On the idealistic 'South'

Re: It is more complex than that

Great letter. Not entirely accurate but well written nonetheless.

I will concede that William Thompson may not have created the flag in question. Because of your response, I looked a bit deeper and I did find some potentially contradictory information. It has been stated however that there is no 100% proof of who did but his name is mentioned in this vein of possibly being the one. That is the problem with not having been there at the time.

In fairness, so is William Porcher Miles. But in the end, they were both pro-seccession and pro slavery.

The Stainless Banner is the flag in question having been roundly supported by Mr. Thompson and no matter where you go on the old internet, the quotes I attributed to him were his words and are undisputed which is why today, that flag, the iron cross and the simple white field upon which it is emblazoned, is and was a symbol for racism and hatred.

While Summerland may be "far removed from the complicated South," you don't have to live in Germany to understand the symbolism behind a Swastika either.

It's sort of insulting that you seem to suggest that those of us from the sticks may not be capable of understanding the "true intent" when one waves a re-creation of this particular flag during a supportive parade for a family of colour.

You seem to see the South as this romantic, idealistic place where everyone spoke in that slow Southern drawl and sipped Mint Juleps and walked along the promenade and life was just dandy, which I guess it was, if you were white.

I have a large family contingent in the US including the South so I am not entirely ignorant as to the nature of Southerners. I make no claim that the vast majority or even the majority of these folk are racist but the region in which they live is recognized widely, rightly or wrongly, as the birthplace of both slavery and the attendant prejudicial attitude that lives on today.

I would agree with you that if one were to examine all of the flags of all of the countries of the world that today, there are more than enough Karens to go around to make a case to take them all down and replace them with flags whose designs offer no opportunity for criticism nor controversy.

Bottom line here is that the Stainless Banner and most notably, the canton situated in the top left corner was born of the belief that white men were superior to people of colour and today, if one chooses to fly that particular flag or selected portion of that flag, they are supporting that ideal.
 

Peter Haslock, West Kelowna