July 28th, 2007 by The Bosphorus
I was a member of my high school marching band. I played the baritone and then the tuba. As far as high school marching bands go, we were OK. There were plenty worse and we even won an occasional competition. I can’t say that I enjoyed playing in the band. I was too worried about making a mistake to really have fun, but that’s beside the point.
I was thinking about these two guys who played saxaphone. One probably had some sense, but the other one was a real nimrod. He made it his task to school me in the ways of band from the very beginning. I bought into it for a little while, till I met some other folks and got on with my life.
What made me remember these two is the Confederate flag. They had one they liked to carry around and flourish on occasion. They usually brought it out on the bus ride home from away games when the teachers were too tired to care what was going on in the back of the bus. The zenith of their color guard was when they displayed the stars and bars from the hotel balcony in Daytona Beach where the band went for a competion. I looked up from pool side and there it flew with them right beside it.
If I didn’t know better, I’d figure that sort of flag waiving patriotism would stay in high school. I don’t get it. Sure there’s the occasional “south will rise again” bumper sticker (That sticker almost makes it seem like the South has erectile dysfunction.), but there’s something about hoisting the Rebel flag and waiving it. I don’t know. Evidently Old Miss University gave up waving the battle flag in 1983, but the state of Mississippi still flies the old battle flag.
Then there is the Warehouse Tavern here in Oak Ridge. They still fly the confederate flag. A friend of mine mentioned that he saw one flying there, but I had no idea it was on a pole, above Old Glory. Indeed.
Charles Bukowski writes that,
the only meaningful thing about
the South is that they lost
the Civil War and still can’t
accept it.
I wrote that line off to him being a crank, then I ran across the picture of the Warehouse Tavern in todays News Sentinel.
Maybe Bukowski is right.
July 28th, 2007 at 9:29 pm
what is being patriotic anyway? it seems that though history it evolves — i mean take our slice right now — to be patriotic is to spy into foreigner’s lives and be suspicious of anyone that talks funny. is it unquestioning loyalty? is it voting for the right party or believing this or that? i am thinking of all the times that our patritism has been called on to do something or buy something. the fact seems that it doesn’t mean much anymore. the word has been so overloaded with ideas that it doesn’t know who it is.
the confederate battle flag is loaded with all sorts of meaning. for some it means slavery plain and simple — it is a flag under which oppression thrived. to others it just means to hell with it. some it is an historical artifact. i have to say — in spite of what warm feeling it might give someone it is time to put it up. yeah, go ahead, tell me how it is a tradition and has nothin’ to do with slavery and everything to do with history. tell me how it was about political idiologies and economics and not about auctioning human beings. go ahead — tell me. and tell me about the reverse underground rail road and how northerners held slaves too. you know if it was just a flag and just history and everyone is just over reacting then try running a Nazi flag up a pole and see what happens. go ahead, run that bent cross up a pole. but i guess that is just different.
July 28th, 2007 at 10:43 pm
oh lordy.
July 28th, 2007 at 11:10 pm
All of my young life, I was proud of the fact that several of my great great grandfolks died in the war of northern aggression. I still am. I have always been proud of my heritage and the fact that I was raised south of the mason-dixon line.
That being said, I would love to really punish the morons that thought it would be a great idea to use the confederate battle flag as a racist symbol. Those assholes ruined it for me. I can no longer look at a confederate battle flag and just feel proud of my family members that fought for the south. I feel shame,because of the bastards that, over a period of time, have totally changed what the flag means. To everyone.
July 29th, 2007 at 8:26 am
I didn’t grow up hearing stories about civil war era relatives. I don’t know why that was the case. The stories either were never there or have simply been forgotten, for better or worse. Any appreciation I’ve gained for the Confederacy, and there is some, has occurred since I went to college.
It’s like I said in the post above. I don’t get the point in flying the battle flag.
July 29th, 2007 at 11:06 am
Just recently on our way to Watts Barr Lake we passed a Hwy 70 yard sale selling Confederate flags. My youngest son Buzzy wanted to stop and purchase one. I had to explain to him that we would not be purchasing this flag today or anyday. He, in his 10 year old wisdom reminded me that Bro (my eldest) did indeed own a pirate flag, which in his mind had to be worse. My explanation to him was that waving a pirate flag would not get him shot, but waving the confederate flag could. I think it is unfortunate. But my main goal is to keep my boys alive and well. This flag no longer symbolizes the south. It now represents a culture of people unwilling to accept and respect differences.
July 29th, 2007 at 8:11 pm
The Civil War, and that flag represents pride for many southerners that have that connect as daco described such as Sons and Daughters of the Confederacy. However, the flag has been hijacked by an uneducated class of racists that fail to understand that great struggle in this Countries history. Slavery, and the role of blacks was just one part of the struggle. It really boiled down to States Rights vs. a Stong Central Government, i.e. Federalism.
The C.W. was inevidible after the revolution (they always are e.g. modern day Iraq). The question was not if, but when? There were several ingenious politicians for the first 50 years of the Republic that were able compromise away the issues. Eventually, those issues got too overwhelming.
July 30th, 2007 at 9:14 am
Keep in mind: tuba players are heck of sexy. I was the tuba section leader in my award-winning (don’t you know) “wind and percussion ensemble” and I ended up marrying the head cheerleader!
Not that she wouldn’t have rather had the quarterback, but I think he turned out to be gay. Result!
July 30th, 2007 at 7:51 pm
LOL!
I was a cheerleader. I always fell for the drummers though!
There’s something so… primal about a good percussion section!
July 30th, 2007 at 8:00 pm
I repeat:
oh lordy.
July 30th, 2007 at 8:14 pm
Yeah, so far this has been pretty seamless… maybe that big fiery middle finger a few weeks ago scared off the nazi types?