TruthSpeakers,
As you know, I do social work in the state of Arkansas. I currently work in a rural area by the name of Van Buren ( Crawford County). One day I was out making home visits and I came across a client with a huge confederate flag on his front porch. My first thoughts were to keep driving because I didn't know what to expect with this family. Let's face it. We still live in racist times. I wasn't trying to get spit on, lynched, or someone sicking their dog on me. I go back to my office and I ask my Caucasian co-worker and my Mexican co-worker what are their views on the confederate flag. My Mexican co-worker doesn't feel the flag is a racist symbol. My Caucasian coworker went into a whole history lesson about the Civil war. He felt neutral on the topic. I feel the flag is a symbol of hatred. It is a plot to secretly say let's bring back slavery and it is also associated with the KKK. Some of my co-workers on the other hand, feel it is a symbol of southern pride. ...... As the only black worker in my Department, I feel people think I overreact when things like this arise. But if they could walk a mile in my shoes, I can't help but wonder would their views change. As a young black woman in a society proudly waving the flag that caused so many deaths in America and promoting the enslavement of African Americans, am I really over reacting???
As a TruthSpeaker in search of the truth, I would like your help in unmasking the controversy of the Confederate flag.
TruthSpeaker,
Thank for your your letter, it greatly assists us in our effort to identify issues that over time have become ignored in our society.
Your co-worker is correct in referring to the Civil Way as the source of the Confederate Flag. It was one of the official flags flown by the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War, where over 1,000,000 Americans were killed. The fact that it was used by an enemy of the United States of America, in a conflict that erupted primarily over the states' rights to own slaves, is a reason why the Confederate Flag should be disrespectful to all Americans and why its manufacture be made illegal.
The Confederate Flag is easily the most recognizable flag in the U.S. behind the American Flag. Knowledgeable Americans know the history of the flag and the current uses and implications of its symbolism. A symbol of resistance to Lincoln's America, a rallying point in the fight against the desegregation of the Civil Rights era, and now a tool to incite fear, used for the Ku Klux Klan, Neo-Nazis, Aryans, and other white-supremacy groups.
I recommend the manufacture of the Confederate Flag, opposed to the total abolition of the flag because it may still hold meaning in the minds of some Americans. Some states still fly the Flag, Mississippi has even adopted its likeness into its own flag. Breaking with an idea that many view so strongly will have to take time. That's why the illegalisation of the manufacture is a preferred method. It gives those who want the flag a chance to keep their flag, honor it, memoralize it however they see fit, as long as they don't infringe upon the Constitutional Rights of other Americans.
So no, I do not believe you are overreacting to the use of the Confederate Flag.
AKR
As you know, I do social work in the state of Arkansas. I currently work in a rural area by the name of Van Buren ( Crawford County). One day I was out making home visits and I came across a client with a huge confederate flag on his front porch. My first thoughts were to keep driving because I didn't know what to expect with this family. Let's face it. We still live in racist times. I wasn't trying to get spit on, lynched, or someone sicking their dog on me. I go back to my office and I ask my Caucasian co-worker and my Mexican co-worker what are their views on the confederate flag. My Mexican co-worker doesn't feel the flag is a racist symbol. My Caucasian coworker went into a whole history lesson about the Civil war. He felt neutral on the topic. I feel the flag is a symbol of hatred. It is a plot to secretly say let's bring back slavery and it is also associated with the KKK. Some of my co-workers on the other hand, feel it is a symbol of southern pride. ...... As the only black worker in my Department, I feel people think I overreact when things like this arise. But if they could walk a mile in my shoes, I can't help but wonder would their views change. As a young black woman in a society proudly waving the flag that caused so many deaths in America and promoting the enslavement of African Americans, am I really over reacting???
As a TruthSpeaker in search of the truth, I would like your help in unmasking the controversy of the Confederate flag.
TruthSpeaker,
Thank for your your letter, it greatly assists us in our effort to identify issues that over time have become ignored in our society.
Your co-worker is correct in referring to the Civil Way as the source of the Confederate Flag. It was one of the official flags flown by the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War, where over 1,000,000 Americans were killed. The fact that it was used by an enemy of the United States of America, in a conflict that erupted primarily over the states' rights to own slaves, is a reason why the Confederate Flag should be disrespectful to all Americans and why its manufacture be made illegal.
The Confederate Flag is easily the most recognizable flag in the U.S. behind the American Flag. Knowledgeable Americans know the history of the flag and the current uses and implications of its symbolism. A symbol of resistance to Lincoln's America, a rallying point in the fight against the desegregation of the Civil Rights era, and now a tool to incite fear, used for the Ku Klux Klan, Neo-Nazis, Aryans, and other white-supremacy groups.
I recommend the manufacture of the Confederate Flag, opposed to the total abolition of the flag because it may still hold meaning in the minds of some Americans. Some states still fly the Flag, Mississippi has even adopted its likeness into its own flag. Breaking with an idea that many view so strongly will have to take time. That's why the illegalisation of the manufacture is a preferred method. It gives those who want the flag a chance to keep their flag, honor it, memoralize it however they see fit, as long as they don't infringe upon the Constitutional Rights of other Americans.
So no, I do not believe you are overreacting to the use of the Confederate Flag.
AKR
