An Open Letter to those who Support the Confederate Flag (in all its incarnations)

Unabridged Thoughts on the Confederate Flag Issue:

     I truly do not understand why people have a problem with taking down the Confederate flag and my university's student body refusing to fly the Mississippi State Flag because of the Confederate flag symbol apart of it.  I would love the reasoning behind it, but no one can give me a legitimate and logical argument for supporting the Confederate flag. Believe me, I have heard "it's heritage, not hatred." I've heard "I'm just honoring my ancestors who fought, bled, and died for the Confederacy." I've heard "it's freedom of expression, and my Constitutional right."  The truth is that it is heritage, but a heritage steeped not necessarily in hate, but in the subjugation of blacks and the belief that they were inferior.  After the Confederacy, the symbol was hijacked for use by hate groups, because the traditional symbols of those hate groups were ruled prima facie evidence of hate.     You can honor your ancestors, but actually honoring them.  Hang their uniform in your home.  Pass down the stories of bravery and heroics that they have.  Teach your children that it's okay to fight for your country, but also teach them what they should be fighting for.  Many of you will ultimately see me as trying to tell you how to honor your ancestors, but I'm merely offering you suggestions that do not immediately illicit feelings of inferiority, repression, and hate from others.   While you have a Constitutional right to freedom of expression, that speech and expression cannot be deemed hate-speech.  The Flag is not considered prima facie evidence of hate speech, but when a group of people get together and decide that it is being viewed as such it becomes hate-speech.  Perception is reality and no matter what you personally may believe, in a democratic society the majority decides the rule.     Personally, I believe that politicians in the south have politicized this issue; therefore, giving those who have truly racist intentions a cover.       I know not everyone feels this way, but I urge those people to consider the old adage: "you are judged by the company you keep."  Not too long ago the Ku Klux Klan picketed Ole Miss for removing "From Dixie with Love" 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/21/kkk-rally-at-ole-miss-kla_n_366475.html

They came a second time when the University decided to rename Confederate Drive and Coliseum Drive after some advice from outside sources that said the University's reputation and future revenue streams were suffering because of it.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/01/ole-miss-confederate-racism_n_5642823.html  

They came a third time when the student body petitioned the Associated Student Body for the removal of the state flag because it bears the Confederate Flag as apart of it. 

http://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/2015/10/16/ole-miss-students-rally-remove-state-flag-campus/74046586/     
This is the same KKK that rallied to protest the removal of the Confederate Flag over the South Carolina Statehouse. 

http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/confederate-flag-furor/kkk-rallies-south-carolina-statehouse-defense-confederate-flag-n394631    
     No matter what your political affiliation is, I think we can all agree that Ku Klux Klan has a history of racism, hate, violence, and fear mongering that cannot be ignored, reformed, or changed.  Anyone who chooses to associate with the KKK implicitly agrees to be associated with this grisly history.  These are the same people that believe that the Confederate flag should be a symbol that flies over the South until the end of days.       I urge you to not be someone who recites the rhetoric of a political party, your parents, friends, or co-workers. I urge you to think for yourself; observe how people react on both sides of this issue; listen to how the flag makes people feel.  Speaking of feelings, I personally feel that the flag is a symbol of a defeated rebellion no one who considers themselves an American citizen can hold allegiance to it. 

     "I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."  

That Republic defeated the Confederacy.  As an American I am apart of that Republic, not the Confederacy.  For those of you who continue to revere and support the symbols of a forlorn rebellion consider me your enemy.  I am an American citizen and a proud Mississippian.  The South will rise again, but not THAT South.  THAT South is dead. THAT South is defeated. The South that will rise again is MY South. MY South is the one who speaks out against ignorance. MY South is the South that wants to educate its people so that we can rise together instead of off the backs of one another.  That is MY South. That is MY Mississippi. That is the future that I want to be apart of, and hopefully you will join me, because if you're not apart of the solution, you're apart of the problem.