Potpourri

In response to the movement receiving a flurry of media attention recently. Amongst those protesting, there are not only black people but white people also marching in the streets, all coming together to demand the taking down of the confederate flags which have adorned government campuses for decades, honoring the treasonous acts of the confederacy. This is a great show of the inherent good in most people. The media should show more of this type of interaction between black and white people instead of perpetuating the hate. Most people probably do associate the rebel flag with the historical significance of Southerners, ‘(in memory) of a lifestyle’ as the white man’s windshield says, but the same history is laced with the desecration of an entire race of people to provide that lifestyle historically, so those tokens are seen by most black people as a reminder of that time. The problem for us is the government sanctioned supremacy the rebel flag was historically associated with and is currently associated with, used as a celebratory symbol, a beacon for the perpetuation of hate. We are all products of our past whether good or bad, but should we celebrate our bad influence over the good? Sure, we should all remember our past, to keep from repeating the not so good portion and learn from the mistakes and celebrate the good but neither blacks nor whites should revel in the past. We need to move forward in an inclusive not divisive way, that is mutually agreeable. We just have a problem with the Rebel flag being flown over public government buildings that are supposed to provide equal service to everyone, celebrating the battle flag from the civil war, which was undeniably fought to keep a lifestyle that was slavery dependent, to the extent that they were willing to commit treason and secede from the USA to keep and spread slavery. When I see a car with the rebel flag, I don’t know if the person is an extremist or not, of course it is their right to express themselves, but it just puts me on alert. It serves as a reminder of the negative history associated with the South, that’s all. I love everyone. I like the fact that we are having the conversation, it helps race relations.