"In the history of the South, there's much to celebrate. And that flag is a desecration of all of it. It's a banner of hatred and separatism. It's a banner of ignorance and violence and a war that pitted brother against brother. And to ask young black men and women, young Jewish men and women, Asians, Native Americans......to ask Americans to walk beneath its shadow is a humiliation of irreducible proportions. And we all know it." Robert Guillaume as Isaac Jaffee, on ABC's tragically short lived Sports Night.
First of all, this post is not intended to insult anyone. It may offend, but I hope it won't insult. Secondly, this is America, the greatest nation on Earth. And in America, you have every right to fly that rebel flag. I believe in that right. Freedom of speech is central to democracy. And you are free to express each of the many messages bound up in the battle flag of the confederacy. BUT, before waving that banner, make sure you want to send each of those messages. Because you are sending every connotation, every nuance, every echo of racism and seperatism that flag represents. Own it. Accept responsibility for it. You can say that isn't what it means to you. But you don't get off that easily. You have a responsibility for the messages you send. Let me explain......
Many, many years ago, when I was just starting my mass communications major at Missouri Southern, I sat in the classroom of one Richard Massa, as he taught Intro to Human Communication. Now that I type his name into this post about both open and latent racism, it strikes me as quite ironic that I am sighting lessons I learned from a man called "Massa." For that word was uttered by many a slave in reference to his owner, his oppressor, his master. I suppose I learned a lot in that class, but one lesson has always stood out above nearly any lesson I've learned. It is this:
"Meanings are in people, not in words. Words are merely arbitrary symbols, having whatever meaning that we, as society, ascribe to them."
A second lesson from Intro to Human Communication is this:
"Communication is a two way street. The sender of any message is responsible for that message. He cannot send a given message, knowing how the receiver will receive it, and then claim innocence when it is received as expected."
I know, love, and respect some people who wave that flag. I know that they can say that, to them, it symbolizes rich Southern traditions, distinct Southern culture, rural Southern hospitalities, Southern statesmen, Southern literature, Southern architecture, and a Southern way of life. I know that many people will say that the South was only fighting for State's Rights, not for slavery. (Incidentally, the state's right they were fighting for was the right to own slaves.) But there is so much more waving in the air than regional pride, when the rebel flag is flown. Like it or not, the meaning that we, as society, have ascribed to that flag, to that symbol, is racism. It is hate. It is white supremacy. It is a belief that people of color are no better than the mules who worked beside them in the Southern sun, slaves to their white owners, their white masters. You cannot separate the component messages of that flag, and send only the ones you like. When you wave that flag, you send them all.
It reminds me of a friend I had at back at Missouri Southern. She was a transfer to MSSC from Ozark Christian College, also located in Joplin. Her name was Amy, still is, I suppose. She was sweet, smart, funny, ornery as all get out, and enjoyed the pushing of people's buttons. Amy used to flip people off, a lot. It seemed at odds with her Christian faith and friendly demeanor. So, after much confusion, I asked her about it. Here's what she said: "to me, it means I Love You." I suppose that it was all in fun, and I don't think she ever flew that middle finger in the face of a stranger or of anyone she wasn't friends with. But, what if she had? What message would she have sent to that stranger, or enemy? What message could she have expected them to receive? After all, she claimed that, to her, it meant "I Love You." Would that have gotten her off the hook? Would it have been the fault of the receiver of that gesture for taking offense? Or would Amy have been responsible for the message she sent? After all, society has established what that finger waved in the air means. It's a symbol of an idea beneath it, just like words, just like flags.
We have a family campout this weekend, Friday and Saturday, concluding with worship Sunday morning. I'm looking forward to seeing the 50 or so family members who'll likely be there. My aunt Pam will be there. I love my aunt Pam. She's sweet, funny, compassionate, and one of the absolute best cooks, and nicest people, you could ever meet. (She's also my neighbor, as of a month ago.) I've not seen Pam in a couple of weeks. What would happen if I were to walk up to my dear aunt Pam Friday evening, and raise my middle finger, flagrantly flying it in her face? What message would she receive? I already mentioned that I love my aunt Pam. Would she read "I Love You" in that finger? Absolutely not. She would be offended, hurt, and angry. And she would be right to feel those things. (She'd also be right to slap my face for the insult.) How much more so if that finger carried with it the same connotations, nuances, and echoes of racism, oppression, and hate contained in the rebel flag? What if that finger I'd flown in Pam's face also said, "I think you're less than human, worth no more than cattle or mules, not even possessing the soul of man that God breathed into Adam."?
Those are some of the many messages woven into the rebel flag, the battle flag, of the confederacy. Those are the messages received by millions of people of color when they see that flag flying. If those are the messages you mean to send, then send away. This is America. And you do have the right to send them. But own it. Don't pretend it means something else. Most of us are not naive. It's like a ball player in contract negotiations saying "it isn't about the money." Sure it is. Or it's like Barry Bonds saying "I didn't know what my trainer was giving me." Sure he did. That flag, that symbol, carries a lot of meaning with it, some positive, much negative. And like I can't claim the middle finger means "I Love You," you can't claim that the rebel flag doesn't carry with it the undertones, even overtones, of hatred and racism. Sure it does.
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