RELAX, IT IS JUST A
FLAG
A cranky opinion for
CRANKY OPINION SATURDAY
The following is the opinion of a
cranky old man with little knowledge on the subject opined. Opposing views are welcome, but will be
ignored. As always, please, no name
calling…and that means you, you big stupid head!
In the wake
of several atrocities there is a cry to remove the flag. The flag is offensive, the flag represents
hate, the flag is hurtful.
Relax
people, it is just a flag. Maybe to you
it represents hate; that is your interpretation. To many people it simply represents regional
pride. It represents regional customs
and good old boy fun.
I get it; if
I wear a hat with an interlocking NY to Fenway Park after Bucky Dent whacks a
cheap home run to win the division, some people in Beantown might get
upset. Should the NY hat be illegal in
Boston? It offends lots of people. NO! We
have freedom of speech in this country and if my symbol upsets you, too
bad. Banning a symbol, stifling freedom
of speech is offensive to me.
The flag is
no different. It represents pride to a
great many people. It represents a
culture, a way of life. It should not be
offensive or hurtful.
If we ban
the flag, what is next? Will Italian
Americans be forced to remove all ties to the land of their ancestors? Can Mexicans wave their cloth on Cinco de
Mayo? Where do we draw the line?
Maybe we
could draw the line at flying the flag above the Stars and Stripes on a state
capitol building…I’ll give you that. Otherwise
it is just a flag. Relax everyone, stop
being so sensitive and letting everything offend you.
It is only a
flag.
 |
| Right? |
The preceding was the opinion of a
cranky old man and not necessarily that of management…Mrs. Cranky.
I do agree, it is just a flag. I've driven by things, not just flags, but other things that might not reflect my opinion and may be derogatory, but I just let it pass. The real problem is not a flag or a piece of cloth, but the condition of someone's heart and the way they think and banning flags or other such things would not necessarily change that.
ReplyDeletebetty
When I visited the States I was impressed by the amount of flying flags I saw. At that time the UK was being criticised for flying OUR flat because of the variation in nationalities. There was talk of banning flags but I notice more are appearing now. Quite right too.
ReplyDeleteIt's a hard one. As a non - American I've always found the Confederate flag thing slightly odd as I've always thought "who'd want to be associated with slavery?!" I get it has lots of meaning beyond that, but that's probably all non-Southerners see.
ReplyDeleteIn general I don't think banning is a good idea and America already has a problem with weird seperatist white supremacy groups so wouldn't this just make them worse?
Then again you get no argument from me that banning Nazi symbolism in Germany was the right action.
It's hard...
I deplore extremism of any kind. And if I saw the confederate flag flying, or a flag sticker, or whatever -- I would grit my teeth. I felt it represented an extremist, racist mindset. I even had an argument with my wife on this subject over dinner last night. Did I mention I am from Texas?
ReplyDeleteYour gentle words here stopped me short. Was I not fueling my own extreme interpretation of what the flag represented? If I needed to be extreme about something, perhaps it should be about freedom of expression.
I think I need to apologize to my wife. Thank you.
I believe the country's majority admit the Civil War was about ending a way of life; i.e., the use of slaves by landowners to generate their living. Using slaves was an unalterable mindset for those who fought to defend it. The Confederate flag was a symbol of a way of life based on the labor of slaves. That's the heritage it continues to represent, currently distilled to the superiority of one class over another. But you know all this--Mr. For the Sake of a Good Argument.
ReplyDeletei have never liked it. do not wish to see it. i hate the tones it conveys. a swashtika is a symbol, too. i'd not like to see it either.
ReplyDeleteYou can remove the flag, but don't remove the history. History is just that and should remain to remind folks of a time long gone.
ReplyDeleteHave a fabulous day. ☺
We can stand up and say, that is part of our history. That doesn't mean we agree with what the people who fought under that flag stood for, simply that it is part of our history.
ReplyDeleteI believe most people who display this flag identify with "The Dukes of Hazard" not the KKK. They are not expressing pride in their skin color, only in their ignorance.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Also, knowing a large number of southerners, most of them see the flag as a cultural thing, and definitely not a racist thing. Northerners just don't comprehend it.
ReplyDeleteI've noticed that the English flag has become something of a fashionable symbol, all over shirts and purses and whatnot. Should we as yanks get offended by people wearing the flag of our former rulers?
And seriously when did everyone get so freaking sensitive, getting butthurt over every tiny little thing JUST RELAX.
...I have a confederate flag wallet and use it just because it pisses people off, because I'm an a-hole like that. Is that horrible of me? Maybe I should get an English flag wallet instead.
The framers did the first amendment first for a reason, for sure.
ReplyDeleteActually this post was intended to be Confederate anti-flag, making the point that though some think it innocent many find it as gut-kicking offensive and clearly as threatening as the ISIS flag at the end of the post. I don't want a total ban, but if you can not mix church and state, then mixing a symbol that many find gut-wrenchingly offensive should not be state recognized.
DeleteOnce again, I need to brush up on my sarcasm as so far everyone reads this as pro-flag
Good thoughts Joe. You make some excellent points in a humorous and subtle way.
ReplyDeleteYou are a voice for sanity.
I sort of figured with your final photo that the post was written with sarcasm. I think without hearing a person's tone of voice, it's not always easily translated on paper.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree with your clarification though I did catch on with the Isis flag. I'm Ok with flying the stars and bars in the front yard, store front, from a pickup truck or wearing it on their back.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree that it should not be on state buildings.
Very clever, Cranky!
ReplyDeleteWell, I can see high school sports mascots dropping one by one. There go the Rebels. The Indians, the Warriors, the Headhunters, the Raiders, the Knights, the Trojans, and the Vikings are next. I suppose the Tigers and Wildcats are okay, but the Cougars need to watch out for those irate older women rampaging against the use of their symbol.
ReplyDeleteYou started a civil discussion of a toxic topic; very creative approach Cranky.
ReplyDeleteYou are right, Cranky...it's only a flag. Like a noose is only a rope.
ReplyDeleteNobody is proposing outlawing the flag, like the Nazi flag is outlawed in Germany. It should be displayed in a museum; after all, it is part of Southern history. But they should have taken that flag off Statehouse grounds many, many years ago. A flag flies over what is governs. There is no Confederacy, so there shouldn't be a confederate flag (though there were a lot of people still fighting the Civil War when we lived in South Carolina - ha!).
It is just a flag, but when something is offensive to a large part of the population, that flag shouldn't be enshrined on state property and supported with taxpayer money. These flags should be restricted to private property and museums.
ReplyDeleteSo many good thoughts here. Being from the South, I don't like the idea of people banning the Confederate flag and it's never symbolized slavery to me... just a southern culture (there was more to the south than slavery). But I can understand why people feel the way they do... and think that possibly the Confederate flag should not be flown over state or federal property... but kept in museums and other areas that are a part of history. I think some people get angry about banning the flag because as awful as slavery was, it seems like we are banning a way of life that wasn't all bad (Southern cooking? Southern dress? Southern drawl?). But people do get offended very easily these days... so I imagine we need to do whatever is necessary to keep the peace.
ReplyDeleteI don't think the flag itself should be banned, but I do have a problem with it being flown on state owned property. While I personally find the flag distasteful, I have no issue with people displaying it at their homes, on their vehicles, etc. It's a free country. However, it's not customary in this country to fly the flags of nations we went to war with on government property.
ReplyDelete