{"id":51527,"date":"2015-06-20T12:10:10","date_gmt":"2015-06-20T18:10:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2015\/06\/20\/flags-2.html"},"modified":"2015-06-22T15:20:45","modified_gmt":"2015-06-22T21:20:45","slug":"flags-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2015\/06\/20\/flags-2.html","title":{"rendered":"Flags"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ironic that Flag Day was less than a week ago, here in the US …<\/p>\n

In the wake of the Charleston killings, a lot of people pointed at the proud location of a Confederate battle flag on the statehouse grounds, noting it as a symbol of a civil war fought to preserve a nation of slavery and racial hatred.<\/p>\n

That criticism came hot and heavy enough that there was an inevitable backlash. "What, a flag killed those people? No, that's a distraction! We have to deal with the problem of …" and then fill in a problem that's arguably more proximate to the cause.<\/p>\n

But while there's some merit in the argument, it's not that simple. Flags are important (especially, it seems, in the US) as important symbols. If not, why fly them at all at the statehouse? They represent a variety of values, some of them individual, many of them corporate. They tie folk (or tribes of folk) together. Just as they originally serve to do, to mark territory or to rally troops around. Our national anthem is about a flag. We pledge allegiance to flags. People have died for flags. People have killed for them.<\/p>\n

The Confederate battle flag is a very particular symbol. I have no doubt that for a lot of modern Southerners, it's a matter of some vague pride and tradition, a reference to battles fought for freedom and the like. Part of that is the lesson of faded history. Part is the mythos that has been intentionally inculcated in the region.<\/p>\n

To my mind — and I don't seem to be alone in this — the Confederate battle flag represents treason, rebellion against just authority, in the name of a cause that had at its roots the oppression and slavery of an entire people. I can admire the genius and dedication of, for example, individual Confederate commanders, or even the "between one's loved home and the war's desolation" of the common Johnny Reb. I can admire the same thing about Erwin Rommel or the standard Wehrmacht grunt. But that doesn't mean the regime they fought for, and the standards they represented, and the horror they cause, aren't reprehensible blots on history.<\/p>\n

Flags mean things.<\/p>\n

I would not do as the German government has done, and try to erase those symbols from the past. I don't propose banning the Confederate battle flag. It is, by its nature, political expression. <\/p>\n

But there's a difference between letting Joe-Bob fly one on his front porch and having one flying on the grounds of the state capital. There's a difference between some lady with a tattoo and Lindsey Graham saying that having a Confederate war memorial, complete with flag, on the statehouse grounds, and having a memorial to African-Americans nearby, is a reasonable "compromise".<\/p>\n

For the state government to be involved with the display of the Confederate battle flag on its grounds (it used to fly atop the dome until the 1990s) is to have the state speaking in support of what it represents. And it is to give implicit support to the racial attitudes and the violence necessary to enforce them that led to the murders in Charleston this week.<\/p>\n

Did the flag pull the trigger? Of course not. But what was done was implicitly done in the name of that flag and its cause. And that's part (only part, but not a trivial part) of what should be addressed.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n
\n
\n<\/a>
\nThe Visual Power of the 4 Flags in the News This Week<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

View on Google+<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ironic that Flag Day was less than a week ago, here in the US … In the wake of the Charleston killings, a lot of people pointed at the proud location of a Confederate battle flag on the statehouse grounds, noting it as a symbol of a civil war fought to preserve a nation of … Continue reading “Flags”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[106,108,358,740,24,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-51527","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-plusposts","category-history","category-poor-citizenship","category-race-racism","category-writing-and-language","category-zt-pc"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":51524,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2015\/06\/19\/lindsey-graham-thinks-the-confederate-battle-flag-works-for-south-carolina.html","url_meta":{"origin":51527,"position":0},"title":"Lindsey Graham thinks the Confederate battle flag "works" for South Carolina","author":"***Dave","date":"Fri 19-Jun-15 4:33pm","format":false,"excerpt":"\"The flag represents to some people a civil war and that was the symbol of one side. To others, it's a racist symbol, and it has been used in a racist way.\"And ... neither of those fazes you, Sen. Graham? That the side that lost the civil war against the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1390,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2002\/01\/14\/vexillogy.html","url_meta":{"origin":51527,"position":1},"title":"Vexillogy","author":"***Dave","date":"Mon 14-Jan-02 9:44am","format":false,"excerpt":"The North American Vexillological Association (vexillogy is the study of flags) has the results of its 2001 poll of US and Canadian state\/provicial flags. New Mexico is the winner. NAVA...","rel":"","context":"In "Potpourri"","block_context":{"text":"Potpourri","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/potpourri"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":13123,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2008\/07\/16\/you_a_grand_ol_flag.html","url_meta":{"origin":51527,"position":2},"title":"You a Grand Ol’ Flag!","author":"***Dave","date":"Wed 16-Jul-08 6:32am","format":false,"excerpt":"Much amused outrage out there over Congress -- faced with gasoline prices, war issues, security and privacy concerns, and, heck, even an election -- instead devoting time to worrying...","rel":"","context":"In "Politics & Law"","block_context":{"text":"Politics & Law","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/politics-law"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/images\/american-flag.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":10396,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2007\/01\/29\/somethings_brewing_in_gai.html","url_meta":{"origin":51527,"position":3},"title":"Something’s brewing in Gainesville","author":"***Dave","date":"Mon 29-Jan-07 9:40am","format":false,"excerpt":"Almost defies comment: A display of international flags at Gainesville High School will be moved from its location because school district leaders worry it will become an anti-immigration meeting spot,...","rel":"","context":"In "School Daze"","block_context":{"text":"School Daze","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/school-daze"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":26848,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2012\/03\/05\/the-show-me-your-sex-tapes-state.html","url_meta":{"origin":51527,"position":4},"title":"The "Show Me [Your Sex Tapes]" State","author":"***Dave","date":"Mon 5-Mar-12 2:00pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Note: this is why you never, ever, ever honor a living person this way (statehouse busts, airport names, postage stamps, etc.). #ddtb Embedded Link Rush Limbaugh To Be Honored With Bust In Missouri Statehouse WASHINGTON -- The Hall of Famous Missourians in the Missouri State Capitol is filled with the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9465,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2006\/06\/30\/let_it_burn_par.html","url_meta":{"origin":51527,"position":5},"title":"Let it burn, part 2","author":"***Dave","date":"Fri 30-Jun-06 9:51am","format":false,"excerpt":"Okay, this started as a response to Avo's comment in this thread about flag burning, noting Scott Adams' address of the issue, but it got long, so, heck, let's make...","rel":"","context":"In "ZT & PC"","block_context":{"text":"ZT & PC","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/zt-pc"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51527","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51527"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51527\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":51577,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51527\/revisions\/51577"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51527"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51527"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51527"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}