(Stupid Limey question) Was Ohio ever in the Confederacy?

[TheBaldyMan]

Bear with me a moment, I live in England and saw an unusual sight today.

I saw an American mini-van, a 5.4l Chevy! It was pimped out with lights and lots of chrome fittings. Airbrushed on the front of the van was a Bald Eagle's head and two crossed flags, one of Old Glory and the other a Confederate flag. The really remarkable thing was it had Ohio plates. Do you get Good Ol' Boys in Ohio?

[skygazer]

1. Ohio wasn't a Confederate state

But you get that kind of moran in all 50 states, believe me.

[KitchenWitch]

2. They are everywhere!

x(

Glad to see he is being a "goodwill ambassador" for us over there.

:sarcasm:

[matcom]

3. But 'they' hate us for our 'freedom'

:eyes:

[Blue Diadem]

4. Yes..they are around here. We have one in town that

has the Confederate flag on his pickup truck's rear window.

[Arugula Latte]

5. That flag is a symbol for racists numbnuts everywhere.

North, South, and points in between. x(

[hedgehog]

18. They aren't necessarily racist, but they do tend to be numb nuts.

Most have a vague anti-government feeling because they don't understand their history and they have a vague admiration for the COnfederacy for the same reason.

[Parche]

28. flag

David Reinhards favorite flag!!!!

[XNASA]

6. Perhaps they were from Cincinnati.

That might explain it.

[Connie_Corleone]

8. LOL! I just posted about my city below you at the same time.

[XNASA]

11. I hope I haven't offended you, Ms. Corleone.

I'm well aware of the consequences. :)

[Connie_Corleone]

7. No, but Cincinnati, Ohio was (is) pretty close.

Cincinnati is just over the Ohio river from Kentucky. Black people had to pay $50 to live in the city after slavery. In Cincinnati history, some white people rolled a cannon in the middle of the street and shot it at the black folks who lived downtown.

[ruiner4u]

20. Oooo someone else in cincy...

we can cry to each other about living here...:)


Edit... Im glad to see you survived 'operation snow'

[barb162]

9. Ohio was not in the Confederacy but there are good ol' boys

around in every state.

[twilight_sailing]

10. There were plenty in the North

who were sympathetic with the Confederacy. Plenty.

[LynneSin]

12. 'Good Old Boys' is not a southerns-only thing

I grew up around them in Pennsylvania and we were never a part of the confederacy.

'Good Old Boys' is more of a state of mind than just a state

[Aristus]

13. Ohio produced some of the bravest, most dedicated Union fighting

units and individuals. Many of the post-Civil War Presidents were Ohioans. Being strongly pro-Union doesn't necessarily make you a liberal or progressive.

Plus, lots of mutton-headed idiots all over the country have adopted the slave flag as their emblem. Makes them feel like "rebels", I guess. Never did understand that mindset. If you want to feel like a rebel, why not fly the American flag? That was a successful rebellion, at least.

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

14. Hell yes!

I grew up in Michigan and it was always a shock to cross the border and feel like I'd been transported to another universe...........

[Blue_In_AK]

15. No, Ohio was never a Confederate state

and in fact many people there were very busy with the "Underground Railroad," ferrying slaves out of the south. I have several Quaker ancestors from Ohio who were active in the abolition movement.

[Orsino]

16. Only for the past decade or two...

...and it seems to be changing sides, thank goodness.

[Zookeeper]

17. Many people moved from the South to Northern states...

for jobs, especially in the auto industry, and to give their children more opportunity. I grew up in the Detroit area and heard a lot of racist comments from ex-Southerners (and plenty from native Michiganders, too). At the same time, native Northerners put down the Southerners as "Hillbillies." My Southern mother went out of her way to lose her Southern accent because she was tired of being teased and considered stupid.

That movement of people and labor was, IMHO, a very significant part of American history that many Americans don't know much about.

Edited for typo.

[Blue Diadem]

19. That's what I've found too..many southern roots in Ohio. n/t

[AllegroRondo]

21. Sure it wasnt an Ohio state flag?

its another red/white/blue flag with lots of stars etc on it. It could be mistaken by someone not familiar with both flags.

[TheBaldyMan]

27. red field with a blue saltire , white stars on the saltire

I thought that was the confederate flag but I'm not an expert.

It looked like the one on the roof of the 'General Lee'in Dukes of Hazzard.

[AllegroRondo]

29. If you're familiar with "Dukes of Hazard", then you have it correct

this guy was probably just a southern import.

[alarimer]

22. no it was not

You definitely get good old boys in Ohio though. The southern part of Ohio near W. Virginia is pretty rural so there are plenty there. I lived in Coshocton for a while. There was not much to do there but hang out in the parking lots.

[Rabrrrrrr]

23. Free Ireland you Limey Bastard!

:P

Sorry, just felt the need to bring up some of the tension on your side of the Pond. :D

No, Ohio was not a Confederate state, but the southeast corner of it borders Kentucky and West Virginia, which were non-Confederate states that allowed slavery.

And now, with the mobility of all people, you'll likely see racists and racist "South" lovers from all the states.

[rockymountaindem]

24. Kentucky was not a Confederate state either

Although they might have been if they were not occupied by the Federal Army at the start of the war. Also, I don't know if you could call WV a Confederate state either. They were part of Virginia, but they split off to rebel against the rebellion. WV is a cool state for that, and because their state motto is great.

[Rabrrrrrr]

25. Yes, that's what I said - Kentucky and West Virginia were non-Confederate.

I think you missed the "non-". :D

I couldn't remember the word "Union" when I was writing that post, which would have been a better word to use.

[Burma Jones]

26. I've seen the Confederate Flag on Cars and Trucks in upstate NY

and throughout New England....

[jobycom]

30. (Stupid Southerner answer) The flag was also a symbol of being a rebel.

Like any symbol, the Confederate flag has many meanings, and layers of meanings, and like any symbol, it is often seen differently by the people displaying it and the people viewing it.

In Mississippi, my high school symbol was the CF, so I've displayed it and waved it at football games with no racist intentions whatsoever, just to show pride in my school, and at times to show pride in my home state. I wouldn't do this anymore, you understand, because of the meaning others take from the flag. No matter what I mean by it, there are some who take it a different way, so I wouldn't insult them.

For others the flag has always been a symbol of defiance. The Confederates were called "Rebels," so some people display the flag as symbol of defiance against authority. In the South it was always defiance against the Federal government, but it was also defiance against proper behavior, against convention. All the things calling someone a rebel implies.

It was never a symbol of racism, not directly. It's always been more of a symbol of defiance and of Southern pride. But it became a symbol used by white supremacists and white separatists, usually Southern, to show their defiance of the US Government, and their belief that the Confederacy was right, or whatever they think. Because of that, it became associated with racists, and so it has strong racist overtones to those viewing the flag. That's the part southerners and others displaying the flag don't really grasp. They don't fly the flag to be racist, so they don't understand why others take it that way. Many of them may be racist, and racism may even be at the heart of why they are flying it (A lot of the defiance against the US government comes from forced desegregation), but in itself it isn't meant to say "I'm a racist," or "I hate African Americans." It's meant to say "I'm a rebel, I live by my own rules, I defy the US government." It's like a giant middle finger to the rules. Those people are only encouraged to fly it when people tell them not to.

Tom Petty's song "I was born a rebel" used to inspire a lot of Confederate Flag waving, and I think Petty used to wave the flag at his concerts during the song. It was a song about defiance, like many of Petty's songs. But he eventually stopped waving it, and started telling fans to stop bringing the flag to his concert, because he understood what it meant to other people. I've gone through that learning process, too. It's not easy, even now I get a touch of pride at the sight of the flag, more than a sense of revulsion. But I can't wave it anymore, because it doesn't say what I want it to say anymore. In some ways it never did. Not everyone is going to reach that awareness. It's a symbol of defiance, so taking the flag down is a symbol of giving in. You see the problem? The people who are most proud of it are encouraged by the mainstream opposition to it.

My point is, there's no telling why the pickup driver was displaying it. Maybe he or she is from the South. Maybe they are just being defiant (not against the US gov, though, since you said there was an American flag). Maybe they are just flipping off society, the way people do with the old Johnny Cash photo with him flipping off the audience. Or maybe he or she is a complete racist and flying the flag to show support of that. They migh even just think the sticker looks cool. You couldn't tell without further evidence, or without talking to him or her. I had a very racist neighbor once. Likable guy, more of a separatist then a supremacist (hard to explain the difference). He flew a Confederate flag in his garage, and left the door open all the time. His wife was not racist in any way. They both liked the flag. When another neighbor mentioned it, both claimed it had nothing to do with racism. The guy was racist, but that wasn't why he was flying the flag. ike I said, it's a complex symbol.