The Confederate Flag

Today, I will not discuss epilepsy issues.  However, I hope you will find this post interesting. 

In recent weeks, since the violence in the South Carolina churches against African Americans, there has been much discussion about, and action taken on, taking down the Confederate battle flag from state government institutions.   

The flag has a deep history and symbolizes many things to many people.  The fact that it has many negative historical associations linked to it, primarily that of slavery, is reason enough to take it down.
  I applaud Governor Nikki Haley (R-South Carolina) for taking the first step and showing the way for other governors to follow her example. 

I have posted an  essay originally posted on Facebook by a friend of mine that eloquently states why the Confederate flag should be taken down.  Please read it and see what you think. 

Thanks! 

  

https://www.facebook.com/notes/anoop-mishra/southern-hindus-and-the-confederacy/10153115428008425 

Southern Hindus and the Confederacy 

June 28, 2015 at 9:45am 

When we moved into our house in Homewood, Alabama more than four years ago, my wife and I had thought about placing outside our front door a small piece of art. It included the swastika, an ancient Hindu symbol that you will see in doorways and other entrances, in homes and temples, throughout India. After all, originally meaning “well-being” in Sanskrit, the swastika has been around for thousands of years, not only in India but also in other cultures and religions throughout the world. I see the symbol all the time in India and don’t think twice about it.  

  

  

Here were the points in favor of using the symbol: 

1)      It is a little different from the Nazi swastika 

2)      It would be on our front entrance, which is a bit more private  

3)      It’s our symbol for God’s sake! We can explain this to people if they have questions 

  

Yet the discussion was short and we decided not to do this for a very simple reason. Regardless of whether we would be right or justified, whether we could establish a righteous meaning, whether it would be easily viewable or privately placed, we simply could not ignore the fact that we are members of a broader community, one in which a much different, powerful and hurtful meaning exists for many people. 

  

Within our home, where we keep a small “puja” area, there are items that do have this swastika. However, it is in an area where we felt that friends or visitors would not be exposed to it (if at all) without ensuring that they would be comfortable with it or be educated on its context in our home first. 

  

Flag supporters state that the flag symbolizes southern pride and heritage. The flag is a way for them to remember their ancestors who may have died in the Civil War. This drives flag opponents crazy since, as they argue, the flag has its roots in a pro-slavery mentality and more modern use in racial discrimination and white superiority causes. The problem is that it may very well be that both sides are correct. Symbols can have different meanings and contexts. If we stay engaged at this level long enough, maybe one side converts the other. In fact, maybe within the next two generations, the flag fades into obscurity. But that may not happen. 

  

I don’t have an issue with an individual’s prerogative to honor/display the flag. However, I am adamantly opposed to its public display, particularly in a government- or institutionally-sanctioned setting. In order to support the flag’s public display, one either subscribes to the idea that: 

  

1)      When many Americans state that the flag represents to them a painful history of violence, inequality, and discrimination, they are lying; or 

2)      They are telling the truth but that the positive message derived from the flag for some outweighs the negative message for others 

  

So either lots of people are making stuff up or what a supporter thinks is more important than what an opponent thinks. I’m not sure how either perspective is particularly defensible. 

  

If the confederate flag is important reminder of southern heritage, that’s fine. Set up a Confederate “Puja” Room in the home wherein the flag can be honored, remembered, and cherished. There is no prohibition on this. But the need to have it publicly displayed strikes me, even in best case scenario, as being less about southern pride and more about southern ego. Pride can be a wonderful thing if balanced with humility and concern for others. It can also be a destructive force (see Bible, The). 

  

Perhaps I could argue more forcefully that the flag itself is an evil symbol. Maybe I could argue that the flag represents nothing more than treason against the U.S. and justification for oppressing millions of African-Americans throughout the last two centuries. But others can and have made the arguments accordingly.  

  

However, I just don’t think that “resolving” the symbolism question is a prerequisite to justify the removal of the flag’s public display. We live together in communities that depend on mutual respect and compromise. Defending the right to do something sometimes should yield to doing the right thing. And kudos to Governor Bentley, Governor Haley, and others for doing the right thing. 

  

Anoop Mishra 

June 28, 2015