FREE ESSAY ON CONFEDERATE FLAG IN SOUTH CAROLINA

CONFEDERATE FLAG IN SOUTH CAROLINA

The Confederate flag that now flies atop the statehouse of South Carolina has been a
controversial issue for over 30 years. Raised in 1962 to commemorate the Civil War's
100th anniversary, it is the only Confederate flag to wave atop any state capitol in the
country, and its presence has stirred quite a commotion. Last March, a group that wants
the South to secede from the United States staged a Confederate flag-waving rally in
Montgomery, Alabama. Hundreds of people signed petitions, demanding that the state follow
South Carolina's example and return the Confederate flag to the state capitol. In April,
a march against the flag's presence was led by Charleston Mayor Riley. Six hundred flag
opponents marched to the statehouse to have the flag taken down. The NAACP has staged a
national boycott of tourism in South Carolina, which is supposed to last until the flag
is removed.
The issue of whether the flag belongs at the South Carolina state capitol has been
distorted by many people. This simple matter has been transformed into a freedom of
expression controversy, which it certainly isn't. This is an issue of appropriateness.
Were the subject not so manipulated, it would be very obvious that the flag belongs in a
museum, or a Civil War memorial, and not waving at any State Capitol. 
On Michelle's first morning at a college dormitory, she discovered a fellow student had
hung a Confederate flag on his window, which was directly across from hers. As an African
American, descended from slaves, Michelle was extremely offended by the sight. She
considered it symbolic of slavery and the oppression of her ancestors. She took up the
issue with the college administration, and asked for the flag to be taken down.
Administration refused, citing the student's freedom of expression as support for this
decision. Frustrated, Michelle bought and hung a swastika flag outside her own window.
The college promptly asked both students to take their flags down. 
Why was the public display of a Confederate flag initially acceptable, and not the
swastika? Both symbols have been used to represent hatred; the swastika by the German
Nazis, the Confederate flag by white supremist groups, such as the Ku Klux Klan. Many
Southerners have been angered by the comparison between the swastika and the Battle Flag.
All 124 defenders of the Confederate flag who debate with flag opponents on the American
History Forum express and intolerance for equating the Nazi flag with the Confederate's.
Adolf Hitler's "Final Solution" was extermination and genocide; slavery was oppression.
Supposedly, there is a great difference. To many people opposed to the flag, however, the
comparison is a very valid one. Said W.T. Block, historian and author, "Only last
month... 10 Ku Klux Klansmen, demonstrating in an Indiana town [were] proudly displaying
the Confederate flag as their symbol of hate." He says the Nazi swastika "could be flying
over the capitol in Washington, D.C., if many thousands of Americans had not died to
prevent it." Fortunately, both the Confederacy and Nazi Germany were defeated. Neither
flag should wave proudly, to represent any state.
The main argument of the insistent Confederate flag supporters is that the flag honors
South Carolinian heritage. That is false; the flag honors only the soldiers who believed
in the Confederacy and fought in the Civil War. Most of those soldiers were white. Many
of the blacks who fought for the Confederacy did so because they were slaves and had no
choice. According to a 1998 census from the South Carolina Office of Public Health
Statistics, 36.76 percent of the state's population is of nonwhite heritage. These
people's histories are not honored by the flag. If a Confederate flag must hang atop the
state capitol for the sole reason of honoring the white people's heritage, flags for
every cultural group of the state should be hung, as well. Otherwise, the Confederate
flag must come down.
Any flag raised atop an American government building should not offend a sector of the
population it represents. "[The Confederate flag] doesn't represent my heritage" says
George Deas, an African-American from South Carolina. "The Confederate flag is a symbol
of oppression and repression and has been for some time." Kweisi Mfume, President and CEO
of the NAACP said "We are determined to bring that flag down. It represents one of the
most reprehensible aspects of American history not only for people of African ancestry
but for people from every background who know and understand the destructive horrors
created by slavery in this country."
Advocates for the flag's presence assert that the Civil War wasn't fought to preserve
slavery, that the flag was a symbol of state's rights against the federal government,
that it should not offend anyone. The Confederate flag was not created to represent
racism and hatred. This may be true, but it is irrelevant to the matter. Before being
tainted by the Nazis, the swastika was actually a symbol of good luck. Regardless of its
original meaning, however, no government building in the world would publicly display a
swastika flag. The good intent of the symbol has forever been marred by those who chose
to make use of it.
Perhaps the Confederate flag was not created to offend anyone. Nevertheless, it has
become a despicable design to many people. It is inappropriate, if not completely
offensive, to have this flag represent the very people who have suffered by it. The flag
must be removed from the state capitol immediately. As John K. Alexander, a University of
Cincinnati history professor said, "Flags are powerful symbols because people care about
them... As long as South Carolina continues to fly the flag, it will continue to be a
volatile issue."