This was a truly fascinating article that delves into the history of the Confederate flag, particularly the history of the battle flag, and why and how it symbolizes a certain racist mentality.
It was informative, and I added some of the quotes here from this article that I thought were the most pertinent and informative. Still, I recommend opening this link and taking a look for yourself. Again, it was very informative and illuminating.
This article is about two Southern bands and what they feel about the Confederate battle flag, although these sections focus on the members of Dirve-By Truckers. Here is some of what the article reveals about what they have to say:
Patterson Hood is a member of says that no matter what heritage or history debate exists, the Confederate flag was always about racism.
“It’s like the swastika,” he says, “which has been around for thousands of years, but it will forever, for all eternity, be considered part of the Holocaust, one of the most terrible things humanity has ever done to itself. The Confederate flag is like that; and the events of last week added a new dimension to it.”
“The flag was put there to antagonize and intimidate,” he says, about its initial erection over the Capital. “During the Civil Rights era, Southern states started flying those flags and putting the logo on their state flags to remind black people what they thought their place was. It was just that simple.”
“I’m from Alabama,” says Patterson Hood, “I lived in the South my entire life. I have ancestors who fought in that ill-begotten war, but it’s way, way past time to move on … That [Civil] War was what, 150 years ago? It’s time to move on. It should have been a moot point years ago. The flag represents an act of war against the United States.”
“When you grow up here,” MikeCooley explains, “You study the Civil War in school, and all you know is it was the North and the South, and you’re from the South, so that’s your team. You know that black people were slaves at one time, but that’s so hard to get your head around. So you’re learning about this in your class, and you’re kind of rooting for the South to win. Because that’s your team. Some of us grew out of that, most of us didn’t.”
Hood says that this is changing over time. “The people who feel that way are probably going to feel that way until they die. But there are more and more people who live in the South who are a little more enlightened.”
“I live in the reddest district in one of the reddest states in the country,” Cooley says. “And I don’t feel like I’m surrounded by brainwashed a–holes at all. But there’s a meanness in the way that the South expresses itself politically, that is not reflective of what kind of people they are, and most of it is rooted in Civil War resentment.”
He continues: “Those people are a shrinking minority, but we love to point the cameras at the most extreme people. When you see people protesting or organizing for some kind of liberal cause, it’s always the hippies in the drum circles that you see on TV. And when the media is looking at the conservative side, they look at the people who are foaming at the mouth.”
“I guarantee they’re getting pressure from a lot of companies and businesses, as they should, to move on,” Hood says. “Money talks, and that’s the language that the Republicans listen to.”
Quote taken from:
Drive-By Truckers, Lynyrd Skynyrd on the Confederate Flag’s Meaning By Brian Ives June 26, 2015
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