State's Rights
Here in Louisiana, talk/call-in radio is huge. It is hillarious. I can't believe some of these people can actually count high enough to use a phone. My favorite people to make fun of are the neo-Confederates, or as I like to call them: "State's Righters." These people are geniuses. They will argue for hours that the civil war was not fought over slavery. It was fought over "state's rights (those with the worst twang say "ri-aughts)." Sure it was. Let me break this down for you:
North: Slavery isn't very good.
South: Nah, aw! It is good.
North: Not really.
South: Yes it is! We enjoy benefitting from a system where an entire race of people is marked inferior, forced to work against its will without pay, has its families ripped apart, and is raped and murdered. We think it's cool. It's our state's rights.
North: Well, eventually this country is going to vote to get rid of slavery, cause we don't want it, and none of the new states or territories do either. The majority doesn't want it, and eventually, this nation is going to get rid of it.
South: Like hell! It's our state's rights to oppress an entire race. We quit America.
North: We can't let you do that.
South: Try and stop us.
North: Okay.
Yes, dumbasses. It was state's rights. What a proud heritage we have.
State's rights? Can someone, anyone, tell me another state's right that was in peril here? I can't seem to find one. Don't give me this auxiliary "our way of life was in danger" crap cause for war. We fired the first shots. I'm not going to start blowing up Wal-Marts because they're cramping my Bohemian style.
I had relatives who fought on both sides. Do I have Southern Pride? Well, I love the land I live on, I love how friendly most of the people are here(at least here in the sticks, where I live), but I'm not proud of the Civil War. As to my ancestor's roles in the Confederacy, I'm not proud of what they did. I've come to terms with it, though. But, seriously, how the hell can you be proud that your great great great grandfathers fought to insure that black people stayed slaves? It's not like your great great great grandfather just died, and you're grieving. Are criminals' children proud of their parents' crimes? Of course not. But do they still love them. They should. We can't change the past, but trying to re-write it is futilely stupid. There was no Lost Cause. The South fought because they thought slavery was in danger. They lost. Thank God. The end.
Oh, and another thing. On the Confederate flag issue: These neo-Confederates argue that the entire U.S. had slavery, so the U.S. flag is just as bad. News flash, morons: The United States made slavery illegal. The Confederacy (which lasted four years) maintained and fought to keep slavery. Maybe if the South would have won, realized the error of its ways, and gotten rid of slavery your "rebel" flag would not be offensive. But that is not the case.
The rebel flag served as the banner for a nation (not recognized) that only existed because it wanted to have slaves. No wonder most African Americans find it offensive. It says to them, "Hey, remember that time when the rest of the country wanted to set you free, so we tried to start our own nation so we could keep you in bondage? Look at our failed nation's old flag. Isn't it a beautiful flag?"
I know I sound bitter. I admit, the amount of African blood in my veins is miniscule (probably less than 10%) compared to the amount of European blood, and I've only known about my African ancestry for less than a year, so I am coming at this mainly from an angry white guy POV, but seriously, this has been pissing me off for a long time.
Sorry if I ruined somebody's party, but actually, really, I'm not. You tell black people to get over the Civil War, and then you wave your goddamned flag right in their face. How are they supposed to feel? If you want black people to move on, then let them. Stop clinging to ideals that never existed and do your best to make the world a better place, instead of wallowing in the filth of the past.
-Sunbeams are not made like me.
North: Slavery isn't very good.
South: Nah, aw! It is good.
North: Not really.
South: Yes it is! We enjoy benefitting from a system where an entire race of people is marked inferior, forced to work against its will without pay, has its families ripped apart, and is raped and murdered. We think it's cool. It's our state's rights.
North: Well, eventually this country is going to vote to get rid of slavery, cause we don't want it, and none of the new states or territories do either. The majority doesn't want it, and eventually, this nation is going to get rid of it.
South: Like hell! It's our state's rights to oppress an entire race. We quit America.
North: We can't let you do that.
South: Try and stop us.
North: Okay.
Yes, dumbasses. It was state's rights. What a proud heritage we have.
State's rights? Can someone, anyone, tell me another state's right that was in peril here? I can't seem to find one. Don't give me this auxiliary "our way of life was in danger" crap cause for war. We fired the first shots. I'm not going to start blowing up Wal-Marts because they're cramping my Bohemian style.
I had relatives who fought on both sides. Do I have Southern Pride? Well, I love the land I live on, I love how friendly most of the people are here(at least here in the sticks, where I live), but I'm not proud of the Civil War. As to my ancestor's roles in the Confederacy, I'm not proud of what they did. I've come to terms with it, though. But, seriously, how the hell can you be proud that your great great great grandfathers fought to insure that black people stayed slaves? It's not like your great great great grandfather just died, and you're grieving. Are criminals' children proud of their parents' crimes? Of course not. But do they still love them. They should. We can't change the past, but trying to re-write it is futilely stupid. There was no Lost Cause. The South fought because they thought slavery was in danger. They lost. Thank God. The end.
Oh, and another thing. On the Confederate flag issue: These neo-Confederates argue that the entire U.S. had slavery, so the U.S. flag is just as bad. News flash, morons: The United States made slavery illegal. The Confederacy (which lasted four years) maintained and fought to keep slavery. Maybe if the South would have won, realized the error of its ways, and gotten rid of slavery your "rebel" flag would not be offensive. But that is not the case.
The rebel flag served as the banner for a nation (not recognized) that only existed because it wanted to have slaves. No wonder most African Americans find it offensive. It says to them, "Hey, remember that time when the rest of the country wanted to set you free, so we tried to start our own nation so we could keep you in bondage? Look at our failed nation's old flag. Isn't it a beautiful flag?"
I know I sound bitter. I admit, the amount of African blood in my veins is miniscule (probably less than 10%) compared to the amount of European blood, and I've only known about my African ancestry for less than a year, so I am coming at this mainly from an angry white guy POV, but seriously, this has been pissing me off for a long time.
Sorry if I ruined somebody's party, but actually, really, I'm not. You tell black people to get over the Civil War, and then you wave your goddamned flag right in their face. How are they supposed to feel? If you want black people to move on, then let them. Stop clinging to ideals that never existed and do your best to make the world a better place, instead of wallowing in the filth of the past.
-Sunbeams are not made like me.
Comments
-A Nigger Hatin' Sunuvabirch (White Power)
Lovin' this site Nic.
-Jordan.
(and by the N word... I mean "Nincompoop")