Lynyrd Skynyrd calls Confederate Flag racist, prompts fan revolt

[babsbunny]

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/09/22/lynyrd-skynyrd-calls-confederate-flag-racist-prompts-fan-revolt/

By Jonathan Terbush
Saturday, September 22, 2012 11:29 EDT

The sole surviving original member of Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd has distanced the group from a symbol they once proudly wrapped themselves up in: the Confederate Flag.

And in doing so, that last original member, guitarist Gary Rossington, has sparked a backlash among some of the band’s staunch supporters who see his move as an affront to everything the band once stood for.

In a CNN interview earlier this month, Rossington said that the flag had been hijacked by racists and, in the process, become detached from it’s original meaning as a symbol of rebelliousness and states’ rights. As a result, he said, he was concerned about the band being associated with the flag lest people get the wrong idea.

[veganlush]

1. didn't they do an

anti-Obama video a couple of years ago?

[nc4bo]

2. I hate the band named Lynyrd Skynyrd. Hate that they proudly represented themselves as assholes

and the redneck bigots and racists worshiped them for it.

But I feel like an ass having to admit that there are a few of their songs that I really love to listen to way back when and even today.

So to the memory of Lynyrd Skynyrd and Gary Rossington I offer you one of my biggest FUCK YOUs and a thanks. To the racists and bigots I say kindly say FUCK YOU TOO, eat shit and die off already.

[dawg]

10. Early Skynyrd was great. They lyrics occasionally even had a liberal message.

Ronnie Van Zant was a far deeper and more complicated man than his brother, who fronts the current cover-band called Lynyrd Skynyrd.

[Scootaloo]

3. Almost Politically-Correct Redneck strikes again!

In a CNN interview earlier this month, Rossington said that the flag had been hijacked by racists and, in the process, become detached from it’s original meaning as a symbol of rebelliousness and states’ rights.

Specifically, the states rebelled over their right to treat black people worse than cattle.

Oh. And wrong flag dumbass; the "confederate flag" you had on your album covers was invented by the Klan, AFTER the war; Naval jack design, Army of North Virginia colors.

[JoeyT]

4. The Lynyrd Skynyrd revolt of 2012 will go down as a dark day in our nation's history.

It's hard to describe the horror. There were mullets, NASCAR shirts, and cutoff blue jeans as far as the eye could see. When their impromptu meth lab ran out of propane, they turned on one another. There was blood and Mad Dog and hair everywhere.

[Odin2005]

5. The flag was ALWAYS about racism, Gary.

[Iggo]

6. Forty years too late, Gar.

[sakabatou]

7. Reminds me of the revolt for the Dixie Chicks

[regnaD kciN]

8. Uh..."state's rights" = racism, Gary...

[Dawson Leery]

9. The false rag you fly has always represented mythological white supremacy.

[dawg]

11. It has always stood for racism. But that has not always been as obvious to Southern white males.

Back in the 70's, lots of Southern white males just saw it as a symbol of regional pride. As blacks and whites began to mingle and interact more, most of us realized it was offensive. But network TV didn't even see a problem with it in the 1980's, as the Dukes of Hazard will attest.

I don't think it's fair to hold 70's Skynyrd up to today's standards with regard to the Confederate flag.

Hell, when I was growing up in the 1980's, that damn flag was part of my state flag.