Jaki Jean on That Flag

In the aftermath of Charleston, when I began thinking about how I feel about a state choosing to fly the Confederate flag, I read a post on Facebook by my friend Rachel Halperin Plotkin.  About that flag. Then I entered into a discussion initiated by Cate Poe about what to call the Charleston massacre.  And another discussion initiated by David C. Unger.   About that flag.

But it was Rachel’s post about that flag that first sent me to the keyboard.

To echo the sentiment of millions of sane moral people across this country - and the planet- the notion that the Confederate Flag is a symbol of a "heritage" to be honored and remembered couldn't be a more disingenuous claim - and let's all together, however many times it takes , call bullshit on it.

Speaking as someone who indeed comes from a line of Confederates And yes - slave owners - I can personally attest to the fact that there is absolutely nothing about the conduct and bigotry of this line of my ancestors that I am "proud "of or want to honor . Quite the contrary - I feel shame for it.

Since when does family or cultural pride 

root in the heinous conduct and beliefs of living relatives or ancestors long buried?

Do you imagine that these same Confederate flag waivers would respect a German person flying a Nazi flag based on pride in their "cultural heritage "??

Or buy the claim of the grandchildren or great-grandchildren of Nazi soldiers and party members that to fly a swastika on their car or over a government building was based on the idea that their great grandfathers were "proud and brave members of a noble army fighting to protect their family and their homeland" ???

I don't think so.

Did the Confederate South slaughter millions of people based on their religion and put them on trains like cattle to their death at a concentration camp? No.

They kidnapped ,bought and sold millions of human beings as animals - packed them into transatlantic ships - then sold them on an auction block -separated families -children from their mothers - and then sent them to slave camp plantations - where they were tortured and exploited and inflicted unspeakable ,suffering degradation and death . These were Evils perpetrated on GENERATIONS - millions of human beings based on the color of their skin . Then they Fought a WAR to PROTECT their RIGHT to do so - rather than give it up.

A difference ??

No sane moral person of even the most shallow of consciences would find a distinction.

SHAME on the Americans in this Country who remain committed to the falsehood that flying the Confederate flag is about the "celebration of a proud heritage."

and SHAME SHAME on the Republican Party - their propaganda spewing news outlets and their clown car of candidates who can barely choke out the word racism - much less admit to the evils perpetrated by the Confederacy -and adding insult to injury who actually claim to take pride in it.

SHAME.

So this is my response to Rachel’s post . . .

Rach, while I have no doubt that the soldiers who fought on the side of the Confederacy (including some of my ancestors) believed they were involved in a noble cause to preserve a way of life & assert states’ rights, the fact is that they were defending a way of life that involved slaves.  Slaves as the producers of the wealth their owners enjoyed.  Slaves who reaped none of the benefits of their labor.  Who did not choose their own spouses.  Who could not protect their women or their children or their honor.  Who were bought & sold & traded as if they were a commodity.

Wait, slaves – human beings – were a commodity in the Confederate South.

I do believe that in the minds of many in the states that seceded from the Union, they were protecting states’ rights.  That may be a myth – perhaps it was to protect their right to own slaves.  Human beings imported against their will & sold like cattle for breeding.

Only cattle were probably treated with more humanity & compassion.

Whatever the individual or collective motivations of the minds in those Confederate states, one fact remains.

The flag of the Confederacy represents a rebellion against the Union.  It threatened to dissolve the very thing that has held this country together.  A balance of powers in three branches, the intricate weaving & reweaving of states’ rights vs. Federal rights.  A shared loyalty to these United States of America.

A continuous coming together against a threat to those United States.

For over two hundred years, control of this country & for so long, control of the free world, has passed every four to eight years without internal violence or rebellion.  This is an amazing record.  One we need to preserve & continue for the benefit of all our citizens.

And, perhaps, the world.

So, for me, the Confederate flag represents a time in our nation’s history when people chose to protect an economic model of prosperity based on slave labor & threatened the dissolution of what has become one of the world’s oldest democracies.

Is our democracy perfect or always fair or always wise?  Of course not.  It is run by human beings who are, by our nature, flawed. 

So, our democracy is flawed & unfair at times.  It is up to its citizens to lesson those flaws & that unfairness.

Rach, we both know people who are working to repair flaws, who fight against injustice & the lack of fair treatment.  We both know people who are the true patriots of this Democracy.  Who, each in their own way, are making our neighborhoods, our states, our country, our world a finer & fairer place for all. 

The battle flag of the Confederacy belongs in a museum.  It needs to be reclaimed from white supremacists as the historical artifact it is.  It needs to become a symbol of an internal war based on an outdated & inhumane economic model & a system that refused to modernize, industrialize & free its workers from slave labor.  It needs to become an artifact that symbolizes the reality:  A house divided cannot stand.