The Confederate Flag
Today I was supposed to post part 2 of Bold Prayers, but I got side tracked by the controversy surrounding this stupid confederate flag; it’s so absurd. So today, among the million other blog posts about this flag; I am going to voice my opinion.
To be perfectly honest I have never been a fan of this flag. I was born & raised in the Northeast part of the country so any exposure I had to this flag was minimal. However, since I now live in the south I see this flag boldly represented by many (mostly white) Americans everyday.
If someone asked me what I thought the symbolism behind the confederate flag was I would respond with racism. I believe that flag represents a time when the south was benefiting from the enslavement (and maltreatment) of Africans. Anyone who bared that flag is using it as a representation of their views or their beliefs and I would probably say they were racist.
But I think it’s more to it then that. Some (not all) Americans do feel like the confederacy is a part of their history. Their ancestors probably fought in the war and they are proud of that.
As happy as I would be if that flag was pulled from the state capital of Columbia, South Carolina. I can’t blame the flag for what Dylann Roof did in that church. Hate is a learned behavior.
With that being said, I don’t think removing that flag can make as much of a difference in the #blacklivesmatter movement as black people coming together to protest the black on black crime that runs rampant through our urban neighborhoods.
We kill one another. There are way too many mother’s burying their sons and daughters. My cousin was murdered by the hands of someone she knew. He tried to rob her. There was nothing in her purse – another sense less crime.
I want that confederate flag destroyed but can we at least take a look at our own communities and stop the shootings that happen in our neighborhoods every single day.
To be perfectly honest I have never been a fan of this flag. I was born & raised in the Northeast part of the country so any exposure I had to this flag was minimal. However, since I now live in the south I see this flag boldly represented by many (mostly white) Americans everyday.
If someone asked me what I thought the symbolism behind the confederate flag was I would respond with racism. I believe that flag represents a time when the south was benefiting from the enslavement (and maltreatment) of Africans. Anyone who bared that flag is using it as a representation of their views or their beliefs and I would probably say they were racist.
But I think it’s more to it then that. Some (not all) Americans do feel like the confederacy is a part of their history. Their ancestors probably fought in the war and they are proud of that.
As happy as I would be if that flag was pulled from the state capital of Columbia, South Carolina. I can’t blame the flag for what Dylann Roof did in that church. Hate is a learned behavior.
With that being said, I don’t think removing that flag can make as much of a difference in the #blacklivesmatter movement as black people coming together to protest the black on black crime that runs rampant through our urban neighborhoods.
We kill one another. There are way too many mother’s burying their sons and daughters. My cousin was murdered by the hands of someone she knew. He tried to rob her. There was nothing in her purse – another sense less crime.
I want that confederate flag destroyed but can we at least take a look at our own communities and stop the shootings that happen in our neighborhoods every single day.
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