Does this flag bother you?

[crashdive123]

Thanks for the link. I'm not getting your reference in post #38. Looks like a few people came up with an idea and started a clothing company that, at its peak was doing $350 million a year. Were you referring to the part where the Wiki stated that they felt that N i k e (forum blocks that word for some reason) was exploiting African Americans and they wanted a company that gave back to the community? I'm just not getting your reference.

[klkak]

This is how I feel about it.

[nell67]

Crash,FUBU means For Us,By Us,meaning the clothes were made by blacks for blacks,that is what his reference is to.

[Sam Reeves]

This is how I feel about it.

The same can be said for most of the conflicts we fought since WWII.

Y'all can't kill the South.

[crashdive123]

Crash,FUBU means For Us,By Us,meaning the clothes were made by blacks for blacks,that is what his reference is to.

Got it. Thanks. Not unlike, what, white separatists ?

[Sam Reeves]

Got it. Thanks. Not unlike, what, white separatists ?

You got it.

[RangerXanatos]

I was born and raised in the south. I grew up seeing those flags everywhere. In people's front yards, as designs on back windshields, pinned on ceilings, hung as a curtain, tattoo's, and I've even heard "Dixie" as a truck horn. I'm not at all offended by the flag/song. But the people that are rascist or surly toward the North/Races are the ones I despise. To the ones that see it as heritage, I have no problems with.

I went to the grocery store one day to pick up some drinks. Pepsi just so happened to be on sale so that was what I got. While leaving the store I had an older man stop me and tell me that Pepsi will rust out my pipes. I told him that just about everything does. He responded to me that if I was going to get a soft drink I should get Coca-Cola since we have a factory in Atlanta. Then he went on a rant about the southerners have Coca-Cola and the "Yankees" have Pepsi and how the "yankees" burnt all of his ancestors' property and he lost all of his inheritence. I just told the prejudice old man that that was in the past and there was nothing he could do about it, move on.

Daniel

[ryaninmichigan]

I had a friend that lived in Tn. for 10 years. I visited often 4-5 times a year. We went into a bar one night. Shooting pool, went to the bar, order a beer and this old boy looked at me and said "You aint from around here is ya boy?" I said no sir. he said " I don't like notherners none." I said thats OK I hate hill billys. The room got real quite for a minute. Then he said " I like you boy, let me buy that beer".. I take no sh!t.

[crashdive123]

See....that was nicely done RiM. Me, I probably would have said something like "Your wife doesn't seem to mind" You got a beer. Me, probably an arse whooping.

[FVR]

I was working on the outskirts of Hattiesburg Ms, many, many years ago pulling underground storage tanks from radio towers.

The subs show up, local boys. Older guy says "Where ye from" I told him Atlanta, he then went into a tyrade about damn yankees coming down here taking away local work.

Think it was a smart move not to tell him that I was really from NJ, there was a 10' deep hole right there.

Always be aware of your sourroundings. LOL.


I usually keep my mouth shut. Ya see, I look like a good ol boy, but when I open my mouth, the Yankee just comes right out.

[Sarge47]

FUBU sucks! They don't make Gore-Tex survival clothing! However how in the world does a clothing company started up by blacks for blacks even compare to a flag that stands for out-and-out racism? I'll tell you what, we'll test this out. Which one of you macho "Stars & Bars" lovers volunteers to fly the confederate flag through the all black neighborhoods in New York's Harlem, L.A.'s Watts, & the Black neighborhoods in Chicago? If you do that & come back home without any bullet holes anywhere then I'll believe that the flag's not offensive. If you come home standing up & walking I'll believe it's a freakin' miracle.

BTW, Crash, ever since the "Heathen Chinee Spambots" & their like tried to sell that brand of running shoe it's now a "Red-Flag". I'm guessing, but I'll bet that's why.

[ryaninmichigan]

See....that was nicely done RiM. Me, I probably would have said something like "Your wife doesn't seem to mind" You got a beer. Me, probably an arse whooping.

When he said that I was fully prepared to whip his ***. But I also knew he WAS from around there. So I thought I would have some fun first. I made out alright. Bear Creek Inn. Outside of Columbia.

[ryaninmichigan]

FUBU sucks! They don't make Gore-Tex survival clothing! However how in the world does a clothing company started up by blacks for blacks even compare to a flag that stands for out-and-out racism? I'll tell you what, we'll test this out. Which one of you macho "Stars & Bars" lovers volunteers to fly the confederate flag through the all black neighborhoods in New York's Harlem, L.A.'s Watts, & the Black neighborhoods in Chicago? If you do it that & come back home without any bullet holes anywhere then I'll believe that the flag's not offensive. If you come home standing up & walking I'll believe it's a freakin' miracle.

BTW, Crash, ever since the "Heathen Chinee Spambots" & their like tried to sell that brand of running shoe it's now a "Red-Flag". I'm guessing, but I'll bet that's why.

It's the name. Not for me. I guess if I made work boots called MFWNFB it would be ok?

[Sarge47]

It's the name. Not for me. I guess if I made jump boots called MFWNFB it would be ok?

RiM, I wouldn't mind a bit, although that doesn't mean I'd buy any. How about a clothing line of Survival duds labeled "WTSHTF"?

[Sam Reeves]

FUBU sucks! They don't make Gore-Tex survival clothing! However how in the world does a clothing company started up by blacks for blacks even compare to a flag that stands for out-and-out racism? I'll tell you what, we'll test this out. Which one of you macho "Stars & Bars" lovers volunteers to fly the confederate flag through the all black neighborhoods in New York's Harlem, L.A.'s Watts, & the Black neighborhoods in Chicago? If you do that & come back home without any bullet holes anywhere then I'll believe that the flag's not offensive. If you come home standing up & walking I'll believe it's a freakin' miracle.

I fly it in Atlanta. The dirty South isn't for sissies.

The Confederate flag is not about hate. Never was. Of course, some people consider St. Andrews a hate sign, too.

THE FACTS are that the Civil war was about State Rights. If the South had of successfully seceded from the Union the North would have gone broke because of it's green backs. Slavery was just an emotional issue that the Union used to justify the war. Surely you remember what Grant said after the war?

[Sam Reeves]

I was working on the outskirts of Hattiesburg Ms, many, many years ago pulling underground storage tanks from radio towers.

The subs show up, local boys. Older guy says "Where ye from" I told him Atlanta, he then went into a tyrade about damn yankees coming down here taking away local work.

Think it was a smart move not to tell him that I was really from NJ, there was a 10' deep hole right there.

Always be aware of your sourroundings. LOL.


I usually keep my mouth shut. Ya see, I look like a good ol boy, but when I open my mouth, the Yankee just comes right out.

About nine years ago I applied for a job wiring a school in Cherokee country. They called me and told me to come to work. I didn't know it was a Union shop and the owners were unsatisfied with the Union workers and were hiring non-Union workers to replace them. The Union guys were mostly from up North. I don't blame a man for relocating to feed his family if all he knows how to do is electrical work.
At lunch one of my co-workers had forgot to bring a spoon. The dumb Yankee was eating mashed potatoes with his fingers. I gave the guy my spoon and I started eating with my pocket knife. They were impressed with what I could do and asked me how long I had been with the "program". I didn't know what they were talking about so I told them how long I had been doing electrical work and what all I had done in the past. When they figured out that I was not in the IBEW they all got up and moved to another part of the slab. The feller that I gave my spoon to slung the spoon across the floor. So I sat there by myself and finished my lunch.
When it was time to go back to work they started calling me a "scab". I said "Look, I just answered an ad in the newspaper and showed up to work just like y'all." About three of them 'booed' and another started yelling about how great and wonderful the IBEW is. I responded "Well, I'm in my own backyard and I don't mind y'all being here so what is yer problem?" I finally had to stand on one of the fellers toes and put my nose to his and ask him just how far he wanted to take it before they would leave me alone. They treated me like dirt. When I got home I called the shop and asked them WTF is going on. They could have told me that it was a Union shop before they sent me out there. I finally joined the Union as an IJ (intermediate journeyman) then everybody was happy.

I'm married to a Yankee that was born in Germany.

[FVR]

While living up in Maryland, I got kicked out of a hunting club on the Eastern Shore because I am and always have been non union. Now, I've had to belong to unions while working up in NJ and Md., but that was by necissisity.

I've lost long time hunting and fishing buds because of unions and strikes. It is a shame, because I don't give a rats *** if you are union, it's just no my way. Union members just don't see it that way.

I've had guys that I have sat around the fire with on cold winter mornings, throw rocks at my truck.


Now, that is a hot issue.

[sgtdraino]

I think that the problems that arise from it, and why emotions run so high is that those that claim it is just a symbol of Southern Pride did nothing when their symbol was hijacked by hate groups.

That is not strickly true. Those of us who view the flag as benign were simply drowned out by those jumping on the band wagon proclaiming it to be racist. In my experience, a lot of Northerners still believe that the South is largely populated by racists. I believe that currently the South is no more racist than any other area of the country.

It is also hard to compete with the Hollywood image. Whenever TV and movie makers use the flag, 99.9% of the time it is used as an image of racism. But that is a Hollywood concoction, not the truth. But when so many people base their reality on what they see on TV and in the movies, it is no wonder that the reputation of the flag has been irrevocably and unjustifiably damaged beyond repair.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flags_o...tes_of_America

Good link, Rick. You beat me to it. As the link says, the "confederate flag" is a 20th century creation combining the shape of the confederate navy jack with the colors of the confederate battle flag. It was never an actual flag of the confederate states of america.

I was born and raised in the south. I grew up seeing those flags everywhere. In people's front yards, as designs on back windshields, pinned on ceilings, hung as a curtain, tattoo's, and I've even heard "Dixie" as a truck horn. I'm not at all offended by the flag/song. But the people that are rascist or surly toward the North/Races are the ones I despise. To the ones that see it as heritage, I have no problems with.

Well said. There are some very nice and decent people who fly the confederate flag... and there are some racist assholes who fly it too. People should not generalize the meaning of the flag, any more than they should generalize that every black guy walking the street is a criminal. Both are unjustified prejudices. I too was born and raised in the South (though all of my relatives are yankees), and I view the flag as a simple expression of southern pride. However, I would never have the guts to fly the flag, because I'd be afraid some prejudiced asshole would try to take his biases out on me.

However how in the world does a clothing company started up by blacks for blacks even compare to a flag that stands for out-and-out racism?

The flag does not stand for "out-and-out racism." Different people attribute different kinds of meanings to it, similar to how blacks' use of the N-word carries a significantly different connotation than use of the N-word by white racists. The flag's meaning varies depending on context. For example, a gun pointed at you has a completely different contextual meaning than a gun stowed in somebody's holster.

I'll tell you what, we'll test this out. Which one of you macho "Stars & Bars" lovers volunteers to fly the confederate flag through the all black neighborhoods in New York's Harlem, L.A.'s Watts, & the Black neighborhoods in Chicago? If you do that & come back home without any bullet holes anywhere then I'll believe that the flag's not offensive.

Does that prove the flag is a racist symbol, or does that prove that there are violent people living there who would hurt you for displaying the wrong "colors?"

The Confederate flag is not about hate. Never was. Of course, some people consider St. Andrews a hate sign, too.

I will admit that some people do use the flag as a symbol of their hatred. I will say that the flag was never intended to be such a symbol. It is unfortunate that so many prejudiced people, both racists, and those prejudiced against southerners, have largely made it so.

THE FACTS are that the Civil war was about State Rights. If the South had of successfully seceded from the Union the North would have gone broke because of it's green backs. Slavery was just an emotional issue that the Union used to justify the war.

I largely agree with this interpretation. If you asked a yankee soldier why he was fighting, he would tell you it was to free the slaves. If you asked a confederate soldier why he was fighting, he would say it was to defend the rights of his state.

[Sam Reeves]

While living up in Maryland, I got kicked out of a hunting club on the Eastern Shore because I am and always have been non union. Now, I've had to belong to unions while working up in NJ and Md., but that was by necissisity.

I've lost long time hunting and fishing buds because of unions and strikes. It is a shame, because I don't give a rats *** if you are union, it's just no my way. Union members just don't see it that way.

I've had guys that I have sat around the fire with on cold winter mornings, throw rocks at my truck.


Now, that is a hot issue.

I left the union after that particular. My take on the Unions is that it is used as a crutch to be inefficient at your job. There a big difference between the unions of the old coal mines in West Virginia and what that Union is today. These folks were just taking advantage of the workforce.

I'm sorry about yer fishing buddies. Some folks have nothing to believe in so they take up the torch of whatever comes along. I reckon it would be nice to put a goose egg on their heads with a wrist rocket when they throw rocks at your truck but then again you don't want to scar up old buddies. Tough situation.

[Sam Reeves]

Sgtdraino, yer my kind of guy. I like the way you use reason rather than rhetoric.