Anyone else ever seen this explanation of the Confederate Battle Flag?

[Siwsan]

A friend of a friend shared this on Face Book. My friend is not a conservative, but she also isn't very political so her vetting process is pretty much nil and she shares a whole lot of questionable stuff.

My response was: "That wins my prize for one of the most WTF rationalizations I've ever read." My friend hasn't responded and neither has the person who sent it to her.

[Warpy]

1. I think it's been around for some time

It looks vaguely familiar, something from my childhood.

[Siwsan]

5. The person who posted it said she had a hard time finding it

At the end of it all, I think who uses it as a symbol says much more about it than the concept behind the design. After all, for centuries the swastika was a symbol for good.

[C_U_L8R]

2. No matter how you add it up

It's a flag of hate

[Siwsan]

6. Absolutely

It was one of those posts I couldn't let go unanswered.

[peacebird]

3. Yes, but it still doesn't change the fact that the KKK has used that flag as theirs forever, or that

White supremacists have claimed it as theirs because it represented the Southern states secession and slavery, an institution which claimed blacks were subhuman.

[Go Vols]

19. Forever?

[Vincardog]

4. It sounds like the BS the KKK spreads.

[Siwsan]

8. That was my first thought

I'm just so tired of people trying to put a honey glaze on a crap cake.

[BlueJazz]

7. I don't care if it's from an Angel, It still brings up ignorant hateful people who shit their pants.

[Siwsan]

9. Sounds like a forefather of Ted Nugent!

[BlueJazz]

10. Sorry...I have no idea where that came from.

[Siwsan]

11. Hey, it made me laugh!

And, who knows?????

[backscatter712]

12. Ironic, given it was originally created and used in the defense of slavery.

"We the Thirteen States, are united in our Christian fight for liberty."

[Siwsan]

13. Yup

Pretty much my reaction.

[world wide wally]

14. They must be referring to the "religious liberty" to own other people

And treat them like shit.

[dixiegrrrrl]

15. Sigh...ok, time for some history

The flag you show is The Battle Flag of the Army of Northern Virginia

The flag's stars represented the number of states in the Confederacy.

The cross and stars and colors of that Battle Flag were later used in the development of a Confederate flag, which went thru 3 designs,
and it was used in various other state's flags during the Civil War and afterwards.

See Here for other flags that used the symbol:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flags_of_the_Confederate_States_of_America#First_national_flag:_.22The_Stars_and_Bars.22_.281861.E2.80.931863.29

as for the St. Andrews Cross, it is used in the flags of many other countries, including Canada, the UK, etc.

[Siwsan]

16. Oops - sorry. Thanks for the correction

It's all very confusing, especially to a 'never lived in the South except for Basic Training' northerner, like me. I think the 'confederate' label is just going to have to be viewed as the generic.

Canada's flag doesn't have a cross - it's a red maple leaf on a field of white in the middle of two red bars. And, yes, the UK flag is a combo of the crosses of St. George and St. Andrew. Which I think would be much spiffier if they had plopped the Red Dragon of Wales, right dead center.

[dixiegrrrrl]

17. Now why did I think Canada's flag had a cross???

There are layers and layers and layers of meaning to Southern history, you have to know who was here at the time and where they came from
originally ( Scots-Irish and English and French and Spanish)and how their religion and family status dictated their viewpoints.
And you have to know that "the South" is not one homogeneous place, that each state and even each PART of a state has different customs and history, and how all of that came to bear on what formed the Confederacy and what forms people in the Southern states today.

Having said all that, the South was just as convinced that the white man was superior and God was on their side as were the Europeans who bred those beliefs in all who landed in the colonies, and the flags were part of that expression.

[Siwsan]

20. Interesting

I always noticed a whole lot of Irish/Scottish surnames in the south. My roots are Welsh from Maryland, with a little bit of English thrown in. So bordering the south. Sort of. But the family has been in Michigan for generations.

I may be relocating to North Carolina, in the not so distant future. Not the deep south, but pretty south for me. I've always been a history buff, but mostly European. Maybe I'd better read up on the local lore.

[dixiegrrrrl]

21. Beautiful state.

Yeah, reading up on the state would be to your advantage.

I have spent over 30 years trying to figure out this place I chose to live in, and it just gets more interesting all the time.

[lpbk2713]

18. It definitely wasn't about liberty.

This looks like something from Freepville.