Trust me, belladonna has it right. The other variation is “If I’d know they were going to be this much trouble, I’d have picked my own damn cotton.”
Having grown up with plenty of folks that would have considered that bumper sticker the height of social wit and commentary, let me assure you that belladonna is dead on.
that being said, I personally find it no more offensive than Jesus Fish, or “Visualize World Peace” bumper stickers… I usually find them all mildly annoying, but nothing to get incredibly upset over.
Keep in mind, I’m a white guy in the middle class, so demographically it’s not aimed at me, either in insult or amusment.
To me, it’s offensive, a Confederate Flag sticker alone OTOH would not be.
It’s certainly possible that’s what was intended, but it still doesn’t make any sense. The only logical interpretation is the opposite of what it allegedly is supposed to mean.
If I WANTED to say “I hate Jews” but my bumper sticker says “I Love Pumpkin Pie,” that’s not offensive, that’s retarded.
Which, now that I think about, is sublimely appropriate.
I have no idea what the above means. In the South, Confederate flags are often used to express opinions that have zbsolutely nothing to do with the Civil War. They can mean “I’m a Southerner”, or “I lean waaaaaaay right”, or even “I hate black people”. I have seen this phrase expressed without the flag anywhere on the sticker. On the bumper sticker mentioned in the OP, it is nothing but an exclamation point.
I think folks are reading waaay too much into the symbolism here. Ignorant jackasses are rarely cerebral about where they stick the Confederate Battle Flag. (That is not to say that only Ignorant jackasses respect said flag)
[pedantry]
The flag on the sticker was almost certainly the Confederate Battle Flag . The Stars and Bars was the Confederate political flag. Not the same thing, although it’s a way too common error even among folks who should know better.
Hey, keep it civil or take this to the Pit, okay?
I didn’t know that–thanks.
Wow. That sticker is just fucking rude.
Another thing is that neither of those flags was all that widely used; basically different regiments, states, etc. used different flags or variations thereof. That folks have singled out one particular flag as a “symbol of hatred” or a "symbol of pride"are just as blinkered as the folks who got that guy fired for saying “niggardly”.
Oh, and sorry about the double post - I do find the sentiment “If we’d known them n----rs would’ve been so much trouble, I’d have picked my own cotton” very offensive, just to be clear.
I don’t see the connection here. The “niggard” thing is a misunderstanding, and that flag wasn’t chosen by accident by anyone.
If this bumper sticker means what it seems to mean, then it’s terrible. The meaning isn’t clearly expressed, but it would seem the message is still getting across.
Sadly, I’ll concede that “Scarlett O’Hara framed by a burning Atlanta” wouldn’t be easily recognizable on a bumper sticker. But it would be a better symbol for Confederate regrets. 
I find the sticker originally described to be offensive in intent although semiotically garbled.
Sailboat
Uh, no. The reason why that one particular flag is seen as a symbol of hatred is because it has been used as such by hate groups, namely the KKK. Your comparison to “niggardly” is without merit.
Anyone else find the constant references to “niggardly” a bit played out? It’s like we can’t talk about anything race-related without someone whining about that word.
You’re taking too long a view here.
The Battle Flag might not have been “widely used” during the war…although from period illustrations and paintings, I have doubts about that statement. However, during the Civil Rights era and afterward, interest in that flag was revived, and it was very specifically and intentionally used by many, many people to convey their racial hostility.
I’ve seen it used that way and I’ve seen it overtly explained to have that meaning. As in, “You see this heah flag, boy? This heah flag means we don’t like your kind.”
So I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that, whenever someone asserts that it is not a symbol of hatred, they are either disingenuous, naive, or indulging in historical wishful thinking, and not describing my reality.
I say this as a white Southerner…the two sides of my family are from North Carolina and Mississippi.
Sailboat
I hope whatever the black frat boys said was extremely clever and managed to genuinely enlighten the young man. Otherwise, if what was said to him implied the threat of violence, I find that more offensive than some dumb-ass T-shirt or bumper sticker.
I tried to look up that bumper sticker online to make sure we’re all talking about the same (or comparable one), hoping I couldn’t find it. I was right.
That’s at least a plus.
Are you saying you couldn’t find it online?
Hate to let you down, but “picked my own damn cotton” returned a ton of results on Google. Leave the quotes in.
From what meaning I can gather, pretty offensive.
Maybe it’s a backhanded blessing the owner / maker got it so garbled…