Re: Take Down the Rebel Flag

On Thu, 17 Jan 2002 [email protected] wrote:
>     Dear Yankee,

Hmm.  Well, you've already made two assumptions about me.  (1) That I am a
yankee, (1. A native or inhabitant of New England.  2. A native or
inhabitant of a northern U.S. state, especially a Union soldier during
the Civil War.  3. A native or inhabitant of the United States.) which I
am not unless you count the last, less common, definition, in which case
*you* must count as a yankee as well; and (2) that I care if you *call*
me a yankee.  So sorry to disappoint, but an ad hominem attack -- one
which is not even offensive -- is such a sloppy way to begin a debate,
I'll just have to ignore it.

>         You call the Rebel Battle Flag of the Confederacy a symbol of hate. I
> disagree.

You're certainly entitled to that.

> Do you realize that no slaves were ever brought into this country
> under the Confederate Flag. All slave ships were Yankee owned and operated.

All of them?  How interesting.  So the English, Dutch, and Spanish are
yankees as well?  We must revise our definition.

> So, if you wanna go around taking down symbols of hate I would suggest adding
> Old Glory to your list. Why don't people want to take it down? Wasn't it the
> very flag that flew over those internment camps we had the Japanese in during
> WW2? Isn't that hatred?

The important difference is that Old Glory was not hoisted above the
Japanese internment camps as a symbol of protest against someone saying
that Japanese could not be interred.  I don't see many Japanese Americans
cringing when they see an American flag on a bumper sticker or license
plate, as they surely must do thousands of times a day lately. I don't see
Japanese Americans canceling conventions or boycotting business based in
the United States because of the flag.  However, I do see African
Americans doing those things when they see the rebel flag.

> I'm only saying this because I want you see how being
> so politically correct can turn around and "bite" you just as you are
> "biting" our Dixie heritage.

Wow, thanks for showing me the light!  So now that I've been "bitten",
should I get a rabies shot?

>                                 Your REBEL opposer,
>                                         Kris, from KY

Thanks for writing, Kris.

Niel, from GA