Idiot Question at Republican Debate

[Hungary Jack]

Did anyone see the half-witted twenty-something with his Confederate flag hanging on his bedroom wall? He asked the candidates what the flag meant to them. Mitt Romney basically told the guy to go f*** himself. Good job Mitt.

[docellis]

Goodbye South Carolian primary Mitt. Not that I disagree.

[BenNX74205]

I would pay good money to see that. Is it on youtube yet?

[planet planet]

That clip was too rich. Seriously, what is the Confederate flag supposed to represent for these people if it doesn't have a racist meaning?

[jim]

Goodbye South Carolian primary Mitt. Not that I disagree.

He has no chance in South Carolina. The Mormon thing isn't going over well in the south.

[lukethedrifter]

Mitt Romney is hawt.

[docellis]

That clip was too rich. Seriously, what is the Confederate flag supposed to represent for these people if it doesn't have a racist meaning?

I have had this conversation so many times with people who claim the flag represents the south, not slavery. I never was swayed by anyone's argument until recently. (I lived in the south for a long time)

But recently a friend came to visit and she asked me this question - "What are we supposed to do? Pick a different symbol? I'm proud of my southern roots and I'm sorry that this symbol means something different to some segment of society than it means to me - but what other symbol captures the south so completely?"

That sort of made me understand that not everyone is a racist in denial or lying about being a racist (in the south).

But still, my response was "That does make sense, but if the other thing that it symbolizes to that segment of society is something so hateful and mean, why flaunt it?"

[Arthur Dent]

But recently a friend came to visit and she asked me this question - "What are we supposed to do? Pick a different symbol? I'm proud of my southern roots and I'm sorry that this symbol means something different to some segment of society than it means to me - but what other symbol captures the south so completely?"

That sort of made me understand that not everyone is a racist in denial or lying about being a racist (in the south).

Why do you need a symbol at all? I'm proud of being from Oregon. What's our symbol? A beaver? Some mountains and trees? The Confederate flag is a symbol of the South's attempt to withdraw from the United States in order to continue to have slaves. That tends to override any symbolic value it supposedly has about anything else.

[Popeye_Card]

But recently a friend came to visit and she asked me this question - "What are we supposed to do? Pick a different symbol? I'm proud of my southern roots and I'm sorry that this symbol means something different to some segment of society than it means to me - but what other symbol captures the south so completely?"

That sort of made me understand that not everyone is a racist in denial or lying about being a racist (in the south).

Why do you need a symbol at all? I'm proud of being from Oregon. What's our symbol? A beaver? Some mountains and trees? The Confederate flag is a symbol of the South's attempt to withdraw from the United States in order to continue to have slaves. That tends to override any symbolic value it supposedly has about anything else.

It also represents the thousands upon thousands of people dying for the confederacy to fight for an ideal. An incorrect ideal, mind you, but personally I don't think it symbolizes "racism". I think it symbolizes the South and it's history. Taking it out of southern flags doesn't change the history of slave ownership in the US.

I don't know. I grew up always thinking of it as a "rebel" symbol. I don't think all of the people with confederate flag stickers on the back of their pickup trucks are card-carrying members of the KKK and want to enslave the black population again. They probably just want to go muddin', drink some Busch, and listen to some Toby Keith.

--P--

[cardinalkarp]

I don't know. I grew up always thinking of it as a "rebel" symbol. I don't think all of the people with confederate flag stickers on the back of their pickup trucks are card-carrying members of the KKK and want to enslave the black population again. They probably just want to go muddin', drink some Busch, and listen to some Toby Keith.

That's not a rebel, that's a redneck.