Rebel Flag

I was flipping channels Saturday morning when I landed on VH1 where they were talking about the Dukes of Hazzard movie with Jessica Simpson. She may not appear to be very bright, but she's very nice to the eyes.

Anyways, one guy was talking about how the "Christians" were complaining about how lewd her dancing was. Maybe I just hang out with different Christians because of all the ones that I personally know, they don't seem to really care at all. Anyways, he also mentioned how the same "Christians" didn't say anything about the "racist flag."

Growing up in the South, I can say that most Southerners that I know don't believe that the Rebel flag means the same thing today as it did in the past. I've spoken to several people and although they know that the rebel flag symbolized slavery in the past, they feel that today, it's more of a symbol of southern pride. One person also said that it represents States' rights.

I started to realize that you can't assume people's motives for carrying or displaying certain symbols. To automatically assume that anyone who carries a rebel flag is racist is to judge that person before you even know what it is they really believe. Don't believe me? What if I were to say that I know someone who wears the swastika. What do you automatically think of this person? Nazi? What if I told you that it was used by many cultures to represent good things. It wasn't until the Nazi's took it for their own that it developed the reputation it does today. That person that I know wears it because to him, it's a Buddhist symbol.

So, I'm curious to know what the statistics are. Where are you from and what do you think of when you see the Confederate flag?