Flags and Heritage
Jun. 22nd, 2015 11:48 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stormdogIn the wake of all the discussion about the Confederate flag lately, I've been thinking, off and on, about heritage. How individual heritage is constructed and perceived vs heritage at the scales of family or region or country, and what the relationship is between history and heritage.
The stars and bars makes me uncomfortable when I see it. It symbolizes racism, among other things (not all of which are negative) in my mind. How do I communicate that in a rational way to someone who does not have those associations?
Beyond that, the United States flag, not unlike a tremendous number of current nation-state flags, is also tied to acts of racism and genocide. I don't think I have the time to fully unpack the similarities and differences between: A, the stars and bars' association with slavery of the 19th century and Southern racism during the mid 20th, and B, the US flag's association both with the same 19th century racism and with, for instance, our national past of cultural genocide against native people.
These things are complicated. Maybe it matters that the US flag has changed as more states have been added. But does that actually make it a different flag? And if a new flag was created to fly in place of the Confederate flag, would that difference be meaningful anyway or would it just be a replacement?
Can we justify mandating removal of the Confederate flag from public buildings due to it's historical imbrication with racism while not having a conversation about the troubled history of the US flag? I don't know how to answer these questions. What do you think?
The excellent point was made to me that I'm conflating "Stars and Bars" with the Confederate battle flag, the latter of which is the current subject of controversy. They aren't the same thing, though they are both Confederate flags. Thanks!
The stars and bars makes me uncomfortable when I see it. It symbolizes racism, among other things (not all of which are negative) in my mind. How do I communicate that in a rational way to someone who does not have those associations?
Beyond that, the United States flag, not unlike a tremendous number of current nation-state flags, is also tied to acts of racism and genocide. I don't think I have the time to fully unpack the similarities and differences between: A, the stars and bars' association with slavery of the 19th century and Southern racism during the mid 20th, and B, the US flag's association both with the same 19th century racism and with, for instance, our national past of cultural genocide against native people.
These things are complicated. Maybe it matters that the US flag has changed as more states have been added. But does that actually make it a different flag? And if a new flag was created to fly in place of the Confederate flag, would that difference be meaningful anyway or would it just be a replacement?
Can we justify mandating removal of the Confederate flag from public buildings due to it's historical imbrication with racism while not having a conversation about the troubled history of the US flag? I don't know how to answer these questions. What do you think?
The excellent point was made to me that I'm conflating "Stars and Bars" with the Confederate battle flag, the latter of which is the current subject of controversy. They aren't the same thing, though they are both Confederate flags. Thanks!
