Shit That's Offensive 101: The Rebel Flag

Diversity is being mentioned a lot in my life these days.  Starting with last semester's Diversity Matters Symposium at the UGA College of Veterinary Medicine, to our Diversity Seminars here at the AUCVM, to the Diversity in Veterinary Medicine club of which I am the vice president.  It's important in my life.

So I realized that I've come across quite a few people who didn't know that to a Black person, a confederate flag could be offensive.  I guess they missed that whole slavery thing.  We all know (or should know) about the civil war, the confederacy, the confederate flag, slavery.  Bottom line, the confederacy decided they wanted to keep us Negroes as their slaves, so they seceded from the nation.  They went through a few flags, but the flag that became synonymous with the confederacy is this one:

I know a lot of white people feel that we Black people need to let go of the whole slavery issue.  Maybe we could do that but racism remains alive and kicking and so it is something that will always be discussed, something we will never forget.  To me, seeing a confederate flag is just as upsetting as I would imagine a swastika would be to a Jewish person.  I see all the videos and pictures of Black people being attacked with hoses and guard dogs, I see the assassination of Dr. King.  I hear the stories told to me by my grandparents of the "White Only" water fountains and benches, how my grandmother would take water and food with her when shopping downtown to avoid having to drink from one of these fountains.  These flags can be seen flown at Ku Kux Klan rallies, and many skin heads use this flag as well as the swastika as symbols of their love for hate.  Is every White person who owns a confederate flag a racist? Certainly not.  But I personally find the symbol offensive and I know several other Blacks who do.

Now some people do claim that they fly this flag as a sign of Southern Heritage.  I know one chick who had a key chain that said she was something by choice but Southern by the grace of God-- complete with the confederate flag.  I love the non-racist aspects of the south as much as the next Southern girl, but how can one hid behind this when they are from a state that can not be mistaken for a Southern state.  and if we want to be proud of the south, there are so many great things here other than that flag! Georgia's peaches, Alabama and Florida's beaches, New Orleans Cuisine, grits- yes I said grits.

So the next time you are walking around in your confederate flag t-shirt just remember that someone might be offended by your apparel, and maybe you'll think twice.  Or maybe you won't. But you can't say you didn't know.