It's History, not Racism

I am furious over this.

Auburn, Alabama City Counselman Arthur Dowdell went to a local cemetery and began removing Confederate flags from graves of Confederate soldiers that had been put there by the Daughter's of the Confederacy in honor of Confederate Memorial Day. He was personally offended and said that

“It’s offensive to me,” “To me, it represents the Ku Klux Klan and racism.”

I might could see his point if it were white sheets and burning crosses. But it wasn't. In his assault on private property he broke one of the flags. When questioned about this action he said:

“It might have snapped itself.” “If it did, so what? If I had my way, I would have broke them all up and stomped on them and burned them. That flag represents another country, another nation.”

WTF right. The flag snapped itself in half?

I do not know about anywhere else, but in Alabama, cemetery plots are actually sold deeded land. The land belongs to the family of the person buried there or whoever purchased the plot, thereby making it private property. I think that Mr. Dowdell should have been arrested for distruction of property, anyone else would have been. If anyone else had done the same thing to a black historical icon they would have also been charged with Federal hate crimes. The reaction of the mayor of Auburn:

Auburn Mayor Bill Ham Jr. and other council members said Friday they each have heard from citizens about the incident, but there is nothing they can do as a council to censure Dowdell for his actions.

Ham said citizens even asked him about the possibility of arresting Dowdell.

The only repercussions may be a misdemeanor charge if a report is filed with the Auburn Police Division. Assistant Chief Tommy Dawson said he knew of no such report as of Friday evening.

WTF right.

In response to learning that the flags are placed on the graves a week prior to Confederate Memorial Day and had been for the last 50 years, Mr. Dowdell said:

“I’m not going to tolerate it,” “They can have one day like everybody else. They can do
it for Sunday. That is their right, but don’t infringe on my rights for a whole week.”

Sorry? What is February? An entire month of celebrating black people, black heritage, black history. Banks, post offices, US Government and State agencies all close down for a day to celebrate an abusive alcoholic black man. For Confederate Memorial Day, state courts were closed. I know of no other closings.

Dowdell expressed no surprise at the reactions of the rest of the council.

“The council has disagreed with me before,” he said. “But I’m the only black man on the city council, why would they agree with me? They’re all white. They don’t understand.”

He seems to think that being black allows him special privilages to do whatever he wants to. He knows there will be no reprecussions from his actions because he is black. It's all being excused away. He calls flags in honor of fallen soldiers and family members, racism and hate. I call HIS actions more racist and hateful than anything the Daughters of the Confederacy have done.

But wait, this is Alabama, racism is only one sided right? Only whites are racist against blacks. It doesn't go both ways.

People need to read further into their history books. Look at books other than those presented in the classrooms. Find real live witness accounts. The Civil War and thus the founding of the Confederacy was not JUST about slavery. The Civil War was about many things, including State rights, something that the current administration wants to take away from us again. It was more about the right for individual states to make decisions for themselves, on many issues including slavery, instead of letting the US government make all the decisions.

Is it wrong for people to fight for what they believe in? Blacks were NOT the only slaves in this country. There were white slaves, Indian slaves, Chinese slaves. Slavery was NOT only prelevent in the South. Believing in the Confederacy and what it stood for does NOT make a person a racist. Honoring fallen soldiers who stood for what they believed in and a place they loved does not make a person racist.

Blacks fought for the Confederacy also, many willingly. Mr. Dowdell's disregard for the soldiers that were buried in those plots disregards the many black soldiers that fought for and died for the Confederacy as well.

The Confederate flag and Confederate Memorial Day are not about hate. They are not about racism. They are not about pining for the old ways. They are about remembering and honoring those that fought and died for something they believed in. They are about honoring our heritage, our history, as a State, as the South and yes, even as a Nation. The Civil War and the Confederacy are a part of our history as a Nation and should be remembered by the Nation so that it does not happen again. So that our Nation is not torn apart by differences of opinion and rights being stomped on.

Everything in the South, in Alabama is not about color of peoples' skin. It's not about race. And when it is about race, it's not usually the whites making it so. For instance read about the fight over a soccer field in Hueytown.

Here is the City of Auburn's official Statement about the flag incident.

The past is gone. Let it go. There are no slaves, there are no slave masters. There is no Union nor Confederacy. Live for today and make changes for tomorrow.

Then again, I guess this goes back to my post Right Wing Racist Bible-Thumping Extremist. I believe in the foundation of the Country and the Constitution so I must be racist and upset because we have a 1/2 black president.

Build a bridge and get over it.