The confederate flag is a symbol of racism and hatred. It reminds us that part of this country purposely sought to destroy it because they wanted to hold on to the wealth created by the labor of black folk.
The larger issue, though, is what it and the Confederacy represented.
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The rich slave-owning states would have been content to keep black folk as slaves indefinitely because it meant free labor — no pesky salaries and health insurance to worry about — and ready-made victims for white supremacist savagery.
The confederate flag is a symbol of oppression and some people don't want to accept that truth. Some of them who wave it so proudly are hopeful that maybe one day the South "shall rise again" and they will again be able to treat black folk like $hit with impunity.
If your great-great grandfather was a murderer, would you hang up a symbol of that outside of your house? Why not? It's part of your history, right? If not, then don't use any ridiculous-ass arguments about using the confederate flag as a symbol of your heritage.
It became a defiant symbol in the 1960s. It said to the federal government that the south did not want black folk to have any rights whatsoever, and they didn't want to be forced to respect their rights.
The confederate flag is a reminder of the money and power once held by the racist south. It's a symbol of the 'if we can't get you this way, we'll get you another way' attitude. That's why systems like redlining were put in place to continue discrimination.
People who believed in 'separate but equal' created white supremacist systems so that their grandchildren and great-grandchildren can today benefit without being called racist or becoming a target; some of them, without realizing it or acknowledging it.
It is all about the money. Whoever controls the money, controls the power. And whoever has the power can create the 'system'.
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MUSIC
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spinning merkaba – Winter Walk (Silver Trumpet Mix)
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The Young Turks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sz7_o_Jf7JU