First let me just say that I do have a definite opinion in regards to the flying of the Confederate flag. The flag is a part of history and should be kept as such. Why it flies over a state capital or any state building is beyond me. Museum yes, government building no. I am well aware that the Civil War was not entirely based on slavery...it was about states rights and the south not agreeing with what the north was wanting it to do. Of course...one of those states rights was slavery. One of those states rights was the right to own, buy, sell, trade a human as property. Treat a human being as you do cattle. Work them with no wage, beat them at will, rape them if you wish...you know... practice state's rights. But let's take slavery out of it, let's take that whole part about the south being dicks and all out of the picture. The south lost. There is no Confederacy. Flag is down. Final. This should not be a debate in the year 2015. This should have all been taken care of in 1865. Basically, this is how I feel about the Confederate flag...
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| Rednecks...dammit! |
The flag flying over South Carolina means nothing in the scheme of things though. It solves nothing.
I was getting all riled up and on my soapbox about this flag fiasco when I was checking my Instagram as a distraction. One of the people I follow is an actress who is Jewish. She has traveled to Israel with her children and had posted a selfie saying she had survived the fourteen hour flight with her kids and landed in Israel, "it's good to be home." She is not from Israel, however as a Jew, Israel is often referred to as home. I noticed that a comment was defending her travel to Israel and this raised my curiosity. I have found that the biggest mistake I make is reading the comments section. There were a few negative comments but the one that stood out was someone calling her a "Jewish c---." This is Instagram people, the teddy bear of social networking. It's where I go to relax because it's pretty pictures and so little bullshit. A Jewish woman has traveled to Israel, the Holy Lands, and she is attacked and called a "Jewish c---?" I began noticing the posts on Facebook and the comments that people made that were so full of anger and hate. And it's not just over this issue, it can be something as simple as a local news report. It seems the general population has a chip on it's shoulder, is bitter, and angry. Now through the wonders of technology, they can sit alone behind a computer and say whatever the fuck is on their mind. Cyber-courage.
Our society has a heart problem. Yeah we're fat and unhealthy but I'm talking about our souls man! Nine people were shot dead in a racially motivated hate crime. But no one is willing to look at the real problems...guns are easily accessible, mental health is a joke, racial profiling, racial and ethnic hatred, it's all right there in front of our faces...so what do we do? We start arguing about a damn flag. The flag should come down, I've thought that for years. But that flag did not make Dylann Roof shoot nine people in a church. That flag did not make the system incarcerate Kalief Browder for three years without a trial. That flag did not make a police officer shoot and kill a twelve year old boy on a playground with a plastic gun. Hatred, fear, and ignorance did that. Take the flag down South Carolina, I'm all for that. But then stop with the smoke screen...let's actually work on the real problems, shall we?
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