The Confederate flag should not be displayed because it is a symbol of racism and hate. African-Americans especially consider the flag to be a symbol of hate and racism that is linked back to slavery. There is a historical backing to the Confederate flag being considered a symbol of hate.
First of all, the Confederacy was fighting to preserve slavery. Some may say that they were fighting for states' rights, but the "right" they were fighting for was the right to own slaves. Texas's secession papers specifically state their reason for seccession being the continuance of slavery. In fact, their Constitution explicitly protected slavery, and that was pretty much the only main way it differed from the U.S. Constitution.
William Tappan Thompson, who proposed the design of the Confederate flag, stated himself the flag was to preserve and symbolize the triumph and supremacy of white people. This shows that even the creator of the flag felt that it was a symbol of racism and hate. It should be impossible to deny that the Confederate flag is a symbol of hate because its creator said so. Other leaders of the Confederacy, such as Jefferson Davis, agreed as well. Also, the Confederacy was fighting to preserve slavery, so it would make sense that African-Americans would see a symbol in celebration of the Confederacy as a racist symbol. The Vice President of the Confederacy, Alexander H. Stephens, makes it pretty clear as well that for the Confederacy "its foundations are laid, its corner- stone rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man."
"You too know, that among us, white men have an equality resulting from a presence of a lower caste, which cannot exist where white men fill the position here occupied by the servile race. The mechanic who comes among us, employing the less intellectual labor of the African, takes the position which only a master-workman occupies where all the mechanics are white, and therefore it is that our mechanics hold their position of absolute equality among us."- Jefferson Davis
"All object on account of its resemblance to that of the abolition despotism against which we are fighting."- William Tappan Thompson on why a new flag must be selected for the Confederacy
"As a people we are fighting to maintain the Heaven-ordained supremacy of the white man over the inferior or colored race."- William Tappan Thompson
"As a people we are fighting to maintain the Heaven-ordained supremacy of the white man over the inferior or colored race."- William Tappan Thompson
The Confederate flag was not prominently found in the South after the Civil War. Then it was mainly used for commemorating veterans of the Confederacy. But then, the Confederate flag had a return in the 1940s and 1950s. It became a symbol of the Dixiecrat party (also known as the States Rights Democratic party). The Dixiecrats opposed desegregation and civil rights as stated in their 1948 platform. They started to display the Confederate flag at some of their rallies, and it became a symbol closely related to them. Some states, such as Georgia, which opposed desegregation and civil rights, also redesigned their state flags at this time to incorporate the Confederate flag into their new designs, thus making another connection with the Confederate flag to racism and hate in the 20th century.
After the recent presidential election, hatred, including racism, seems to have increased due to the winner's rhetoric during the election. It is even more important now than it ever has been to stop displaying something that is filled with such racial hatred as the Confederate flag is. It reflects poorly not only on the person flying the flag, but on their neighborhood, their town, their state, and their country. 150 years after the Civil War, there is no excuse for this outdated, hateful flag to fly.
Due to the long history of the Confederate flag being used by groups as a symbol of racism and hate, there is no reason the Confederate flag should not be considered a symbol of hate. Many people claim the reason they display the Confederate flag is to “celebrate their heritage,” but the Confederate flag itself has only had a heritage of racism and hate. Is that the “heritage” they want to celebrate or a “heritage” worth celebrating?
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