Honk for Confederate pride

Rep. Don Brown, R-DeFuniak Springs, has filed legislation to create a new license plate featuring the Confederate battle flag.

But the controversial nature of the flag and failure to establish a plate before makes for a difficult road to approval.

The plate, featuring four Confederate-era flags as well as buttons worn by soldiers, was designed by the Florida division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans. The group pitched the idea last year and got nowhere. The plate would cost $25 extra and proceeds would be used for education programs and graveyard restoration.

Florida, like other Southern states, has struggled over the image of the Confederate flag and the plate will surely stir controversy. In 2001, Gov. Jeb Bush discreetly removed the flag from the Capitol. His successor, Gov. Charlie Crist, has made inroads with the African-American community that sees the flag as an enduring symbol of racism.

"A lot of people are making a big issue out of it," Brown said. "But all we're doing is giving individuals the right to choose to make a statement about their heritage." That's no different, he said, than people who want to see Martin Luther King Jr's name grace street signs. Browns says he is one of them and has sponsored a bill to rename part of Highway 90 in Walton County after the slain civil rights leader.

A handful of other states have Confederate heritage plates, including Georgia, Louisiana and North Carolina.

Comments

You could buy one of the Armed Services plates already available and help support the veterans who are still alive.

Prior to the Civil War, what was that "Heritage?" Was it an agrarian oligarchy that was fighting their version of Globalization, i.e. the Industrial Revolution? The North was their China and they lost.

eliminate all vanity plates. it is getting out of hand.

What a Racist!

No way there should ever be a Florida tag displaying a racist symbol of our racist past.

And not just NO, But Hell NO!

I wish NW Florida would go ahead and become part of Alabama.

Should be a top seller in the panhandle. If you buy one of these plates do you get a discount on those chrome trailer hitch testicles?

Wow, what year is this? We're debating evolution, legislating droopy pants, things are dropping like rocks...Wake up all you rebel lovers...it's 2008, not 1863!

Really, how dumb are these people. The South LOST the Civil War, Thank God.
But, these whack jobs keep trying to devide us to this day. Get over it and move on. I am so ready for President Obama to lead our nation, but I worry about his safety because there are still so many racist around.

[hockeyjoker]

I am all for it. I have no problem with people choosing to identify themselves as inane bigots.

Yeah racists....like OBAMA....check out the stances of his church and who his "friends" support...there is your real racist...

The folks that would buy these have curtains in their pickup trucks, but not in their mobile home windows.

[tbpirate]

This is a bad idea. So is the idea of not remembering the past. The United States Civil War needs to be remembered for the lives that were lost over two conflicting ideals.

Learn and remember the past so it is not repeated but this is not the way to honor anyone. By the way I am 5th generation native of Florida.

Has 40ACRS 1MULE already been taken?

Still too soon?

How about LNCOLN RULZ for some irony?

[Tonka61]

I'd buy one in a heartbeat.

hey 4:48 - learn how to spell "divide" it's not "devide" - every friggin post you write has the wrong spelling - i know it has to be the same person because i'm sure only one idiot would keep misspelling the same word day in and day out, week in and week out - whew, i feel better now

If you get one of these you better drive faster than a speeding bullet. It looks like a bullseye target in the middle of the tag.

[Senate District 2]

This vanity plate will be offered with an optional GED and meth starter kit.

[Frank]

Definitely put an end to vanity plates!!!! It's the only acceptable solution. Government issued license plates should not be a form of self expression. It's way out of hand. There should be 1 license plate for all of Floridians.

Will there be EZ installment payment plans for these?

[s jones]

So it is ok to celebrate black history month but not allow others to celebrate or memorialize their history? I would not have a problem with an MLK tag if it were proposed. So why the double standard? The tag look great to me.....sign me up for two!

[JTB]

if NW florida decided to secede right now, it would be fine with me.

I would not own such a plate, however the ignorance surrounding the Confedaracy is amazing. The issue at hand was not slavery, but state's rights, although slavery fell into that category. Many black Americans fought & died as part of the Confederacy with the belief of the indivudal state's right of sovereignty & governance over an over burdening federal government. Even had the South won the war, most historians agree that slavery would have been abolished. Why is it that free speech is only applicable to the "politically correct". The state will ultimately defeat this bill, & as time moves forward, we will as a country continue to erase American history.

[ricco]

WE NEED A PLATE COMMERATING "RAP" IT IS PART OF AMERICAN HISTORY.....

[buzios]

Obama = Osama!

Will the last true American patriot please turn out the lights and bring the flag with them. God help this country if Osama....I mean Obama...is elected.

[ricco]

"LARRY THE CABLE GUY" VANITY PLATE

[ricco]

THE KLAN IS ALIVE AND WELL IN FLORIDA.I SUPPOSE WE SHOULD GIVE A VANITY PLATE TO THE GOOD OLE BOYS...

[JTB]

"Obama = Osama!"

is that your idea of clever?

moron.

[Dee]

It is so ignorant to continue to suggest that Southerners were just fighting to keep slaves when the overwhelming majority of those fighting in the Confederacy did not own slaves. What would you do if your city, county or state were invaded by those such as General Sherman?

The states rights isssue was, is and remains the issue. Just keep whining about those unfunded Federal Mandates and lack of respect for the 10th amendment.

Should the stars and bars be part of state sponsored material or displayed as a Flag? That has been and could continue to be debated.

Are the anti-Stars & Bars crowd the same ones who are also often anti-Stars & Stripes too?

Are there those who have a genuine sense of historical perspective or have ancestors who died in the war and find it respectful of that to display the Stars & Bars who are not racists? Yes, not just Yes, but Hell Yes!

Now if you want to talk about racism and bigotry we can talk about NAACP, La Raza, KKK, Jewish Defense League, United Negro College Fund, Black Entertainment Network, Univision, Louis Farakhan, Barak Obama's minister and then there is this sick racist Jose Angel Gutierrez who said the following:

We are migrants, free to travel the length and breadth of the Americas because we belong here. We are millions. We just have to survive. We have an aging white America. They are not making babies. They are dying. It's a matter of time. The explosion is in our population. We have got to eliminate the gringo, and what I mean by that is that if the worst comes to worst, we have got to kill him." -- Jose Angel Gutierrez, Prof. Univ. Texas at Arlington, founder La Raza Unida Party at UC Riverside 1/1995

How about a vanity plate for our Mexican friends?

How about a license plate commemorating Operation Desert Storm (the most brilliant and successful US military maneuver ever).

5:10 nailed it!

If you don't opt for the meth starter kit, we'll go ahead and knock a few a yer teeth out.

Assuming you still have any.

[Not The Marlboro Man]

I'm going to rush out and get one just to piss off who ever don't like it, because its my right as an American to like what I want to like and express what I want to express and not to be told by some politically correct communist what to think. As soon as you socialism loving communists censor the Confederate flag (which by the way is not a symbol of racism) what next? Anything that had a suggested that it once belonged specifically to white people? I suppose you'll all want to begin to censor debutante balls and Olympic swimming. Any one can make anything they want become Racist and make any word they want become a racist premise, that's why its important to stand up against senseless unconstitutional censorship. Its time to grow up and face it people, that everyone can't live in this country without somebody being offended from time to time, that's just the way it is. So leave us alone and stop trying to censor our historical symbols. I know, why don't you just ban breathing, because it offends me and its racist too.

[Tom]

All the more reason to get rid of vanity plates Gov Crist. Let's aspire to the future , free of hatred and division , but united by the rule of law and decency.

[Tom D]

While we are at it the Countefeit flag is a symbol of treason by some states that did not support the United States of America and looked to foreign nations to help destroy it. I'd be real proud of that heritage. The KKK and the communist party have a heritage also , and all should be equally scorned.

[Robert E. Lee]

I'm not sure why Florida would want a Confederate plate. The state is predominately comprised of yankees, hispanics,europeans and illegals who could not possibly have the capacity to understand history nor have the common southern bond & pride for which our forefathers gave their lives. Yes the south lost the war....but a noble effort it was indeed.

Robert E. Lee

[Thomas]

Just wait until Obama wins the election. Whites will be without civil rights and the 1st amendment will be history!

You vote OBAMA...you get OSAMA

[J.Davis]

Greetings and Salutations Mr. Lee. Sir, I believe you're right. The Confederates are being discriminated today because of their heritage for which they have no control. They should be protected under the law like gays and blacks. I bet you can't believe America and our Beloved South has come this far. Brother In Arms. J. Davis

[steve]

I didn't know when I moved to Florida, I was moving into a twilight zone. Instead of wasting your time and money on dumb vanity plates why don't you put some of that money in the education system? Just last week the state finally allowed the teaching of science in science class. What??? For all those years was the answer to every question, God did it? Funny.

To the posters that wrote if MLK can get signs, etc. why can’t this...On one can’t hand you have something that symbolizes awful memories to 90 percent of America, on the other you have a man that was fighting to have equal rights. You people need to wake up. There may have been other issues prior to the Civil War. But, no one cares because of what we do know.

You people are ridiculous.

[john]

I was born in Manassas,Virginia.I'm proud to be a southerner,But I don't think I would ride around with that tag.It doesn't represent hatred to myself,its more like heritage,But alot of people see it that way,I think we are all here to stay so we might as well try to get along.to alot of people of color they find this offensive,I understand why.We don't need these kind of problems,we don't need that tag or any other tag thats going to affend a particular race.After all the only people that are true Americans are the Indians.

[John]

I think this plate stands an excellent chance of passing in both houses of the state legislature.

-John
www.patrioticactivist.com

[alan]

Brilliant idea. maybe it will offset the united negro college fund, thats not racist, what is?????

[Mark]

Great idea its about time!!!!!!!! Let the flag fly proudly!

"education programs"??

why not simply cut to the chase and feature a noose, burning cross and
hooded coward?

heritage my butt!!

owning other people
selling children from their families
maiming
lynchings
rapes
burning churches
etd., etd., etc.

HERITAGE!!

WHOSE????

Lets not forget all the facist out there that want to preserve their heritage too and want a swastika plate...IDIOT!

Oh wow I hope this passes b/c I don't have enough reasons to be embarrassed to live in the state of Florida. But hey, if these people want a giant target identifying them as the racists they are, by all means...

[BigYank]

I'd like to see a plate commemorating General Grant.

[Phil]

Confederates didn't fight for states' right. That's far too esoteric of an argument. They fought not because it was in their economic interests (since many didn't "own" slaves), but because they wanted to believe that they were superior to another race. Obviously I can't speak to the malicousness of Confederate solidiers. When you're raised to believe something, perhaps you don't know any better. Now we know better, and this license plate makes it tacitly seem as though belief is ok. Love you ancestors (they're my ancestors too) but find another way to acknowledge them.

[Bob]

Cue the banjos! Florida joins the buck-toothed, inbred, evolution-hating racist cracker contingent with this newest campaign to dumb-down and white-sheet up our state's culture.

Thank God for bigoted neanderthals like Don Brown. Who else works so hard to degrade our stature in the 21st century! Small wonder that Florida's daily news earns such a huge share of supermarket tabloid journalism.

Oh wow I hope this passes b/c I don't have enough reasons to be embarrassed to live in the state of Florida. But hey, if these people want a giant target identifying them as the racists they are, by all means...

[Senor T]

What chu talkin bout fo'? That plate is beautiful.

Just like Orenthawl James.

[Jim Johnson]

6:36

The Civil War didnt end slavery, the 13th Amendment to the Constitution ended slavery. Dred Scott in 1857 determined slaves were not citizens and had no civil rights; the war couldnt change a Supreme Court ruling, and didnt.

The Emancipation Proclamation treated captured slaves as war prizes the government could dispose of as it wanted. Lincoln chose to free the slaves he captured, but the EP didnt apply in Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, or Missouri.

The war wasnt about slavery per se, but representation in Congress to decide vital economic policies that abused the South. Like the location of the transcontinental railroad and tariffs that restricted Southern commerce. Plus the distribution of pork.

When slaves were legally free few Southerners objected because they were no longer obligated to support non-workers like geezers and children.

[MoveForwardNotBackward]

That's just a proposed plate. I'm sure when it's completed there will be iron chains complementing the logo with a catchy phrase like "Birth of a Nation."

[steve]

Damn carpetbaggers still don't understand that they have chosen to move to the South. No, this is not Ohio nor New York. Florida was a founding member of the confederate states. This fact is neither good nor bad. I only hope one of our representatives pushes for a carpetbagger plate so we can have a bit of balance here.

I bet this plate will be very popular in Dixie County. They have roadside stands selling Confederate flags.

Wow... this wins the all time ignorance award. And in Florida... that's HUGE. What is wrong with these people? My insurance is choking me. My taxes are killing me. And these people are fighting Injuns and the Civil War. Please wake up. Please.

They are still fighting the war up in the Panhandle aka Lower Alabama. I wouldn't tell them the war is over and the south lost.

Rep. Brown, GO HOME. To the house from the House. Please. What a loser.

Confederates were traitors to the United States of America. Nothing left to be said than that.

How can anyone who isn't married to their sister think this is a good idea? And then people wonder why this state is the butt of so many jokes. Just hurry and choke to death on your skoal so those of us with I.Qs bigger then our shoe sizes can fix this god forsaken place.

[ricco]

MOST SOUTHERN'S DIDN'T OWN SLAVES
IT WAS TOO COSTLY. THEY WENT DOWN TO THER LOCAL"RENT A SLAVE" STORE.DAILY WEEKLY MONTHLY RENTALS
LETS NOT FORGET THE WHITES ONLY RESTROOMS WHITES DRINKING FOUNTAINS.
LUNCH COUNTER DISCRIMINATION NO VOTING RIGHTS LYNCHING FOR SPORT DISCRIMINATIN IN EDUCATION AND JOBS
AND LETS NOT FORGET THOSE "ONE WAY BUS TICKETS" GIVEN TO BLACKS TO GO NORTH OH SEPERATE MILITARY UNITS WHITES ONLY...POLICE BEATINGS ASSAULTS WITH FIRE HOSES AND SHOOTINGS.

THEM GOOD OLE BOYS SHOULD BE PROUD OF THEIR HORRIBLE PAST. GIVE THEM A VANITY TAG!

Republicans are making a mockery of the founding principles of our country, and Florida is fast becoming the laughing-stock of the nation. I can't believe the state I love has fallen so far as to become the last refuge of the ignorant ne-con movement.

[Gilbert]

Gee, and I thought we as Americans had made so much progress, ha! As an African American, 21 year Army veteran, I put my life on the line for this country to even allow State Elected dividers the right to propose such actions. I personally do not object to it. However, when people banter around thier own personal opinions as to impose on others and they mask it with sarcasm I listen very intently. As for the Martin Luther King references and BET snipes accompanied with the other negatives let be on the record and say this: Neither Caucasian nor African American or Hispanic/Latinos have and inherited right to America. If history is correct and I have no reason to doubt it, The Indians are the rightful owners of this country. In fact the Indians owned all of America until they started messing around and negotiating with the White Man!

Bigots Suck!

[J.E.B. Stewart]

All of you ignorant people who are ashamed of living in Florida and stereotype the people on this board for supporting the tag should just move back north of the Mason-Dixon line (if you even know what that is). If you have ever spent time in upstate New York or rural Pennsylvania you'd know that rednecks and hillbillys are not soley a product of the south. By the way....why are you even here?

J.E.B. Stuart

[Marc]

I say let the inbreds have their license plate, lets also add a neo-Nazi swastika plate and a KKK plate. This way we can see the ignorant, less-educated coming a mile away...

[General Custer]

Several of the posts here have made reference to the Indians being the rightful owners of this country. The bottom line is that they got their butts kicked and lost the land. Too bad. It has happened time and time again from the beginning of mankind...on every continent....to the victors go the spoils of war.

[john jay]

Actually, the South seceded from the Union over Slavery. When South Carolina seceded first, it then issued a call to other states -- but only to other slave-holding states. Only slave-holding states joined the confederacy. The Confederate Constitution did not recognize "States Rights" when it came to slavery, but placed slavery on a plane in which the States could not interfer with it.

Confederate Vice President Stevens said, the new government's
“foundations are laid, its cornerstone rests upon the great truth, that the Negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery – subordination to the superior race—is his national and normal condition.” The South refused to free and draft slaves even after R.E.Lee told them in writing it was the only possible way to continue the war.

Most southerners may not have owned slaves, but their economic, social, and political lives revolved around the "peculiar institution." In fact, I beleive the South clung to slavery in part because they did not know what to do with the great number of african-americans living in thier midst (there were relatively few blacks in the north, but blacks made up 40% of the South's population). They could not envision a society with both races, unless blacks were subordinated.

The idea that the South seceded over the general principle of State's Rights -- what one historican calls the "virgin birth" theory of the confederacy -- is part of the "Lost Cause" mythology that started after the South was trying to recover from the devastation of the war. By the way, once slavery was eliminated, the South became once again an important and vital part of the Union. The United States would not be the great power that it if the country had been divided.

Secession was about slavery. The sooner people deal with this truth, the sooner the use of confederate flags as simply a historical reminder of the brave and self-reliant South will be accepted. Almost everyone I have met who now flies a confederate flag now, however, has expressed racist views. The flag must be separated from the racism before it becomes acceptable again.

Thanks, Steve, for mentioning carpetbaggers. Yes, they are still around, defending blacks with one hand, while robbing them blind with the other. Forget Evolution, teach what really happened to the South!

[john jay]

"No bill of attainder, or ex post facto law, or law denying or impairing the right of property in negroe slaves shall be passed."

Art. I, section 9, Confederate Constitution

""and the right of property in said slaves shall not be impaired."

Art. IV, section 2 (1), Confederate Constitution.

The vast majority of Floridians live in parts of the state that have absolutely nothing to do with The South. It's no more southern than Obama is. Brown should move to Alabama, or somewhere--anywhere, just stop embarassing the rest of us. At least I can have confidebnce that Charley would veto it---and if I thought it ever had a chance of passing, I'd be really upset.

[THEY ARE ALL PUSSIES]

I WOULD LIKE TO HOLD AL SHARPTON DOWN AND TATTOO ONE ON HIS FACE. TRUTH IS, THE ONLY PEOPLE WHO DONT WANT IT ARE BLACKS AND THOSE THAT WANT TO BE AND ACT BLACK. I AM IN NO WAY A RED NECK OR HILLBILLY BUT, I WOULD SPORT ONE JUST TO PISS OFF THE A**HOLES THAT SAY I CANT HAVE IT. P*SS OFF GO IN A CORNER AND POLISH YOUR OBAMA BUMPER STICKERS ANDLISTEN TO LIBERAL RADIO. I HOPE ALL OF YOU THAT HAVE A PROLBEM CATCH SOME SORT OF COAGULATION DISEASE AND BLEED TO DEATH. I TRULY HATE YOU ALL.

[THEY ARE ALL PUSSIES]

OH YEAH I ALMOST FORGOT, F*** YOU ALSO. PUT THAT ON A BUMPER STICKER AND TAPE YOUR MOUTH SHUT

[Matthew]

The confederates were traitors; they took up arms against their country.

Slavery? Never forget that it is why millions of blacks are alive today.Thanks to the victors in tribal wars, the ancestors of American blacks had 2 possibilities, death or slavery.

[Marc]

I am white, in fact I am a member of the Mayflower Society (can't get much whiter than that). Anything this divisive should never be endorsed by our government. To Mr. They are all P$ssies, you are obviously a bigoted and uneducated man. For starters, there is a key on your keyboard labeled 'Caps Lock'. Why don't you hit that key once so you don't look so moronic. Can't way for a an African-American to run this great country of ours (Go Obama).

[Jack]

TRAITORS is all the confederates were.

[niger]

Ill buy that for a dollar!

[Stonewall Jackson]

If the confederates were traitors...then what would you call the signers of the Declaration of Independence? Keep in mind that the founders of this great country were also traitors at one time...to England...the mother country. Sometimes a little revolution is a good thing.

And yes, the ungrateful minorities in this country should get on their knees and kiss our white assess that they were brought to the new world. Do you actually believe that they would trade places with their ancestors on the dark continent??? Get real people!

[OSAMA]

A word of advice:

If you vote OBAMA .... you get OSAMA!

I am going to laugh my head off when one of those hillbillies takes a worng turn off the highway in Jacksonville or Tampa and the locals show them what they feel about their "Confederate" pride

[Sitting Bull]

LOL at General Custer and his thoughts on Native Americans

The South quit the Union over taxes. The various state legislatures said so at the time. Tariffs to protect northern industries devastated the southern economy (before and after the War). There was little pressure to end slavery. Lincoln made that clear. Slavery was not a rationale for secession. 4:38 P.M., the South was engaged in the global economy. It sold its cotton to Europe. Northern protectionists, on the other hand, opposed globalization.

The license tag is still a dumb idea.

[Kathy]

What an absolutely beautiful license plate. The artwork is outstanding. Sure beats those "Save Our Seas" or "State Wildflower". I will gladly sign the petition to have these produced!

[mrowdy]

Florida could make billions, considering the number of red necks that live here.

At least we'll be able to identify Kathy and the other Sons and Daughters of the Confederacy from a distance. What a bunch of backwards morons.

[BigYank]

Remember Andersonville!

[john jay]

The argument that the South seceded over something other than slavery may provide a nice story that allowed the two sections of the country to reconcile, but it does not hold up to an objective review of the facts.

There is no doubt that the North exploited the South for decades leading up to the war by passing high tariffs, which forced the South to buy Northern goods rather than English goods at a time when the South was rich with cash because it provided the main part of United States exports in the form of cotton.

But the crisis came when the Lincoln was elected on a platform to keep the Slavery out of the West, which was then mainly federally-controlled territories that had not yet become states. If there was no slavery in the territories, then when the States were formed out of the territories, they would most likely reject slavery, like most Northern States had. This was the "last straw" that caused the South to break the Union.

On April 29, 1861, Confederate President Jefferson Davis in his first message to the Confederate Congress said that the South seceded because the North was taking steps (such as excluded slaves from the Western territories) "rendering the property in slaves comparatively worthless, and thereby annihilating in effect property worth thousands of millions of dollars....With interests of such overwhelming magnitude imperiled the people of the Southern States were driven by the conduct of the North [to secede]." Davis latter changed his story. But his words at the time to other confederates make clear that the South seceded over slavery.

[Nolan]

This just opened a big CAN OF WORMS! I'm a gay American.. Where can I get my Florida Gay Pride license plate? They'd have a field day with this.

Did Allen sign up for Bense1 yet?

Don Brown is an idiot and a racist. He can't think of anything better to do with the handful of bill slots he has than to do something like this to insult every African American in Florida? Not to mention the fact that this will feed racist prejudices that most decent people have been trying to extinguish ever since the end of the Civil War. Hey Don - I'm Southerner but don't forget the cause the South was fighting for was NOTHING to be proud of and commemorating it is wrong, misguided and bigoted. You are a disgrace.

[Rick-O]

As a native Floridian, and a long time resident of the Panhandle, I am truly, truly embarassed by this nonsense. Collectively, is this really a pressing issue right now? Think about those that are supporters of this flag, and the whole confederacy nonsense; not real advocates of the Civil Rights movement. Considering that, what sense does it make to issue a license plate that will do nothing but further the divide between us? I mean, who do you see sporting these confederate flags? Typically, they are racists, and narrow-minded simpletons that have some idealistic perspective on what might have been had the south won. Well, they didn't, and they should get over it. Instead, let's concentrate on more pressing matters, such as education, property taxes, insurance, health insurance, and unemployment. I love my state, but I despise those moments when it rears it's ugly, redneck, racist head.

[Lee]

Isn't judging someone by a flag they fly prejudice in itself? Yes, there are those who have used and are using this flag to represent and do things that are dishonorable. I am not one of those people, but I do believe in my heritage. You say it is not acceptable to judge someone by the color of their skin, and it is not. Yet, you hypocrites find it okay to judge someone based on a flag they fly.
By the way, I am married to a woman of color and I proudly have a picture of Robert E. Lee with a Confederate flag in many rooms in my house. He stood for duty, honor, and the ideals of the Southern Gentleman, no matter their color. He fought for his State despite his disbelief in slavery due to his sense of loyalty to his home state.
So there is at least one person who would consider owning this plate who is definitely NOT a racist.

[John]

Honestly, the same morons who would buy this flag are the same ones who have no problem throwing people into a hole outside of any legal jurisdiction for torture and imprisonment without charge.

Seeing as the so-called Confederate flag they are so "proud" of is a battle flag, doesn't that immediately constitute an act of treason? Shouldn't anyone who buys this plate or waves that flag be immediately sent to Gitmo, do not pass Go, unless Go is a town in Romania where you will be tortured for no reason?

[Reality Check]

I love that anyone who calls the treason flag what it is is automatically a communist. The south did not fight against communism. The did not fight over 'states rights' (SC seceded because northern states would NOT enforce the fugitive slave act - the were AGAINST states rights), and they certainly didn't fight over taxes or any of the other BS. The fought because the rich wanted to keep slaves and the southern poor were (and still are, apparently) stupid enough to believe they had some stake in it.

Get over it. The Confederacy was a disgraceful period in history but, like the nazis, it's over. Move on.

What if your heritage is hateful?

"By the way, I am married to a woman of color and I proudly have a picture of Robert E. Lee with a Confederate flag in many rooms in my house."

You need to read what Lee actually wrote, not just the snippets the Sons of Confederate Traitors puts out. Lee would have despised you and your wife. If, indeed, you have such a wife. Lies come easily to neo-confederates.

[ricco]

NEWS FLASH:
RACISM IS A LIVE AND WELL IN FLORIDA IN 2008

IN SOME WAYS A GOOD PORTION OF FLORIDA IS STILL IN A 1950'S MINDSET.

WHILE OTHER STATES HAVE REMOVED THE CONFERATE FLAG FROM THEIR STATE HOUSE. WHY IS FLORIDA BRINGING UP A PAST OF HATRED.?

[Dee]

Is the carpetbagger culture so grand? Just look at south Florida. Are they segregated down there in Miami/West Palm or what? The rich carpetbaggers do not give the poor minorities their money and invite them to their parties. They do not send their children or grand children to the public schools with the poor minorities.

Of course they do expect the poor minorities to work as their servants and staff at pitiful low wages.

Seems like the real racists we have here in Florida have been imported from up north. To take attention away from their actions they keep tossing names at regular folks and seek to redefine a period in history that was extremely challenging and sad for all. But it is their actions that speak louder than words and really matter.

Richest area of the state is around West Palm Beach and the poorest area of the State is segregated from West Palm Beach where the "house" servants come from. RICH YANKEE BIGOTS!

as several above have pointed out so clearly, SLAVERY was THE issue even before the constitution was ratified!

remember the compromise in agreeing to count slaves at three-fifths of a person?

THREE-FIFTHS OF A HUMAN BEING??

there are more examples, but that central one -- dehumanizing slaves -- should do the job!

as the north moved towards abolishing slavery, the issue became more contentous.

if you CAN READ, do check out the history of the various legislative efforts to "allow" slavery in new states as well as the threats to go to war over the issue prior to april of 1861.

by the time of the treason against the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, southern states had so totally wedded themselves to an agrarian system dependent on slave labor that they had no option left to them but to commit TREASON -- and suicide.

egged on by the wealthy and established, poor southerns responded to the call to arms and participated in the destruction of not only themselves but thier "nation"!

were the war to have been waged ten times, it is highly likely that the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA would have prevailed ALL TEN times.

by 1865 the TRAITORS had had their butts so thoroughly whipped that only one of TEN southerners returned to their homes after the war.

unfortunately, the necessary cleansing and reformation of reconstruction was preempted by the impeachment trial of andrew johnson and the repeal of most reconstrution legisation.

isolated and defeated, southerners began constructing this delusional view of the war:

honor,
chivalry,
state's rights,
northern oppression -- gladly ignoring their oppression of millions of slaves
protecting the flower of southern womanhood,
jim crow laws,
the klan

and such related fantasies to deal with their emotional, physical and spiritual humiliation.

in their need, southerners clung to these fantasies as fact.

consequently, these delusional people, determined to promote and honor TREASON and TRAITORS continue to seek validation for their delusions:

flying the flag at state houses,
SCV,
LoS,
re-enacters,
pathetic license plates,
klan rallies to "protect" us from-who-knows-what, etc., etc.

this is simply one more gasp of the delusions.

germany made display of the swastika illegal after WWII.

would that our government had made the same decision in 1865!!

Neither the flag nor the tag are offensive. A free society requires thick skin, but a tag? Seriously, someone is offended by a depiction of a flag? How about this: I am offended by people who are offended over things! Stop offending me!!!

That being said, why do we need ANY specialty tags. Personally, I am opposed to them all. However, if you can have one to raise money to "save the manatees" then you should be able to have one to preserve history.

didja ever notice that you cant have a KLAN rally and KLAN parade without swastikas and stars and bars?

think about that, if you can without hurting yourself!!

If we could get the Panhandle to secede and join Alabama, we'd raise the collective IQ of both states.

ah, 9:51 #1 wants certain political speech banned - who's the true fascist?

Cristi: do you really have no opinion on the Rebel license plate? You could possibly support a plate like this as long as the polls moved in its favor?

The United States constitution and the Confederate States constitution were almost perfect matches of one another with one very major difference...the Confederate constitution made ownership of other human beings an inalienable right for those of the right skin tone and the money to buy and sell other humans.

Let's not glorify such horror.

It is heritage not hate, but the heritage is hate and when you scratch a "Rebel Flag" flouter's surface you will inevitably find someone who hasn't reconciled himself to the historic reality or worse--somebody brimming with racial hate and offense even at this date--which should be a late date unless we let the racial haters lift up their gaze and claim acceptability again.

John Jay, your statements do not back up your claims. Lincoln was very much in favor of tariffs. His election precipitated secession. Jefferson Davis understood that tariffs made the slaves and the plantations worthless because the plantation owners could not sell their cotton. Slavery was a barbaric practice, but that is not an excuse to get history wrong.

its a fair point, 10.05, but maybe, just maybe, the folks who had front row tickets to REAL FASCISM and the ANNIHILATION of MILLIONS got that one right.

it just may have been worth the effort, rather than giving TRAITORS free access to their delusional symbols of hatred and oppression!

im really stretching to think of one conutry who allows folks to fly the flag of a defeated enemy -- here TRAITORS -- "with pride and honor"
can you think of one?

and, 10.43: B.S.!!

PURE DELUSIONAL B.S.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Dee]

I wonder if many on this blog who are opposed to the tag based on humanitarian grounds are the same ones who don't believe that unborn children are not human much less 3/5ths of a person?

Slavery was and remains wrong. It is amazing there is not public outrage and condemnation of those Africans & Arabs that enslaved one another and traded their property with Dutch & English Slave Brokers. Why are the Northern Mill Owners who used the slave picked cotton to produce goods not humiliated in the revisionist history embraced by so many? Slavery still exists today in parts of the world but there is no significant effort to prevent it, why is that, is it same race oriented, is there no commercial or political effect?

With regards to humanity in this nation it is ironic that yesterdays region of abolitionists is today the same region where the greatest support for killing the unborn child exists. So much for the continuation of a humanitarian tradition.

Can we get a specialty license plate honoring the heritage of the islamic separatists in Kosovo? Same thing, no?

thak you, dee, for that precise and lucid rant, having almost nothing to do with a license plate commemorating TRAITORS!!

why not simply a sign:

"my ancestors committed TREASON against he UNITED STATES of AMERICA and im PROUD of them and of any folks who did the same, whether or not i'm related to them!"?

think that will fly?

It's always about MLK or abortion or some other dodge. They just can't wrap their brains around the fact that what they were taught in the South as history is actually fiction. When you prove it - usually with the official signed documents declaring secession - suddenly you are a socialist, or an abortionist, or SOMETHING. It's never about them. It's always about you.

They have been allowed to do this all the way back to the 1890's. Just look at Gone with the Wind. Now, finally, with the internet everyday folks can just Google the documents of the confederacy and really see how appalling it was. And Margaret Mitchell's pathetic dreams are finally being revealed for the fraud they were.

[Ignatius]

Look,

If you people would spend as much time working as you do ranting about a confederate pride license plate, there wouldn't be a sub prime crisis.

The drunks have a prayer that goes "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."

Whether you think there should be a confederate pride license plate or not, there's very little you can do about it. If you don't want your legislator to vote for it, send him or her an email. If it gets approved and you don't want one, don't buy one. Net to the taxpayer the cost is $0. If you think those who do buy these tags are ignorant or closed minded, tell them.

Posting on message boards is nothing other than a waste of time.

I'm going back to work.

IJ Riley

[GBecker]

Yet another piece of evidence in support of cutting FL loose and letting it drift away from the mainland.

"Look,

If you people would spend as much time working as you do..."

Yup. It's about US again. It's not the fraud THEY never miss an opportunity to cram down our collective throats. Now we are all UNEMPLOYED, communist, abortionists.

"It is amazing there is not public outrage and condemnation of those Africans & Arabs that enslaved one another and traded their property with Dutch & English Slave Brokers."

Actually, there is. It's just that neither the former African and Arab slavers or the Dutch and English brokers are waving treason banners and banging out licence plates celebrating their crimes.

"Why are the Northern Mill Owners who used the slave picked cotton to produce goods not humiliated in the revisionist history embraced by so many?"

They are. Find me a norther mill that is touting it's crimes with pride like the confederate types and I'll have a word with them.

"Slavery still exists today in parts of the world but there is no significant effort to prevent it, why is that, is it same race oriented, is there no commercial or political effect?"

Actually, there is a HUGE effort on just that front. Look here:

http://www.antislavery.org/
and here
http://members.aol.com/casmasalc/aboutcasmas.html
and here
http://www.catwinternational.org/
and here
http://www.freetheslaves.net/

and... oh, heck, google them for yourself. Just because you don't know about it doesn't mean it isn't happening. You don't sound like you've heard about a lot of things.

[Geoph.Chicago]

This is a flag of a failed nation. I do not think you will see any swastikas on any plate on the autobaun, because once Germany lost the war, the flag was removed forever. I cannot understand why any state from the former confederacy would be allowed to fly a flag of a failed nation, I do not see the union jack flying anywhere in the USA cause we freed ourselves from it in 1776. I know history tells us the North won the Civil war, but really, with the rascism that spread all over this country afterwards and the segregation that was allowed to continue until the 1960's I really can't believe the north won. to all the loosers south of the Mason Dixon Line, get over it you lost, your heritage is worthless, you are loosers. I think we need to do what Germany did.

[sct]

There was slavery in the north as well as the south for several decades but as the north moved to a less agrian economy, slavery was gradually eliminated. The majority of southerners did not own slaves and once freed, blacks were seldom welcomed (and I used that word loosely) in the North. Some of the worst race riots in the history of this country were in Illinois and Michigan (though obviously they were more prevalent in the south). The south did seceed because of slavery but cloaked it under states rights (see the declaration of secession of south carolina - it's a valid consitutional argument for state's rights but the state right that they're using is for slavery - http://www.sonofthesouth.net/leefoundation/secession_causes.htm)

For as much as we have to be proud of in this country, there is much to be ashamed of (most of which never made it into your school history books). To get a more thorough accounting, try reading A People's History of the United States to get the warts-and-all version of our country's history.

I don't know anyone who would be proud to have one of these plates on their cars but I'm sure there are plenty. There will always be something to offend someone but all done and said, the odds of this passing are probably slim to none (thankfully).

Are they still teachin' that version whar the north won???

And this is to commemorate those responsible for the deaths of more than 360,000 United States soldiers, sailors and marines?

Oh, might I add, this well-documented notation about Florida's largest battle (from battleofolustee.org): "Contemporary sources, many from the Confederate side, indicate that a number of black soldiers were killed on the battlefield by roaming bands of southern troops following the close of the fighting."

Robert E. Lee was adamantly opposed to slavery, calling it, "a political and moral evil."

To say that the war was fought over slavery is either supremely ignorant or naive.

"To say that the war was fought over slavery is either supremely ignorant or naive."

actually, 7.36, it IS FACTUAL and DOCUMENTED. both by HISTORY and in many of the TRAITORS' own hands.

nonetheless, you can live in your own delusions, like gwshrub, holocaust deniers and other assorted koolaiders!!

bless ya!!

8:03, You are mistaken. Some Southerners were pro-slavery (a few even owned slaves.) However, the attempt to make the war out to be about slavery began as Lincoln's effort to stop the French from recognizing the Confederacy.

The lie was continued by Northerners who wished to wash their hands of slavery after the fact. However, virtually EVERY slave ship was of Northern registry.

The simple fact is that slavery is not a blight on the South, it is a blight on the entire nation. But, you can live in your delusion if you wish. I'm sure it helps your conscience to pretend that only those damned Southerners were guilty.

[Tom in Minnesota]

Why stop with the Confederate flag commemorating slavery? What about the white sheets of the Ku Klux Klan? That's part of the heritage of some White southerners as well, right?

Who elected this guy? Bubba and his wife that live in a trailer?

Yes, Tom. That's it. Let the therapy flow. Project all of your guilt for your personal racism and bigotry upon the South. It really isn't your fault that your a racist. It's those damned Southerners. Blame it all on them. Forget the fact that the Stars and Stripes waved over slavery for a century. That's not important. If you were born in the North, you are completely innocent. If you were born in the South, you are a racist biggot who is personally responsible for slavery. That's it, you're doing great.

Come to think of it, some members of the KKK claimed to be Christians and carried their Bibles around. It is an outrage that even to this day, people are still allowed to carry Bibles!! In spite of the painful memories of hatred and bigotry, this country still allows the display of the Bible! This is an outrage!!!

[Ignatius]

My great grandparents on my dad's side were subsistence farmers in the panhandle during the 19th century. I guess one could say they were poor white trash. Because they couldn't afford to pay for a substitute, my great grandfather was conscripted into the confederate army and lost a leg at Shiloh. I don't know how he felt about slavery because I never met him but I do know he did not own any slaves.

I repeat, he was conscripted into the service meaning he was not a volunteer. He did his job, lost a leg, lived well into his nineties, and raised a nice family.

If I were to buy one of these license plates to honor an ancestor who was forced to serve and lost a limb for his efforts, am I a racist because of what some people think "confederate pride" represents? About a third of confederate forces were conscripted into the service - are their descendants bigots if they choose to purchase the plates so they can honor their ancestors who were forced to serve and more likely than not did not own or care to own slaves? Remember, less than 1% of southerners owned slaves.

Think about that before you rush to judgement please.

[Reality Check]

8:17. Actually, YOU are wrong. Here it is, in their own words.

http://sunsite.utk.edu/civil-war/reasons.html

All the States except four who joined with the confederacy made the mistake of actually documenting exactly why they did it. They are all lengthy, dubious, legal arguments why treason was acceptable, but the gist of the documents was the reasoning. To a state, they all openly state the reason: Slavery and only slavery.

Also, whoever posted that slavery is a blight on the whole nation is 100% correct. The problem is northerners accept the faults of their ancestors and southerners still pretend theirs were noble and flawless.

The blight of slavery existed all over the western world. But only in the American south did people pick up arms against their brothers to defend the institution. And only in the American south are fools still defending this treason today.

Ignatius. Why would you buy a license plate to honor the "nation" that did that to your ancestor? It sounds like he was just another victim of this pointless, selfish tragedy. He lost limb because he was forced to fight for the benefit of the rich landowners who inflicted this horror on their nation. Far from changing minds about the Confederacy, this sad tale just confirms what history has already told us: the the Confederacy was a wholly treasonous, exploitative enterprise that deserves to be remembered with contempt, not honor.

Note that 10:41 has said it again. It's about the rest of us, not them. All us unemployed, communist, abortionists. Never even give a thought to the sad facts of history. Just keep celebrating that treason in the fog of self imposed ignorance.

guess there are still a LOT of folks like 8.17 out there who have drunk the
"nobility of the confederacy" koolaid.

just like the folks who believe the kluxers were simply fighting to preserve the dignity of white southern womanhood...by lynching and burning anyone they didnt like.

actually, this sort of kluxer behavior was prevalent throughout the south BEFORE the war.

folks, especially prominent folks who spoke out in any fashion against the "peculair institution" were threatened, banished, burned out and even killed.

some grand tradition of chivlary, eh?

personally, i love the history of natchez, mississippi.

once the wealthiest "city" per capita in the u.s.a., the planters who lived on the bluffs and grew cotton on both sides of the river were all from the north. during the war when american troops approached, the northern planters welcomed them in. few shots were fired.

upriver in vicksburg, the fools held out until they were eating rats and boiling shoe leather. grant made them surrender on july 4!

HAH!!!!

chivalry and nobility, my back-end!!!!

The Civil War was not about slavery, but I won't keep trying to argue with people who believe the moon is made of green cheese.

However, it was not treasonous for any state to secede from the union for any reason. If you remember your Constitutional history (and you seem to have difficulty with history) you will recall that there was a delay in ratification of the Constitution until it was clarified that any state maintained the right to withdraw at any time for any reason. Secession was not only not treason, it was in fact, a right protected by the Constitution.

All that being said, did the North execute an illegal war against the Confederacy? Absolutely. Do I wish the South would have won? No. If the South would have won, would slavery have survived? No. Slavery was practiced by an extreme minority of Southerners and was on it's way out. Many prominent Southerners were adamantly opposed to it, including General Robert E. Lee.

Many on this blog seem to thing that hundreds of thousands of poor Southern men would take up arms and sacrifice life and limb for no other reason than to defend the right of the richest few to own slaves. Yes, that makes a lot of sense. Use your head for something besides a hat rack.

Certainly it had nothing to do with things like the Tariff of 1828, which protected Northern Industrialists by imposing a 62% tax on 92% of all imports, thus wreaking havoc on the economies of Southern States. Would the highest tariff in history be a reason for Southerners to take up arms for independence? Nah, they probably just wanted to help those rich people keep their slaves.

It's good not to argue the point. You are wrong and can't win. Read the links above. There is nothing more to be said. Neither your opinion or mine matters.

I agree that slavery would have eventually been abolished in any case. That just makes the tragedy all the more poignant. Why did they do this? Maybe it's unfair to view the past from here. It's obvious to us that slavery was doomed, but it might not have been so obvious to them. Still, it's hard not to observe that the confederates did what they did for absolutely no reason. All that death, caused by selfish landowners - for nothing.

As for this moronic statement:

"seem to thing that hundreds of thousands of poor Southern men would take up arms and sacrifice life and limb for no other reason than to defend the right of the richest few to own slaves."

Uh, yeah. That is EXACTLY what happened. It's still happening today. It always did happen and always will, I'm afraid. The rich start wars, the poor fight them. After the war the men who sacrifice the most, get the least. Those who did nothing but cause the war, always reap great rewards. Had the south won the war, slaves would have remained in bondage, the rich would have gotten exponentially more rich... and the southern fighter would go back to the crushing poverty the 19th century economy had inflicted on them.

Who's Sam Ple?

4.13 & 4.22 have clearly drunk tootoo much of the poorbeseigedsouthernchivalyrandhonor koolaid!

slavery
slavery
slavery
slavery

from the constitution and counting slave as 3/5's of a person to the various compromises regarding admission to the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
it was

slavery

sure some issues exacerbated the agrarian base of the south but then that was also

slavery
slavery
slavery
slavery

RIGHT!!!!!!?

of course if you do believe othrwise, gwbush has a wonderful little war in vietraq you can fund for less than $2 BILLION, total!!

remember that promise?

more koolaid?

HAH!!!!

Interesting that 10:42 mentions Iraq. I suppose that you also believe that we went to war with Iraq in order to liberate the people from a murderous dictator, right? In fact, there is more evidence to support that argument than there is to support your theory about the Civil War being fought to end slavery.

we went to 'war in vietraq' because gw and his enablers wanted to 'get it right this time' (please note that THEY FAILED MISERABLY!) and fabricated the wmd's and every other 'fact' about the threat of a third-rate, delusional despot who was our ally from 1980 to about 1990, in the iran/iraq war ()see photo of donnie and dikkie, giving saddam the prelims to the full-larry-craig-treatment).

if you read above, responsible folks have cited volumes of evidence, sometimes in the TRAITORS' own words and hands, that the war was fought to preserve 'the peculiar institution'.

10:42 You seem to be more interested in annoying people than getting out the truth. I think this is too important for that type of thing. We have allowed the confederates to, with depressing success, rewrite the history of this country. It's not about bashing these people, it's about educating them and others who might read this.

Please, before you formulate ANY opinion on the subject, read the actual reasons for the Civil war. I've posted this link several times, but it's vitally important: http://sunsite.utk.edu/civil-war/reasons.html

The reason this is important is because some (not all) conservative politicians are actively trying to force modern culture into a hopelessly outdated and un-american mold. They must be recognized for what they are and stopped. The American people, north and south, are smart enough to make wise decisions once they have proper knowledge of the facts. Humans are like computers: garbage in garbage out. If we put facts in, we'll get good decisions out.

Look, the revision of history is on the part of Northerners who want to absolve the North of any responsibility for slavery.

However, the issue comes down to this: Is the Confederate flag offensive?

Answer: No more offensive than the "Star Spangled Banner." Which flag flew over a nation that upheld slavery for more than a century? Which flag was flown on the slave ships that brought people, like property, to the shores of the U.S.? Which flag flew over the Supreme Court that decided the Dred Scott case? It sure as hell wasn't the Confederate flag!

Get over yourselves! Slavery and racism are offensive! A flag is not!

More to the point, should the tag be available? Personally, I don't think ANY specialty tags should be sold. I think it is stupid. However, if you're going to let the manatee lovers sell their tag and the choose life people sell their tag, then you can't stop people from raising money to preserve historical artifacts. It's not like they are trying to revive the confederacy or re-institute slavery! As for the tags, ban them all or allow them all. Or maybe have a threshold of a certain number of pre-paid orders.

damnbetcha!

flags are NOT offensive!!

i know that because at every klan/identity rally i see confederate flags, nazi flags and identiry movement flags.

those flags can in NO WAY be offensive, considering the fine, upstanding people carrying and waving them!

NO WAY!!

Ugg. Will you just read? That's all I ask. NOBODY is trying to absolve anybody of guilt about slavery. Slavery was an AMERICAN institution. Clear? It existed for about 400 years before the confederacy even existed, and 300 years before the US. Okay? Are you hearing me? If anybody is guilty over slavery, we are ALL guilty over slavery. The North is equally guilty about slavery.

Now, let that non-issue pass from your mind. This is the point: The flag IS OFFENSIVE. It's not offensive because 'northerners aren't guilty,' It's offensive because with the industrial revolution happened slavery was doomed. It could have, and should have, and did die a peaceful death all over the world.. except one place. And that one place took up arms to defend it. That is why it's offensive. It's offensive because it is the symbol of a 'nation' created to preserve slavery, and it is offensive because so many people were killed over so little. It IS offensive. It's offensive on a state building and it's offensive on a license plate. Manatee's are not offensive. Confederate flags are. Revisionist history is REALLY offensive, not to mention stupid. It's stupid because what happened has happened and pretending differently doesn't change the facts. It does, however, rob us of the hard lessons that were paid for in blood.

[john jay]

Some of the greatest American traditions stem directly from White Southern Heritage. The Constitution was written by Southerners. The model of the American presidency to peacefully surrender power was set by our first presidents (particularly the great George Washington) who were born in the South. The great justices, like John Marshall, who first defined our constitution, were Southern. It was Southerners who insisted on and wrote the Bill of Rights. I could go on. Lee and Jackson and many others set the example of moral courage and resourefulness in war that prevailed against great odds.

But, it is also true that one very negative part of White Southern Heritage is racism.

It is not just slavery. Remember that the Stars and Bars was used by the segregatonists and racists in the 1950's and 1960's to resist allowing African-Americans the right to vote or even send their children to school.

Hell, some (but certainly not all) of the supporters of the Battle Flag on this blog have made outright racist remarks.

I look forward to the day when the Stars and Bars can be flown as a symbol of self-reliance and defiance of central power and just plain "don't tread on me" independence.

But the flag must be separated from the racist message that has been attached to it. Unfortunately, as evidenced by this blog itself, we are not there yet. And the truth is, both the north and the south, were and are, racist.

I fantasize that someday someone like General Colin Powell or maybe even President Barrack Obama will formally return some of the captured battle flags to a Southern State in a formal ceremony and maybe once and for all we can bury our collective racist past. Not forget it, but just let go of the racism. I think a lot of people are at the tipping point where such an act would send them over to the good side. Maybe I am just naive.

John Jay, You make many good points. As a Southerner, I do not deny that racism has existed in the South. What I take exception to, is the attempt by some Northerners to say that it ONLY existed in the South.

Although I am proud to be from the South, I am very thankful that I am an American. Although I believe the South was legally justified to secede and the North was wrong to go to war to stop them, I am thankful that the Union emerged in tact. I do not refer to myself as a "Confederate-American" or any other hyphenated name. I am an American and I am proud to be. I am thankful that the injustices that my ancestors endured have resulted in me enjoying the freedom that I have as an American.

History has many important lessons to teach us if we will only grow thicker skin and set aside out hurt feelings long enough to learn. There is ignorance on both sides of the flag issue. Ignorant racists have desecrated history by using the flag as a symbol at their Klan rallies. Ignorant elitists have used the flag as a scape goat and the South as the sacrificial lamb for the nation's sins of slavery and racism.

I do not endorse flying the flag in hopes of restoring the confederacy. However, I also do not believe the flag should be kept under lock and key and never mentioned for fear that someone might be offended.

Again, there is nothing wrong about being southern, and the is no need to 'sell' the origin. Furthermore, there are no 'northerners' trying to say racism and slavery didn't exist in the north. It just doesn't happen, and never did. That is a myth perpetuated by 'confederate heritage' (ie southern nationalists) types. It's a lie. You will never find such a 'northerner' (at least not one who isn't an internet troll) so there is nothing for you to object to. You feel this way because of guilt, or you believe lies or don't mix much northern company.

There is no ignorance on the flag issue. We all know exactly what it is and what it stands for. It stands for being the enemy of America, opposing the end of slavery and treason. It is offensive on many levels. It is offensive to any patriotic American. Anyone who doesn't find the unnecessary deaths of hundreds of thousands of people for selfish purposes an obscenity needs to question what they really believe.