A conversation about the Confederate flag...

[yellowcanine]

108. It doesn't matter. Southern states officially displayed ONE symbol which everyone knew

represented the Confederacy (and later, Jim Crow) and all that went with it. Asking this question is actually a debating tactic by the neo-Confederates and they should not get away with it. This symbol was incorporated into official state flags (Mississippi, 1894) (Georgia 1956) or prominently displayed at state capitol buildings (South Carolina - 1962) (Alabama, 1963). In every case the display of Confederate flags was in conjunction with racial issues - in the case of Mississippi it was part of the Jim Crow "Separate but Equal" doctrine, and in Georgia, South Carolina, and Alabama it was a part of the rallying cry for massive resistance to school desegregation, voting rights, and other civil rights gains by African Americans. And in every case the symbol used was the same - the so called "Confederate Battle Flag," (AKA "Southern Cross," "Cross of St. Andrew&quot the exact same symbol which the "Southern Heritage" crowd uses on license plates, pickup trucks etc. AND the exact same flag used by the KKK and other white supremacists over the years. Make no mistake, it is a racist symbol, particularly for African Americans. You don't see young African Americans running around touting their "Southern Heritage" with the Cross of St. Andrew. http://www.infoplease.com/spot/confederate1.html

We have freedom of speech in this country. If people want to display the Cross of St. Andrew or a swastika they may. But this should not apply to official venues whether paid for with public dollars (state capitol bldg.) or not (vanity official state license plates). And those displaying the Cross of St. Andrew should not be able to get away with "Southern Heritage" explanations. It is the flag of traitors and racists and should be called out as such.