AARRGH! I HATE Confederate sympathy!

[Fixated]

I just got into an argument with some guy who was flying a Confed flag below his American one on his car. I erupted into a "Do you love this country or do you love the people who fought against it, you f*cking traitor?" diatribe that he initially argued and eventually backed down, seemingly startled (I was in a bad mood and came out of no where to scream at him). The guy must have been 50, and I'm 17, so I wasn't threatening to him, but he said nothing when I said "The only time I want to see that flag is in hell, wrapped around Lee's body!" and went to my car.

Never go to a Barnes and Noble in a bad mood.

[Rex]

1. You actually called him a fucking traitor?

Why you in a bad mood Willis?

[Fixated]

7. ...

My initial comment was basically "get that flag away from mine" and he said "I don't need no gutless liberal to tell me what to do." Then I saw that he had "Treason" in his hand, and I have a vendetta against that book, so I picked up her traitor charge and threw it at him in a new context. Calling a rebel supporter a traitor seems legit. It was all for fun, really, but I was in a bad mood because I'm sleep-deprived and had a fight with both my parents and friends last night.

[Rex]

11. Argh, sorry to hear that, I hate fighting with friends and family

I guess you showed him what a "gutless liberal" can do when pissed off! And to add injury to insult...he has TREASON in hand! Ugh!

Good on ya, try and get some sleep! :thumbsup:

[Yentatelaventa]

33. A fight with your parents?

Most parents are more mature than their children. Did you know that? Often, in a dozen years after such a "fight" a well-adjusted child will accept their parents as mentors instead of enemies.

Love thy Mother and Father.

[DBoon]

2. LIke flying a swastika

Flying a Confederate flag is to the Black population the equivalent of flying a Nazi swastika to the Jewish population.

The Confederacy stood for the right to buy and sell human beings as though they were mules. That people would find a society based on forced labor "charming" is beyond me.

Scary thought - if the Confederacy had survived, who do you think they would have supprted in WWII? Imagine how different that conflict would have been with the Luftwaffe allowed to park their planes in Virginia.

[trogdor]

6. Mules were treated better than a lot of slaves.

[Rick Myers]

3. THAT flag is one of MY pet peeves!!!

What cracks me up is when these loooooosers have the thing displayed upside-down. The stars point UP, Jethro!!!!

[chimpymustgo]

36. Same. That flag makes my blood pressure go up.

nt

[Superfly]

4. Who cares what kind of flag he's flying

be it a Roman standard, the swastika, the Royal Carthaginian Navy flag, whatever. People do still have the right to make statements in this country.

[Fixated]

9. ...

And I can tell him off for it, too.

[Rick Myers]

12. Actually

It is historical tradition that a DEFEATED battle flag is RETIRED. It could actually (by a real stretch) be considered treason to display that flag. Do so at your own risk.

[Superfly]

14. Yes, and you can also tell him that he has ugly shoes

but, what's that going to accomplish other than making one of you two look the fool?

[Fixated]

18. ....

Look, maybe in your world of butterflies and bunnies hopping around green sparkling meadows, we can all agree to disagree on every single issue. I like the confrontation.

[Superfly]

22. Just be careful

because there are a lot of people out there who like confrontation a lot more than you do, if you know what I mean.

(Not a threat, just an observation. I hate confrontation)

[rabid_nerd]

5. I've been considering getting one of those bumper stickers..

[alaine]

19. It's not just about the civil war/ winning vs. losing...

It's about racist sentiment today, which is why so many white supremacist groups use it. Many of these groups are based in the west/ mid-west. I swear I wish someone could have taken a picture of this man with Coulter's book (if only for the fact that he may be the only private citizen that actually paid for his copy himself) because this is who she appeals to.

David Brock paints her as a racist in "Blinded by the Right", quotes her as saying she left New York to "get away from the Jews". He says this was one of the tamer things he heard her say, I wish he had been more forthcoming.

[liberalhistorian]

28. And remember, she also wrote an essay after

9/11 about anti-Arab racism, called "Why We Hate Them", in which she proceeded to justify any actions against Arab Americans, even those who were born here, saying all kinds of racist, bullshit stuff.

[MissMillie]

21. I want one of those! (n/t)

.

[tedoll78]

8. I love it when../

They say it's heritage, and I ask why not fly all flags of heritage? Spain and France flew their flags over much of the South at various points of its history, and yet those heritage flags are ignored. Very convenient, and it usually shuts-up the hillbillies.

[Brotherjohn]

16. Yes, and just what heritage is it that they're talking about?

History shows that this flag flew over the Confederacy for about two years during the Civil War. Being a southerner myself, I feel that my heritage amounts to a WHOLE lot more than that! The food, the hospitality, the 95 degree 100% humidity days, Mardi Gras, hurricanes, and just a generally laid back approach to life.

Unless they're talking about the "heritage" it has represented since the Civil War. Particularly since the civil rights movement began, when the flag was dredged up as a symbol of a particular "kind" of South. If THAT's the heritage they're talking about (and you know it is, although they won't say it), then they should just stuff that flag up their...

[liberalhistorian]

29. "95-degree 100% humidity days?"

AARRRGGHHH, how can you stand that, lol! That's the main reason I'd never be able to live in the South, it's just too hot. I have enough trouble here in Ohio for the two or three months it gets really miserable in the summer! I guess if you grow up with it, though, you get used to it.

[JHB]

20. If they're serious about heritage...

...they'll fly the flag of their great-great grandpappy's unit, not the general Confed battle flag.

[DarkPhenyx]

10. AARRGH! I HATE Iraqi sympathy.

AARRGH! I HATE Palistinian sympathy.

AARRGH! I HATE Jewish sympathy.

AARRGH! I HATE Afgani sympathy.

AARRGH! I HATE British Colonist sympathy.

[proud patriot]

13. Too bad you didn't have this sticker to show him

fourth on this page
http://www.thebumperbanner.com/regional.php

[Fixated]

15. ...

I used to, actually, but I put it on my locker. My friend had it on his car and had his car keyed after a week or so.

[VermontDem2004]

17. "You Lost, Get Over It"

Somehow I heard that phrase used hundreds of times by the Right Wingers when referring to the 2000 election.

[Captain Absolut]

23. About Confederate Flags

Does this bring hate and anger into your heart. Well, if you are so angry about the Confederate Battle Flag you should be angry about the Stars and Bars. It WAS the flag of the Confederacy for most of the Civil War. It was removed because in the heat of battle it looked to much like Old Glory.

It's also the ignorant ones who call this flag below the Stars and Bars, it's not. But people hate it because it goes hand in hand with the Ku Klux Klan and other white power groups.



The swastika was actually a symbol of peace among the original Aryans in what is now present day Pakistan/Northwestern India. It was also a symbol of peace among the Sioux Indians. I believe it is still used in Buddhist Mandalas...

I guess it takes a few bad incidents to turn something good into something bad...

Oh, and I hate Ann Coulter too :grr:

[Superfly]

24. And the Swastika is still used

in Korea quite a bit.

[Captain Absolut]

27. Bonnie Blue

Ah, the Bonnie Blue...the FIRST flag of the Confederacy. It's the original flag of the "Republic of West Florida" in I believe the early 1820s.

[Yupster]

32. Believe it or not

When I went to school at NMSU back in 1980, the name of their Yearbook was the Swastika. Nice picture on the cover. They said it was a Zuni Indian symbol for something.

It was changed while I was there.

[Logansquare]

37. It is an ancient Zuni Indian symbol

As well as an ancient Greek symbol, etc. Hitler didn't invent it, he just ruined it. In Raton, NM, the former "Swastika" Hotel is still standing. It has the design all over it. I can't remember what they re-named it.

[Skittles]

25. It is sickening, is it not?

I literally feel sick when I see a confederate flag - not a rare sight in Texas.

[leftofthedial]

26. I feel the same way about traitors who fly the US flag

and the Union Jack.

Dont' they know that Franklin and Jefferson and that lot were all seditious traitors?


Aaaaargh!

[cherryperry]

30. So do I!

The confederate flag and the swastika are the 2 symbols that make my blood boil. This b.s. about heritage is just that: b.s. Hate groups use both and they know what they are doing. Congratulations for standing up to this racist scum!

[Yupster]

31. Perhaps some poetry?

By Abram Ryan (Confederate Jewish poet)

The Conquered Banner

Furl that banner, for tis weary;
Round its staff tis drooping dreary;
Furl it, fold it - it is best
For there's not a man to wave it,
And there's not a sword to save it,
and there's not one left to lave it
In the blood which heroes gave it;
And its foes now scorn and brave it;
Furl it, hide it - let it rest!

snip

Furl it! For the hands that grasped it,
And the hearts that fondly clasped it,
Cold and dead are lying low;
And that banner - it is trailing,
While around it sounds the wailing
Of its people in their woe.

snip

Furl that banner, softly, slowly;
Treat it gently - it is holy,
For it droops above the dead;
Touch it not - unfold it never;
Let it droop there, furled forever, -
For its people's hopes are fled.



And to give equal time,


By John Whittier

Barbara Frietchie

snip

Up rose Barbara Fritchie then
bowed by her four score years and ten;

Bravest of all in Fredrick town,
She took up the flag the men hauled down;

In her attic window the staff she set
To show that her heart was loyal yet.

Up the street came the rebel tread,
Stonewall Jackson riding ahead.

Under his slouched hat left and right
he glanced; the old flag met his sight.

"Halt" - the dust brown ranks stood fast.
"Fire!" - out blazed the rifle blast.

It shivered the window, pane and sash;
It rent the banner with seam and gash.

Quick as it fell, from the broken staff
Dame Brabara snatched the silken scarf.

She leaned far out on the window-sill,
And shook it forth with a royal will.

"Shoot if you must this old gray head,
But spare your country's flag," she said.

A shade of sadness, a blush of shame,
Over the face of the leader came;

The nobler nature within him stirred
To life at that women's deed and word;

"Who touches a hair on yon gray head
Dies like a dog! March on!" he said

snip

.

[msmcghee]

34. Any Canadians reading this?

I've always wanted to say this to some of my Canadian friends, especially the ones who seem to enjoy displaying the cute southern US confederate flag decals on their vehicles - perhaps they see it as some kind of an "in thing".

The confedrate flag is not some cute historical memento from the good old days. As you can see from reading this thread it represents a terrible period in our history and is offensive to most Americans (*who are not biggots or racists).

Of course, any Canadians reading this (on DU) are probably sensitive to this issue already. Perhaps you could tell me why so many other Canadians find this flag cute or nostalgic - or whatever.

[Bandit]

35. To a lot of people it means nothing more than being a rebel

All of the hatred and racism is lost on them. They just want to be thought of as "The Fonz" The "Bad Boy on the Block" The Rebel without a cause. I think that is what a good portion of people displaying the flag feel. I'm not defending anyone so lower the flame throwers. I'm just suggesting an alternative to the hatred. However it still is no excuse to display a flag of such disdain here in America.