Where?

This is about a flag that has long stood for racism and slavery. Before that, it stood for a treasonous war that cost 100s of thousands of lives. That is what people are talking about.

If you defend that flag, I have to wonder what you think it really means to people.

My struggles are that I'm a New Deal one as well. I don't as much care about what others think at this point. I'll gladly take these wins that have come across and still fight the others ahead of us like restoring fully The Voting Rights Act and taking down Citizens United.

It's difficult for me to allow any real credibility to anyone who dismisses another simply for place of birth. I can only imagine how difficult life must be for you and anyone else who invests so much emotion into the inconsequential opinions of others, and predicates your party allegiance on irrelevancies.


"I'm afraid when it comes time for me to help and to recruit volunteers next Fall for our Northern candidate, I will have to do some major soul searching..."
Then you merely indict others for something you yourself will be doing... and in doing so, illustrate that your own ethical decisions rests on that of others rather than your own conscience.

I'll kick back on the patio tonight, deep in the heart of Texas and allow everyone who dismisses, insults or trivializes the south en toto no more and no less legitimacy, credibility and validity they indeed and in fact, warrant. Being a southern Democrat myself, I find little pride in the happenstance of birthplace and the imaginary red and blue lines on a map so many invest in.

That ain't you.

But, I am not struggling with anything.

I know that the attack on the racist flag and racist Southerners is not an attack on me.

that an attack on the confederate flag is not an attack on all southerners, nor is a critique of the confederacy an attack on all southerners, nor is a review of the sins of Jim Crow an attack on all southerners.

Most of the southern democrats I've known get that, I think, and are likewise critical of the flag, the confederacy, and the racist heritage that they're actually trying really hard to move the south past--not by defending the south against critique with words, but by trying to create a more just and equitable world.

And I can't say I've seen any of this. I've seen criticism of the flag, and of those who support what it represents, but nothing to bash "all" from the south. Maybe a poster now and then paints with a broad brush, but they're a small minority based on what I've seen.

And why would you change party affiliation based on things done "in the press, and here on DU"? I don't understand that

LOL

Want to come to Texas and go fishing? Might take your mind off things

Similar to many coastal areas in Texas. Talking about combining the best of fresh and saltwater. In Gainesville one can catch a ten pound Largemouth Bass and a thirty some inch Redfish in the same day. Slightly different locations of course. As a fisherperson it is something Florida and Texas share. Big ass Bass and Redfish, all within miles of one and other.

The fucking Dixie swastika and its neo-Confederate fetishists are.

where murdered by a racist

a pain everyone evrywhere can bear or we are doomed to never learn .

I must have imagined it.

https://www.google.com/#q=democratic+underground+south+bashing

And it certainly doesn't justify changing party affiliation just because an occasional offensive post appears on a discussion forum.

Here's a reputable poster calling out South Bashing too,
and this was before the ramped up South hate and the recent flag controversy:

South Bashing

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026489022

For the record, because I'm defending an onslaught of insults based
on where I was born, one should not infer the following,
as some replies imply:

1. I deny racism or support the flag, I DON"T,
I also DO NOT support burning flags to incite violence.

2. I am not deeply saddened by the events in Charleston, and
to state or imply that, is offensive.

Thank you all for your contributions. Anyone stating this is all
about the flag hasn't been reading the most recent threads.
Believe it or not, region bashing used to be considered a problem
here, when it was just obnoxious. Now, it's become institutionalized
and is no longer unacceptable. That sits well with the overall
angrier tone here.

C'est la vie. I'll spend my time elsewhere

... and I understand your frustration. I look at it this way: I have no problem with attacking the government sanction of the flag, or the southern racists that, undeniably, are here. They deserve it.

When I see a post that attacks the South or southerners generally, however, I simply consider myself informed that they are likely a bigoted, short sighted and poorly informed individual who is posting on irrational emotion rather than reasoned logic. And, like my momma taught me, I simply say "bless their heart".

Works for me, anyway.

That approach would be far better for my blood pressure

My mom would have said the same thing

... and I - Tide in mine - can find common ground, there must be a future for mankind! SEC!

Go Gators!

Your confederate flag is a symbol of slavery, discrimination and oppression.

If we lose a few southerners over the flag, so be it.

My struggle is with being surrounded by intolerant right wingers that want to force their archaic beliefs on the public. I'm focused on social justice. I personally bash the confederate flag for what it represents in modern times . It is a article of history which means it should be in museums and history books not waving on state grounds. Initially it represented treason.

by supporters of the confederate battle flag?

The south is still alive and well. Look at the people doing the low paying jobs that serve the university. Yep, all from east of 441. Then keep driving right down the road to Rodman Reservoir. Not a far trip at all. Yep, you will pass plenty of twenty foot wooden crosses in front yards, with extremely poorly treated pitt bulls to protect those crosses, and confederate flags to ensure the meaning of the crosses is not lost. We are making progress all over the state. We are doing it without leadership. But I will not run from many of the stories about the south. Check out Moon Lake in Pasco. It is the exact image conjured by these stories. These little bastions of racism can be found all over the state. I love Florida and will keep working to improve it. I will not be offended at the truth.

I live right down the road from you. Why aren't the people I associate with this pissed off? Oops. Never mind.

we all totally appreciate all your past and future efforts. But, because your are surrounded by fucking jerkoffs, a few here may generalize on the subject of "the South"...

But if your saying that because of some frigging posts on some frigging website have hurt your FeFe's so much that:

"If the campaign
were tomorrow, you'd have to bring your own damn volunteers,
because I wouldn't be helping, nor would any of my other Democratic friends."

Good luck with President Cruz!

Yikes

and making nonsensical replies, or comparing apples and oranges

Congratulations to all Americans

The 'history' being kept alive IS a history of racism and slavery.

That's nothing to be proud of, or celebrated or honored. It should be in a museum, not in the faces of those whose families suffered under it for generations.

You have a choice. Continue to 'honor' the flag of a bunch of traitors fighting to keep people enslaved, or join the rest of the country in a post-slavery world. There is no 'distinction' to be made.

Really?

And both parents from Arkansas. For the life of me I cannot understand your angst. Respectfully, the only thing I agree with in your post is that you have some soul-searching to do. I wish you peace and lower blood pressure, FlaGatorJD.

and have lived in Atlanta since 1989, so I consider myself to be a southerner.