"It's not like Scotland, who were playing the game of thrones just the same as England. And it wasn't like the American Revolution, where British rule was becoming a detriment to our economy and our ability to manage our own relations with our neighbors. The American Civil War was about the slavery question."
Surely it is still the same game, it is a power game where both sides were vying to keep themselves as entities independent of the others meddling; The south wanted to keep slavery against the wishes of the north, and the north wished to abolish slavery against the wishes of the south. As for the American Revolution, it was still about secession from a larger entity, where said larger entity declared it illegal. Whether it began over slavery, taxes, foreign policy or a disagreement about the colour of the sky doesn't change that it was, fundamentally, a civil war about secession. Further, as the southern economy was built so heavily on slavery, abolition would be a detriment to their economy. While barbaric, I see whether the motivations lie and where they parallel other events.
"And because it is a symbol of white power, I think that it is in bad taste for it to fly over any state capitals. " The flag of the Kingdom of England, the Cross of St George, was first given to the KoE as part of an agreement of passage so they could crusade and kill thousands of people in the name of their god. It has also, along with the flag of the United Kingdom has since become associated with facist groups, the flag of Ireland can be associated with the IRA, the flag of Northern Ireland can be associated with loyalist paramilitaries. The US flag was still associated with racism; Lincoln was an avowed racist. The French flag was first used by murderous revolutionaries who imposed years of terror on the French people. Practically any flag in the world has a negative connotation somewhere, I find it somewhat suspect to ban flags from flying over state owned buildings simply because elements with racist, violent or otherwise controversial/divisive ideologies have adopted them at one point or another. We may well run out of flags.
That said, its still very interesting that the southern states refuse to use the actual flag of the confederacy and instead use this flag. I find it almost amusing that said people can be blind to the history of the flag, perhaps willfully, possibly because if you completely ignore the connotations, it is a rather aesthetically pleasing flag in my opinion, If this is banned, I see the individuals who fly the confederate flag simply using another flag from the confederacy in its place. As a student of history I fear that this could be the start of what has happened to nazi symbols in Germany, where the policies become so harsh that you cant even portray them in period pieces without risking being sent to court. My fears here are sparked by the very draconian policies apple has employed, where they have removed Civil War games from their store for "portraying and glorifying racist symbols." I don't want to see the US go down such a road, and the banning of the flag and I believe one of the previous posts mentioned the possibility of charging people for using the flag (so in essence fining them) is a step down a somewhat dangerous path.
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shylarah