Are you confident that "most people" includes the ~25% of Southerners who are African-American? Because that seems not to be true for a lot of them. I don't doubt that most modern Southerners who endorse the Confederate Battle Flag do so out of a sense of regional pride instead of racist animosity. But it's not about
their intent; it's about the message that symbol sends to the millions of African-Americans in the Deep South; citizens who are supposed to be equal in dignity under state governments that continue to fly the flag, despite its painful history for them.
I'll re-up
my hypothetical about New York City adopting the Swastika as its municipal flag. Do you think that would be a legitimate decision for the majority of New Yorkers to make (over the objections of a significant minority)? If not, how is that different from the Confederate Battle Flag?
My comments about "most people" were concerning the Bellamy salute and its association with the Nazis. It wasn't specifically about the Confederate flag, but was (in a general sense) about the issue of how two groups using the same or similar colors, symbols, songs, flags, etc. doesn't necessarily mean they see those things in the same way, use them for the same reasons, or hold the same views as the other group.
Native American tribes who used the swastika long before the Nazis aren't anti-Semitic nor trying to insult Jews by continuing to use the symbol just because the Nazis later corrupted it. Jews might find the symbol itself offensive, but I believe most would be able to discern the difference between its usage by the two groups and understand that the Native Americans using it weren't trying to insult them.
As for the Confederate flag itself, most white Southerners never thought of it nor intended it as a symbol of racism or slavery. Undoubtedly, the Dixiecrats adopted it as a symbol of resistance to civil rights in the 60's and various racist groups have adopted it as a symbol of racist beliefs, but that doesn't mean that those who fly it as a symbol of their history, culture and regional pride should be vilified as holding the same views or beliefs that the racist groups hold just because they've corrupted its use.
To be completely honest, I don't really care one way or the other about the Confederate flag. I don't own one, I'm not a member of any racist group nor do I agree with those groups' views, I was never a typical Southerner nor a "proud son of Dixie" when I lived there, and I haven't lived in the South for several years. I really couldn't care less if SC flies the flag over their state buildings or if Joe down the street has one on his porch.
My issues with this are three-fold. First, the rather hypocritical hand-wringing over a flag from one region and crying about how horrible and hateful it is while turning a blind eye to the fact that state flags from the North and the US flag of the 1700's and early 1800's were flying over areas that were just as deep into slavery. Second, it's a witchhunt to smear innocent people as racist just because they cherish a symbol that was later corrupted and misused by racist groups whose views they never held or agreed with.
Last, but not least, my third issue is that it's PC bullshit run amok. Today it's the Confederate flag. Tomorrow it's shutting down a business because 60 years ago they sold a product whose name later became slang for some racist insult and is now deemed offensive by
today's PC standards. Next year it's taking Mark Twain out of every school and library, condemning Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse as racist or offensive to rodents, and banning the showing of Bugs Bunny because during WWII it featured a less than flattering Japanese character.
Not long after that, CBS or NBC will get attacked and vilified because 50 or 60 years ago they portrayed women as only capable of being housewives and moms, thus proving they're horrible misogynists, and people will be wringing their hands crying over how watching Barbara Billingsley bake cookies for Beaver has destroyed their self-esteem and reruns of all such shows should be pulled from the air and the graves of their producers and actors should be desecrated. After that, don't be shocked when people of Greek ancestry claim USC's use of the nickname Trojans is offensive to their people and that any business using red & yellow in their logo is obviously anti-Greek. Wendy's stock will plummet and the business will be lucky to survive the protests and the cost of replacing all their signs.
Silly? Ridiculous? Can't ever happen? Twain's already being pulled from schools. GWTW is being attacked and there are those from major media outlets calling for it to be removed from all outlets. Football teams who adopted Native Americans as mascots out of admiration for their bravery are being castigated as racist now. The Three Stooges and Tom & Jerry are condemned (and scenes cut out) because they "promote violence" (as if even a two-year-old can't tell the difference between slapstick and real violence). Some of the most popular and beloved old movies and TV shows that we all loved and were thought of as nothing but wholesome and good are now being burned on the altar of PC worship because they "promoted stereotypes" or didn't have enough diversity in the cast. When they come for your symbol, church, TV show, favorite author, or whatever else, don't be surprised. Enough of this ridiculous hand-wringing, "I'm offended by your inadvertent microaggression," applying todays values to systems and people from long ago, "I'm a victim and offended by everything" PC bullshit.
