though he had been taken by his 'owner' into a free state, he was still a slave because slaves were to be considered property of their owners. This decision furthered the cause of abolitionists as they increased their efforts to fight against slavery.

7. Lecompton Constitution Rejected
When the Kansas-Nebraska Act passed, Kansas was allowed to determine whether it would enter the union as free or slave. Numerous constitutions were advanced by the territory to make this decision. In 1857, the Lecompton Constitution was created allowing for Kansas to be a slave state. Pro-slavery forces supported by President James Buchanan attempted to push the Constitution through the US Congress for acceptance. However, there was enough opposition that in 1858 it was sent back to Kansas for a vote. Even though it delayed statehood, Kansas voters rejected the Constitution and Kansas became a free state.

8. John Brown Raided Harper's Ferry
John Brown was a radical abolitionist who had been involved in anti-slavery violence in Kansas. On October 16, 1859, he led a group of seventeen including five black members to raid the arsenal located in Harper's Ferry, Virginia (now West Virginia). His goal was to start a slave uprising using the captured weapons. However, after capturing several buildings, Brown and his men were surrounded and eventually killed or captured by troops led by Colonel Robert E. Lee. Brown was tried and hanged for treason. This event was one more in the growing abolitionist movement that helped lead to open warfare in 1861.

9. Abraham Lincoln Was Elected President
With the election of Republican candidate Abraham Lincoln on November 6, 1860, South Carolina followed by six other states seceded from the Union. Even though his views about slavery were considered moderate during the nomination and election, South Carolina had warned it would secede if he won. Lincoln agreed with the majority of the Republican Party that the South was becoming too powerful and made it part of their platform that slavery would not be extended to any new territories or states added to the union.

-Martin Kelly