A Traitor’s Flag
The Stars and Bars, or the flag of the Conferacy, is a symbol or treason, terror, racism and slavery. It is akin the Nazi Swastika and the Empire Sun flag as a symbol of evil. Indeed, in Germany and Japan, both flags are banned. In America, however, since we have the first amendment protection of the freedom of expression, it is lawful to display and fly the traitor’s flag anywhere.
Yet, that same freedom of expression that allows the descendants of traitors to glorify treason and slavery is not extended to others who wish to accurately depict the meaning of the flag.
Stanley Bermudez, an art professor at the Gainesville State College in Georgia, painted this:
It was displayed at a faculty exhibit, until the same descendants of traitors began an intimidation campaign to get the painting removed and destroyed.
This one story reveals an incredible amount of truth.
1. The Descendants of Traitors, who in most cases are southern Conservatives and Republican, want their constitutional freedoms and God help you if you get in their way, but they are violently unwilling to extend the same freedoms to all people, especially to people who dare disagree with them.
2. These same Descendants of Traitors are completely ignorant to the truth and reality of their southern heritage, a claim they use to justify the display of their vile flag. They have a complete and total alternate history concerning their heritage, and they strike out in anger when the truth dares intrude. For example, the Civil War is referred to as the War of Northern Aggression, even though the South fired the first shot in attacking the Fort Sumpter. They say the war was to protect their way of life, and then get upset when it is pointed out to them that slavery and racism was their way of life.
3. These Descendants of Traitors are the very same as their forefathers. The hate, ignorance, violence and intimidation of their past has not been left in the past. It has been passed down generation to generation.
4. If you are afraid of art, you are a coward. The descendants of traitors who got this painting removed are cowards.
whew, SOMEONE had a little extra vingar in their coffee this morning. love it.
Where are you from anyway, DelDem? And who exactly were the “traitors”? Does that apply to the average Confederate soldier who never owned a slave or cared about slavery one way or the other? How about Mr. Lincoln who steadfastly refused to admit his aggression and the resultant war was over the issue of slavery? And now that all the grandchildren of the Civil War vets have died off and there are none alive who remember one, people like you and the artist who painted that inaccurate potrayal of the Confederate war cause want to “color” the history to suit themselves.
Wow! Nice to see news of my hometown AND my alma mater all in one article!
DD, you have it absolutely right with your “truths” – although I wouldn’t go so far as calling all southerners “traitors”. Funny thing is, I think there were only 1 or 2 actual slave owners in Hall county prior to the Civil War. North Georgia was not a big hub of slavery – most were south of Atlanta where the larger farms were.
The Civil War was more about state’s rights than slavery specifically. People tend to forget that.
My father’s family were in South GA and I think did own slaves. My Mom’s family were actually in the mountains of North Georgia (getting the picture? North/South with Atlanta as the dividing line vs. a canal!).
A great Civil War story my Grandmother told us – her father was about 15 when the war broke out. One day he was working in the barnyard with his father when a neighbor came up with a warning that Confederate soldiers were headed their way. His father told him to go get his younger brother (who was 13 – 14) and go hide in the corn crib under the corn. They were looking for boys age 12 and older to “recruit”. He overheard his father tell the soldiers that he didn’t have any sons, just daughters. The soldiers did “take a look around” to verify. They didn’t find the boys, thus, my great grandfather was saved from serving in the war and subsequently, I’m here!!! She also said that was the only time he could ever recall his father lying and that it upset him!
Sigh. Slavery was the reason for the Civil War, just go read the Secession documents.
Where are you from anyway, DelDem? New Castle County. My ancestors during the Civil War were either from Philadelphia or Ireland.
And who exactly were the “traitors”? Confederates. From soldier to general to President Jefferson Davis. Any official in the Confederate government. And any citizen of the South who either gave aid and comfort to the Confederate government, supported the government in opinion, or supported slavery and succession from the United States.
The descendants of traitors today are anyone who flies the Stars and Bars with pride or who believes in a revisionist history about both the Confederacy and the War.
Confederates and the Confederacy should be shamed by all. They stood for evil and bigotry.
Blu Gal, North Georgia, then as it is now, is more mountainous and poor, correct? Hence the lack of plantations and slaves. I recall reading similar stories about North Alabama or Mississippi that did not want to secede and wanted to secede from the Confederacy.
Yes, DD – think Appalachia – north GA is the southern end. Lots of mountain folk, poor, primarily from Ireland, Scotland, some Germans. No, the North GA folks didn’t want to secede and wanted nothing to do with the war.
Then, as now, a small percentage of the population who were the slave owners made the decisions to go to war and expected the poor to fight their battles, lose their lives for a cause that most didn’t believe in or care about.
My grandmother’s story above was typical as to how the army was built. My understanding was that the same was happening in rural areas of the north, too. Kidnapping was that era’s draft.
UI, the main reason was states rights; the main example was slavery.
I know, I know nit picking…
DelDem, does it matter that the original traitors were democrats?
No, it doesn’t, because I have studied history and know that our two main political parties have realigned since then (i.e. switched places). The ideological heirs of the confederacy today are Republicans, and you need look no further for proof of that than the issue of states rights, which you hear teabaggers and Republicans today scream about.
Now, as then, they have a talent for picking the losing side.
Phil: No, not nit-picking, just wrong. States’ rights was a term coined to cover up the actual issue, because there was no other state right in play. For the last two generations of slavery’s existence, Southerners had an odd (or maybe not so odd) reluctance to confront it head-on; hence their reference to it as their “peculiar institution.”
This reluctance to confront their flaws also marks the Confederacy’s descendants, both actual and philosophical, to this day: Dare to point out any of the legion of things America could do better and you will be accused of “blaming America first” and “hating America” by the same sort of insecure ignoramuses who refused to call slavery by its real name.
“The Descendants of Traitors” I like that. So concise and so true. Of course there are probably a great many who are simply racist a-holes who have no blood connection to the traitors.
The only state right they were protecting was the right to own slaves but saying Southerners were protecting “state’s rights” makes it seem like a noble cause. Listen, I’m from KY, my ancestors fought on both sides of the war. Some of my ancestors were slave owners. I’m not going to pretend they were pure and noble. They made money from holding people in bondage and justified it by pretending it was just the way things were.
In the are where I grew up there was a lot of confederacy myths. Lots of people liked to pretend that their family fought for the glorious confederacy but didn’t own slaves. The truth is probably most of them fought for the Union. Kentucky was a border state (like Delaware) and the region was Union sympathetic.
I’d often feel weird cognitive dissonance when visiting Confederate battlefields with a U.S. flag proudly flying over it. But I guess that’s part of the South, proclaiming their patriotism while at the same time glorifying the times when they fought against the country.
In my opinion, you cannot be proud of the Confederacy and what they did and think it all was for a noble cause and be an American. It is mutually exclusive. The Confederacy was an evil institution protecting an evil institution. There is nothing noble or proud about it. And they attacked America to protect their evil institution. That’s treason. You cannot be proud of treason.
allow be to be the turd in your cornflakes, dd.
I am very proud of the treason committed by by people like John Adams, George Washington, Ben Frankin…. even John Brown (to an extent)
However, you are right. Pretending the Susesh Flag is anything other than America’s Bloodflag is dishonest and wrong.
DD,
Of course you can be patriotic and indulge in Confederate revisionism. The South sends many soldiers to war, like in Iraq and Afghanistan. People are taught that the Confederacy fought for the noble principle of states’ rights, which sounds nice, and don’t look any deeper. Holding 2 mutually exclusive beliefs at the same time is just human nature.
Ben, the difference there is that Franklin et al won their war, and created their own nation, so they and their descendants can be proud. The Confederates lost, and then try to hold those two thoughts in their heads at the same time, which UI talks about: 1) I am a patriotic American that 2) is proud of the fact that my ancestors committed treason against America 150 years ago to defend slavery.
The cognitive dissonance blows my mind.
The southerners during the American revolution would only participate if slavery was protected.
“I am very proud of the treason committed by by people like John Adams, George Washington, Ben Frankin”
Why? Many atrocities were committed against Tories who did nothing more than stay loyal to the crown.
Any glorious revolution requires a lot of white-out.
that is why im not proud of people like Ethan Allen and even SAM Adams. (i kind of see him as the Glenn Beck of the time… just on the “right side of history”) Keep in mind, John Adam’s treason included successfully defending the British soldiers from the Boston Massacre
The states wanted the rights to set their own policy, independent of their national government. They fired on a government installation, and declared the union was sundered. This can’t be anything but treason… in the Confederacy, at the Murrah Federal Building or in the AIP.
Full as our jails are, I’d support finding a few benches for THESE criminals.
You are correct about right wing Republicans not liking dissent. Over at Delaware Politics blog a poster under the name Tennessee Walker has appointed himself censor of dissenting opinion on a blog that champions the fight against tyranny. Seems Tennessee posts a piece where he call President Obama not just the “boy messiah” but “our weak kneed, wussified, apologizer in chief”
I comment saying he is anti-patriot, bad mouthing the President puts him in league with al Qaeda who is also trying to discredit American leadership in the region.
My comments, every word, are censored erased twice – the moderator Tennessee Walker who says our boy messiah President is a weak kneed wussie apologizer in chief – scolds me for personal attacks. Ah . . . now I feel better. I know this is a Left Wing nearly Communist blog. Do you censor here, Or is this a free speech zone?
Ah, Think… I do admire your persistence over there. Tis a wonder to behold. Tennessee Walker is a frightened little man who delights in his own hypocrisy. He censors because he has no argument. He can’t discuss climate change because he still believes thunder is caused when god bowls.
Ayotte censors, as well, and then launches into I post under my own name tactic. He does this a lot, and every time it simply signals that he has no argument. I can’t wait until he takes over the Sussex GOP. Pass the popcorn!
The one thing that pos flag reminds me of is white power run amok. I believe the artist did an excellent job conveying that.
Maybe I’ll break out a nazi flag, you know, just to celebrate my German heritage. Doesn’t mean nothing else, swear! Don’t read into it. I mean, c’mon! It WAS a german flag after all! 😉
I know this is a Left Wing nearly Communist blog. Do you censor here, Or is this a free speech zone?
Yes, this blog too has its editors who like to move posts around and delete them sometimes. Usually for good reason, but there are a few TWs here too. You just have to work around them if you want your voice to be heard that badly. I wouldn’t call it censorship though. You know the deal when you post here, you can take it or leave it.