I'm glad you have continued this of all people.
1. It is possible that one could be misinformed about the rebel flag, and not be a racist hillbilly.
I obviously mispoke. It was a dumb statement and I was wrong to have said it in such a way. But I was looking for attention and a reply, or maybe I'm just an a-hole, that's possible too, anyway,
2. To make it clear, it is impossible for one not to both understand what the general meaning of a rebel flag is, and at the same time, be OK with flying it. Unless they really are "racist hillbillies."
This isn't fair either though, as there are unfortunately people who know racism is wrong and dumb and bad for humanity in general, yet use it (and dumb people) to aquire power for themselves - and at the same time encourage it. Actually if anything "racist hillbilly" is assuming one is dumb instead of evil. I for one think dumb is better than evil, but that is debatable.
So, basically I would submit as a hypothesis, that one who waives a rebel flag is either racist at heart, or they do not understand the meaning of a rebel flag.
I'm not discounting that you, pyg, or myself are not racist at heart, as it has been imbred in the American experience for generations now. Maybe pyg is for having a confedarate flag t-shirt, maybe I am on some level. In fact if pressed and tested, I probably on some level have been indoctrinated with racism. I am of a race, born before around 1990, and live in the US, so in spite of my best efforts, I am probably racist.
(For the record, I'm not backtracking or trying to be friendly here, just telling the truth. I really think some of pyg's opinions are dumb. However, he in general, I find acceptionally bright, which is why I did hesitate and wait for a reply instead of just coming out and saying "yes" to the question at hand. Same aplies to you Jake, for the most part. Fact is, we're all infected with racism on some level, it's like a cancer and started spreading generations ago, and is just now in this country being reigned in.)
But specifically about this, it's really simple in spite of the long build-up.
3. Which is the defining characteristic of a symbol? What the majority feels the symbol represents, or what a few feel the symbol represents?
Unlike a typical noun, a symbol does not have an inherent meaning. ex: a tree is a tree, and it makes no difference what you and I may or may not think of a tree.
I would argue, vehemently, that anything created by man to mean something, then means what most people feel it is meant to mean.
a further example. Long before there was any such thing as a nazi (no I'm not sinking so low as to compare anything here to nazis, just talking about a symbol) there is some branch of budhism which had used something very similar to a swaztica to mean peace and love. It was a swaztica, but with the points facing the other way.
Would you be comfortable driving around Israel with this symbol? You shouldn't be, because it is easily mistaken for somehting that symbolizes millions of Jews being killed for 0 reason.
Well guess what a confederate flag symbolizes to millions of black Americans?
Yet it's OK because it's about heritage?
No.
Regardless of the intent of one displaying the rebel flag, the fact remains,
we americans, who often vainly and occassionally successfully aspire (as any nation should) to be a becon to the world, have a dark, dark past of enslaving a people based strictly on outward appearance.
We also have a past of simply killing off those who were here first.
The rebel flag attempts to ignore a dark past, and in many cases, ignore the lessons that are still to this day being learned from it.
Today still, one race, only one, not hispanic, not asian, not the few natives we left, are more than 9 times as likely to be imprisnoned, more than 2 times as likely to commit a crime, more than 10 times as likely to be born into poverty.
Life, Liberty, and Happiness for all?
We thus far, in spite of a president of mixed race, have still fallen woefully short.
This has nothing to do with, (we know through science, genetics, social experiments, real life examples,) any one or other race's inherent abilities.
Yet these differences remain.
This is a social problem. It is the way one group is treated compared to another, it is the way one group is raised compared to another. Both societies' fault, and yes very much so as our President stated in his NAACP speach, the fault of individuals who have not raised their children right.
The rebel flag is a social symbol. Nothing else. symbols mean nothing but that meaning we give it.
And this specific symbol, fair or not, means support for a continuation of the practices of a dark past, one we must remember yes, but one we must move away from with all expediency.
So yes.
The rebel flag is racist, and it is dumb, and Pyg should get rid of that shirt.
Thanks if you read the whole thing.
