The battle flag was explicitly placed on the SC capitol building in 1960 to promote racism and segregation.  It [i]should [/i]come down, because that is exactly what it stood for.

And it did, in 2000.

Now it flies over a Confederate memorial to commemorate those fallen soldiers.  I don't think anything is wrong with that, personally.  A lot of people in the south feel a certain type of respect for those soldiers.  No, not because they fought for slavery (which I know, some if not most did), but because they fought for the south.  People seem to be proud they had ancestors who fought for the south.  I feel for them, I really do, and I agree with the commemorations they want to give.

KKK coming to Columbia, Black Panthers in Charleston, black churches being burnt down, black teens rampaging through Macon, Georgia Walmart, bunch of rednecks riding in convoys with rebel flags in tow, desecration of Confederate monuments, etc is not welcomed at all and will just serve to promote more racism and further divide the line between the two racial groups.

The flag is used for a number of purposes though:
1.  Promote racism, hate, and segregation.
2.  Represent the rural south.
3.  Commemorate fallen soldiers.
4.  Symbolize an act of defiance.

All of those are valid, reasonable purposes, and I don't disagree with any of them.  I say make a vote.  If everyone agrees to fly the flag to commemorate the fallen soldiers, then let if fly.  My ancestors were a bunch of Irish immigrants who settled in Georgia during that Irish famine.

The flag will come down July 6th last I read.  Que a bunch of anti-black sentiment coming from SC.

I don't know the exact history of its design, other than Confederate generals needed a battle flag that was different from the Union flag, but some tell me it was based off of the Scottish flag's saltire, which defined defiance for them back in the day.

But I'll tell you this much.  From here on out, that flag's going to represent a bunch of white dudes who simply "don't give a fuck".  It seems the defiance of the Confederacy will never die out.  I ain't part of that group.  I'm a history buff, and I don't see anything wrong with flying the battle flag over those soldiers' graves.

My Confederate battle flag is folded up in my drawer.  Used to have it hanging up over my TV, but took it down when I rearranged my room.

Something interesting:  I think Christopher Lee (Sauruman and Count Dooku) is a direct descendant of Robert E Lee, Confederate general.