Dear White Southerner Who Defends the Confederate Flag,
Recently I have noticed a bit of hypocrisy with those of you who celebrate and wave the Confederate flag.
If asked why you honor the flag, you would probably respond with “Southern heritage” — heritage of the Civil War.
Those who fought under that flag fought for the South’s authority to make independent economic decisions. And the South’s economy was built on slavery.
The Confederate soldiers committed treason. Whether or not you want to be proud of that is totally up to you. The contradiction is that this does not seem patriotic, as many Southerners claim to be.
Matter of fact, according to a 2013 Gallup poll, Southern Americans are most “proud” to be American.
So are you proud to be an American? Or would you rather celebrate treasonous acts against our country? I’m confused.
Maybe, as a Southerner, you choose to wave the Confederate flag because you decided to erase the history of racism and treason and celebrate “Southern heritage.” But do you understand why the Confederate flag is offensive to black people?
Do you understand that there’s history that black people can’t easily let go of or erase? That flag holds a history that still affects mindsets today, like the suspect behind the recent terrorist attack of the Emanuel AME church in Charleston, S.C., who proudly displayed the flag in pictures online.