Stop Digging: Heritage, not hate

If only it were as simple as that title proclaims. But in the debate over the use of the Confederate flag, nothing is simple and there is no win-win situation.

I see them all of the time. This is North Carolina, a confederate state during the civil war and one that held its fair share of slaves. As a state, we are historically conservative, where tobacco and NASCAR have always been two of the pillars of life.

The term "redneck" is used so much and we all know the reference that it makes: those good ol' boys down at the track or out in Montgomery County, always working on their old, beat up trucks or going hunting. Stereotypical? Definitely. But these are the people that we see most often proudly wearing the old Confederate Jack.

It is visible on bumper stickers, T-shirts, tattoos, cigarette lighters, wallets, bandanas, and even flying high over South Carolina's state capital building. It is everywhere, an enduring symbol of states' rights and southern culture. Well this is all well and good, but there is more to it than that.

It is also an enduring symbol of hate, oppression, and division, three ideals that our great nation has stood against from its very birth. In our name, the word "united" brings all of us together under one flag. In our Declaration, we break the bonds of oppression and set our citizens free. And in our Constitution we have given hatred no quarter.

The swastika has been completely phased out in both the United States and Germany. Nevermind the fact that it is originally a Sanskrit symbol meaning good luck or well being, it has become associated as the symbol of the Nazi party and the hatred and destruction that they spread throughout Europe. "Skinhead" is another stereotype that is commonly used to describe Neo-Nazis, those misled youths that spread hatred simply because they want to be hardcore. But these individuals are not tolerated. Would you sit next to that young man in class? Would you talk to him?

The point is simple: there is no place for symbols of hate in our society and that is the way we want to keep it. The Confederate Jack is offensive. I cringe when I see it. I can only imagine the feelings of African-Americans, our friends and coworkers, our fellow students and teachers, when they lay eyes on it.

It goes both ways.

I hear people talk about rap music. It has taken over pop culture in every way. Clothing, music, television, the way we talk, and the attitude kids have, has been blamed on rap music. Just turn on MTV and tell me what the girls in most of those music videos are doing. They are probably scantily clad, doing sexually suggestive dance moves. The rappers? Oh, they just stand there making hand motions, swearing, and talking about guns, drugs, and women as pieces of meat. This too, is offensive to a lot of people.

Now, there is nothing wrong with being a redneck or being part of this new urban culture. What is wrong is that there are those things on both sides that are offensive to the majority of our society. The African-American population would claim that rap music and culture is part of their heritage, and that very well may be the case. But there are parts of it that offend a lot of people. Southerners may argue that their Confederate flag is a symbol of their own heritage, but it offends as well.

Folks, race is a touchy subject and there may never be a happy medium. But one thing is for sure: by ignoring it, we are just prolonging the problem and more people are less happy. It is not the government that can regulate our behavior and take the swearing out of rap music and the Confederate flag off of T-shirts. That is up to us.

It is about time to stop looking back to our heritage to make excuses. Let's start looking to our peers in order to solve these problems. All you southerners out there, why not just wear a different shirt next time? Or take that "The South Will Rise Again" bumper sticker off your truck? And all you rappers out there, why don't you rap about something more important than those same old guns and drugs? And if not, then maybe as a society we should just stop buying these explicit and derogatory albums. If no one is wearing the rebel shirts and no one is listening to the bad rap music, then there will be no market for it.

Think of the atmospheric differences? "You may say I'm a dreamer" to quote a very famous Beatle, but it is possible for us to eliminate these major forms of hate. There will always be those that do not care, but if a large majority of society was to take a look at their neighbors and realize that they are all one people, then maybe we can begin to create new heritage, one that does not manifest itself in hate but, rather in peace, equality, and love.

Contact Jordan at jmdubois@spartan.uncg.edu or post a comment online at www.carolinianonline.com.