Do Confederate flags belong in military cemeteries?

[struggle4progress]

By Emily Zentner
Cronkite News 12 hrs ago

... “The Confederate flag represents hate and intolerance and is a painful reminder of a terrible time in our history,” Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Phoenix, said in statement on the VA amendment.

“VA cemeteries should be a place where we honor war heroes – not a place where we preserve the symbols of slavery and Jim Crow,” his statement said.

Gallego, who cosponsored the VA amendment that passed the House May 19, also introduced a bill to ban Confederate flags on graves or flagpoles at VA cemeteries. That bill was introduced in July, but has yet to receive a hearing.

But the national executive director of the Sons of Confederate Veterans said “a soldier is a soldier,” and all should be recognized for their sacrifice ...

http://azdailysun.com/news/local/do-confederate-flags-belong-in-military-cemeteries/article_38a0704f-dc3d-5a9b-be19-9be6f930fa7f.html

[Skittles]

1. they don't belong anywhere

except maybe as a relec in a museum

[Aristus]

2. Fuck no. Losers, even dead losers, get to lie under the flag of the people who defeated them.

Too fucking bad, slavery-lovers. You're already dead, but eat shit anyway...

You can probably tell I have strong feelings on this subject.

[Rhiannon12866]

3. No.

[marble falls]

4. No.

[elephant hunter]

5. No!

[malthaussen]

6. I'd say they should be buried under the flag under which they fought...

... what I don't understand is why those who fought against the U.S. should be buried in U.S. military cemeteries. That's where we bury our military folks.

But in a place where soldiers from both sides are buried, then they should rest under the flag they fought for.

-- Mal

[Igel]

7. Because that's what Congress decided.

Moreover, the official narrative was that it was a rebellion, and that ultimately they were still Americans. "The War Between the States" and "Civil War" say as much, just in slightly different ways. If the South never really left the US--that's the claim for those who don't want the Civil War to be blatant imperialism--then the Confederate flag is in a real sense part of US history. Like it or not.

My take on which flag to fly is like yours, but there are entirely Confederate cemeteries. Over those the Confederate flag should fly, but I'd argue that since they're US cemeteries the US flag should fly above the Confederate flag. Now, what flag is allowed to be placed on the individual grave, should a confederate symbol be on the tombstone, etc.? Go with who they fought for.

And, yes, if a Nazi German soldier were interred for whatever reason in a US military cemetery, that's what I'd say, unless the family decided that was a sign of shame in which case they could just use a German flag. Such things are, ultimately, done for the family; the dead know nothing and get no vote. (Many, though, think that such things are done primarily as a political game. Whichever side they're on, they all carry their personal flag, emblazoned with a large L.)

I'd also say the same thing for US soldiers buried in Europe: Have the national flag over top the cemetery as a whole, with the US flag for the fallen US soldiers.

[arely staircase]

9. I wouldn't want a Swastika flag to be allowed but a German flag representing the modern German state

The equivalent for a Civil War veteran from either side would be the current 50 star US flag.

[struggle4progress]

8. As a general rule, confederates aren't buried in US cemeteries

But the civil war burials were sometimes rather chaotic; and there was also the practical problem of POW burials