Fox Cable News (MIS)Information

UPDATED May 16, 2001
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On the evening of October 9, 2000, FOX Cable had a short story regarding the Confederate Flag situation in the South.  A poll was taken over the internet and due to the high demand, their web server crashed.  The following morning I logged onto their website to view the results.  To my surprise the results of whether the Confederate Flag should be removed follows:

8.3%     -  Yes, the flag should be removed
91.2%   -  No, the flag shouldn't be removed
0.5%     -  Not sure

Subject: Confederate Flag
Date: Tue, 10 Oct 2000 08:44:39 -0400
From: Dennis Norton <shortnort@aol.com>
To: comments@newsdigital.com

Your report last night regarding the Confederate Battle Flag may have been enlightening to the majority of Americans, but to the true Southerner, the report was very superficial.  Our educational system has misled our children for many decades and our news media continues the misinformation.  There are several issues at hand:   1) The NAACP, 2) The cause of the war, and 3)  The southerner's feelings toward the flag.

In 1991 the NAACP adopted a resolution regarding the removal of the flag.  The resolution begins by stating "WHEREAS, the tyrannical evil symbolized in the Confederate Battle Flag is an abhorrence to all Americans and decent people of this country, and indeed, the world and is an odious blight upon the universe...".  It is evident from the wording of the resolution that the NAACP is attempting to crystallize the "African-American" people into a unified hate group against Americans and American institutions that exhibit the flag and other Confederate symbols.  To quote Mr. Walter Butler, per your report, "... we hate the Confederate symbol."   Not only has the flag been under attack, but all references to the Old South leaders are being erased. Streets, schools, and towns named after former slave owners or prestigious leaders of the Confederacy are systematically being renamed.

Additionally Mr. Butler stated, "The war was about owning slaves."  Mr. Butler is either uneducated, brainwashed, or intentionally misleading his brethren.  The war was started by President Lincoln's decision to control former Federal properties, such as forts, waterways, etc.  Most of our children today believe that the Confederacy was formed after the Fort Sumter incident.  However, the independent nation of The Confederate States of America had already been formed and was attempting
to function as a sovereign nation.  If the war was about slavery why did President Lincoln state on March 4, 1861, "I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the States where it exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so."  And why did General Ulysses S. Grant state "If I thought this war was to abolish slavery, I would resign my commission, and offer my sword to the other side." Slavery did not become an issue until 1864 with The Emancipation Proclamation, which only freed slaves in the Confederate States.  Slaves in Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, and parts of Louisiana, for example, would remain slaves until their Owners freed them.

So what does this have to do with the Southerner's feelings toward the flag?  Until very recently the South has been denigrated for decades by Northerners.  We have been labeled as idiots, uneducated, incestuous, slow, and so forth.  However, our Southern ancestors had critical roles during the formation of our Nation and many became Presidents of the United States.  We are proud of our ancestors, including slave owners President George Washington and  President Thomas Jefferson.  We are not
proud of the institution of slavery.  Nor are we proud of The United States of America for forced removal of Native Americans from the Deep South, and for slaughtering defenseless women, children, and the elderly during the Indian Wars.  Many of us in the South have native blood, though our fathers and grandfathers had to conceal their ancestry in order to attend public schools.  Nor should Americans be proud of Generals Gerrard and Sherman for their burning of farms, foraging, and stealing of personal properties from those along the route to Savannah in November of 1864.  Many women, children, and elderly along this route were left to starve and freeze to death during the upcoming winter. Their crops were destroyed, their meats stolen, and their animals carried away.  As the Native American should never forget, nor be forced to forget, their misfortunes, the Southerner should never forget their plight.  Most of my ancestors of the time resided along the infamous route of destruction.

So, what does the Confederate Flag mean to me?  It is a reminder of the pain and suffering my ancestors endured during their attempt of becoming a sovereign nation.   It is a reminder of what a "civilized" United States government can do to the helpless.  It is a reminder of how terrible war can be.  The true Southerner does NOT believe, as proclaimed by Mr. Chris Osborn, "...  the South's Confederate Flag is an emblem of culture and heritage, a reminder of the Rebel troops who
defended the South in the American Civil War."  The war was not a Civil War and the flag is no more an emblem than the United States Flag is. Mr. Osborn is another victim of our nation's success stories of the misinformed.

Dennis Norton
Descendant of Northern and Southern soldiers