# The white hood: heritage, not hate! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 21, 2015, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-hood-heritage-not-hate/723050 "2015-06-21T02:50:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![Robert163](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4af34b/32.png) [@Robert163](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robert163)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2015, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-hood-heritage-not-hate/723050/181 "2015-06-23T05:57:13Z")
> [@Latro](#): > > Is that a yes? > > I suppose it could be, I indeed do not live there, but of the two (or more) sentiments attached to the flag, I don’t think “Look I’m a racist” is the most likely. Well I live in South Georgia. The majority of white people here are racist. Because I’m white they assume I’m racist too. They are all the time saying racist stuff in front of me. They love the confederate flag and southern pride and all that. So, to answer your question, yes, I do know what they are thinking. Because I hear them say so, explicitly. ---
**Author:** ![Latro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a87d85/32.png) [@Latro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Latro)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2015, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-hood-heritage-not-hate/723050/182 "2015-06-23T05:59:41Z")
> [@Robert163](#): > > Well I live in South Georgia. The majority of white people here are racist. Because I’m white they assume I’m racist too. They are all the time saying racist stuff in front of me. They love the confederate flag and southern pride and all that. So, to answer your question, yes, I do know what they are thinking. Because I hear them say so, explicitly. K. I will take your word for it then. ---
**Author:** ![Robert163](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4af34b/32.png) [@Robert163](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robert163)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2015, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-hood-heritage-not-hate/723050/183 "2015-06-23T06:13:21Z")
> [@Latro](#): > > K. > > I will take your word for it then. Do you really take my word for it? Look, not every “racist” down here hates black people, that is not what I am saying. What I am saying, is, someone from South Georgia or Alabama or South Carolina, is going to be much more likely to believe in negative stereotypes about black people than someone from San Francisco or New York. They may even have black friends and be friendly in general to blacks but they are going to be much more likely, than a person from NYC or San Francisco, when they see a black person in a store in town, they will be much more likely to assume that black person is on welfare or a potential criminal than most other people in most other places would assume. I have trouble with depression. I get out about once a week to go for groceries. I’ve only lived here for 6 months, I moved back after 15 years away. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard about black people being on welfare and driving Cadillacs. The problem is this is simply not true. I’ve been in the black part of town and rode by the housing projects and guess what, no Cadillacs! Next up, black women just want to have babies so they can get another check. You hear these comments all the time! The people who think the worst in these regards are invariably the ones who believe in “southern pride”. ---
**Author:** ![Latro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a87d85/32.png) [@Latro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Latro)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2015, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-hood-heritage-not-hate/723050/184 "2015-06-23T06:58:02Z")
> [@Robert163](#): > > Do you really take my word for it? Look, not every “racist” down here hates black people, that is not what I am saying. What I am saying, is, someone from South Georgia or Alabama or South Carolina, is going to be much more likely to believe in negative stereotypes about black people than someone from San Francisco or New York. They may even have black friends and be friendly in general to blacks but they are going to be much more likely, than a person from NYC or San Francisco, when they see a black person in a store in town, they will be much more likely to assume that black person is on welfare or a potential criminal than most other people in most other places would assume. > > I have trouble with depression. I get out about once a week to go for groceries. I’ve only lived here for 6 months, I moved back after 15 years away. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard about black people being on welfare and driving Cadillacs. The problem is this is simply not true. I’ve been in the black part of town and rode by the housing projects and guess what, no Cadillacs! Next up, black women just want to have babies so they can get another check. You hear these comments all the time! > > The people who think the worst in these regards are invariably the ones who believe in “southern pride”. Yes, I was willing to take your word for it. You living there and all and you were quite adamant. Your qualifiers now do take it down a notch, from KKK level. Maybe to white supremacist level? ---
**Author:** ![Salvor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Salvor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Salvor)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2015, 9:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-hood-heritage-not-hate/723050/185 "2015-06-23T09:04:20Z")
> [@Grotonian](#): > > And where did the people of Florida, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, and Missouri get the brilliant idea of holding Africans as slaves? From their fucking friends in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia. > > Also, the notion that the CSA was fundamentally different from the USA is belied by the fact that they had the same Constitutions. The major difference being that the South’s constitution specifically referred to “slaves” rather than using the North’s euphemism. > > Moreover, this obnoxious argument that the CSA was worse than the USA is predicated on what? The belief that it was better to be a slave in Kentucky than a slave in Mississippi? Were slaves in Missouri supposed to feel better about being owned because they were still in the Union and inheritors of the Declaration of Independence while slaves in Arkansas were stuck being owned in that evil Confederacy? > > I think being a slave was pretty shitty either way. I think we can claim the north was superior to the confederacy because of the critical mass of those opposed to slavery, that did not exist in the confederate states. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2015, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-hood-heritage-not-hate/723050/186 "2015-06-23T09:16:55Z")
> [@Robert163](#): > > Well I live in South Georgia. The majority of white people here are racist. Because I’m white they assume I’m racist too. They are all the time saying racist stuff in front of me. They love the confederate flag and southern pride and all that. So, to answer your question, yes, I do know what they are thinking. Because I hear them say so, explicitly. This is my experience over the years in Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, Mississippi, Florida, and Texas. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2015, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-hood-heritage-not-hate/723050/187 "2015-06-23T09:47:54Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > And killing Jews wasn’t the core concept of Nazism, either. But it was as much an IMPORTANT part of Nazism as The Inquisition was to Catholicism. The Inquisition wasn’t really all that important. The Church trudged on for some thousand years without it, and even when it _was_ a thing it was a “fringes of Christendom” thing - places where Catholics and Others had to coexist for one reason or another, and the Christians wanted to make sure they were the ones on top, whatever it took. It was a horrible thing to be sure, but it was not what being Catholic is/was _about_. OTOH, wiping out the “Untermenschen” within the borders of the Reich was the Nazi’s whole mission statement. And maintaining the institution of slavery was what the CSA was entirely about. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2015, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-hood-heritage-not-hate/723050/188 "2015-06-23T11:56:48Z")
Here’s [a great article](http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/06/what-this-cruel-war-was-over/396482/) from Ta-Nehisi Coates about the purpose and motivations of the Confederacy, from the mouths of Confederate leaders and the Articles of Secession from the states. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2015, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-hood-heritage-not-hate/723050/189 "2015-06-23T12:56:50Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > I’m entirely aware of that skit. Why do you think Cash was not in the “ignoramus” category? Asshole category seems [just as likely](https://www.google.com/search?q=johnny+cash+finger&num=30&safe=off&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=TVeJVcRsqP3KA5n3q4gB&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1366&bih=563)… ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2015, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-hood-heritage-not-hate/723050/190 "2015-06-23T13:05:34Z")
> [@Latro](#): > > Your qualifiers now do take it down a notch, from KKK level. > Maybe to white supremacist level? I’m not seeing the distinction you’re making - aren’t the KKK the very epitome of white supremacy? ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2015, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-hood-heritage-not-hate/723050/191 "2015-06-23T13:09:50Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Asshole category seems [just as likely](https://www.google.com/search?q=johnny+cash+finger&num=30&safe=off&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=TVeJVcRsqP3KA5n3q4gB&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1366&bih=563)… Tell you the truth, seeing that ad was the first time I ever had a positive impression of Cash, and it led to a lifelong love of his music. Dude definitely had an asshole side, especially in his youth, though. > [@MrDibble](#): > > I’m not seeing the distinction you’re making - aren’t the KKK the very epitome of white supremacy? They’re like the sharp tip of the white supremacy sword. Plenty of people are white supremacists without being willing to dress up in hoods and scare black people. Folks who talk about welfare queens tend to be white supremacists but not Klansmen. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2015, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-hood-heritage-not-hate/723050/192 "2015-06-23T15:12:23Z")
It’s fascinating that in an era when people would be hard pressed to name their neighbors that one would have the ability to discern the racial affinity of a majority of a group. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2015, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-hood-heritage-not-hate/723050/193 "2015-06-23T16:11:29Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > It’s fascinating that in an era when people would be hard pressed to name their neighbors that one would have the ability to discern the racial affinity of a majority of a group. What? ---
**Author:** ![Smartass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@Smartass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smartass)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2015, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-hood-heritage-not-hate/723050/194 "2015-06-23T22:22:53Z")
> [@Robert163](#): > > What I am saying, is, someone from South Georgia or Alabama or South Carolina, is going to be much more likely to believe in negative stereotypes about black people than someone from San Francisco or New York. I’m sorry, but I can’t just let this pass. Having lived three decades and change in Alabama (in Florida for the last 9), I’ve got a pretty good sense of the racism that we have there. Also being pretty well traveled and married into a displaced Midwestern family, I have a pretty good sense of the flavor of the racism elsewhere. My generalization of the difference is as follows: A real southern racist hollers “nigger”. A non-southern racist whispers “the blacks.” These both represent pretty much the same stereotypes: Lazy, stupid, criminal, etc. So, if you’re talking about crime, the economy, or some other societal issue, you can tell the southern racist from the non-southern racist by speech pattern: “Well, we wouldn’t have a problem if it wasn’t for all the goddamn niggers.” “Well, we wouldn’t have this problem if it weren’t for _the blacks_.” One definitely sounds less offensive, but it’s the same racist sentiment either way. My point is this: You’re not going to get anywhere with convincing southerners of anything as long as the whole conversation is built around the idea that racism is a southern problem. It’s an American problem. It’s a global problem. You want to advise us on how to deal with our racists? What are you doing about yours? Far as I can tell, the only thing we really can do is wait for them to die; they sure aren’t very willing to change. > [@andros](#): > > **billfish678** , would you kindly explain exactly _why_ you feel the need to support the use of the Confederate Flag? I mean, it sounds like your whole argument boils down to “because I wanna, and fuck anyone who’s offended.” And I’m pretty sure that’s not really how you’re intending to come across. I think billfish678 may be being a little too subtle for you here, and you’re way too quick to put words into his mouth. His point was for you to actually think about why Southerners feel the need to have a flag, whether it be the confederate flag or something else. He didn’t feel the need to provide evidence because, to some Southerners, this thread provides plenty of it. To be clear, there are no living southerners who owned slaves or fought in the Civil War. However, it sure seems like there is an ongoing desire to hold it over our heads. Everyone here is very aware of racial stereotypes, but no one is talking about the stereotypes that non-southerners apply to southerners…when you think southerner, are you honestly going to say that none of ignorant redneck racist slave owners illiterate gun-obsessed cross your mind? Seriously? If southerners start taking seriously what everyone else thinks of us, we’ll have no self-esteem left. So, what happens when people feel continually criticized? Well, for some, they look for things to take pride in. In the south, we even tend to take a contrarian pride in who we are, and will say things like, “Yeah, I have to live with a bunch of ignorant racist rednecks, but at least I don’t have to live up north.” So, why would we want to have a flag for our region in particular? More than anything else, it’s an act of defiance. It’s a big ole “fuck you” to all the people from other regions who act like the South is the only place you can find ignorant racists. If you’re looking for a reason to fly the flag that isn’t “I’m a racist” or “I’m an asshole”, most southerners would say “because we’re surrounded by assholes, and we like pissing them off.” I have known quite a few people in my life who sported the Confederate Flag with no racist intentions whatsoever. Just “southern pride”, and a desire to proclaim it loudly in a country where so many people think (or at least act like) we’re shit. However, there is a real problem with this, because there have been so many loud southern racists who sport the flag as a way of announcing their racism. There are real live southerners who think “southern pride” includes “recognizing that black people are inferior to white people.” It doesn’t matter to me in the least what the CSA stood for, and I can’t believe so much time has been wasted in this thread arguing about it. The issue isn’t why anyone flew the flag _then_, but why someone flies it _now_. There are people who display it to announce their southern pride, and it’s asinine that the lists that I keep seeing of “reasons” never include one that isn’t insulting–either you’re a racist, an ignorant redneck, or an asshole (which you already knew when you found out they were southerners, right?). **LHOD** consistently insists that there can’t be a good reason, and I suspect he could easily make lists that just as clearly show that there can be no good southerners or good reasons for southerners to be proud, right? Sure there can. One of those reasons to fly the confederate flag CAN be to try to demonstrate that there is more to the South than racism. To show that it CAN stand for something good. To try to “take it back” from the ignorant assholes and make it represent something better. To my way of thinking, this is at least a little more honest than hiding it away and pretending that none of the bad shit in the past ever happened. Just like we pretend that the Trail Of Tears never happened, or doesn’t have anything to do with us. No lessons to be learned there, either, I suppose. Having said all that, there are still far too many racists sporting the stars and bars for my taste. And there are people with legitimate reasons to be intimidated by it. So, while I’m proud–and more than a little relieved–to be a Southerner, you won’t find any confederate flags on my house or vehicles (I only fly flags that say “Roll Tide”). While the confederate flag can stand for good things–and sometimes it does–it’s not worth it _to me_ to risk someone thinking that I might be one of those other kinds of southerner; I’ve got them in my family, and it just hits a little too close to home. As for the comparison of the flag to the KKK hood…the flag CAN stand for legit southern pride or for racism (or for admiration of the amazing tactical prowess of Robert E. Lee). The KKK has never stood for anything but hate. When I was a teenager (1980s), we found a place out by the lake where a KKK group had a…whatever you call their lodges where they meet revel to in their whiteness. It had 3 massive crosses on display in a clearing between several buildings that could have been barns or churches. I was shocked that such a place might actually still exist. And even though I was as white as the Klansmen, just seeing the place was terrifying. -VM ---
**Author:** ![Smartass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@Smartass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smartass)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2015, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-hood-heritage-not-hate/723050/195 "2015-06-23T22:45:04Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > I’m not painting them with a broad brush, either. I’ve described at least three categories they can fit in, and intimated a fourth. Here are the categories, again: > > 1. White supremacists: people who know some of the flag’s history and fly it to echo that history. > 2. Ignoramuses: people who don’t know the flag’s history and fly it for other reasons. > 3. Assholes: people who know the flag’s history and fly it despite knowing that history. See, as a Southerner, I see a list like this, and my knee-jerk reaction is something like this: “Tell you what, I’m gonna go pick me up a confederate flag hat and wear it for you. And I want you to stand in front of me and tell me that I’m a racist, an idiot, or an asshole, and then see how you like what happens next.” We Southerners tend to be temperamental when we feel like we’re being insulted. I blame the heat. -VM ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2015, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-hood-heritage-not-hate/723050/196 "2015-06-23T22:47:10Z")
> [@Smartass](#): > > See, as a Southerner, I see a list like this, and my knee-jerk reaction is something like this: “Tell you what, I’m gonna go pick me up a confederate flag hat and wear it for you. And I want you to stand in front of me and tell me that I’m a racist, an idiot, or an asshole, and then see how you like what happens next.” > > We Southerners tend to be temperamental when we feel like we’re being insulted. I blame the heat. As a fellow Southerner, I see veiled threats couched in self-hating stereotypes like that, and I roll my eyes. There’s nothing remotely reasonable about what you’re saying, nothing to debate. So you want to punch me. Good for you? ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2015, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-hood-heritage-not-hate/723050/197 "2015-06-23T22:49:03Z")
> [@Smartass](#): > > If you’re looking for a reason to fly the flag that isn’t “I’m a racist” or “I’m an asshole”, most southerners would say “because we’re surrounded by assholes, and we like pissing them off.” That reason does not require the creation of a new category. This is difficult to discuss, because I can’t tell whether you’re speaking for yourself or others. If you’re speaking for yourself, I run the risk of running afoul of rules against insulting fellow posters. So I’m going to assume you’re not speaking for yourself, are just speaking about generic southerners who post the flag, and I’ll continue talking about them. If it becomes necessary, I’ll substitute “people who show remarkably little concern about making people around them unhappy” for “asshole.” ---
**Author:** ![Robert163](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4af34b/32.png) [@Robert163](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robert163)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2015, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-hood-heritage-not-hate/723050/198 "2015-06-23T22:54:38Z")
> [@Smartass](#): > > cross your mind? Seriously? If southerners start taking seriously what everyone else thinks of us, we’ll have no self-esteem left. So, what happens when people feel continually criticized? Well, for some, they look for things to take pride in. In the south, we even tend to take a contrarian pride in who we are, and will say things like, “Yeah, I have to live with a bunch of ignorant racist rednecks, but at least I don’t have to live up north.” > > So, why would we want to have a flag for our region in particular? More than anything else, it’s an act of defiance. It’s a big ole “fuck you” to all the people from other regions who act like the South is the only place you can find ignorant racists. If you’re looking for a reason to fly the flag that isn’t “I’m a racist” or “I’m an asshole”, most southerners would say “because we’re surrounded by assholes, and we like pissing them off.” I have known quite a few people in my life who sported the Confederate Flag with no racist intentions whatsoever. Just “southern pride”, and a desire to proclaim it loudly in a country where so many people think (or at least act like) we’re shit. > > -VM “Well I’m not racist but since people living other places are going to assume I am I will fly the flag anyway out of defiance.” I realize you said you don’t fly the confederate flag but even as a hypothetical response the one you gave above is: (1)bizarre (2)incredibly juvenile ---
**Author:** ![Robert163](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4af34b/32.png) [@Robert163](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robert163)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2015, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-hood-heritage-not-hate/723050/199 "2015-06-23T23:00:27Z")
> [@Smartass](#): > > While the confederate flag can stand for good things > > -VM What would those things be (seriously, what good things do you think it represents?) ---
**Author:** ![Smartass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@Smartass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smartass)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2015, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-hood-heritage-not-hate/723050/200 "2015-06-23T23:06:47Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > This is difficult to discuss, because I can’t tell whether you’re speaking for yourself or others. I’m doing a little of both. > [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > If you’re speaking for yourself, I run the risk of running afoul of rules against insulting fellow posters. My point is that your list insults fellow posters. Because you can’t imagine having the kind of southern pride that inspires southerners to fly the confederate flag (even the non-racists), you assume that it cannot exist. So, presence of the flag is de facto evidence that the person displaying it is ignorant, racist, or just an asshole. Well, there can, in fact, be other items on your list, and I’m suggesting what a few of them might be. > [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > So I’m going to assume you’re not speaking for yourself, are just speaking about generic southerners who post the flag, and I’ll continue talking about them. If it becomes necessary, I’ll substitute “people who show remarkably little concern about making people around them unhappy” for “asshole.” Would the category of “people who show remarkably little concern about making people around them unhappy” include people who randomly insult large groups of southerners? If there’s one takeaway I’d like for you to take from my rambling posts, it’s this: If you really want to convince southerners to take down the flags, you need to find a way that doesn’t include referring to them this way. You’re not going to insult southerners into changing. However, if you want to make southerners feel more defiant, just keep on suggesting that flying the confederate flag is the same as putting on the white hood. And southerners will keep on proudly displaying their flag and inviting you kiss their racist redneck asses. The fact is, I don’t own a single confederate-flag-decorated item. Not a flag, a hat, or a belt buckle. There’s nothing in my personal southern pride that I think is well represented by it. Even so, your characterizations of southern people piss me off. When I read your posts and find myself tempted to go out and buy a new hat, it suggests that you’re going about this in exactly the wrong way. That is, unless your goal is to increase the display of confederate flags in the south, in which case, by all means, do carry on. -VM [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-hood-heritage-not-hate/723050.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-white-hood-heritage-not-hate/723050.md?page=11)