Rep. Steve King of Iowa, who is urging his fellow Republicans in Congress to sign a petition supporting Rep. Joe Wilson, today defended the South Carolina congressman’s vote in favor of flying the Confederate battleflag over the state capitol in Columbia (Wilson was one of only seven GOP reps who contradicted their party leadership and voted to continue flying the flag). King spoke of Wilson on FoxNews, where he said that “Being a son of the South puts you in a different position when it comes to the Confederate flag. It means something entirely different to the people who have ancestors who fought in the Civil War [for] the South.” WHOA! WHOA! What?!
Let’s get this straight: Steve King says that if you had ancestors who fought for the South, you thought flying the Confederate flag on the state capitol was a good idea? Well, let me be the first white male Southerner to say that King is completely full of it. I couldn’t begin to count the number of South Carolinians — not to mention other Southerners — I know personally who opposed flying the Confederate battleflag in Columbia. I’m talking about people with deep roots in the South; I don ‘t know how many of them had ancestors who fought for the Confederacy, but if they’re like most white Southerners, it’s probably most of them. For one, my great-great-grandfather on my father’s side was a scout for Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia, and lo and behold, I thought flying the flag on the S.C. capitol was a terrible idea. Here’s why: the state only began flying the flag over the capitol in 1962 as a big, public “screw you” to the civil rights movement — you can look it up — just as that symbol was revived all over the South in those times for the same reason. The Confederate battleflag was used then as the power-wielding good ole boys’ message that they ran the South, by God. After major civil rights laws were enacted over the good ole boys’ objections, the flag became a sign of resistance to equality for blacks. And that’s what it has remained up to and including today no matter how many times some white Southerners say they “love the flag” because it’s “about heritage.” Which is bullshit — if you want to honor that part of your heritage, then fly the actual Confederate “national” flag, instead of a battleflag that had largely been forgotten until the 1960s — and which automatically alienates a large part of the population. Oh, I forgot. Pissing off people is the whole point of displaying the flag.
Here’s Steve King’s appearance on FoxNews.
This article appears in Sep 15-22, 2009.
your full of it. Keep her flying across the South Land!
I think Wilson is even more of a hypocrite to want to fly the confederate flag. He’s as big pro-federal govt as they come.
Then again, the sons of the confederacy has been infiltrated by big govt libs like Wilson anyways.
the flag is at the soldiers monument due to compromise. remember there are two different groups whose feelings are involved…not one.
honor the compromise and get over it !
I appreciate your argument–which I think is the only one even remotely fair against the public display of the Confederate Battle Flag–that Southerners shot themselves in the foot by often using the Flag in a very specific way during the 50s and 60s. Many older folks will remember that prior to the civil rights and integration upheavals, the flag flew all around the region without ruffling any feathers at all.
Nevertheless, I am inclined to keep the flag flying. Largely because most folks opposed to it aren’t so based on your more-valid argument, but on an ignorant notion that the Southern Cause was exclusively a defense of slavery. I fly it because I like to think I’m a well-dressed, eloquent, and warm individual (Counter to the common stereotype) who is able to make people stop and reconsider their notions about the Flag and the Cause.
One other, rather nit-picky thing; you say that people ought to use the “national” flag of the Confederacy if they insist on using one. I assume you refer to the First National Flag, “The Stars and Bars”, that a vast majority of people don’t recognize (It looks more like an American Flag than what we now think of as the Confederate Flag). However, that flag was replaced (Confused Generals mistook it for the American Flag themselves), and the Third (And final) National Flag is the Battle Flag in the upper-left corner of a white field, with a strip of red on the edge (So that the white didn’t get confused as a surrender flag when the wind wasn’t blowing!).
Sincere thanks for an article much more thoughtful than most.
–A Proud Member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans
thank you so much