This is about The Confederate Battle Flag; and a thought precipitated
by a discussion with a friend.
So now,
it appears, The Confederate Battle Flag is directly, indirectly, or
incidentally associated with / responsible for the mass murder at the Mother of
Emanuel Church in Charleston, SC, on 6-17-15, by Dylann Storm Roof.
I probably don’t have ‘standing’ to have an opinion on this
subject. I’m not a Southerner, or Black
and never had any ancestors – as far as I know – who fought in the Civil War. I guess my main thought is how easily public
opinion is manipulated; and how deceptively politicians pervert and use to their
advantage almost any tragedy. It really
is unconscionable.
That aside, I’ve heard this refrain numerous times recently about
how symbols influence. Yes, that might
be true. On the other hand, how can we hope
to predict what type of symbol influences a psychopath? I’ve known psychopaths to be influenced to
commit murder by the appearance of a woman’s bare feet, or by a woman’s
straight brown hair (some of Ted Bundy’s favorites). But I digress…
Personally, I don’t really care if they stop selling or
displaying the Confederate Flag. I don’t
have one and never even considered owning one.
I live in the West. I suppose it’s
a mute-point in this venue. But, you
know, somehow the banning of innocuous items or pieces of material seems
somewhat un-American – not to mention that such an activity is always, and I
mean always, indiscriminately applied.
Nonetheless, many would say, ‘What the heck - get rid of the damned
thing - who really cares anyway?’ OK. I hear you.
But…
Now, some doofus politician, Mayor Mitch Landrieu, wants to
tear down the statue of Robert E. Lee in Lee Circle in New Orleans. “Symbols really do matter”, he so eloquently,
if not originally, opined. Alright, citizens
of New Orleans go ahead and tear it down.
This Oregonian couldn’t care less.
But, I do think you’re getting your patties in a bunch about pretty much
nothing.
For those who are familiar with the basic facts of the Civil
War, the South was not just defeated, it was destroyed. If a Southern Civil War hero is revered by
the South, so what? If a small token, a
flag, is a form of solace, I say what can it hurt? General Grant, the Union victor, treated
Robert E. Lee with respect and honor during the surrender at Appomattox in 1865, even
though he could have had Lee hanged – which is what Lee actually expected would
happen.
Where are we going with this process anyway? Should the statues of Jefferson and
Washington be torn down? As most of us
know, they owned slaves. Whereas, the
vast majority of the Southern soldiers who were killed or maimed during the
Civil War never owned a slave. If some
flag (and it is an American flag after all) gives some people a bit of
sentimental remembrance and respect for those soldiers who died when duty
called. Well, as far as I’m concerned,
let it be.
True Nelson
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