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Confederate flag insulting to the US

A group of 6,000 South Carolinians gathered this weekend in support of the flying of the Confederate flag over their state. They have flown it along with their state flag for the past 38 years and the controversy as to whether or not they should be allowed to has been around almost as long.

Supporters of the flag staged a three-day rally in defense of their right to fly the banner. They claim that the flag stands for the defense of freedom and is an important part of their Southern heritage.

Slavery is what the banner represents to a good number of people, including the NAACP who are leading the charge against the flag. But, I guess since the institution of slavery is a part of Southern heritage too, the South Carolinians that showed for the rally don't really have a problem with that.

For some reason these good ole' boys feel the need to hang on to this failed attempt at glory, standing behind "Southern pride." The secession was about slavery, plain and simple. Continuing to fly the banner that waved above that secession is in bad taste. It's the same as them still saying that they wish they'd won the war. That's really just bad sportsmanship. You lost the war, Jethro. The black people are good and free now. Accept this, and get on with your lives. There must be a Nascar race on the television or a trailer-pull to go to or something.

Flying the Confederate flag is so completely unnecessary. If nothing else it highlights the fact that their are still a good number of people who see African-Americans as second-class citizens. There must be if there are enough people out there who don't have a problem waving this bright orange reminder of their less than glorious past into their faces.

And that's another thing. The flag is orange. Orange is not a pretty color, and you seriously have to question people who want a great, big, ugly thing like that flying over their heads all the time. You have to question why they picked that color in the first place. Granted, this reason is significantly less substantial than the other, but it's still a reason and that's good enough for me. Let's go back to substantial land, though.

Some people are saying that the federal government should step in and take care of the situation. The opposition claims that this would be a violation of their rights, and if the government could get rid of this one, they could start to go for others as well. This is totally and utterly ridiculous. As long as any group of citizens are not being treated with the respect that they deserve (namely the black population of South Carolina), the flag just doesn't belong. That is to say that it doesn't belong over state-run institutions. Nothing can be done to stop them from flying them out in their front yards right next to the couch and directly in front of the refrigerator. They can still carry them at all of their little pretend battles that they're always putting on just as long as they remember that Union troops still get to stomp on them when make-believe time is over.

Flying the Confederate flag also shows a fair amount of disrespect for the American flag. Basically, it's like flying the flag of a completely different nation next to our own. If I was the American flag, I wouldn't want that ugly thing flying anywhere near me. "I won the war, not you. Slither down that pole right now, and climb back in to whatever dirty little hole you came from!"

Just take the flag down. They'll be mad for a while, but they'll get over it. They got over the cancellation of the "Dukes of Hazzard," didn't they? And "Hee-Haw." They don't complain about them taking that little gem off the air nearly as much as they used to. Maybe Washington could cut them a deal or something and offer free TNN to the 6,000 people who showed up at that rally. They would bite into that faster than Marv Albert on a one-night stand with Daisy Duke.

Zack Armstrong is a creative writing junior. He can be reached at editor@wildcat.arizona.edu.