The Lost Cause Is Losing

As political support for keeping Confederate flags flying over statehouses evaporates, and as even Wal-Mart has declared it will stop stocking Confederate flag merchandise (current inventory is moving at a brisk pace, though), the Moonlight and Magnolia bitter enders are filled with despair.

“This is the beginning of communism,” said Robert Lampley, who was standing in the blazing sun in front of the South Carolina State House shortly after the legislature voted overwhelmingly to debate the current placement of the Confederate battle flag. “The South is the last bastion of liberty and independence. I know we’re going to lose eventually.”

“Our people are dying off,” he went on, before encouraging a white reporter to “keep reproducing.”

They’re worried that some tidal wave will destroy Confederate monuments and force the re-naming of all the (Nathan Bedford) Forrest Avenues to Malcolm X Boulevards. Heh.

One guy suggested removing the Confederate flag from statehouses and replacing it with another flag associated with the Confederacy (there were several) but not associated with racist movements.

“You’re asking me to agree that my great-grandparent and great-great-grandparents were monsters,” said Greg Stewart, a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans and the executive director of Beauvoir, the last home of Jefferson Davis.

No, we’re asking you to agree that your great-grandparent and great-great grandparents lost the freaking war and surrendered their flags to Gen. J. L. Chamberlain at Appomattox 150 years ago. The Lost Cause is really, truly lost. Try to adjust.

Some of them are complaining that the change is coming too fast. Too fast? It’s been 150 bleeping years.

Today the governor of Alabama ordered a Confederate flag be removed from state capitol grounds. Sen. Mitch McConnell requested that a statue of Jefferson Davis be removed from the Kentucky state capitol. Well, he’s still got most of a six-year term to serve; he probably feels safe. Governors of several states are requesting that Confederate specialty license plates be redesigned.

My guess is that these guys realized this was going to have to happen sooner or later, and they might as well do it now while they’ve got some political cover.

21 thoughts on “The Lost Cause Is Losing

  1. Out of about 400 years of white people being in the South, you Southerners – not all – want to honor 4 years of rebellion, when your treasonous and traitorous ancestors fought for the right to keep people of a different race enslaved for all of eternity.

    Most of the Confederate foot-soldiers were dupes and rubes who never owned a slave, but fought the war for the wealthy plantation owners – who were the military and political leaders of the Confederacy.

    You want to celebrate something worthy of being called a “heritage?”
    Then celebrate the glorious heritage of Southern story-telling, literature, poetry, theatre, music, etc.
    Not dupes and rubes who fell for the treasonous and traitorous “divide and conquer” tactics of the wealthy Southern plantation owners who your soldier ancestors followed, and went on to fight, get wounded, and die, in the cause of slavery – aka: free labor – aka: the original “At Will” labor policy.

    Replace and/or re-name everything dedicated to the South’s cause.
    Replace the names of military bases with Union Generals, Abolitionists, and people who fought for Civil Rights and Women’s Rights, instead of the right to own slaves.

    Also, make the day the Civil War ended a national holiday – just to remind the people who still cling to the myth of the Confederacy and remind them of who actually won the war of secession and rebellion – fought by traitorous and treasonous rebels.
    Let create “Union Yell” to replace the ancient yell of rebel losers.
    And yell that all day on that new national holiday!

    • One thing I just learned last year was that in the early 20th century, the Ku Klux Klan was also opposed to labor unions and exerted its influence, which was considerable at the time, to keep them out of the South. Hence, white southern working men oppressed themselves. Yeah, great heritage, that.

  2. “The South is the last bastion of liberty and independence. I know we’re going to lose eventually. Our people are dying off,” he went on, before encouraging a white reporter to “keep reproducing.”

    Cheebus Lord. I do agree with the many African Americans who point out that removing racist symbols like the Confederate flag does very little to address the gawping racial divide in America. Still, I think with those ugly symbols still a common part of the South’s landscape, the terrible divide will never truly shrink.

    So long, hateful flag… and so long, ignorami who defend it.

  3. “Union Yell” to replace the ancient yell of rebel losers

    “Tramps like us, baby we were born to run.” -New Jersey… still better than the whole damn South

  4. OT – but from CNN BREAKING NEWS:
    Bobby Jindal, current governor of Louisiana, announces via Twitter that he’s running for president.

    …aaaand we all yawn, turn over, and go back to sleep.

  5. Somehow this song came to mind in the hope that some people who embraced that flag will find themselves free of a burden when it is gone. Like the young people from the “book burning” I mentioned in the last post, I hope they find that tossing a symbol of hatred, oppression and conflict into the flames is a cleansing experience.

    We can was all this blood from our hands,
    and the hatred from our souls. — Steve Earle

    https://youtu.be/nU278yFdvgQ

  6. “One guy suggested removing the Confederate flag from statehouses and replacing it with another flag associated with the Confederacy”

    Use the flag they flew at the end of the war…the White Flag.

  7. Other than Chris’ idea (good one there :)) there is no flag associated with the Confederacy and not associated with slavery, because there can’t be. The whole point of the Confederacy, in the words of the founders and leaders, and in their stated reasons for seceding, was to defend slavery, and to expand it into Cuba and Mexico if possible.

  8. Off topic… but here’s a quote that I just ran across that is attributed to Dr. Martin Luther King. Just thought I’d share it with you Mahabloggers because I think you’d appreciate it.

    “Shallow understanding from people of goodwill is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.”

  9. So, you’ll be unraveling the SCOTUS unraveling of the last 50 years of progress in the areas of discrimination and environmentalism.
    Oy…

  10. When all is said and done, all that has been accomplished is a removal of a symbol. While it’s a start, what about accepting the federal money that will allow others to get affordable insurance? What about removing all those restrictive voting laws?

    The flag is symbol of hate. Removing it doesn’t eliminate the methods of hate that are still being used, much less remove the hate within some people. Is this just a diversion or possibly just an action to use as an excuse for later debates? (“What do you mean these voting laws are meant to suppress blacks from voting? We took down the flag didn’t we?”)

    Don’t get me wrong. Removing the symbol is good, but let’s hope those protesting for the removal of it don’t lose sight that the war is still being fought and that more important battles lie ahead.

  11. “This is the beginning of communism,”

    Right because without state sponsored racism what is left, well obviously communism?

  12. “This is the beginning of communism’.
    Well, why do you think Jeb was taking shots at Putin? Looks like the Russians are going to be our next existential threat. Maybe we should give Gulag a closer look at. He could be a plant.
    Better dead than Red!

  13. …but your great-gran parents and your great-great-gran parents where in fact monsters. They supported systematic enslavement and thereafter social, economic, and physical terrorism of an entire people for the mere purpose of greed and maintaining the social order they ever so conveniently where the top of.

    ….and what I find even more fascinating…is that you had no relationship with these people….as they where long dead before you where born…you never knew your great/great-great gran parents….so what is really going on here?

  14. Look, Swami, I may be as smart as the average house plant, but I’m no plant for the Russian Commies.

    Or, maybe I am one and don’t know it?
    If so, they’re too late to use me.
    I’m too old and crippled to be of much use to them.
    Unless they want to use my fat body to as a barrier for their shooters to hide behind when the Revolution come. 😉

  15. Are there still Russian communists? I thought they were more like a secular government now. And they do allow religion which the communists didn’t. Oh, I do know Obama is a communist, nazi, muslim and all the evil things rolled into one. At least, that is what I hear from the fear mongers. I forgot antichrist. I am not an expert on history so if I am wrong, please let me know. I will do penance.

  16. grannyeagle.. The association that Russians are communists has been established and no matter what has transpired between when they were communist and now doesn’t change the fact that they’ll always be perceived as communists. Once a communist always a communist…it’s the default association..

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