Charleston and the Confederate Flag Controversy

On Wednesday, June 17, 2015, there was a Bible Study at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. A typical Wednesday activity. A young white man walks in. The attendees welcomed this man with open arms and open hearts, in the true spirit of Christianity. He sat next to Rev. Pickeny, listening for almost an hour before he started to shoot. He almost decided not to do it, these people were so nice. Open, caring, full of love. But his racist hatred took over and he shot and killed nine people.

Dylann Roof shot and killed Cynthia Hurd, Susie Jackson, Ethel Lance, Rev. DePayne Middleton-Doctor, Hon. Rev. Clementa Pickney, Tywanza Sanders, Rev. Daniel Simmons Sr., Rev. Sharonda Singleton, and Myra Thompson. There were three survivors, one a child, who will have the sounds, smells, and vision of that day permanently seared onto their brains. Their last act in this world was to welcome, with open arms and open hearts, Dylann Roof.

This story is tragic. I'm sure most of us watched the TV coverage with our heavy hearts and tears in our eyes. That the relatives of the victims so graciously forgave Dylann Roof for what he did is inspiring. I don't know if I could do it.

What happened was bad enough without the ensuing controversy over the "Confederate Flag" that they refused to lower to half mast with all the other flags. As usual, we have blown everything way out of proportion. 

I put "Confederate Flag" in quotations because it wasn't the actual Confederate Flag. It was the Battle Flag of the Northern Virginia Army, who fought under General Robert E. Lee (and in my opinion, should be returned to Virginia for historical purposes). Regardless, that battle flag has been at the center of controversy for years. Most people probably don't even know what the real Flag of the Confederacy looks like. For your information, it looks like this: 

South Carolina raised that battle flag of Northern Virgina on top of their Capitol Building in 1961, officially in honor of the century mark of the Civil War. For nearly 40 years, it flew there until it was taken down and was flown on a Confederate war memorial. However, it was still on State Grounds. (By the way, I would like to thank my friend Buzz for the history of the SC flag, and what the real Confederate Flag looked like.) Trouble started when the flag wasn't lowered to half mast after the tragedy at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church.

Now we go from history to my personal opinion (bet you were waiting for a long time for that to happen). I was born in the Chicago area, in the great Land of Lincoln. From what I understand, I have an ancestor that was with Sherman on his march through Georgia. I am as Yankee as I can be.

To me, the flag is more than than a symbol for the Civil War. I equate as a symbol for the Civil Rights movement 50 years ago (Coincidentally, in the same era that SC put up the flag for the 100 year anniversary of the Civil War). I look at the battle flag used (since that is the flag that is used), and I see a symbol of oppression, violence, the KKK, murder, and inequality, segregation, and the fight to be seen as equals. I see it awash in blood. I don't understand the "Southern Heritage" part of it, because now that I live in Florida, I have found that southern people are open, gracious, and generous, and always ready to lend a hand. I love living down here in the south.

To others? It means Southern Heritage. Again, I don't know what that means. The only thing I can think of is it is a monument for the thousands of men that were killed in the Civil War. They were fighting for the Confederacy, and their death should be honored for what they died for.

I don't have a real problem with people who have the Confederate flag, or believe in its symbolity. In case you haven't noticed from my other blogs, I'm very big on Constitutional rights and this includes people who want to fly the Confederate Flag. I just don't believe it should be flown at State Government Lands (not including Civil War battle sites). The United States won the Civil War, and that should be the flag unfurled, with, of course, the state flag. I don't even care if that state flag has some sort of Confederate theme to it.

SO...to all those people that are no longer selling Confederate memorabilia, you're wrong. To those of you who think the General E Lee in "Dukes of Hazard" should have its flag on its roof removed, or stop selling "Gone With The Wind...you are just plain RIDICULOUS! Why don't we take everything that pretains to the Civil War or to Civil Rights and get rid of it. Let's take a huge chunk of our history and get rid of it. Please, grow a brain! To the Civil War battlefield parks and other historic sites, you are wrong (you are also like a museum of the Civil War, and you can't ignore the Confederates!) The Confederates have every right to be honored where their blood was spilled. To those defacing Confederate Statues, you are wrong! The Civil War is a part of American History. We are right to honor those fallen, whether they were Union soldiers or Confederate soldiers.

Over 600,000 men were killed in the Civil War. Whether they were Yankees or Rebels, they were still Americans. It was a war where literally, brother was against brother, and men saw relatives behind the lines that they had to shoot in. We lost more men in the Civil War than we have in any other war our country has fought in...ALL the wars.

For the Confederacy, over 95,120 men were killed in combat. Deaths caused by other means (disease, accidents, drowning, heat stroke, suicide, murder, executions, etc.) were over 165,000. That is over 260,120 deaths for a cause they believed in. The Union lost over 110,000 soldiers in combat, and 250,000 men for other reasons. That is over 360,000 deaths. Add that up, and you have over 620,120 deaths. The scary thing is that these are estimates and most think that they are relatively low numbers.

Every single person that died in that war should be honored for what they died for. For over 260,120 men, that would be for for the Confederacy. And lets not forget the wounded and the survivors who had to pick everything up in a decimated land.

And finally, let me mention that objects that we regard as symbols have a fluid symbolity. What it meant in 1861 has changed to what it meant in 1961, to what it means in 2015. Think about it. Do symbols we had looked up to in our youth have the same meaning as they do now. I bet you anything they don't.

So, in summary, keep any flag pertaining to the Confederacy off of State Capitols and Legislative buildings. Otherwise, people have a First Amendment Right to do what they want with it. Finally, please, PLEASE don't take them down from Civil War historic sites. It is just as important there to have the Confederate Battle Flag/Flag of the Confederacy flown as it is our American Flag.