Symbol-Minded

Today, they began debates in the South Carolina legislature to decide if they should remove the Confederate battle flag from atop the statehouse.  If they have any sense at all, that nasty rag is coming down quickly and for good.

In related news, the TV Land cable network has pulled reruns of "The Dukes of Hazzard".  And for some people, oddly, this is the move they felt went too far.  The actor who played "Cooter" the mechanic on the decades-old series said, "Our precious symbol is under attack."  Precious?  (Turns out the guy who played Cooter is the national spokesman for the Sons of the Confederacy.  Great.)

Friends and acqauintances took to Facebook (uh-oh) with comments such as:
"Might as well ban the song 'I Wish I Was In Dixie.' "
"People need to quit blaming objects."
"These symbols are history, and we must be willing to study our history."
"This is stupid."

For the record, the well-known "Dixie" song was the de facto anthem of the Confederacy.  It was traditionally performed by blackface mistrels, with the main singer's voice that of a freed slave now in the north, but supposedly homesick for his former slave life back on the plantation.  Oh yes, who wouldn't long for the good old slave life?  Catchy little tune, but c'mon -- these days, who needs it?

No one is "blaming" a flag for anything.  It's just piece of cloth.  It didn't do anything.  But it stood for something.  It is indeed a symbol of a part of our history -- an ugly, hateful part.  Just like Germany doesn't need the swastika to remember the Nazi era, the U.S. doesn't need the Confederate flag appearing every-damn-where to "study" and understand our history.  The image and the history will linger, no matter what.  But we can learn about that history in any number of ways besides a sit-com stunt car with the Stars and Bars on it.

Learning history by watching "The Dukes of Hazzard"?  Now that's what would be really stupid.  Because that show sucked!  All you're learning is the history of bad TV.

It's way past time to pull the rebel flag from all government buildings, and stop profiting from it via TV and merchandising.