Posted on Aug 22, 2014
Feelings on displaying the Confederate flag on your POV or person while on a military installation?
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Recently, I had a long and heated discussion with a fellow veteran about this issue. I don't know for sure whether a branch-specific reg or a DoD-wide reg exists that prohibits/allows personnel on a military installation to display the Confederate flag on their personal vehicle or on their person (e.g. a belt buckle). Maybe this is a base-specific policy and left to the judgment of the installation commander. Display of the Confederate flag is a divisive issue and people often feel really strongly one way or the other. But today, it is still a relevant topic and touches on other military leadership/discipline areas, including the actions of one member deeply offending another member -- regardless of whether said action is legal/authorized. That can create huge problems in a military unit, and this happened in a unit I personally served in. So, below are my questions for the RallyPoint community about this issue.
Please try to keep comments professional (don't attack one another) and explain your thoughts as best you can.
Questions:
(1) How do you feel about the Confederate flag being displayed on the vehicle/person of a service member if he/she is ON post? How does your opinion change if the member is OFF post?
(2) What does the Confederate flag symbolize to you personally? What do you think it can symbolize to other people around you who may perceive it differently?
(3) If you have personally experienced a military-related situation where a symbol/flag caused someone to be offended, what happened and what did you/would you have done as the leader?
I look fwd to everyone's thoughts on this. Personally, I have some strong feelings about this issue, though I don't want to bias people's answers upfront. Please be as honest as possible.
Tag: SSG Emily Williams Col (Join to see) 1SG Steven Stankovich SSG Scott Williams 1LT Sandy Annala CPT (Join to see) SSG V. Michelle Woods MSG Carl Cunningham
Please try to keep comments professional (don't attack one another) and explain your thoughts as best you can.
Questions:
(1) How do you feel about the Confederate flag being displayed on the vehicle/person of a service member if he/she is ON post? How does your opinion change if the member is OFF post?
(2) What does the Confederate flag symbolize to you personally? What do you think it can symbolize to other people around you who may perceive it differently?
(3) If you have personally experienced a military-related situation where a symbol/flag caused someone to be offended, what happened and what did you/would you have done as the leader?
I look fwd to everyone's thoughts on this. Personally, I have some strong feelings about this issue, though I don't want to bias people's answers upfront. Please be as honest as possible.
Tag: SSG Emily Williams Col (Join to see) 1SG Steven Stankovich SSG Scott Williams 1LT Sandy Annala CPT (Join to see) SSG V. Michelle Woods MSG Carl Cunningham
Regulation
Policy
Respect
Confederate Flag
Edited >1 y ago
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 325
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Like it or not, this symbol has come to represent racism, white supremacy, hatred, rebellion, etc. While many will argue that for them it means something different, that really doesn't matter. The military is comprised of people from all races, religions, geographic regions, cultures, etc. For the majority of those people, this symbol is hate speech at most, political speech at the very least. Much like a bumper sticker disparaging the POTUS, it has no place on a military installation and should not be allowed. Military bases are not free speech zones, nor are they public squares.
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1. The confederacy lasted from 1861 to 1865. After the civil war the confederate flag was adapted by the KKK which was created after the civil war and still exist now. So when someone say the flag is part of their heritage I ask, what heritage. The confederacy or the KKK?
I do not like it when I see the confederate flag displayed, but I respect the individual’s right to display it.
I do not like it when I see the confederate flag displayed, but I respect the individual’s right to display it.
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OK- 1. Born in the South, but my family were immigrants who fought in Civil War from up North. 2. It is a flag, and part of our history- why delete it?. 3. Read your history for the 20 years leading up to the Civil War- the only reason slavery had any part in the War was the South was losing fair representation in Congress and tariff controls. 4. CSA veterans are recognized by Congress as American Veterans. 5. The Civil War ended over 150 years ago, there are no slaves still living in the Nation. 6. All people should be offended by slavery- yet almost every nation had slaves. 7. Most slaves were sold by African tribal leaders, to Arab slave traders. 8. There were slaves throughout the US prior to the War- to include up North, and almost 3000 black men owned slaves. 9. Whites were slaves in the New World some 80 years prior to blacks. 10. Why are American Blacks upset over slavery- Celts were slaves to Rome over a 1000 yrs before them and were slaves for almost 400 years- when Blacks in America were only slaves for around 150 years.
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The real problem is that we as a people are unable to sit and have a conversation about it all without someone becoming offended and it becoming an EO issue or personal distrust growing between members that cannot afford that kind of animosity where distrust can get someone hurt or killed. I have seen and been part of this conversation many times in the last 26 years and it never ends well because neither side is willing to really hear the other opinion and it almost always makes the problem worse for the near future. We cannot have a serious conversation because or history is emotional and poorly taught and more often than not it is taught with a one sided POV and no consideration is given to the rest of story. If we are going to start making emotional decisions that will personally effect a large portion of the military it may not go as well as many think since an extremely large portion of our military and its bases are located in the area we intend to tell they can no longer take pride in their history and culture. U.S. units that have Confederate Battle Streamers on their colors will have to be stripped off and I know a lot of Guardsmen of several colors that will take that pretty serious. This will continue to be an issue until we become mature enough to openly discuss it and there are way to many profiting from top to bottom to allow that to happen
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Do you support and defend enemies of the United States of America? it's really that simple.
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Then he is in the wrong Army. The people who fought for that flag killed AMERICAN soldiers
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I used to have a rebel flag license plate on the front of my vehicle that I drove onto a base in Oklahoma in the 1990s. I never had a single issue or cross word about it from anybody. My purpose for it was to show that I was from the South. What someone else's view of it was doesn't matter. It's my vehicle. Someone else can choose to attach any meaning they want to ANY symbol out there.
I should not have to change what I have simply because someone else chooses to attach a negative meaning to something. What's next, folks of the Muslim faith being offended by and demanding the removal of Christian crosses? That's right, we already have that. Don't you folks realize the Pandora's box you have opened?
It's basically like someone else on here said when they made the comparison of wearing a Red Sox jersey to a Yankees game. Just because I like the Red Sox does not mean that I hate the Yankees.
I should not have to change what I have simply because someone else chooses to attach a negative meaning to something. What's next, folks of the Muslim faith being offended by and demanding the removal of Christian crosses? That's right, we already have that. Don't you folks realize the Pandora's box you have opened?
It's basically like someone else on here said when they made the comparison of wearing a Red Sox jersey to a Yankees game. Just because I like the Red Sox does not mean that I hate the Yankees.
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Might as well be flying an IsIs Flag or a Nazi Flag. I wonder what this traitor does during the National Anthem. I guess he strips
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Display whatever you want, so long as you're honest about what it stands for...
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