A rant?
Yes, it was bound to happen sooner or later, loyal readers (heh). I have the urge to unleash a rant. Sorry this is my first post in a while.
So what has me so hot under the collar? Just watched E! True Hollywood Story about The Dukes of Hazzard and of course they did the obligatory segment about how the Confederate flag atop the General Lee is so offensive to viewers. It's a "symbol of hate" and all that crap.
Bullshit.
The Confederate flag is a symbol of the Confederate States of America, which turned out to be a rebellion and not a sovreign nation because it lost a war. The flag is therefore a symbol of rebellion against authority, not hatred, racism, or any of that. The show's theme of rebellion against a corrupt and inept government certainly bears up that reading of the Confederate flag, and certainly no racism or hatred is ever displayed by any of the Duke clan in the show (it might be argued that the show itself was racist for its lack of minority characters, but that was a common problem in the time period when The Dukes aired, and not a particular failing of this specific show). A certain segment of society is attempting to label the Confederate flag as a symbol of racist hate because it makes them uncomfortable. These people, the ones who have pretty successfully banned the Stars and Bars from public display and viewing, are the ones responsible for its racist overtones. They're primarily upset, I believe, because The Dukes showed a good, down-to-earth, southern white American family who were not simply ignorant bumpkins.
The thing that has me so steamed is the way certain vocal segments of society can outright change the meaning of our symbols, just by raising a stink. Another example that comes to mind is the gay marriage debacle. Marriage is historically a religious institution and it should be strictly up to individual organizations of religion to decide who they marry and to whom they refuse marriage. The United States government and state governments should take a hands off approach, and refuse to sanction marriage at all. The government has no business mucking around with religion at all. If couples (of whatever gender) want to hold money jointly, they should form a fiscal partnership in addition to any religious ceremony in which they choose to indulge. Custody of and responsibility for children should be held jointly by the blood father and blood mother unless both parties agree differently or a court decides differently. There is NO reason for the government to have a stake in the marriage game at all.
This would also allow for natural evolution of the symbol "marriage" without necessitating legal definitions and artificial political gerrymandering.
More later.
So what has me so hot under the collar? Just watched E! True Hollywood Story about The Dukes of Hazzard and of course they did the obligatory segment about how the Confederate flag atop the General Lee is so offensive to viewers. It's a "symbol of hate" and all that crap.
Bullshit.
The Confederate flag is a symbol of the Confederate States of America, which turned out to be a rebellion and not a sovreign nation because it lost a war. The flag is therefore a symbol of rebellion against authority, not hatred, racism, or any of that. The show's theme of rebellion against a corrupt and inept government certainly bears up that reading of the Confederate flag, and certainly no racism or hatred is ever displayed by any of the Duke clan in the show (it might be argued that the show itself was racist for its lack of minority characters, but that was a common problem in the time period when The Dukes aired, and not a particular failing of this specific show). A certain segment of society is attempting to label the Confederate flag as a symbol of racist hate because it makes them uncomfortable. These people, the ones who have pretty successfully banned the Stars and Bars from public display and viewing, are the ones responsible for its racist overtones. They're primarily upset, I believe, because The Dukes showed a good, down-to-earth, southern white American family who were not simply ignorant bumpkins.
The thing that has me so steamed is the way certain vocal segments of society can outright change the meaning of our symbols, just by raising a stink. Another example that comes to mind is the gay marriage debacle. Marriage is historically a religious institution and it should be strictly up to individual organizations of religion to decide who they marry and to whom they refuse marriage. The United States government and state governments should take a hands off approach, and refuse to sanction marriage at all. The government has no business mucking around with religion at all. If couples (of whatever gender) want to hold money jointly, they should form a fiscal partnership in addition to any religious ceremony in which they choose to indulge. Custody of and responsibility for children should be held jointly by the blood father and blood mother unless both parties agree differently or a court decides differently. There is NO reason for the government to have a stake in the marriage game at all.
This would also allow for natural evolution of the symbol "marriage" without necessitating legal definitions and artificial political gerrymandering.
More later.
posted by AppleJuiceFool | 2:31 PM
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