Rebel flag, racist or not?

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Sherman Avenue is one of Chicago's main throughfares.




Here is a statue of Gen. Sherman in Washington, D.C.




And, in New York City's Central Park



One of the odd things a Northerner notices right away, when driving, for example, into Virginia, is the highways named after Jefferson Davis and Robert Lee.

We lived in DC for a year back when I was 22. I wish I knew then that the Sherman statue was there. I was young and stupid enough to egg it.

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ArrantPariah wrote:

In Spokane, we have streets named for Union Civil War generals such as McClellan, Howard, Grant, and Sherman. Of those four, two have a connection to the Northwest - McClellan had been in charge of military surveys here prior to the war, while Howard had fought the Nez Pierce after the war.

-Bill, otherwise known as Kraichgauer

On a light note,there is a really good pie named for Jeff Davis.We should all eat pie and be happy.And I make the BEST sweet potato pie ever.It's so good it should be used in peace negotiations.Most people are happy after a good slice of pie and a hot cup of coffee.Let them eat pie.

Did the flag call someone the "n-word?"

I am somewhat on the fence about this issue. On one hand, it can have a racist connotation due to the history of the Confederacy and the treatment of African-Americans/black people/people with melanin-influenced pigmentation in the South. On the other hand, it is a symbol utilized by historical societies, reenactors, country and rock music ans as an identifier with some in the South ("Dixie Pride"). Though not exactly akin to the abuse of the Swastika by the Nazi party, there are some parallels that can be made. It is not inherantly racist to wear or display a Swastika, but in certain contexts, it becomes a racist symbol. I personally would not display either the Rebel flag or the Nazi flag because I do not identify as a white supremacist or supporter of neo-Nazis, a Southerner, redneck, Civil War reenactor, country or rock musician and consequently would not wish to cause confusion. In the end, I believe it depends on your reasons for displaying the flag.

In black neighborhoods in Birmingham there are a lot of Martin Luther King streets. I don't recall any Robert E Lee streets in Birmingham, but there was a Robert E Lee grammar school, which ironically was in the black neighborhood and 90% black.

Here where I live now, streets are named after land features. Bear Creek Road, Dry Hollow Road, Deer Creek, etc. Also some streets are named for the people who developed the area.

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It looks like there is a movement to rename schools named after Confederate leaders

http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0122/p01s03-ussc.html

In Little Rock a school is named after David o. Dodd,he was only 17 and hung as a spy.It's a really sad story and no matter what side he was on the poor boy deserves something.He was just a kid,I'm attaching no blame to anyone,it's just,well an ancient problem,children getting caught up in the atrocities of war.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L90Cw_7cKjA[/youtube]