Rebel Pride

Imagine with me for a moment . . .

A New York newspaper reports:

APRIL 1861  Relations between the Federal government in Washington D.C. and the newly formed Confederate government in Richmond, Virginia, continue to be strained. President Lincoln continues, however, to seek a peaceful solution and an amicable separation for the disgruntled Southern nation. Having no wish to part on hostile terms, Mr. Lincoln is working hard to insure that the newly independent South will be peaceful neighbors and allies now that they have disassociated themselves from the Union. Delaware remains a prickly subject, however, since it is decidedly pro-slavery, and equally decidedly within the Federal demesne. The Confederate president, Jefferson Davis, has demanded a swift and equitable solution for the Confederacy's “isolated and beleaguered kin”.

AUGUST 1861 A proposed Constitutional Amendment was introduced into Congress earlier this week that proposes immediate freedom for all slaves currently held in Federal jurisdictions. This amendment would also outlaw the institution in all states currently in the Union, as well as any territories seeking statehood. By all accounts, this amendment should pass swiftly, and, it is expected, quickly pass through the ratification process as well. This proposal lends a new urgency to the so-called “Delaware Crisis”. Delaware, which remains a part of the United States, is openly pro-slavery. It is, however, politically aligned with the government in Richmond, and is cut-off from them geographically by many hundreds of miles. The state is unwilling to secede for fear of Federal reprisal and its isolated condition.

OCTOBER 1861 As the Anti-slavery Amendment continues to pass ratification, another potential solution to the Delaware Crisis fails to satisfy the Confederate government in Richmond. The Confederates are not wavering in their demand for a 50-mile wide corridor from Virginia to Delaware. The lands within the corridor, according to demands, would be sovereign Southern territory, including any cities, farms, or industries. As may be expected, President Lincoln has no intentions of acquiescing to this demand, and has offered numerous compromises, to no avail. Tensions continue to grow, as with each state that ratifies the amendment more Confederate troops drift toward the Virginia-Maryland border.

JANUARY 1862 The Delaware Crisis reached full boil this week as the final state needed for ratification of the Anti-slavery amendment was heard. Delaware immediately announced its secession, while simultaneously wiring the Confederate government for assistance. Unyielding on the topic of abolition, President Lincoln declined to recognize Delaware's secession, being unwilling to have a slave-state within his borders. Even one that was ostensibly part of another nation. Federal troops have been sent to the tiny state in order to insure that the new law is properly followed. The government in Richmond has vowed to secure Delaware's sovereignty, by force, if necessary, declaring that no foreign power shall enact legislation within its borders or against its states.

     In a statement made from his office in the Confederate capitol, Jefferson Davis said, “We fully support Delaware's right to maintain slavery as a necessary component of its economy. Having heard Delaware's petition to enter our Confederacy, we welcome that state as a brother, equal in rights to Virginia or South Carolina, or any other state of our country. We  shall strive by all means available to us, including military action if necessary, to come to the aid of the good people of Delaware and secure their right to maintain that integral part of the functioning of their economy, namely the institution of slavery.”

MARCH 1862 Confederate troops, with the ultimate goal of perpetuating slavery in Delaware, crossed the border into Maryland today. . .

Now, that would have been a war about slavery. A Confederacy that fought that war would have richly deserved to be remembered as contemptible. Of course, that isn't remotely close to the truth. So, why are we in the South repeatedly told that we descend from a racist heritage? We are swiftly vilified should any image we bear, whether a tattoo, t-shirt, flag, or school mascot, depict an image associated with a Confederate south. If we express any degree of pride in our heritage we are instantly, and without need of further evidence, labeled “racist”. In fact, it doesn't have to be an image of the “Confederate” south. Any association with the south qualifies.

Think about it. Germans can be proud to be Germans, even though in their past they exterminated millions. It is fine for Japanese to take pride in their heroism in WWII (Clint Eastwood even made a movie celebrating it), even though they launched an unprovoked sneak attack that cost thousands of American servicemen their lives. We're even tip-toeing around Muslims, trying to foster mutual goodwill and understanding designed to prevent our prejudging of them, even though it was Muslims that brought down the Twin Towers. They are free to practice their cultural traditions, such as veils and turbans, and it isn't right to judge them for their association with the bombers. But let me fly a confederate flag and watch the labels start flying.

Don't believe me? Take a drive to Oxford, MS, some Saturday afternoon this Fall. Take in a football game at Ole Miss while you're there. Gone is the Colonel Rebel mascot walking the sidelines. No longer will you see flags waving that bear any portion of the Confederate battle flag. These were deemed to conjure images of Mississippi's Civil War racist past.

Colonel Rebel

Ole Miss Rebel Pride Flag - Now out of favor

New Less-offensive Flag (No mention of "Pride")

(Incidentally, slavery was not about racism. The Negroes were slaves because they were available. If Spaniards had been selling each other into slavery, the slaves would have been Spanish. However, the cold truth of it is that it was the Africans selling each other into bondage, so the slaves were Negroes. It isn't as if there were hundreds of thousands of free blacks living in the south and one day it was decided that they were inferior because they were black and so they were pressed into slavery. Racism came later, after they were enslaved, not before.)

So, back to Mississippi. The school decided it was impossible to move forward with such a despicable and backward-looking mascot to lead them. They became concerned that black students may be so insulted by these things that they would pass Ole Miss right on by. Maybe I'm missing something here, but it seems to me that the way to attract students is by hiring top-shelf faculty, constructing the finest facilities, and offering world-recognized degree programs, rather than trying to make sure the school's mascot is as PC and inoffensive as possible. My chief concern when selecting an institute of higher learning will be the quality of my education and not insuring that my social sensitivities won't be offended.

One last point do I impose on your kind indulgence. Imagine a school whose team was called the Kamikazes, they had a samurai mascot stalking the sidelines, and the team flag had as one of its components a “rising sun” as used by the Japanese military in WWII. One of two things would have come out of it:

1)                  Japanese people would be offended and demand that their heritage not be reduced to a caricature for use as a mascot;

2)                  It would be deemed offensive by Americans who remember WWII. They would petition for it to all be changed. A Japanese group would find out about it and raise a stink about being denied their cultural heritage.

But because the Cult of Lincoln has colored and slanted history as they have, not only is it impossible for me to express pride in my heritage, it is also impossible for me to defend my desire and right to do so. Impossible, at least, without being labeled.