# Do you find the Confederate flag offensive? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 27, 2004, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-the-confederate-flag-offensive/281815 "2004-12-27T20:22:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2004, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-the-confederate-flag-offensive/281815/101 "2004-12-28T04:54:30Z")
> [@Reeder](#): > > So by your thinking…those that opposed Brittain were traitors too? As a matter of fact they were. Sometimes treason is called for. ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2004, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-the-confederate-flag-offensive/281815/102 "2004-12-28T04:58:26Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > As a matter of fact they were. Sometimes treason is called for. and when it comes to the north raping the south for monetary gain. Treason was called for again. I’m not saying slavery wasn’t part of the civil war. Of course it was. But it was not the end all be all. You trace all wars back to there basic begginings you will find money. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Great\_Zamboni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@The\_Great\_Zamboni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Great_Zamboni)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2004, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-the-confederate-flag-offensive/281815/103 "2004-12-28T05:17:08Z")
> [@Reeder](#): > > You trace all wars back to there basic begginings you will find money. In this case, it was southern plantation owners and farmers getting free labor from humans who were being treated as livestock. [spelling freak]It’s spelled _their_ basic _beginnings_[/spelling freak] ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2004, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-the-confederate-flag-offensive/281815/104 "2004-12-28T05:24:23Z")
> [@The Great Zamboni](#): > > In this case, it was southern plantation owners and farmers getting free labor from humans who were being treated as livestock. > > [spelling freak]It’s spelled _their_ basic _beginnings_[/spelling freak] My bad on the spelling. But it’s not the slave holders making the money. > [@](#): > > There were many reasons for a Civil War to happen in America, and political issues and disagreements began soon after the American Revolution ended in 1782. Between the years 1800 and 1860, arguments between the North and South grew more intense. One of the main quarrels was about taxes paid on goods brought into this country from foreign countries. This tax was called a tariff. Southerners felt these tariffs were unfair and aimed toward them because they imported a wider variety of goods than most Northern people. Taxes were also placed on many Southern goods that were shipped to foreign countries, an expense that was not always applied to Northern goods of equal value. An awkward economic structure allowed states and private transportation companies to do this, which also affected Southern banks that found themselves paying higher interest rates on loans made with banks in the North. The situation grew worse after several “panics”, including one in 1857 that affected more Northern banks than Southern. Southern financiers found themselves burdened with high payments just to save Northern banks that had suffered financial losses through poor investment. [http://www.nps.gov/gett/gettkidz/cause.htm](http://www.nps.gov/gett/gettkidz/cause.htm) You were saying? ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2004, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-the-confederate-flag-offensive/281815/105 "2004-12-28T05:42:44Z")
Not trying to junior mod, just a gentle reminder meant in good community spirit which you may ignore as you wish. The OP requested no debate, just a poll w/individual clarification as necessary. - Tamerlane ---
**Author:** ![Crandolph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7cd45c/32.png) [@Crandolph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crandolph)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2004, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-the-confederate-flag-offensive/281815/106 "2004-12-28T06:31:41Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > BTW. let’s not pretend that the Civil War was really about states’ rights. That’s a tiresome apology. It was about slavery, plain and simple. Absolutely correct! In fact, South Carolina in particular was upset that the federal government wouldn’t _impede_ the rights of northern states and force them to return runaway slaves. The flag belongs in the trash. ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2004, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-the-confederate-flag-offensive/281815/107 "2004-12-28T06:54:32Z")
No, but I’m not really offended easily. Actually I can’t think of much in ordinary life that would offend me. To offend me it’d have to be something personal, I don’t get offended by sweeping political matters like abortion, flags, racism, et cetera. I may have strong feelings about something but I don’t get offended by things for whatever reason. I’ve heard people call my section of the country racist, white trash, worthless, et cetera but it doesn’t offend me. I recognize the South for what it is, a place with beautiful scenery, sometimes damnably hot weather, and with a large myriad of people. You’ll find racists and you’ll find humanists, the South isn’t even close to being a monocultural area. I tend to defend the Confederate flag because people that lambast tend to be the people that like to make sweeping generalizations about the South. I don’t really agree with most of the people that do display the flag, though. ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2004, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-the-confederate-flag-offensive/281815/108 "2004-12-28T06:55:59Z")
> [@Martin Hyde](#): > > I tend to defend the Confederate flag because people that lambast tend to be the people that like to make sweeping generalizations about the South. I don’t really agree with most of the people that do display the flag, though. Correction: "I tend to defend the Confederate flag’s display because people that lambast it tend to be the people that like to make sweeping generalizations about the South. Addendum: Plus it’s perfectly acceptable as political expression. ---
**Author:** ![mks57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@mks57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mks57)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2004, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-the-confederate-flag-offensive/281815/109 "2004-12-28T07:02:47Z")
No. You can find assholes waving any flag, even the stars and stripes. ---
**Author:** ![spectrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9fc29f/32.png) [@spectrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spectrum)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2004, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-the-confederate-flag-offensive/281815/110 "2004-12-28T07:03:36Z")
> [@JustPlainBryan](#): > > No. > > I’ve read too much history to hold any real hatred towards the South because of the Civil War. They thought their rights were being trampled on, and so they took up arms. They thought their right to OWN OTHER PEOPLE AND TREAT THEM AS LIVESTOCK was being threatened. That’s it. “States rights” was about the right of a state to treat blacks as cattle. Self determination was about the right of a region to determine that blacks were livestock. It’s all about slavery, all of it, right down the line, no matter how pretty a face you put on it. It was a war about slavery, and the second or third most evil nation to grace this earth in the last couple centuries went down to a bloody, deservedly painful defeat. Burning was too good for Atlanta, and anywhere else in the South. ---
**Author:** ![jimpatro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b9e5f3/32.png) [@jimpatro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimpatro)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2004, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-the-confederate-flag-offensive/281815/111 "2004-12-28T07:14:42Z")
Quote: Originally Posted by jimpatro Yes. The Confederacy and those who supported it were traitors against the United States of America. Nothing to be proud of. Originally posted by **Reeder** > [@](#): > > So by your thinking…those that opposed Brittain were traitors too? You just don’t get it. The Revolutionary war was about becoming the U.S.A. The Civil War was about remaining the U.S.A. ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2004, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-the-confederate-flag-offensive/281815/112 "2004-12-28T07:16:03Z")
Spectrum, that is crass idiocy. The argument that the Civil War was about state’s rights and not slavery is misleading. It was certainly about slavery but it was about other issues too, and to say every single thing was about slavery is just patently wrong. And a lot of the people that fought and died for the Confederacy were being exploited by an aristocracy that lead them to believe they were actually fighting for increased civil liberties (as opposed to fighting for the aristocracy’s financial fortunes.) The Southern elite had many beefs with the North and had such beefs since at least the Jackson administration (during which one Southern state threatened to secede over something not even related to slavery at all). I do think slavery was the biggest issue in that it was the issue the North was the most aggressive on, so therefor the South was the most aggressive on. But if the North had been extremely aggressive on tariffs we probably would have seen widespread rebellion as well. ---
**Author:** ![Bruce\_Daddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Bruce\_Daddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bruce_Daddy)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2004, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-the-confederate-flag-offensive/281815/113 "2004-12-28T07:28:11Z")
No. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2004, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-the-confederate-flag-offensive/281815/114 "2004-12-28T07:48:06Z")
This is not The BBQ Pit or Great Debates, so post your opinion and move on. The _only_ reason to post twice in this poll is to change your opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2004, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-the-confederate-flag-offensive/281815/115 "2004-12-28T11:01:05Z")
Yes, and I’m a WASP. The only reason that flag exists is a war that was fought in large part to keep slavery legal. End. of. story. I’m told I couldn’t make it in Texas. Every time I see that flag as a sticker I assume a lot about the education or intelligence or morals of the person. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2004, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-the-confederate-flag-offensive/281815/116 "2004-12-28T12:18:06Z")
Does it offend me personally? Probably not, although when I see it, I think a great many of the people who fly it would hate my guts. So in that sense, when I’m down South and I see one, it makes me uncomfortable. If you mean “do I think it’s offensive in general,” then absolutely yes. Other posters gave some good reasons in the Pit thread, though you’d have to wade through a lot of other stuff to find them. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2004, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-the-confederate-flag-offensive/281815/117 "2004-12-28T12:20:46Z")
Sorry, tiny elaboration in light of some good posts here: if it’s actually used in a historical setting, like a museum, I have no problem seeing it or any other flag. ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2004, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-the-confederate-flag-offensive/281815/118 "2004-12-28T13:35:42Z")
No ---
**Author:** ![Marconi\_Schmeese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ea666f/32.png) [@Marconi\_Schmeese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marconi_Schmeese)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2004, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-the-confederate-flag-offensive/281815/119 "2004-12-28T18:36:50Z")
No. Southerner here. ---
**Author:** ![buttonjockey308](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@buttonjockey308](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buttonjockey308)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2004, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-the-confederate-flag-offensive/281815/120 "2004-12-28T19:12:58Z")
Nope. For everything it once meant, it’s just a flag today. No more, no less. Recognizing what it means to a few, gives the image more power than it has. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-the-confederate-flag-offensive/281815.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-the-confederate-flag-offensive/281815.md?page=7)