<p>The main cause for the civil war was the issue of States’ rights vs. federal government expanse, of which slavery was a major argument (by the confederacy). The issue of States’ rights vs. federal government expanse continues to be the main player in partisan politics, except the issues today revolve around health care, taxes etc.
Point being, The confederate flag doesn’t stand for racism as much as it stands for states’ rights, and limiting the federal government’s power, a value woven into southern culture/lifestyle (which is why the deep south tends to be very conservative).
Racism exists, from the deep south, to Ivy league gymnasiums (where jeremy lin was subject to epithets and slurs); It’s not just a southern thing. IMO, the students were protesting the election results while demonstrating freedom of speech, and unfortunately used phrases which were extremely insulting; phrases which are commonplace in pop culture, music etc. that the younger generation doesn’t quite understand the significance of those words.
I don’t believe the protesting students were “racist” per se; I believe they did choose an unfortunate way to express themselves however.</p>
<p>“The confederate flag is un-American. They claim they are Americans but fly a flag of another nation? Wow!”</p>
<p>Hey, we have a huge statue of a traitor who violated his own military oath in waging war on the United States standing in the Capitol Rotunda.</p>
<p>People who AREN’T racist don’t throw around racial slurs and violent language about another race, even when they’re very angry.<br>
Sheesh.</p>
<p>Secession and taking up arms against the Union (as someone mentioned above, the UNITED States of America that so many bigots claim to love) was treasonous (“states rights” claims and all that b.s. aside), and as such should not be celebrated by waving the Confederate flag around, or in any other way for that matter. </p>
<p>This thread was started not to discuss the Civil War, but current day racism as it manifested itself the other night on a college campus.
So let’s move on from the Civil War discussion.</p>
<p>Have you heard a single hip-hop/Rap song? Racial slurs are used in basically every line/verse. I’m not saying its a good thing, because it definitely isnt, but when you hear certain words thrown around almost casually, people forget how offensive those words can be and start throwing them around the same way(Don’t get me wrong, it was an EXTREME lack of judgement on the students’ part). </p>
<p>*I’m NOT condoning epithets or slurs against anyone, I’m rationalizing why it can’t be automatically assumed that the students were racist; Dumb, yes.</p>
<p>Protesting the re-election of a black president by shouting racial slurs and epithets certainly seems like racism to me.</p>
<p>“I do equate the confederate flag with racism”</p>
<p>My post was regarding comments like this. The confederate flag does NOT automatically imply racism. Like any other object, its meaning depends on its context.</p>
<p>I seriously, seriously doubt that any of those students hurling racial epithets forgot “how offensive those words can be”.</p>
<p>C’mon. REALLY??? (cue Seth Meyers & Amy Poehler)</p>
<p>You underestimate the stupidity of (some) college kids.
Dumbness =/= racism</p>
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<p>No one has ever said that racism doesn’t exist everywhere, but come ON now. 50 years ago, it wasn’t the north who had segregated lunch counters and public washrooms and back-of-the-bus and things of that nature. The world described in “The Help” didn’t exist in the north to the extent it did in the south. I think it comes across as silly to pretend that there wasn’t a special kind of dehumanization in the south that didn’t exist in the north. Northern whites may not have wanted blacks moving next door or marrying their daughters, but they didn’t think that blacks didn’t have the right to sit wherever the heck they wanted on public transportation or at lunch counters or use the same restrooms.</p>
<p>^I agree
But I wasn’t comparing Pre-civil war/Pre integration North and South. I’m comparing current day north vs. south, and though I do concede that it is likely that more racism goes on in the south, the difference between both areas is nowhere near what it was Pre integration/CW.</p>
<p>The idea that southerners wave their Confederate flags to annoy northerners is pretty silly considering that the majority of these people don’t live in places northerners are ever likely to visit.</p>
<p>I would not be surprised if we see more “symbols” like the rebel flag in the months and years to come. The reelection of our black (actually, biracial) president is irrefutable proof to some that the days of white supremacy–not necessarily White Supremacy–are over. I expect lots of kicking and screaming as the reality sets in.</p>
<p>Similar outbursts at another school:
[Hampden-Sydney</a> College Responds To Obama Reelection With Racial Unrest](<a href=“HuffPost - Breaking News, U.S. and World News | HuffPost”>HuffPost - Breaking News, U.S. and World News | HuffPost)</p>
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<p>So is claiming that supporting somebody other than Obama is being racist. Apparently it’s racist to vote against a black candidate if you end up voting for a white candidate regardless of the reason you did so… They should have figured that out a long time ago! 
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<p>Come on, hops_scout, no one even remotely suggested such a thing. You’re REEEEEEEEAAAAALLLLLYYYY stretching it here.</p>
<p>MomCat2, I was told that the other night on Facebook.</p>
<p>“Similar outbursts at another school:
Hampden-Sydney College Responds To Obama Reelection With Racial Unrest”</p>
<p>My postings were simply to disprove the notion that the south is one big racist H***hole. It’s not that much more racist than the north nowadays, and The only reason the Ole Miss protest was on the front page of the news, as opposed to Hampton-Sydney or any other university(and I’m sure something similar happened at a decent amount of universities), was because it follows social stereotypes which grab audiences, and provide good reader fodder.</p>
<p>The Nazi flag is just a flag too. Does context matter?</p>
<p>^Actually, context does matter, considering that it is also a symbol in Hinduism if I recall correctly. </p>
<p>Maybe that was the point you were trying to make.</p>