Quote:
|
Originally Posted by jspchief
You can't just disassociate the new meaning of a symbol because it's original meaning was something else.
That's like saying the swastika shouldn't be associated with Nazis because it's original meaning was a symbol of the sun.
Too many people look at that flag an associate it with racism now. The meaning has shifted. It's not something that will be undone.
|
The swastika has typically meant Nazis in our culture imediately after Nazis came along. There are only very rare incidences of swastikas in our culture before we encountered them. That flag however, has nothing to do with racism. It is the battle flag of the Confederacy and was used (as well as others) by Southern soldiers conducting warfare against what they viewed as a repressive government. If anything, it represents the native American belief that rebellion for a good cause is legitimate. I know that people who are ignorant of its origins do not like it because it represents something completely different to them as it has been used by hateful bigots for 150 years or so. That's not a good enough reason to destroy a symbol or decree it obscene. Destroy the racist terrorists in our country and decree them obscene instead.