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Offensive? Possibly
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For the most part, I have steered clear of the whole Confederate Battle Flag hoopla currently running amok all over the country. I am a deep fried Son of the South born so deep in Lower Alabama you need excavation equipment to get to my house. My family is so Southern that we bleed grits and some of us prolly have had damaged linen goods in our closets. (Get it? Cause hoods and robes have holes so the sheets had...oh never mind.) Anyone who knows me knows where I stand and how I feel and if you don't know how I feel, you probably don't know me as well as you think.
Now on this little ranting journey, I am going to take a slightly different tack than the "Heritage not hate" and "Its a sign of WHITE SUPREMACY!" groups. I think that deceased equine has been beaten enough thank you. I mean, trying to have a rational argument between these two groups is like trying to skinny dip in the Sahara and not nearly as refreshing. Nah, me I am going to move on to what I personally think is the crux of this debate. (and use smart sounding words like crux while I do it to make people think I am more intelligent than I actually am. Is it working yet?)
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| Offensive? You betcha! |
Okay so the argument boils down to two groups who are juxtaposed on exactly what the flag symbolizes. For the most part there is no middle ground or even any cover to hide in as the insults and such are flung. Both sides feel they are right and both sides think that the other side is so full of cow manure that they can be smelled from the moon. (Okay okay I know that you can't smell anything in space, but look I used a big word like Juxtaposed in a sentence. Yay me!) Well here is my take on the whole durned argument. It doesn't matter which side is right and which side is wrong.
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Offensive, well maybe to anti-pagans.
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Lets say the SOUTH SHALL RISE AGAIN folks are right. That the CBF is an innocent symbol of Southern Heritage and pride that has been stolen by evil, nasty hate groups like the KKK and Neo-Nazi groups. That it never symbolized hatred or racism or slavery. That people should fly it with pride every day and thank Gawd Allmighty that they are lucky enough to live in the Deep South where we deep fry everything. Doesn't matter.
Lets say that the ITS EVIL BURN IT BURN IT! groups are right. That the flag symbolizes racism, racial divide, the inhuman practice of slavery AND the artery hardening evils of...well deep fried everything. That the flag was sent by Satan himself to lead good Christians away from the straight and narrow to be seduced by Deep Fried Oreos or Deep Fried Bacon Wrapped Sausages. (Wow suddenly I am hungry.) Also...doesn't matter.
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| Offensive, probably. It is Texas after all. |
Okay now that I have managed to honk off pretty much everyone in the country, let me try and explain my reasoning. (Or at least distract you long enough for me to hide.) Here is why it doesn't matter and it is prolly something that most of you haven't heard of. It is a little thing called the 1st Amendment. Dodging the issue of whether the flag should be flown on State/Federal Grounds for the time being cause that is a whole nother kettle of fish, it doesn't matter if you hate the flag. It doesn't matter if you are so offended you poop bricks. It doesn't matter if your Great Great (wait how many greats would be the Civil War) Grand Pappy rode into battle against Colored Troops on a chariot pulled by Negro slaves so you find the flag horribly offensive. It just don't matter.
Everyone and their brothers can freely fly the Battle Flag whenever and wherever they want. That is their right under the laws of our nation. Anyone else has the right to be offended. That isn't exactly a law, but good enough. Your being offended cannot and will not interfere with someone else exercising their own right. It sucks, but that is the way the country works. Nor does your being offended give you the right to take their property and destroy it.
What it boils down to it simple. Be careful what you try to ban or destroy because other people might find your flag...symbol...clothing offensive and decide that you can't display it anymore. I mean I personally find the flag of Arizona offensive because it is led by a bunch of morons, but you don't see me heading out there and demanding they take it down. (Well mainly because that's a long way off and I'm poor.
Offended or offending, it doesn't matter in the end. Even if you disagree with the people that fly it and think the flag should never be flown again, you still have to respect their right to fly it.
End of Rant
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| Offensive? Its like someone took the Chinese Flag and the Japanese flag and tried to drown it in a lake. Sheesh! |
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