One racist flag compared to another one

In 1861, several of the states that made up the Union which was called the United States of America seceded and formed their own Confederacy.  This Confederacy was made possible for one reason and one reason only.  This is made very clear in what has become called the Cornerstone Speech.  Written by Alexander H. Stephens and presented on March 21, 1861 in Savanah, Georgia, the most telling aspect is laid to bare as to what the Confederate States uphold the greatest.

The new constitution has put at rest, forever, all the agitating questions relating to our peculiar institution African slavery as it exists amongst us the proper status of the negro in our form of civilization. This was the immediate cause of the late rupture and present revolution. Jefferson in his forecast, had anticipated this, as the “rock upon which the old Union would split.” He was right. What was conjecture with him, is now a realized fact. But whether he fully comprehended the great truth upon which that rock stood and stands, may be doubted. The prevailing ideas entertained by him and most of the leading statesmen at the time of the formation of the old constitution, were that the enslavement of the African was in violation of the laws of nature; that it was wrong in principle, socially, morally, and politically. It was an evil they knew not well how to deal with, but the general opinion of the men of that day was that, somehow or other in the order of Providence, the institution would be evanescent and pass away. This idea, though not incorporated in the constitution, was the prevailing idea at that time. The constitution, it is true, secured every essential guarantee to the institution while it should last, and hence no argument can be justly urged against the constitutional guarantees thus secured, because of the common sentiment of the day. Those ideas, however, were fundamentally wrong. They rested upon the assumption of the equality of races. This was an error. It was a sandy foundation, and the government built upon it fell when the “storm came and the wind blew.”

Our new government is founded upon exactly the opposite idea; its foundations are laid, its corner- stone rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery subordination to the superior race is his natural and normal condition.

One simple line gives it all in perspective; upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man.  The Confederacy was formed boldly stating that blacks were inferior to whites.  A racist view that many in the Confederacy felt was true.  The speech in it’s entirety can be viewed here.

Fast forward 70 years.  The world is going through the Great Depression, and somewhere in Europe a man is declaring that Germany and her allies lost the Great War thanks to the number of Jews in the German Military.  Adolph Hitler saw the Jews not based on their religion, but based on their race and the stereotypes regarding that.  From there, it was only a few steps and Hitler saw anyone who did not resemble the Aryan aspect as inferior.  A collection of Hitler’s views on Jews as written in Mein Kampf can be found here.

Separated by 80 years, the Confederate States of America and Nazi Germany held similar ideals.  That whites or Aryans were superior to all other races.  One cannot ignore the fact that many of those who would have supported the Confederacy would have also supported the Anti-Chinese Leagues that cropped up as settlements pushed further west in the United States.

Meanwhile, in Germany today as with many nations in Europe, the Nazi Flag is illegal, only put on display in museums as a reminder of the horrors of such things.  Let’s not forget, that because of this any white supremest groups in Europe do not fly the Nazi Flag or any flag that has the double lightning bolts of the SS.  Instead, they turn to the only other flag in the world which is based on racism which is not outlawed anywhere.  That being the Confederate Flag.

The Confederate Flag was raised in South Carolina in 1961 as a “celebration” of the 100th Anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War, to honour the soldiers who fought and lost their lives.  Let me ask this; do we celebrate Hitler’s birthday, or the anniversary of the formation of the Nazi Party?  Not with the fervor that is shown in the southern United States.  And in 1961, another event was just beginning to take place that the Confederate Flag spit on.  That being the Civil Rights Movement, when black Americans demanded equality.  Something they are still sorely lacking even to this day.  The flag was risen not so much as a way “celebrate heritage” as much as it was a warning to black Americans to “keep in your place”.

The Confederate Flag is a racist symbol, and it’s time to be taken down and recognized as a flag no better than the one that flew over Nazi Germany.