Look Away, Dixie Land

Look Away, Dixie Land
January 20, 2009

In honor of Barack Obama, a change I’d like to call for is the removal of those Confederate mega-flags along I-75. Yes, I know they’re on private property, considered acts of free speech, and all that. But a girl can dream, can’t she?

The Sons of Confederate Veterans who put them up say they represent “heritage,” not “hate.” But whose heritage? Not mine! I’m as Southern as you get. My family goes back as long as there were white people in Florida, and before that they were in Georgia. (Before that, I don’t know, probably fleeing something they ought not to have done in the British Isles.) When I see that flag, here’s what comes to mind:

A conspiracy of rich white planters who enslaved African Americans and sent my people to war in order to preserve someone else’s “way of life.” When the going got tough, they retreated to their town houses and black market goods while poor country people starved.

The same conspiracy pitted poor whites against African Americans after the war to keep power dynamics in check. When the Sons of Confederate Veterans celebrate the Civil War hero’s bravery, they conveniently leave out the history of Jim Crow’s jihad against blacks. The flag flew over both those terrorist groups.

Again, rich whites used poor ones to do their dirty work during the key moments of the civil rights struggle. One sees it in pictures again and again. Courageous black people integrating schools and lunch counters, behind yahoos wielding Confederate flags and weapons, looking like evil incarnate.

So when I see that flag, I don’t just see hate. I see my ancestors being played for fools. Over and over again. Doing violence against black people. Doing violence against their country. Just so rich white people could hold on to power. Sucker punched in the name of heritage. Over and over again.

“Here, Cletus, I got a job for you.” And poor dumb broke Cletus, who’s willing to carry the gun, hold the rope, swing the bat, but not smart enough to think about the implications of his actions, takes all the blame.

I’m not arguing that Cletus doesn’t deserve some of it. The hit man needs to do time, but so does the person who put out the contract. I’m just saying those Confederate mega-flags insult everyone, even the people who put them up. Bless their hearts, they’re too dumb to know it.