At the moment, it is a Republican disease. History teaches us that if we don't, someone else will." I for one, have ever considered if one of the greatest blessings (both for themselves and us,) that God has ever bestowed upon a favored nation. And while there's always been a strain of militancy on the American right and left fringes, there is something unmistakably new, and profoundly alarming, about the casual, florid, and sadistic. From a Middle Eastern perspective, this is all appallingly familiar.". How much more do we need to do?. (True, but usually for their masters. Visitors to Charleston have long been treated to South Carolinas attempt to clean its history and depict its secession as something other than a war to guarantee the enslavement of the majority of its residents. She supports Mississippians right to keep it as is. The history teacher could handle it if the state flag changed, though. Politically correct groups seized that opportunity to make it seem like that flag came down that pole, walked down into that church and killed those people, he says. She immediately brings up Roof. I later share those words with Derrick Johnson, the national president and CEO of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), who previously led the Mississippi chapter. Its not us thats racial; its them thats racial. The history, though, is clear: from the Civil War through the civil rights movement, the flag has always been about white supremacy. Watch: Crowd chants "na na na na hey hey hey goodbye" as the Confederate flag falls in SC, The Confederate flag symbolizes white supremacy and it always has, For now, the one thing Congress seems to agree upon is China, How the Israeli settler rampage was emboldened by the new far-right government, We dont need to know how this pandemic started to stop the next one, You probably wont get any student loan relief, thanks to a GOP-controlled Supreme Court, Ron DeSantiss war on woke in Florida schools, explained. The same Georgia state legislature that considered closing the state's schools rather than integrating them also changed the state flag to include the Confederate symbol. The Confederate flag stands for bloodshed and segregation.". I would be sad about it, not violently upset. (Today, its supporters say the KKK co-opted it.). SCV was created in 1896 for the vindication of the cause for which we fought and to ensure that a true history of the 1861-1865 period is preserved. SCV members worked with the United Confederate Veterans and other groups in the early 20th century to demand school textbooks supporting the revisionist view that the south fought for a just lost cause that was decidedly not slavery. "Shared psychosis" which is also called "folie millions" ["madness for millions"] when occurring at the national level or "induced delusions" refers to the infectiousness of severe symptoms that goes beyond ordinary group psychology. In the interest of reuniting white Americans, the narrative around the Civil War changed in its aftermath. Knowing that Lindy now talks to other Mississippians after rethinking the death penalty, I feel a twinge of hope as I watch Iras rebel flag flying outside the window of Deer Hollow. In 2000, the legislature reached a compromise after 50,000 people marched to demand the flag be taken down and the NAACP declared a boycott. Neither Ira nor Lindy has asked black acquaintances why the flag is offensive, or asked why many believe it belongs in museums, but not part of a state emblem. My family, we were poor. In the aftermath of a shooting apparently motivated by white supremacy, even as South Carolina's state flag and the American flag were lowered to half-staff, the Confederate flag continued to fly. The streets were filled with the opaque greenish mist of chemical weaponry, hanging in stinging clouds that made residents in neighboring apartments cough. Those are the kind of historical interpretations that make the Confederate flag seem like a harmless symbol of regional heritage. So, why are they doing this. Massey, who identifies as more Blackfoot-Cherokee than white, isnt interested in military history, saying the flag celebrates her heritage as a southerner, period. That use of the flag is the crux of the "heritage, not hate" argument: that the Confederate flag is simply about honoring the South's past, its dead, and its culture. Listen to the trailer for Holy Week. But black newspapers didn't buy it: "Have we so soon forgot what the Confederate flag represents?" Asmediacritic Eric Boehlertrecently noted,the liberal opinion site Living Blue in Texas is sounding the alarm about the specific meaning of the black flag and the Republican-fascistssupport for terrorism and other political violence. But the flag's meaning was never really innocuous. She worries that young people now think the flag stands for the KKK. Talia Lavinis a freelance writer whose work has appeared in The Washington Post, GQ, The Village Voice, The New Republic and many more publications. Ira Isonhood, 71, remembers his father inviting black people to sit in his yard to watch a basketball game through the window when he got the areas first television a progressive move in the mid-20th century south. Nance also noted that Cawthorn's propaganda video is thematically similar to the type of propaganda used by Islamic terroristgroups such as ISIS and al-Qaida to radicalize and recruitmembers. That was horrific to my organization (SCV) when that took place.. antisocial and other anti-human behavior on a national scale. Here is what I had to say about ISIS back in July 2014: Id bring fear and death to them all! I am going to start researching this, she adds about the history as Kate calls for her. Chauncey DeVega is a senior politics writer for Salon. That flag featured horizontal and vertical black bands intersected by the Prussian eagle. The infamous tree, used for lynching, was bending over a bridge on Highway 433 toward Lexington. To many white people in the south and beyond, the Confederate flag is a sign of historic pride and defiance to whatever is currently called liberalism; to most black Americans, the flag stands for white supremacy and racial violence. In this way they honor their ancestors. This notion is belied by any serious interrogation of the Civil War and the primary documents of its instigators. document.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); document.getElementById( "ak_js_3" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Copyright 2023 The Havok Journal. In response, the Ku Klux Klan surged. Southern politicians displayed the Confederate battle flag when they railed against Truman. It means that they will not surrender, will not take prisoners, and are willing to die for their cause. The Confederate battle flag was one of several flags used during the Civil War. Most of em dont know what it means, she says. Alabama Governor George Wallace who promised to fight for "segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever" began flying the Confederate flag when Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy came to Alabama in 1963 to discuss integrating the state's universities. Still, Davis balks at the need to exorcise the emblem from the state flag today out of respect to Mississippians who descended from slaves. On a daily basis Fox News and other elements of the right-wing disinformation propaganda machine use stochastic terrorism and other techniques to radicalize their audience into committing acts of political violence. Open a museum?, Ive never heard of an apology from the Klan in Franklin County for harassing and assaulting my family while flying that flag. Yet the Confederate battle flagthe flag of Dylann Roofstill flies on the Capitol grounds in Columbia. Oops. And the new story was more flattering to the South. Have loved the Union beyond expression. Its message had just become less respectable. Nonetheless, the police continue to operate under layers of legal impunity and institutional protection that vastly overshadow the rights of the citizens they brutalize, murder or assault. In practice, fascism is given life and takes corporeal form through itsfollowers, with each one being a potential carrier of the pathology. Their God, our God, it doesnt matter. A Confederate flag at an anti-integration rally in Little Rock in 1959. But, unfortunately, many of them also live in states where masks and vaccines are required by state governments, healthcare, and law enforcement. Get notified when we re-open our online store. Save your lovely souls. Men that live outside the illusion of safety built upon walls of ignorance and denial that is our peaceful existence in this world. Will you support Voxs explanatory journalism? LANSING Gun safety measures Gov. For America to counteract the deep underlying illness that has made Trumpism possiblewill require a long-term cultural and moral reckoning. The flag that Roof embraced, which many South Carolinians embrace, does not stand in opposition to this actit endorses it. As, However you interpret these videos posted byTrump followers and otherneofascists which couldbe mainly performative , And a new poll from the University of Virginia's Center for Politics even suggests that, During an interview withMSNBC'sJoy Reid,terrorism and national security expert Malcolm Nance said that Cawthorn's video"picks up on the themes that are not just coming from the Steve Bannon level and Donald Trump level, they are coming from theRepublican street and that Republican street is armed. Slavery was sidelined as the war's primary cause in favor of the vaguer term "state's rights" (the right to own slaves). Mobs fighting to protect segregated schools wore Confederate flags in Little Rock and New Orleans and Austin and Birmingham. Thin Blue Line flag was raised defiantly, How police put George Floyd's killer behind bars - but the 'blue wall' holds, Chauvin verdict forces national conversation on police reform, tailed protesters fruitlessly across bridges, Police killings of Black Americans continue apace in wake of Chauvin verdict, Ohio State students hold protest for Ma'Khia Bryant, chemical weapons are banned from theaters of war, wind up protecting departments more than curbing their atrocities, A Chauvin guilty verdict doesn't mean the system is working, unions that embrace without qualification, curb police budgets and reassign nonviolent duties, grammar designed to deflect responsibility. But slavery was waning, McCluney insists, and the north should have let it fade naturally. As red flags show up more and more over time, you'll start noticing patterns of behavior. We are going to stand valiantlyfor God's incredible inherent truths that predate any version of government. This country was formed for the white, not for the black man. It was there when our grandfathers, great-grandfathers, were struggling to feed their six, eight, 10 kids. Men who embrace violence. In actuality, it is better than a gold standard, because violence has universal value. Larry McCluney Jr teaches history to mostly black high school and college students in Greenwood, Mississippi. This group understands that not all people can be negotiated with and at then end of the day, human nature is primal. Each week, we explore unique solutions to some of the world's biggest problems. They declare a "safe space," prohibit firearms and welcome people who . Why are these minorities pushing to do away with this flag? Reporting by Jack Goodman, Christopher Giles, Olga Robinson and Shayan Sardarizadeh. I have lived among it most of my life, and have seen less harsh treatment from master to man than I have beheld in the North from father to son. "Family history" only became a plausible rationale because of a devil's bargain. But Lee claimed the assassination of the Great Emancipator was deplorable. Jefferson Davis believed that it could not be regarded otherwise than as a great misfortune to the South, and angrily denied rumors that he had greeted the news with exultation. "In the first phase, tension builds and a . As historian David Blight has argued, the invented memory brought together white Northerners and Southerners to emphasize the valor, courage, and sacrifice of soldiers on both sides. As historian John Coski writes in The Confederate Battle Flag: America's Most Embattled Emblem, Southerners weren't shy about enlisting the design in the cause of white supremacy. It turned into one big heckuva mess. The very same people that exploit the working class for cheap labor and create systems to undermine their development through poor education systems use issues of racial division to maintain economic control, the NAACP president says. It was poor white southerners who fought in these battles, being strung along by rich, property-owning whites who banked on the ignorance and arrogance of the poor whites to fight and die in the war, Be says. Larry McCluney Jrs home office. The Confederate flag was adopted to represent a short-lived rebellion to extend and protect white supremacy and black slavery. Yes, they say civil war, and they say it's already started. that the flag's Southern cross pointed to "the destiny of the Southern master and his African slave" the Confederacy's hoped-for expansion of slavery into Latin America. College students who supported Strom Thurmond's segregationist presidential campaign in 1948 waved Confederate flags at campaign events. Other official flags were also displayed during the Nazi regime. Today, the symbol often appears at pro-white rallies and is a lightning rod in Americas calcifying racial divides. He was a justice of the peace in Yazoo City, the gateway to the fertile, brutal lands of the Delta. The National Guard were deployed to Minneapolis, Chicago and Philadelphia. They have been fed an entire line which makes them believe that America is no longerAmerica and thatthey no longer want the America that the rest of us, the 60 percent of the country, live in. Surely the flags defenders will proffer other, muddier, interpretations which allow them the luxury of looking away. History teaches us that if we dont, someone else will. Violence is Golden by Jack Donovan, Most will see the above admonition and others like it and automatically relate it to the malevolence of those who wish to do nothing more than tear this world apart. But you can get better. Gentlemanly Kevin Davis is surprised when we show up at his large white antebellum-style house in Simpson County. IE 11 is not supported. Support our mission, and make a gift today. We know about our family, their sacrifices, he says of his 20 ancestors who fought for the Confederacy. And in her statement, she acknowledged South Carolinians who insist despite history's evidence to the contrary that the flag is not a racist symbol. Davis no relation to Jeff has taught history in public and private schools, and also turned out to be an SCV member. Lindy has thought about our first conversation overnight and wants to understand why I do not support the flag. Across the U.S., a militarized police force and the National Guard prepared to do what they had done so often in the face of ongoing uprisings against police violence: They prepared to brutalize their critics with every weapon they had. Cowardice, too, is heritage. It's our duty to stand up, Let us stand united as men and women of faith to fight for our country. What has Mississippi done to say that it is sorry for the rape, torturing and killings of scores of its black citizens in order to create a white majority? Be says. They understand that after all else fails and evil overwhelms the powers of the pen, it is they that will be called upon. So she asked for a new driver and got one. Most Confederacy fans may cherry-pick their sides history, but many are more precise about the chinks in the Yankees armor including that not everyone up north was hip to slavery ending, either. 661 likes. Trump and his followers were loud, exuberant and enthusiastic on Jan. 6. Johnson would not censor individual ownership or display of Confederate regalia but also not continue official approval to historic symbols of racial violence and oppression. The Isonhoods were the first stop of my May 2018 listening tour of Mississippi with photographer Kate Medley to ask flag supporters in our home state why they still support a symbol that represents so much pain, division and difficult history even as they urge black Americans to get over their resistance to it. The South Carolina state Capitol began flying the flag in 1962 and never stopped. Then it became a symbol of resistance to black civil rights leaders and to the federal government that was finally trying to enforce the law of the land. Rather than thinking that they ought to be chastened by being caught on tape beating, tear-gassing, and pepper-spraying protesters, perhaps doing all this in full view of the public is the point, Wyman wrote in a column addressing the war scenes in American streets surrounding the initial wave of Floyd protests. But that reverence now stops at the capitol grounds. Heres the data on Minneapolis police use of force per week since 2017. "We are not the worlds police;" "The standards of conduct are different in the Middle, This is an excerpt from Violence of Action: The Untold Stories of the 75th Ranger. The treatment is removal of exposure. The flag not gon change the hate., Stuart blames detractors. Correction: An earlier version of this article said Alabama's state flag includes the Confederate flag. It was not an unusual number of new cases for the department's eight-member gun violence restraining order unit, which Brooker oversees. Last night, Dylann Roof walked into a Charleston church, sat for an hour, and then killed nine people. Inscribe beneath it the years 1861-2015. newsletter. Robert E. Lees armies took special care to enslave free blacks during their Northern campaign. The store slogan is You wont find it at Wal-Mart.. Its chemical weapons are banned from theaters of war but available for promiscuous use among the populace. This moral truththat the negro is not equal to the white manis exactly what animated Dylann Roof. The Confederate flag stands for rebellion and treachery. A New Jersey man bought a Confederate flag to oppose the Truman administration in 1951. because for those who embrace violence, the ones who chose to embrace evil share the same blood. And I was one of several plaintiffs in a lawsuit against Mississippi in 1993 to have the flag taken down. The SCV intervened in that lawsuit and won. Anything less, and the disease of American fascism will only go dormant until it is resurrected again perhaps in amore dangerous and virulent form. A black FedEx man wouldnt come through the front door, she says, instead leaving heavy packages on the porch because he thinks were racial. The streets fill with bodies and stinging, painful clouds. The civil rights movement didn't change the flag's meaning it simply made the hate underlying the heritage more explicit. Studies have shown that police dont solve most violent crimes: Roughly 40 percent of homicide investigations do not result in arrests, and only 33 percent of rape investigations end in an arrest. As the practice waned up north, white men rushed to the south, bringing slaves. Davis, 47, also believes the institution might have died out due to modernization if they were able to compromise another 20 years. It still holds true today. Ira is in the backyard posing for pictures in front of his Confederate flag. A minute number of people ever stop to think about the circumstances that surround the very freedoms they spend the majority of their lives enjoying. Patterns of behavior six, eight, 10 kids McCluney Jr teaches history to mostly black school! Of looking away as Kate calls for her of his 20 ancestors who fought for the white not. Through itsfollowers, with each one being a potential carrier of the peace in Yazoo City the! 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