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Part 2 PC vs HC (Historical Correctness) Let me offer Mr.
Nielsen a little "HC," historical correctness, that is in direct
contradiction to his claims about PC and that the flag he says
doesnt represent slavery or inequality. I will allow the leaders of
the Confederacy and those who stood by the flag of the Confederacy
state their case if that flag represents slavery or not. I offer
the words of those who lead the Confederacy. After all whom am I
going to believe Mr. Nielsen and his cognitive dissonance and
perspective of the Confederacy and the flag or the people who
created the Confederacy and the flag? Hmmm? Let me see whom should
I place my money on? Decisions, decisions!
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Jefferson Davis President of the Confederate States
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In January 1861, soon-to-be Confederate President Jefferson
Davis said that his state had seceded because "She has heard
proclaimed the theory that all men are created free and equal, and
this made the basis of an attack upon her (the South's) social
institutions; and the sacred Declaration of Independence has been
invoked to maintain the position of the equality of the races."
Davis was referring to well-known speeches by Lincoln and other so
called Black Republicans. Lincoln and others were seen as
pro-slavery opponents, for using the Declaration of Independence in
criticism of the institution of slavery.
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It is clear Jefferson Davis wants to protect the institution of
slavery because after all, all men being created equal dont apply
to anyone who doesn't have white skin. This is a major plank in the
white supremacy ideology. Slaves could never be equal and it was
against Gods own word to declare it so. Their (the Souths) claim
was that the Constitution being applied to people of color was
warring against the very principles of God and the Creator who had
made white people superior and people of color inferior. This white
supremacy was ordained by heaven and the Creator. Vice President
Alexander Stephens lays this claim out in even more plain terms. I
offer his words to you Mr. Nielsen since you claim none of this has
to do with slavery or inequality. Lets read what Alexander
Stephens, Vice President of the Confederate States had to say on
the subject.
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Alexander Stephens Vice President of Confederate States
Here is just a glimpse of what the Vice President of the
Confederacy had to say about their new constitution, their new flag
and their new confederacy of states. This is just part of the
speech and you can
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read the rest at the link below. In that speech Stephens is
talking about the US Constitution, its errors and its flaws. The
50th governor of Georgia and the Vice-President of the Confederate
states tells us very plainly how he sees the new government
gathered under various Confederate flags. Of course stating
Southern secession was about slavery today is called "liberal
propaganda" by the Neo-confederates. Lets just let those traitors
to the Union, our Constitution and the US Flag explain in their own
words why they seceded. Let's see how much liberal propaganda the
leaders of the Confederacy try to sell us. Lets see how
"politically correct" they come off in their own words. Take it
away Mr. Alexander Stephens explain to us how you saw the US
Constitution and your new Confederacy.
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For you Mr. Nielsen I present Mr. Alexander Stephens: "Those
ideas, however, were fundamentally wrong. They rested upon the
assumption of the equality of races. This was an error. It was a
sandy foundation, and the government built upon it fell when the
storm came and the wind blew. Our new government is founded upon
exactly the opposite idea; its foundations are laid, its
corner-stone rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not
equal to the white man; that slavery subordination to the superior
race is his natural and normal condition. This, our new government,
is the first, in the history of the world, based upon this great
physical, philosophical, and moral truth. This truth has been
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slow in the process of its development, like all other truths in
the various departments of science. It has been so even amongst us.
Many who hear me, perhaps, can recollect well, that this truth was
not generally admitted, even within their day. The errors of the
past generation still clung to many as late as twenty years ago.
Those at the North, who still cling to these errors, with a zeal
above knowledge, we justly denominate fanatics. All fanaticism
springs from an aberration of the mind from a defect in reasoning.
It is a species of insanity. One of the most striking
characteristics of insanity, in many instances, is forming correct
conclusions from fancied or erroneous premises; so with the
anti-slavery fanatics. Their conclusions are right if their
premises were. They assume that the Negro is equal, and hence
conclude that he is entitled to equal privileges and
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rights with the white man. If their premises were correct, their
conclusions would be logical and just but their premise being
wrong, their whole argument fails. I recollect once of having heard
a gentleman from one of the northern States, of great power and
ability, announce in the House of Representatives, with imposing
effect, that we of the South would be compelled, ultimately, to
yield upon this subject of slavery, that it was as impossible to
war successfully against a principle in politics, as it was in
physics or mechanics. That the principle would ultimately prevail.
That we, in maintaining slavery as it exists with us, were warring
against a principle, a principle founded in nature, the principle
of the equality of men. The reply I made to him was, that upon his
own grounds, we should, ultimately, succeed, and that he and his
associates, in this crusade against our institutions, would
ultimately fail. The truth
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announced, that it was as impossible to war successfully against
a principle in politics as it was in physics and mechanics, I
admitted; but told him that it was he, and those acting with him,
who were warring against a principle. They were attempting to make
things equal which the Creator had made unequal."
http://web.archive.org/web/20130822142313/http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/document/cornerstone-speech/
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Several Flags
The Confederate battle flag was one of several flags used during
the War Between the States. Interestingly enough the first
Confederate flag was thrown away because it looked too much like
the Yankee flag the Confederate states had broken away from. The
third flag was discarded because the white background got dirty and
could easily
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be thought to be a flag of surrender. The southern-cross
remained a central part of the design of the flag and was an
astronomy symbol of a group of stars by the same name. Various
southern leaders saw the southern-cross as the idea they could
expand slavery into Latin America. Their words not mine. Like the
many words left by so many they wrote and spoke freely about the
design of the flag and the cause of white supremacy. A direct quote
below from a Southern editor in the Literary Messenger in 1863;
"the destiny of the Southern master and his African slave" the
Confederacy's hoped-for expansion of slavery into Latin America.
The flags of the Confederacy with their stars and bars or Southern
Cross were all connected directly to one thing and that was to the
preservation and expansion of the institution of slavery.
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The Southern Cross was a guiding way to navigate forward in
their expansion of slavery. The creator of the early flag, Mr.
Thompson and the President and Vice President of the Confederacy
stated what the Confederacy was about and what their flag
symbolized. Now what was that that the Confederate States and flag
stood for? Hmmm? Let me see? Oh that's right, they, their
constitution and flags represented the slave-holding states. They
did not represent equality or liberty and justice for all. The
Confederate leaders stated loudly and clearly what they seceded and
stood for. Those same states who were willing to fight a Civil War
for maintaining and expanding the institution of slavery. No matter
what flag it was it represented a separate nation being created and
the
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breaking away from the Stars and Stripes of America. They even
discarded a flag because it looked too much like the US Yankee
flag. It has been documented over in several places. They wanted
nothing to do with what the Yankee flag represented. The
Confederacy and their flag represented breaking our country apart
because they (the South) lost an election and going to war over
what they feared that election meant... that slavery would not be
expanded. I repeat Mr. Nielsen that is what the war was about from
the perspective of the South no matter who tries to sanitize it.
These states and their flag was all about "white supremacy" and
their God given right to maintain and expand the institution of
slavery in the name of their constitution and Bible.
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Falling on the Wrong Side of History As time moved forward it
became apparent these slave holding states fell on the wrong side
of history. As the abhorrent stain of slavery was being realized by
most nations and the rest of the western world the South had to
create this "states right" and Lost Cause narrative to soften their
documented words left for all to read why they seceded. It is
almost laughable because in their secession statements they (the
South) are complaining about states like Iowa, Michigan and New
York who were using their "states rights" to outlaw slavery. It's
all recorded in historical documents. Then suddenly out of the blue
they (the South) come up with their own states rights theory to
validate and justify slavery.
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I won't bore you with all the secession statements of each state
but they are very plain in why they broke with the Union and
everyone stated it loudly and clearly it was to preserve and expand
slavery. It is there words not mine. Slavery was booming in the
South and its expansion was all-important to maintain the Southern
economy. All the social institutions from churches to their
government officials supported slavery as a divine station, heaven
ordained and given them by God. You can read sermons and books by
prominent preachers in the South justifying the very same ideas the
whole culture was identified with.
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Dividing a Nation It is always interesting to me when people
observe divisions concerning various subjects and the rhetoric
around those debates. Gathering all the facts with an objective of
an open mind becomes a mute point for many. When one side cant
garner facts they begin to de-legitimize the facts they dont agree
with. Then the name-calling begins. The pro-slavery voices took
every opportunity to tie Lincoln and his party to the chained souls
bound in slavery. Lincoln and his party were called the
black-Republicans. Anyone against slavery was a heretic standing
against the word of God. The idea of abolishing slavery was seen as
fanatical and a mental illness. Our very Constitution and
Declaration of
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Independence was seen as flawed trying to use these documents to
apply equality to all men. Conspiracy theories and hoaxes were
created that slaves would take over the Southern plantations and
make whites slaves. Miscegenation (race-mixing) was used as a tool
of fear that these slaves would rape every white woman they found
before and after Lincolns election and re-election. All of these
claims were based in fear and disinformation dividing the country
regionally. What divided the country was holding onto
disinformation (lies) as facts or truth, conspiracy theories and
hoaxes. The effort to validate those warped perceptions with the
Bible while standing on Gods word to protect their position now
looks ridiculous. That division resulted in secession.
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Part of the South Carolina secession statement: A geographical
line has been drawn across the Union, and all the States north of
that line have united in the election of a man to the high office
of President of the United States whose opinions and purposes are
hostile to slavery. He is to be entrusted with the administration
of the Common Government, because he has declared that that
Government cannot endure permanently half slave, half free, and
that the public mind must rest in the belief that Slavery is in the
course of ultimate extinction. This sectional combination for the
subversion of the Constitution has been aided in some of the States
by elevating to citizenship, persons, who, by the Supreme Law of
the land, are incapable of becoming citizens; and their votes have
been used to inaugurate a new policy, hostile to the
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South, and destructive of its peace and safety.
http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/document/south-carolina-declaration-of-causes-of-secession/
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Part of the Mississippi secession statement: I offer the
Mississippi secession statement because the President of the
Confederacy was Jefferson Davis from Mississippi. Our position is
thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery-- the
greatest material interest of the world. Its labor supplies the
product, which constitutes by far the largest and most important
portions of commerce of the earth. These products are peculiar to
the climate verging on the tropical regions, and by imperious law
of nature, none but the black race can bear exposure to the
tropical sun. These products have become necessities of the world,
and a blow at slavery is a blow at commerce and civilization.
http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/primarysources/declarationofcauses.html
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Reconstruction After the Civil War and the failed attempts of
reconstruction "Southern Pride and Heritage" rained down on anyone
connected to the party of Lincoln black or white. Lynchings,
murder, the creation of the KKK and various vigilante groups played
their role. Jim Crow became the law of the land. Slavery just took
on another name. No one with an ounce of objectivity and even a
slight historical knowledge of the Jim Crow era can deny the
inhumane and violent treatment of racial minorities in the South.
As the rest of the country had started to evolve on its perception
of slavery and was evolving on the issues of race and civil rights
the South dug in deeper to maintain a racist and segregated
society. The violence against American citizens by various groups
are everywhere in the history of the South and our country at this
time.
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All though the Confederacy was defeated and slavery abolished in
America the reign of terror was just beginning in the South. This
terror was connected to the white supremacy ideology interwoven
into the culture.
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Political Terrorism The political terrorism of these various
vigilante groups dominated the landscape of the South. George
Ashburn below in 1868 was the first recorded assassination of the
KKK for his helping ex-slaves create schools and assimilate into
the greater society. There were several eyewitnesses who saw and
recognized several of the participants. Two Confederate
segregationists defended those who were charged in the shooting of
Ashburn. Their names are very familiar and I share them below.
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These two Confederate segregationists defending the KKK shooters
were General Henry Benning and Alexander Stevens the former Vice
President of the Confederacy. That's right the same Alexander
Stevens who was VP of the Confederacy. What could possibly go
wrong?
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General Benning and Alexander Stephens triumphed in defending
the assassins. All charges were dismissed against the KKK killers
of Mr. Ashburn. This type of "Southern justice" continued on for
over a hundred years. The history book and legal records of similar
cases are scattered across the landscape of the South. Time and
time again the very system of laws that were suppose to be fair and
equal in the justice system were used against victims of violence
and their families. Law enforcement officials from judges to the
police conspired together to make sure equality and justice for all
remained only for a certain part of society.
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General Henry L. Benning
Mr. Nielsen lets see if a major leader who fought under various
Confederate flags thought the flag or war had anything to do with
slavery. General Benning stated plainly why Georgia
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seceded from the Union. I will let Benning's own words state his
position. Mr. Nielsen you can argue and debate this Confederate
General about his view of the Confederacy, the flag, equality and
slavery. They are his words not mine. Take it away General
Benning..... "What was the reason that induced Georgia to take the
step of secession? This reason may be summed up in one single
proposition. It was a conviction, a deep conviction on the part of
Georgia, that a separation from the North-was the only thing that
could prevent the abolition of her slavery." Boy that old General
Benning, a staunch believer in slavery, segregation and white
supremacy, sure had been brainwashed by
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those "liberal" historians. Benning claimed secession was the
only thing that could prevent the abolition of slavery. Hmmm?
Imagine that Mr. Nielsen? I guess General Benning didn't read the
same history books or listen to the same talking heads you do about
your revised history of the Civil War. I guess, as General Benning
was living and making history in Civil War he was some how brain
washed with some liberal propaganda because Benning states plainly
why the South seceded. I guess the PC police shackled Benning
because he certainly is not giving the same response you gave Mr.
Nielsen about the Confederacy that flag represented. Mr. Nielsen
has informed us in his response in the newspaper that the
Confederacy and the flag had nothing to do with slavery.
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Fort Benning Yes.... Fort Benning in Columbus, Georgia is named
after a man who wanted to maintain slavery and expand it while he
detested the idea of black equality. His disgust with the idea that
a man like Frederick Douglas, who frequently consulted Abraham
Lincoln during the Civil War, would being on equal ground as a
"white-man." This is documented in his own words left to us.
Benning must still be spinning in his grave that anyone other than
white-men make up the US Armed Forces today at Fort Benning. I
wonder how many German military bases are named after Hitler and
his crew in Germany? Hmmm? I wonder if the US suggested to Germany
to name a significant number of bases after those "honorable" Nazi
leaders who fought
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so nobly for their Nazi cause? Hmmm? After all those Nazi
patriots who gave their all to protect their right to exterminate
human beings in the name of Aryan supremacy as these Nazis fought
for their cause too. Pretending there is honor just because one
fights for and dies falling on the wrong side of history does not
validate a persons position as just. One can have a twisted and
warped view of life and hold an ideology that is radical and die
very easily when weapons of mass destruction are being used. Your
death still does not bring honor to a ideology that stood on the
wrong side of history. We dont see a lot of honor given to British
soldiers or their leaders from the American Revolution.
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Control of Social Behavior Klan and vigilante violence born out
of the mind of Confederate leaders was used to control people's
social behavior. Now who were the founders of the KKK and other
vigilante groups? Hmmm? Oh yes it was those secular, atheist,
liberal, politically correct, ...... oh wait it was Confederate
Generals and leaders including Lieutenant General Nathan Bedford
Forrest. Schools and monuments are named or created for him in the
South. Think about that. Should we erect a school to honor other
traitors or domestic terrorist? Hmmm?
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Lieutenant General Nathan Bedford Forrest The same man who was
leader of the Fort Pillow massacre where over 300 black Union
soldiers and 200 Southern white Union soldiers were killed
immediately after surrender because blacks and whites fought
together against the Confederate cause. It was a message being sent
by the Confederacy.
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An artists painting of the Fort Pillow massacre of 1864 is seen
above.
http://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/fort-pillow-massacre
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Vigilante Justice These vigilante groups including Nathan
Bedford Forests KKK raised havoc all over the South after the end
of the Civil War. In Louisiana in 1868 alone over 2000 people were
lynched, shot or burned. No arrests or convictions. Open season on
anyone they chose to attack or who did not fall in line with their
white supremacist ideology of those former Confederate leaders. The
same ideology that justified slavery in the first place now
justified more murder and submission.
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In fact there was an effort by the US government decades after
the Civil War to water down the animosities that took place and to
mend fences. Can you imagine putting Hitler's henchmen back in
charge of anything after WWII? Can you imagine Germany putting up
statues to honor those infamous names of the Nazis? But that is
what happened here in America. Highways, schools, and military
bases all honoring the men who did far worse than anything Benedict
Arnold ever did. How many schools do you see named Benedict Arnold
High? Hmmm? Where in Germany is there a "Hitler Highway?" It wasn't
so horrific it would laughable. All this Civil War history may be a
little boring Mr. Nielsen so I am going to jump over decades of
injustice and land in the 20th century. Lets observe how that new
century used the Confederate flag to push equality, liberty and
justice for all citizens.
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Fast Forward to 1948 Now for Mr. Nielsen's sake lets jump over
80 years of Jim Crow apartheid, inequality and terror all committed
in the name of Southern heritage. Lets land in the year 1948 once
again looking at the flag Mr. Nielsen thinks is being so dominated
by "PC" and has nothing to do with slavery, oppression or racism.
For the most part the Confederate flag was put on mothballs after
the Civil War. After all, the South lost the war. The flag was seen
in cemeteries or museums. It was the flag of treason, secession and
one that embarrassingly fought for the enslavement of human beings
and the expansion of that same institution of slavery. They always
seem to forget all this history and heritage as they still
celebrate their "Secession Balls" here in the South. They promote
this "Lost Cause" myth as if
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all of this was some romantic fictional movie like 'Gone With
The Wind.' As we fast-forward to 1948 the desegregation of the US
Military by President Truman sent large portion of the folks in the
South into a segregationist tizzy. This brought out the Confederate
flags and protestors carrying signs about communism and the
anti-Christ. The very same states that had seceded from the Union
in 1861 again were breaking away from their own political party.
The solid South once again divided itself from the country and the
President of the United States over this issue of segregation.
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Solid South or Southern Bloc breaks away again. For the most
part the "solid south" deserted the Democratic Party and President
Truman. Their break with the party of Truman who had just led our
country to a victory a few years earlier over Hitler and the Nazi's
put Truman's re-election in jeopardy. This famous picture of Truman
holding up the paper predicting his defeat was in large part
because of the "Solid South" breaking away from Truman because his
integration efforts with the military.
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The Southern states and politicians that broke away from Truman
formed the Dixiecrat Party. Just as the South had broken away from
the Union before the Civil War the South again broke away
politically from Truman and his efforts on civil rights and the
integration of the military.
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After breaking away from Truman the Dixiecrats of the South
nominated Strom Thurmond for president. Thurmonds ugly speeches on
segregation brought those Confederate flags out in droves. The
Confederate flag suddenly again became the symbol of segregation,
hate and denial of civil rights to over one third of the Souths
population that was African American. Once again "Southern
Heritage" rose up against the basic concepts of fairness, civil
rights, democracy and justice for American citizens. Once more the
Confederate flag was siding with those thumbing their nose at
equality, justice, progress and the democracy our Constitution
promises to every citizen. The large portion of the South was
standing against the basic civil rights, voting rights and
citizenship for fellow Americans in our
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common democracy. The South wanted to retain their Jim Crow laws
that were based completely on white supremacy and racial
discrimination. Who couldn't be proud about that heritage?
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Southern Bloc not the Fringe As a sitting President, Harry
Truman was not even put on the ballot in Alabama for his
re-election bid. This was not done by a fringe group but by a whole
state and political party that rallied around their common symbol.
Confederate flag.
No one hijacked the concept of Jim Crow from the South. This was
what the South believed in. Jim Crow was not put into place by a
fringe group it was state law in every state in the South. It was
all done in the name of white supremacy and segregation.
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Strom Thurmonds America was a racist, segregated America based
on the ideology of white supremacy.
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As the Confederate flags were pulled out once again this symbol
stated plainly what the South and the flag stood for. The issue of
civil rights and segregation separated the "solid south" into a
political party based on segregation, racism and they were
anti-civil rights for all Americans. They didnt hijack the
Confederate flag for this cause it represented what their cause had
always been about white supremacy.
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Strom Thurmond was the 1948 Dixiecrat nominee for President, who
said, Theres not enough troops in the Army to force the Southern
people to break down segregation and admit the "n... . race" into
our theaters, into our swimming pools, into our homes, and into our
churches ." Again I would point out this was not the political
fringe of the South but the mainstream thinking of the vast
majority of
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Southerners hanging onto their "heritage" of hate. It is why
they called it the "solid south." The election results showed
Thurmond carried four states in the South and would have carried
more if the progressive whites and blacks of the South had not
nudged out the Thurmond supporters in other Southern states. In the
states he carried Thurmond garnered almost 65% of the votes. He
carried four Southern states and nearly carried more. This was not
a fringe group or movement. Watch this 30-second clip and you will
get the drift. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgH7WgtIU2k
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Earl Warren, Impeachment and Educational Integration After "the
traitor" President Truman left office Chief Justice Earl Warren
became the new target and scapegoat of the Confederate flag waving
segregationist. By 1958 Earl Warren Supreme Court Justice was seen
as a traitor and calls of impeachment rose from the leaders of
groups like the John Birch Society, the KKK, White Nationalists and
of course all those segregationist full of Southern pride like
Strom Thurmond, George Wallace and others across the South. Why did
they want to impeach Warren and curb the Supreme Court? Hmmm? What
was that big fuss all about? What was the evil Warren had
committed?
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What was the treasonous act they wanted to impeach Earl Warren
for? Hmmm? What despicable act had he committed? Was he calling for
secession? Was he calling for the return of slavery? Did he want to
create a new flag and country?
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They wanted Earl Warren impeached so that in an institution of
higher learning we didn't have to see ignorance being displayed
like this picture of George McLaurin below separated from a class
of white students.
All of his life McLaurin wanted to continue his education as a
lawyer and get a doctorate degree. Those flags were coming out in
protest of George McLaurin. That flag supported the humiliation and
blatant discrimination against an American citizen.
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In 1948 George McLaurin finally got to apply for his doctorate
degree at age 61 at the University of Oklahoma but he couldn't sit
in the same classroom, cafeteria, library or bathroom as the other
students. In 1950 the Supreme Court started breaking those walls
down. What brought on all this flag waving outrage and hostility
and talks of impeachment? Oh that's right it was the integration of
public schools so little black kids could go to public schools with
little white kids. Ruby Bridges below in 1954 going to a public
school escorted by Federal Marshals is why all these groups wanted
Earl Warren impeached.
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The Norman Rockwell painting may be his most powerful depicting
the scene above.
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The Confederate flags were coming out in droves to protest these
actions. Once again just as the Confederate flag was waved to
detest the desegregation of the US Military it was waving in
protest of integrating public schools in America. It was waved in
the face of Federal Marshalls and a little girl named Ruby Bridges.
Ask Ruby Bridges if what that flag represents to her? This in part
was what the Confederate flag stood against as calls to impeach
Earl Warren came from the same voices that stood up against Truman
and the integration of the Armed Forces. It was now standing
against George McLaurin and Ruby Bridges Mr. Nielsen if you wonder
why people somehow tie the Confederate flags to racism; hate,
segregation and fear just turn the pages of any good history books
dealing with the civil rights era.
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Why would anyone draw that conclusion when from the late 1940s
through the late 1960s the Confederate flag was a constant symbol
of white resistance to integration of the military, public and
elementary schools as well as Colleges and Universities. Mr.
Nielsen do you think these people below in 1961 are honoring the
Confederate dead or that they see no color or are waving the
Confederate flag for the ideals of equality, or liberty and justice
for all?
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No Mr. Nielsen those were people protesting public school
integration with the Confederate flag. They were the racist
segregationists who saw color and who didn't believe in equality.
They used the very same flag you claim does not represent any of
that. Hmmm?
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Mr. Nielsen should I believe YOUR twisted, misinformed view of
slavery, civil rights history or the actual history that took place
right before the eyes of America?
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Mr. Nielsen do you think these folks are praising equality and
justice honoring the ideals of our constitution and civil rights
with their Confederate flag? Hmmm?
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A mother pictured below with her daughters and their flag of
choice. They are waving this at people marching for integrated
schools in Bogalusa, Louisiana in 1965.
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Mr. Nielsen do you think this man below is showing this flag to
promote the rights of all American citizens? Hmmm?
In this Sept. 3, 1957 file photo, Paul Davis Taylor displays a
Confederate flag in front of Little Rock Central High School in
Little Rock, Ark. Taylor was among some 500 people who gathered
across the street from the school, which had been scheduled to
integrate showing some of that "Southern Pride" as they protested
15 year old Elizabeth Eckford and eight others being
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admitted to the school. Mr. Nielsen can't you see the love on
the faces of those who were supporting Elizabeth Eckford as she
walked from the school? Cant you just see and feel they support
that equality you think that Confederate flag represents. In the
picture below Elizabeth Eckford, is followed and taunted by an
angry crowd after she was denied entrance to Little Rock Central
High School, September 4, 1957. Just like the man holding the
Confederate flag above can't you see how these people are
supporting the ideals of justice, equality and democracy? What a
nice welcoming committee!
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Integration efforts in the early 50s and 60s according to many
in the South were a sign of communism and the anti-Christ. They
used their religious beliefs and political ideology to somehow
convince themselves these were American values. The values of white
supremacy the South had always held so close to their hearts.
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After all according to those who hold this ideology they believe
that brown-skinned Palestinian guy wanted the South segregated and
heaven too. Yes they believed it in the past and still believe
heaven will be segregated. Just ask Finis Dake author of the Dake
Bible who believed it would be too quoting scripture to validate
this belief. Check out Acts 17:26 in his Bible.
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Think of the irony of this? Every Bible character they know from
the pages of their own Bible wouldnt be allowed on their side of
their segregated heaven. I know.... doesn't it make you
chuckle?
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This photograph below shows University of Alabama students
burning desegregation literature during a demonstration in
Tuscaloosa, Ala., Feb. 6 1956.
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Now Mr. Nielsen why would anyone connect that flag with these
protestors against the integration of the University of Alabama?
Hmmm? How could anyone possibly get the idea that waving a
Confederate flag and the burning of integration literature could be
the slightest bit offensive to anyone who believed in equality and
liberty and justice for all? Mr. Nielsen your cognitive dissonance
may think this picture below is just some people having fun. You
may claim it is some type of liberal propaganda but history tells
us it is an image repeated over and over in the South. These
Confederate flag wavers wanted Jim Crow laws to remain as it had
been since after the Civil War. The same laws of white supremacy
and inequality you say that flag doesnt represent. Guess they didnt
get your memo. This is the perspective of those who had rallied
under this flag for a 100 years.
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Mr. Nielsen as you put that Confederate flag on the fire truck
trying to convince yourself and others around you that it has
nothing to do with slavery, segregation or the denial of the civil
rights of fellow American citizens is not based on reality or
historical facts. Just because you or someone you know was never
enslaved, lynched, beaten or intimidated by that flag and its
ideology does not change in anyway the history and truth about what
that flag has always represented. Similarly the fact one never had
a relative die in a Nazi gas chamber does not change the pain and
carnage of the history and events connected to Nazi symbols.
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Mr. Nielsen because you assume that Confederate flag has nothing
to do with the ideas of white supremacy and racism I guess the
folks below never got your memo about "political correctness. They
state proudly they want to save the segregation vote and a
segregated society. They bombed churches, killed voter registration
workers and assassinated African-American civil rights workers to
intimidate and hang onto their white supremacy. They didnt hang
their head in shame they proudly waved their flags and signs in the
faces of the US government and the poor souls seeking just a small
piece of what liberty and justice for all citizens living in
America.
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When people like you Mr. Neilsen erase these facts from your
memory trying to somehow to make the ugliness of all this more
appealing for you to believe in. You try to create some valiant
idea about rebel honor as if all of this never happened.
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Why would anyone think the Confederate flag is tied to white
supremacy and racism? This ideology and the flag they rallied under
should repulse any American who honors our constitution and values
the ideals of democracy. Hmmm?
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According to the creator of the flag all of this white supremacy
is heaven ordained and God's plan. Their ideology was taken right
from the Bible be it slavery,
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segregation or any of the other justifications of what they
believed. This ideology continues to be on the wrong side of
history. But how could anyone tie the Confederate flag to slavery,
the denial of civil rights, segregation and hate? Hmmm?
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Below is the legendary Reverend Fred Stroud who believed and
passed on the same Biblical passages Southern preachers used to
validate slavery and segregation with before the Civil War. The new
twist was integration was Communism and Jews had infiltrated the
government, churches and schools. Where have we heard this before?
Hmmm?
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Through it all that flag keeps appearing as a symbol of what
they believe.
https://books.google.com/books?id=-dDQ6ZWRTzYC&pg=PA85&lpg=PA85&dq=Reverend+Fred+Stroud+segregationist&source=bl&ots=glZ_ft7t7U&sig=TY2CvwUloLr9z82CGuWWPUPw398&hl=en&sa=X&ei=T4aYVcGgPIqRyQTnsq3YBw&ved=0CB8Q6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=Reverend%20Fred%20Stroud%20segregationist&f=false
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Mr. Nielsen look at these folks above and below offering
acceptance and support for equality and civil rights for fellow
citizens. Notice their Southern heritage and that Confederate flag.
The one that you claim doesn't represent slavery, segregation or
inequality. Antagonizing people who just wanted vote or let their
children go to public schools.
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Using the flag and Bible to make a statement about segregation
and equality. Do you think these people didnt see color? Hmmm? Do
you think their flag stands for liberty and justice for all?
Hmmm?
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George Wallace I am always amazed when people try to tell us
some "fringe" group stole the Confederate flag and hijacked it for
their own use. History offers a very different picture of this. The
fringe did not hijack this flag. During the modern Civil Rights Era
George Wallace, Strom Thurmond, J.B. Stoner, Fred Stroud and the
entire South were not the "fringe. It was just the opposite. These
were the mainstream people and leaders of Southern life. They
understood what the Confederate flag symbolized. The values they
wanted to hang onto stood in direct opposition to the civil rights
of other Americans. These were the values that supported the ugly,
unequal use of segregation to discriminate against and control a
group of people for centuries.
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I can still hear the words of George Wallace as I watched TV as
a kid. From this Cradle of the Confederacy, this very Heart of the
Great Anglo-Saxon Southland, Wallace declared, I say segregation
now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever.
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Mr. Nielsen if only you would take 30 seconds to watch the video
clip below it is very revealing. In the video clip below notice the
Confederate flag folded and on top what looks like a Bible to me.
Now how in the world could anyone feel as though the Confederate
flag is tied to this injustice, ignorance and hate? Hmmm? This was
not some "fringe" group these were the mainstream mindsets and
ideology of the South. This is a governor of a state. Watch the
crowds reaction to these despicable words uttered by Governor
Wallace. Yes Mr. Nielsen I guess George Wallace didn't get the memo
about the Confederate flag being just another symbol of American
liberty and justice for all.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6C-kBVggFrs
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An effigy hung beside a Confederate flag on the University of
Mississippi campus in 1962. Why.? For the simple fact James
Meredith had enrolled. Looks like they are celebrating equality and
hanging that flag had nothing to do with the racist attitudes
behind the message they were sending by the hanging effigy and
flag.
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Dishing Out Some Southern Pride Below a returning US soldier
from Europe forgot the rules of segregation and gets some of that
Southern pride to remind him where he is and where his place is
naturally all under the symbol of the Confederacy.
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Mr. Nielsen in the picture below Martin Luther King is called
"King Coon" and a communist on the signs they hold as they prepare
to march through a black neighborhood showing off some of that
"Southern Pride" in Florida in 1964.
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That photo above is J. B. Stoner on the microphone. He was a
segregationist from Atlanta, Ga. Stoner holds a Confederate flag as
he addresses a large crowd of whites at a historic slave market and
then leads them on a long march through African American section of
town, on June 13, 1964, in St. Augustine, Fla. Why would anyone
think there is some weird connection between racism and the
Confederate flag? These flags and symbols appear over and over as
these leaders from Strom Thurmond to George Wallace protest the
basic civil rights of all Americans. It is always the same rhetoric
and signs used over and over. None of this happened in a vacuum.
Hmmm?
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Look at this young man sharing his "Southern Pride" and honoring
the Confederate dead below! Oh wait why is he waving it at a line
of black protestors who are marching for the right to vote? Hmmm?
Perhaps he is cheering them on and telling them he supported their
efforts in seeking equal voting rights. Perhaps he is telling them
he sees no color and all are equal. That flag stood in the way of
people having
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the simple right to vote. It would make any proud American want
to haul it out on the 4th of July and line the highways with this
symbol of inequality. I guess he is like you Mr. Nielsen and he
doesn't see color and views everyone as equal and that makes
holding that Confederate flag to antagonize the marchers OK!
Ridiculous!
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Imagine anyone who had ancestors that were slaves getting this
flag waved in front of them. Imagine anyone who had to drink at a
separate drinking fountain or who couldnt go in the front door of a
restaurant being antagonized by this flag as they marched for those
simple rights. Imagine if you were connected to someone who was
lynched just because of the color of his or her skin. Imagine
watching churches burn or being blown up by people who supported
that same flag.
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Historical Facts Mr. Nielsen the various Confederate flags were
created and symbolized "white supremacy" from the words of its very
designers like Mr. Thompson. Those who fought for that flag fought
to destroy the US and its constitution. They seceded from the US
for the defense and expansion of slavery. The various political
leaders who seceded broke away from the Union of the United States
in 1861. They tell us plainly why they seceded and why the
Confederacy was formed and fought under that flag. The same
Confederate flag was revived in 1948 by a movement that murdered
and killed people in the defense of segregation and denial of civil
rights to American citizens. This flag was flaunted in the face of
federal law as our country tried to move out of the ignorance and
hate entrenched in a segregated south and interwoven racism in
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our culture. The Confederate Battle Flag was the symbol and
emblem of Jim Crow in defiance to the civil rights movement. It was
the standard of the Dixiecrat opposition to de-segregation and
integration of American minorities into our culture and political
system. Presidential candidates, Governors and leaders of Southern
society in the past stated plainly about how they felt about
segregation and civil rights waving that same flag. That same flag
is an emblem of the domestic terrorism of the KKK and White
Citizens' Councils that still inspire people to commit these
senseless acts of violence based on the twisted propaganda of hate
be it Glenn Miller or Dylan Roof. It was the flag of choice for
those who planned and carried out the assassination of Abraham
Lincoln, Army veteran and civil rights leader Medgar Evers and
Martin Luther King.
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It was the flag of choice for the people, state and governor of
Alabama who stood in the doorway of the University of Alabama. He
stood their as a symbol of resisting the idea that a black student
could enroll in the University of Alabama. Talk about standing on
the wrong side of history! How proud his relatives must be!
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Robert Kennedy Visits Alabama
When Attorney General Robert Kennedy went to Alabama in April of
1963 he was met with a parade of Confederate flags along his route
and as he walked into the Governors mansion. A Confederate flag
had
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been raised above that same mansion. Signs read Koon kissing
Kennedy go home. He was called a socialist and communist. These men
above and below were just a few of the protestors Robert Kennedy
saw. What is it these people were so afraid of? Why all the fear
and name-calling? Oh I forgot these people were for equality and
liberty and justice for all. NOT! They were drunk on their
conspiracy theories about Jews infiltrating our government. Drunk
on the hate of the ideology they clung too and wanted to maintain.
They stood against civil rights for all Americans with a religious
fervor.
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Other signs waved in Kennedys face read, They would resist. What
was it they were trying to resist? Why did George Wallace stand in
front of the door to the University of Alabama? What evil was
Wallace trying to stop with all those Confederate flags waving in
the hands of protestors? Oh yes I remember now! Just simply letting
a black student go to the
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University of Alabama! Thats right Mr. Nielsen the flag you
claim isnt suppose to stand against equality was waved all along
the highway of Robert Kennedys route to see Governor George
Wallace. Were all those people waving those flags to thank Robert
Kennedy for standing up for the civil rights of an American citizen
to be allowed into the University of Alabama to further their
education? Hmmmm? Mr. Nielsen that flag you hung on the fire truck
came out in droves to maintain a system that created this picture
below of separate but equal.
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Just because you or your past relatives never had to face the
humiliation or face the terror of being seen as inferior does not
take away from the fact it all happened for over a hundred years to
fellow human beings and Americans.
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The flag you put on your truck was the flag of choice for the
South in their efforts to maintain Segregation today, segregation
tomorrow, segregation forever. It was the flag of choice when Strom
Thurmond proclaimed to thunderous applause, Theres not enough
troops in the Army to force the Southern people to break down
segregation and admit the "n... . race" into our theaters, into our
swimming pools, into our homes, and into our churches."
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This same flag is held in high esteem by people like white
supremacist William Pierce (Andrew Macdonald) author of 'The Turner
Diaries' with the premise of this fantasy race war where Jews and
people of color are exterminated. The same "race war" that both Tim
McVeigh and Dylan Roof wrote about or spoke of before their
cowardice acts of terror and murder.
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The flag is the emblem of choice of white supremacist lawyer
Kirk Lyon below who has ties to various Christian Identity groups
that believe that Jews are "biologically descended from Satan" and
minorities have no souls but were created as "beasts of the fields.
Some of them believe they are decedents of the lost tribes of
Israel. Anglo-Aryans. Oh sweet Jesus! And people wonder why the
Civil War and all its propaganda are still alive today. It is the
same stuff Southern leaders and preachers were touting decades
before the Civil War.
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Mr. Nielsen the Confederate flag was hung proudly above Maurice
Bessingers famous restaurant in the picture below. If you remember
Bessinger passed away in 2014 you may have read about his passing
back then.
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Bessinger was famous in South Carolina for taking down the
American Flag and putting up the Confederate flag. Why did he put
up a Confederate flag? Was it to honor equality and liberty and
justice for all? Hmmm? Hardly, Bessinger was an avowed racist and
segregationist. He sold racist tracts in his restaurant on how the
Bible supported slavery and segregation. After the Civil Rights Act
was passed in 1964 Bessinger proudly displayed a sign in his
restaurant windows. It read: The law makes us serve niggers, but
any money we get from them goes to the Ku Klux Klan. He tried to
shove his racism down the throat of society in the name of his
"religious freedom." His flag of choice Mr. Nielsen that you claim
has nothing to do with slavery or the ideology of hate and
inequality was the
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Confederate flag. I guess Mr. Bessinger didn't go to your school
of brainwashing that the Confederate flag had nothing to do with
slavery or that it stood for white superiority and the Jim Crow
laws of the solid South.
http://www.charlestoncitypaper.com/HaireoftheDog/archives/2014/02/24/maurice-bessinger-bbq-baron-and-unrepentant-racist-dies
These people like Dylan Roof do not wave the Confederate Flag to
commemorate the Confederate dead. They are waving it for what it
represents... slavery; treason, rebellion, segregation and white
supremacy just like Mr. Bessinger. Their ideology is seen in the
words of those Southern leaders who seceded from the Union. Their
ideology is seen in the actions of the Dixiecrats who seceded from
their
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political party because of President Trumans integration efforts
in the military. It was the exact same thing they did when Lincoln
was elected. They secede from those who do not hang onto the past
with its Jim Crow, segregation and denial of civil rights. That is
the past they want. These political leaders like George Wallace and
Strom Thurmond parrot the same ideology that the designers of the
Confederate flag used.
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Loy Mauch
Perhaps you remember this Arkansas state representative who
praised John Wilkes Booth and tried to have a statue of Abraham
Lincoln removed from his state. He compares Abraham Lincoln to the
Hitler and the Nazi's. Doesnt that sound familiar? He defends the
institution of slavery because Paul and Jesus didn't think it was
wrong. It is laughable! I guess Loy Mauch didn't get your memo
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either Mr. Nielsen because Mauch thinks that same flag has
everything to do with slavery, segregation and God's ordination of
"white supremacy." This is their view of equality, liberty and
justice for all. It is their ideology. It is why they left the
Union and fought a war over slavery. It is why they created Jim
Crow law and murdered tens of thousands of people. It is why the
entire south created a new political party and presidential
candidate when President Truman stood for integration of the
military. Their view is based on their warped ideology and
supported by the symbols they have always surrounded themselves
with. Notice those two flags behind Loy Mauch in the picture above.
Now where have I seen those before? Let me see where was that?
Hmmm?
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How does Loy Mauch see the Confederate Flag? Hmmm? Loy Mauch
words echo exactly the words and attitudes of Confederate VP
Alexander Stephens to Maurice Bessenger with their Biblical slavery
claims. You can't make this stuff up! Loy Mauch states this about
the flag; " It's a symbol of Jesus Christ above all else. It's a
symbol of Biblical government."
http://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2012/10/06/loy-mauch-update-the-republican-rep-is-on-record-on-slavery-too
http://www.arktimes.com/arkansas/the-south-shall-rise-again/Content?oid=1380685
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Lets move to a Hindu drawing of Ganesha below. Ganesha is the
remover of obstacles. You can see why the Hindu's would use a
powerful elephant to symbolize the power of removing obstacles
before their path. The elephant comes out of their culture as one
of the most powerful forces they knew in the animal world. The
power of this great beast could push trees over or move huge
obstacles out of its path with its head and powerful trunk. The
symbol below had become the symbol of "good being" or "good luck."
Symbols like this are nearly 5000 years old give or take a measly
few hundred years.
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The strange thing is the Nazi's took that symbol and with a
little twist they designed the swastika from this symbol. The
historical meaning of the swastika was changed forever.
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Any family that had relatives in WWII or that are Jewish or are
old enough to be connected to Europe before or during WWII do not
see that swastika as a Hindu symbol
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of good luck. In fact anyone who is connected to those memories
find this symbol offensive to say the least. The ideals that Nazi
symbol stood for were in direct opposition to democracy and freedom
of our Constitution. That symbol wanted to destroy the United
States of America and the Nazis fought a war in an effort to do so.
That symbol stood for enslaving anyone who was not "Aryan" or
German. It stood for white supremacy. That symbol enslaved people
in work camps and had many millions exterminated for belonging to
unions, being educated, being a certain religion, race or
color.
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It should be offensive in what it represents and the evil it
committed to tens of millions of people. History has recorded the
evil done in the name of the people who saluted that symbol.
Germany is so embarrassed by that symbol that it bans its use on
governmental property. It bans it use as an instrument of hate.
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Symbols of White Supremacy Below a white supremacist wearing his
swastika and Confederate Flag in South Carolina. All are symbols of
white supremacy. No distinction is made.
All of these are symbols of a radical mindset known for their
love of Hitlers doctrines, apartheid and hate. Mr. Nielsen would
you mount any of those other disgusting symbols on your fire
true?
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A Michigan resident in the photo below displays his colors.
Amazing isnt it? Now why would anyone ever think just for a moment
the white supremacy of these two symbols are connected in
anyway.
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Flag of Choice for Neo-Nazis In Germany the public display of
the swastika is outlawed. So what is the flag of choice for the
neo-Nazis and skinheads of Germany? What symbol could they display
that represents the same values of white supremacy Hitler spread
across Germany? In Deutschland the white supremacists go with the
flag below because they cant display the swastika.
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The German government after WWII put the swastika and Hitler's
flag in museums. It is a history lesson for the German people to
always be reminded on the subject of hate and white supremacy. In
Germany most of the Germans find the swastika disgusting and
embarrassing. After all what German wants to brag about the honor
his relatives had in fighting for the Hitler regime or being a
guard at one of the concentration camps. That is some heritage!
Just as we are offended by that Nazi swastika and what it
represents we should also be appalled and offended that the ideas
of white supremacy that were and are promoted by the Confederacy
and the Confederate flag should bring equal disgust. The ideology
is nearly the same.
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You can't romanticize away the history and facts connected to
the swastika without not believing the atrocities committed by the
people who wore it. Mr. Nielsen you can pretend that the swastika
had nothing to do with Hitler or the concentration camps but that
does not make it so. Mr. Nielsen you can try and convince yourself
that the Confederate flag had nothing to do with slavery, murder,
segregation, terror and the denial of the basic civil rights of
Americans but that does not negate the historical facts. Mr.
Nielsen you saying the flag has nothing to do with slavery or the
denial of civil rights may work in the minds of people who have no
concept of historical facts or who want to rewrite history. Mr.
Nielsen you can use cognitive
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dissonance and try to deny the facts in your own mind trying to
make it all fluffy and safe to wave that flag without looking
ignorant. You can try to use other silly examples you find
disgusting trying to deflect the pain, horror and misery those who
claim this flag spewed on tens of millions of other citizens. Mr.
Nielsen you can turn your mind off to all these facts and still
believe that flag does not stand for slavery or that it was used to
promote inequality but it does not change history. You can turn a
blind eye or filter out the mountain of evidence that prove your
claims are in direct contradiction to the truths surrounding that
flag. The fact is that Americans have been discriminated against
murdered or denied basic civil rights by people who rallied and
continue to rally around the very same flag
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and the ideology it represents. This ideology of white supremacy
may have never touched YOU or YOUR family but it does not take away
the reality that the injustice this flag represents has been
inflicted upon tens of millions of others over the long history of
the Confederacy and the flag. From the Civil War to the Civil
Rights movement that flag has been waved in support of everything
our constitution and a democracy stands against. This flag was used
in defiance against President Truman as he integrated the military.
It was waved in the face Attorney General Robert Kennedy and on the
path to the Governors mansion to demand the Governor obeys the laws
of our Constitution. It was waved as school children as young as 5
and 6 years old tried to go to a school right
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in their own neighborhood. It was raised on a flagpole after
hearing about the assassination of Martin Luther King and President
Kennedy. The flag belongs in a museum not on the back of a fire
truck celebrating the 4th of July. That flag was created as a
result of secession of the Southern states from the Union. It was
designed to validate the support of the institution of slavery and
white supremacy. It was born out of treason. That very same
Confederate flag wanted to destroy the Union and the America Flag.
It was the flag of those whose ideology prompted the assassination
of Abraham Lincoln and other leaders from Martin Luther King to the
poor souls in Charleston who lovingly let their killer sit among
them before he executed them for one thing ..... the color of their
skin.
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Empty Chair Fantasy Mr. Nielsen saying the Confederate flag
doesn't represent slavery or these other evils would be like
putting an empty chair on a stage and creating a dialogue with a
make believe person in that chair painting your make believe
opponent anyway you want. It is a fantasy just like the idea that
the Confederate flag had nothing to do with treason, slavery, the
KKK, murder, segregation, and the denial of civil rights based on
the color of peoples skin. A radical who stood for and believed in
the values and symbolic meaning of that Confederate Flag
assassinated Abraham Lincoln, the father of the Republican Party.
John Wilkes Booth saw Lincoln as a tyrant because Lincoln had the
audacity to want to abolish slavery.
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John Wilkes Booth After listening to a speech by Lincoln after
the South had surrendered Booth uttered these words, That means
nigger citizenship. Now by God, Ill put him through. That is the
last speech he will ever give.
The assassination of Lincoln was an attempt to revive the
Confederate cause. Booth is Loy Mauchs hero!
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Pretending that flag represents some fictional characters from
the "Dukes of Hazzard" or some other silly ideas about Rednecks or
Southern heritage is denying the facts left to us all. The very
words of those who designed the flag, who seceded under its banner,
who terrorized people for over a hundred years, did so because of
the ideology the flag symbolizes. They blatantly thumbed their nose
at our Constitution and the civil rights of all American citizens.
Pretending none of this ever happened and trying to rewrite history
proclaiming that this flag represents something it never has is
disingenuous to say the least. To ask any American to see that flag
differently who has read about the history of that same flag is
offensive. To ask any
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person who has been subjugated to the violence and humiliation
of what that flag represents would be like asking a soldier of WWII
or a Jewish survivor of the Holocaust not to see the swastika for
what it represented. It is offensive. Ask any Holocaust survivor or
their ancestors if they think the swastika is a good luck symbol.
It is a ridiculous claim and who wouldnt be embarrassed to make
such a claim about that swastika symbol with the pages of history
left to us about that symbol of the Nazis. So too is claiming that
the Confederate flag is about pride or heritage. Who can take pride
in the institution of slavery and committing treason to fight a war
to protect and try to expand it? Who can be proud of a heritage
that stood in defiance of integration and civil rights in this
country? I am embarrassed for them.
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Mr. Nielsen to try to deny that all of this took place as you
place a Confederate flag on the fire truck if offensive and
laughable. Suppressing History for Southern Comfort Mr. Nielsen you
are using cognitive dissonance to comfort yourself closing your
mind to the historical documents and facts available to grade
school children that proves just the opposite of your claims. Mr.
Nielsen you can try and create some fluffy fantasy and fictional
opinion what you want to believe the flag is about. However history
and facts reveal to anyone willing to open their mind what that
flag and its ideology represented in 1863, in 1963 and what it
represents today because it hasnt changed. It was born as a result
of the ideology of white supremacy and remains so.
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Again put it in a museum and not on fire trucks or on public
governmental property. As Americans the Confederate flag has never
stood for liberty and justice for all no matter how long you say it
does or how hard you want to believe it does Mr. Nielsen. You dont
have to take my word for it nor would I want you to. Read for
yourself the words of those who founded the Confederacy, created
the flag and believed segregation and the denial of civil rights to
fellow Americans was heavenly ordained. By the way Mr. Nielsen you
wont be able to grasp this history by just reading bumper stickers
or living in the one-liner bubble. You cant gain a working
knowledge of that history by forming opinions using confirmation
bias. Nit-picking a fact here or there to build your opinions on
while closing
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your eyes to or denying all the other facts. Even sadder Mr.
Nielsen is you probably dont care what the history is or what the
mountain of evidence reveals to you. In the end you will hang onto
your warped opinions and beliefs just like those Southern leaders
who fell on the wrong side of history since the 1860s. You will be
like Alexander Stevens Vice President of the Confederacy who told
his fellow Confederates that those who didnt believe in the
institution of slavery had a species of insanity. Stevens stated
their fanaticism springs from an aberration of the mind because of
a defect in their reasoning. Like you Mr. Nielsen all Alexander
Stevens was saying was people who didnt agree with him were being
controlled by political correctness.
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Sadly you will walk away still not believing your lying eyes and
all the evidence before you because you want to find comfort in
what you believe about that flag, your bumper sticker mentality and
the one liner bubble you live in. Being deaf and blind to the
history and facts you will cling to your concept of that flag from
a fictional show like The Dukes of Hazzard. You rely on the pompous
claims of men like Ted Nugent over the President of the Confederacy
concerning the meaning of that flag. You will take Kid Rocks
opinion over the very designer of the flags stated and recorded
reason for the design of that flag. You will put that empty chair
on the stage and create whatever you want about the fictional
subject you place in that chair.
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This is exactly what you did in the first place Mr. Nielsen. You
placed the flag on your fire true like an empty chair on a stage
and created your own fictional history about what that flag stands
for. You created a whole scenario based on your fantasy about
political correctness. You created a fictional account to comfort
your mind that this Confederate flag had nothing to do with
slavery. You live in a bubble where you have the audacity to fly a
Confederate flag and then say you see all people as equal. That is
preposterous and offensive Mr. Nielsen. Even more disturbing is you
convince yourself you are right and cannot hear the facts screaming
at you from the outside of your bubble of silence. In the end you
see those outside your bubble
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like those Southern leaders who pointed at the evolving and
progressing society outside of their bubble as the mentally ill or
the PC crowd. Facts are discarded and replaced with what you choose
to believe about that flag on that chair. Your opinion about that
flag in your mind rejects all facts or statistics dismissing them
as some type of political correct propaganda. What you feel about
that flag erases the very history that is part of the fabric of
this nation that you try to deny or forget in your bubble. Living
in your bumper sticker bubble it then becomes easy to swallow
whatever opinion you choose to believe never examining the many
complexities of any issue.
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Division and Secession However I do want to thank you Mr. Brian
Nielsen for giving me an opportunity and perfect example of what
divides this country. What divides people is how they choose to
view facts. What divides people is the opinions created by people
in viewing the mountain of evidence before them. We can choose to
be like Mr. Nielsen and create our own beliefs about that flag. We
can try and comfort ourselves that it doesnt really represent what
history reveals it plainly does. If we do that then we have already
created a division between our personal opinion and beliefs versus
the very facts from history that dispute Mr. Nielsens fairy
tale.
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I am not dividing the fire department over the flag debate by
presenting historical facts left in context. The division comes
when those historical facts are rejected. It doesnt change what is
recorded in history but it does comfort the minds of those who
choose to believe the recorded facts believing their new revised
opinion about history. We can blame the historical facts as being
divisive but facts are just facts. Creating opinions that
delegitimize or deviate from the facts left in context is what
creates division. Twisting facts to fit into our ideology is what
divides people. The Confederate leaders, the designer of the
Confederate flags, the political leaders like Strom Thurmond and
George Wallace used their opinions as facts in supporting white
supremacy. It was their belief in this white supremacy and
segregation that divided
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them from the rest of the country that was moving forward past
hate and ignorance. The South based their beliefs in twisting Bible
scripture, spreading disinformation and conspiracy theories about
what they believed. They created fantasy stories and wild claims
about Lincolns effort to wipe out the white race. As science,
common sense, and the evolution of society progressed there were
those who wanted to hold onto their ideology no matter what the
facts stated. They were willing to divide a country, secede and
fight a war to hold onto their ideology as if it was somehow
honorable to hold these offensive ideas. Truth did no divide the
country during the Civil War. It was the belief in an ideology that
split the country. Lincolns simple claim that a democracy cant
remain if it is half slave and half free
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sent these men sold on their ideology into a tizzy. Truth did
not make the Dixiecrates break away and create their own party it
was their belief in white supremacy and segregation pitted against
our own constitution. That is what divided the segregationist from
the rest of country. Truth did not divide the South as they stood
against the integration of the military and the rest of society it
was their belief in their ideology that divided them from the
greater society who saw the constitution as applying to all
citizens. Cognitive dissonance allows people to create a reality
they can find comfort in. The facts and history around the
Confederate flag are plain to see for anyone willing to be
objective. The voices of the
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Confederate leaders tell us what they believed in and why they
seceded or divided this country. For those who want to somehow find
pride in their ancestors plight they have to use cognitive
dissonance to rewrite and sweep under the rug all the death, pain,
terror and ignorance those ancestors fought for. When the facts
dont work for their perception of their jigsaw puzzle they make new
ones that will fit easily throwing facts that make them
uncomfortable or dont align up with their ideology to the wind.
Stating facts never divides anything. It is how people choose to
respond to those facts. The fact is the Confederate flag was
designed by and for a group of states that clung to the ideology of
white supremacy. The fact is segregationist used that flag to thumb
their noses at the integration of our democracy and offering all
citizens the protection of our constitution.
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Those are facts. The division comes by how those who are
challenged by those facts respond in their bubble. The division
comes by how those who are challenged by these facts that refute
the fairy tale they have created about their flag sitting it on
that empty chair and creating any scenario they choose. These
scenarios are fictional and never allow facts in context to remain.
When John Wilkes Booth was confronted with the facts that our
constitution was going to be applied to all people he divided
himself from that truth and created a new reality that if he killed
Lincoln it would somehow cause his ideology to raise again. Mr.
Nielsen you have been offered the facts about the flag.
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You can accuse me of being a divider for laying the facts out.
You can pretend we should never discuss these things because they
are too ugly and they should be forgotten. But when you do that it
allows people like you Mr. Nielsen to put a Confederate flag on the
back of a fire truck and proclaim with a straight face it had
nothing to do with slavery. That might work in your sphere of
silence Mr. Nielsen where you block out anything that challenges
you misinformed claim. Your way Mr. Nielsen doesnt work in a world
of objectivity where all facts are encouraged and allowed to be
seen in their context. This is done in the spirit of open in our
quest to better understand and comprehend the issues at hand, our
history and the world.
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