Will The South Rise Again?

A few days ago, one of my friends on facebook posted an article about TV land pulling The Dukes of Hazard because of the confederate flag controversy. She retorted by saying, soon they'll take off Hogan's Heroes because it has the Nazi flag in the show. 

Disoriented from my nap and failing to recognize what year it was. I read this post and got agitated about my beloved show Hogan's Heroes. All of this pent feelings about the controversy had to get off my chest. So I began to type it out in a lengthy facebook argument. Needless to say, the person who was debating me did not respond back.

Ill post it here if ya'll are interested. Please mind the typo's I typed it up in 15 minutes and was in a fit. I didn't proof read it and will post it now as is. 

Lets dive into a history lesson. Since it's my expertise. And 3 ways philosophically you can think about all this and then i'm out.

 1. 

Why this whole "flag issue" is a problem more so than ever before. Let's leave out the argument, "It's always been a big issue!"  It's because of the shooting and if you looked into it more, the kid had clear mental issues and the parents are partially to a majority to blame. Also the media for making a spectacle. And lastly as a convenient  item to blame so we can quickly point our fingers and blame something hoping something will change "The quick fix". After all, that’s what we Americans are so good at, look at pharmaceuticals. Taking it down will not stop racism nor will stricter gun laws stop crime.  In fact it have the opposite effect. Its comparable, not apples, oranges.

2. 

Historically. It was never about race to begin with. Lincoln didn't care about the slaves, only about preserving the Union. I can quote it but do your own dirty work. The Slave debate was a byproduct of the war yes. Was the war racial? Primarily, no. Did it become? Over the course of the war it did. We can get into the nitty gritty of "northern aggression" "carpet baggers" "states rights" and say these terms of fabricated from the south to make the north look bad (even though not true) we heard this all before. I won't get into that. Facts only. Instead let's look at this socioeconomically.

                 The south had slaves. They loved it. They were doing well with them. They were profitable. They were thriving. Was slavery right? By all means no. But it was how things were done then. Different time.  A majority of the south weren't wealthy slave owners. They were the same everyday workers like today.  Small business owners. But where does the money come from to support a locally owned business in your community. From those who have money and contribute to society right? Now lets say that’s you. Have a business and you're profitable. Now the North, Lincoln in particular wants to impose high tariffs on you for trade and not allow free trade between neighboring states. You're living the good life right? Ok let's take it away from you so now you can't support your family. Your sons, your daughters. In a wider scope, who can support the business down the street now that your business is going out of business? You have people that are employed too, not just slaves. Now they lose a job. So on so forth. A society crumbles. People become impoverished. If you have "feelings" you can see how these people then would hurt bad. There should've been an ending of slavery, with a transitioning plan. But there wasn’t and things got heated and war broke out. It's how things were.  And instead, the South was burnt to the ground by a drunk general.  Making matters worse, reconstruction didn’t go over well either.

3. 

Who cares then! If you're intelligent to understand these 2 concepts put together;  seeing the Confederate flag should not offend you. It's a difficult debate purposed as, can one change the symbolism of a flag? I for one believe it can. As long as you understand the history behind it and respect that, you can represent it in a way to make it great again. It's your 1st amendment right to try. It gives people who live there a certain sense of distinction and pride. It represents a slower way of doing things, a warmer way of life, a shirt off your back, honest living gentleman from the south. As opposed to what us northerners are proud of. Being from NYC and other states, some of these qualities we represent are,  loud, quick on our feet, resilient and also proud. There is no reason we can appreciate the difference each other has and appreciate the history of what happened. The south lost its over. Let them be proud they took a stand for their states' rights and choosing to fight for their lifestyle. Being a rebel.  So what if they want to fly it and have it represent what they know it means to them. Even if you don’t agree with that, it shouldn’t offend you. I've traveled throughout the south and met many strangers of different races. By and large they weren't racist and some of the warmest people I've met. Blacks and whites who unite under that flag celebrating their individuality in the Union and or United States. Complete strangers who would feed me if I needed a meal. Maybe consider that is what they think the Confederate flag means to them.