B, my dear Cousin,
I have held off saying anything thinking that you were in a momentary fad, but I am deeply offended and puzzled by your public display of the Confederate Battle Flag (on your Facebook site). On any discussion of political or social issues, it is neither appropriate nor effectual. As a member of Veteran support groups, as you purport to be; this emblem is in fact an affront to any of their military service and oath to the U.S. Constitution. In sum, this is treason.
As a resident of West Virginia, a state founded on its allegiance to the Union, you should know the harm that this symbol embraces. In sum, this is “sedition” under any legal definitions.
That someone should post the Confederate Battle Flag as a counter argument to Black Lives Matter, President Obama, the recent Black and White and police confrontations, or the general direction our country is taking; shows a complete lack of understanding of American History and our way of life. In sum, it is similar to posting a Nazi Flag in Germany.
I am a student of United States history. Few people have studied the Civil War as in depth as I have, since I was trying to earn an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point. I have a deep admiration for the Confederate military leaders like: Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, J.E.B. Stuart and Nathan Bedford Forest (who helped to form the K.K.K. after the war). That they in a time of strife reacted in support of States Rights is a tribute to their heroism; but this was a completely different time. The “Lost Cause” is just that.
The failure and halting of Reconstruction in the South reared its ugly head in the post-World War Two United States. The need for the Civil Rights movement of the 1950’s, 1960’s and 1970’s was necessitated by an incomplete Reconstruction movement. The reasons and results of the Civil War should be irrelevant today but seemingly have festered to the surface in today’s Republican Party and slate of possible presidential candidates. Conservatism and associated political action should in no way be taken to be the values of the old Confederacy. That New Succession movements in Texas and South Carolina have no place in the dialogue of the public square. The tone of the political rhetoric is destructive and not beneficial to any side. In sum, this is “terrorisms” under our modern definitions by nations across the world; like ISIS is branded.
That someone should represent a political party, like the Tea Party, with a Confederate Battle Flag means they neither propose any useful solutions to their own problems or understand the needs of our nation. That the “Don’t Tread on Me” symbol intermixed with the Confederate Battle Flag is an affront to the Patriots of this nation that fought and died in the Revolutionary War; and show a complete ignorance of history.
Please take it down.
WHM
P.S. This statement should be forwarded to any of your leaders who have developed this graphic and think it is a new symbol of freedom or expression of some type of political will. In sum, it is not.
Sometimes you lead a horse to water but you can make them think………
So her response:
“Wow. Funny how many of the veterans I know have rebel flags (without the Gadsden reference, albeit) on their vehicles. Many have them as their profile pictures. A few have even mentioned having relatives who died in battle and were buried under that flag. None of them find it offensive. And treasonous? You have a democrat candidate for POTUS 2016 who is likely responsible for the death of several individuals (Benghazi) and the release of confidential emails, and a president who refuses to follow the rule of the law and prefers to create his own – you call ME treasonous?
You know what, I’ll change the cover picture – not for you, per say, but because I’m a few days from my wedding, and feel my family picture (or maybe my wedding picture) would be more appropriate.
I know you’re a liberal. I know you support this president, who I HONESTLY feel is the worst one in our history and has more done more damage than good. However, you are family, and I’d like to think you’d take a slightly more respectful (not sure that’s the word I’m looking for) approach when communicating with me.
Thanks!
P.S.
I attended a funeral of a patriot guard member (whose father is a Vietnam Vet and had a rebel flag flying on his motorcycle, by the way – and a Don’t Tread on Me patch on his jacket, although it was the ‘more appropriate version with gold background and snake – Anyway, the man buried his son, who was in his 30s, due to his problems with diabetes.”
Yikes, no wonder this nation is in trouble, everyone has their own agenda and it certainly does include facts, history, or reality. Political correctness be damned!
williamhenrymee 
Listening to Phillip Greenwalt on C-Span today (taped 8-8-2015 and he reacts to Black Lives Matter and social media talk on the CSA Battle Flag): http://www.c-span.org/video/?327565-2/discussion-lost-cause-confederacy. He refers to the United Daughters of the Confederacy resolution in the 1900’s not to use the CSA Battle Flag for any political movements (at 6:40). So I looked more into the topic: http://cwmemory.com/2015/06/30/the-united-daughters-of-the-confederacys-curious-silence-on-the-confederate-flag-debate/ and their resolution of 1948 included there. Then Jesse Helms in 1993: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Daughters_of_the_Confederacy. What a fascinating country we live in but too bad we don’t learn from history. Take the flag down.
So I posted the above comment on the backdrop comment page of my cousin with the battle flag; here is her response: you lost me at ‘Black Lives Matter.’
Comment thread is heating up: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10206544020655809&set=a.3738816905541.2162236.1129707962&type=3&theater¬if_t=photo_reply
C-Span Three had a good program on the topic on 9-23-2015: http://www.c-span.org/video/?328304-1/discussion-slavery-confederate-flag. What does anyone make of these posts from West Virginia a Pro-Union state? That William Henry Mee, et. al. are still waging that war illustrates that the issues of that war are still very much alive today – should the #USGov be Servant or Master? Does one size fit all? Should a people have the Right of Selfdetermination (as claimed by the people of the American Revolution)? AND (And Black Lives Matter is a fake, racist movement… and if you support it, you’re part of the problem.) Of course, ‘black’ lives matter – ALL lives matter.
My cousin purports to be a LEADER in the Tea Party movement. As a leader she is followed by over 900 followers on Facebook. What is one of these does as Dylan Roof and goes out to a Black church, school or college and shoots people is she personally or morally culpable? The Confederate Battle Flag utilized by the Ku Klux Klan and outlaw biker gangs has been adopted as a symbol of hate. It is often flown next to a Nazi flag. Which was another war that we fought over oppression. Should the Tea Party revoke her membership? Or request her to take the symbol down?
[…] https://williamhenrymee.wordpress.com/2015/09/10/take-down-the-flag-cousin/ […]
It is really very sad. Cosby in the 1960’s was a Civil Rights activist. His TV show “I Spy” was groundbreaking for him being an “equal” to his White co-star. Robert Culp was always getting beat up for hanging with Bill in the story line and it really endeared me to Bill Crosby.
60 women is a lot. Maybe he should of knocked off at 19 and he could get away with it like Trump.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/national/wp/2018/10/22/feature/some-white-northerners-want-to-redefine-a-flag-rooted-in-racism-as-a-symbol-of-patriotism/?fbclid=IwAR0zIq5WL9s8oH5_ii3zLyjyNhIGdh15M7Shw-tdGm_49KIUMsMndJeKfIQ&noredirect=on&utm_term=.c39bc638b9fe&wpisrc=nl_headlines&wpmm=1
http://www.steveterrellmusic.com/2015/07/terrells-tune-up-war-that-never-ends.html?m=1&fbclid=IwAR2xwVjBsy6sIsssTAzQo24VYChESb0550Cibhu7IxuUhpcKqT1_NUsGSsE
The ‘rebel’ flag mantra that so many Trump supporters espouse leaves out the part about said rebellion being against the legally-constituted United States of America. No one hoists a Pancho Villa flag (whatever that might be), a Japanese flag, or an ISIS flag and proclaims “they were rebels” and are worthy of admiration.
Pancho Villa, the Japanese, and ISIS were outside our borders and officially declared enemies. Confederates/Rebels were inside borders and led an insurrection against a legally formed government that had methods of redress in its Constitution and laws. In other words, they could of achieved what they wanted politically but chose violence over voting. They chose to operate lawlessly and in open rebellion rather than in accordance with the Rule of Law.
https://johnpavlovitz.com/2019/12/17/were-already-in-a-civil-war/?fbclid=IwAR0VZ76YHONGk35KgcRcquZQBdsVH9f20wYqBXMSpaups2bEaNR2OB-wOtQ
I think something really relevant here is that my cousin is from New Jersey and moved to West Virginia, so she has no natural affinity for the Stars and Bars. No family pushing her to it because some of there relatives died in Confederate uniforms.
Natalie Johnson
June 30, 2020 ·
From someone who teaches AP US History:
If you are confused as to why so many Americans are defending the confederate flag, monuments, and statues right now, I put together a quick Q&A, with questions from a hypothetical person with misconceptions and answers from my perspective as an AP U.S. History Teacher:
Q: What did the Confederacy stand for?
A: Rather than interpreting, let’s go directly to the words of the Confederacy’s Vice President, Alexander Stephens. In his “Cornerstone Speech” on March 21, 1861, he stated “The Constitution… rested upon the equality of races. This was an error. Our new government is founded upon exactly the opposite idea; its foundations are laid, its corner-stone rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery subordination to the superior race is his natural and normal condition. This, our new government, is the first, in the history of the world, based upon this great physical, philosophical, and moral truth.”
Q: But people keep saying heritage, not hate! They think the purpose of the flags and monuments are to honor confederate soldiers, right?
A: The vast majority of confederate flags flying over government buildings in the south were first put up in the 1960’s during the Civil Rights Movement. So for the first hundred years after the Civil War ended, while relatives of those who fought in it were still alive, the confederate flag wasn’t much of a symbol at all. But when Martin Luther King, Jr. and John Lewis were marching on Washington to get the Civil Rights Act (1964) and Voting Rights Act (1965) passed, leaders in the south felt compelled to fly confederate flags and put up monuments to honor people who had no living family members and had fought in a war that ended a century ago. Their purpose in doing this was to exhibit their displeasure with black people fighting for basic human rights that were guaranteed to them in the 14th and 15th Amendments but being withheld by racist policies and practices.
Q: But if we take down confederate statues and monuments, how will we teach about and remember the past?
A: Monuments and statues pose little educational relevance, whereas museums, the rightful place for Confederate paraphernalia, can provide more educational opportunities for citizens to learn about our country’s history. The Civil War is important to learn about, and will always loom large in social studies curriculum. Removing monuments from public places and putting them in museums also allows us to avoid celebrating and honoring people who believed that tens of millions of black Americans should be legal property.
Q: But what if the Confederate flag symbol means something different to me?
A: Individuals aren’t able to change the meaning of symbols that have been defined by history. When I hang a Bucs flag outside my house, to me, the Bucs might represent the best team in the NFL, but to the outside world, they represent an awful NFL team, since they haven’t won a playoff game in 18 years. I can’t change that meaning for everyone who drives by my house because it has been established for the whole world to see. If a Confederate flag stands for generic rebellion or southern pride to you, your personal interpretation forfeits any meaning once you display it publicly, as its meaning takes on the meaning it earned when a failed regime killed hundreds of thousands of Americans in an attempt to destroy America and keep black people enslaved forever.
Q: But my uncle posted a meme that said the Civil War/Confederacy was about state’s rights and not slavery?
A: “A state’s right to what?” – John Green
Q: Everyone is offended about everything these days. Should we take everything down that offends anyone?
A: The Confederacy literally existed to go against the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and the idea that black people are human beings that deserve to live freely. If that doesn’t upset or offend you, you are un-American.
Q: Taking these down goes against the First Amendment and freedom of speech, right?
A: No. Anyone can do whatever they want on their private property, on their social media, etc. Taking these down in public, or having private corporations like NASCAR ban them on their properties, has literally nothing to do with the Bill of Rights.
Q: How can people claim to be patriotic while supporting a flag that stood for a group of insurgent failures who tried to permanently destroy America and killed 300,000 Americans in the process?
A: No clue.
Q: So if I made a confederate flag my profile picture, or put a confederate bumper sticker on my car, what am I declaring to my friends, family, and the world?
A: That you support the Confederacy. To recap, the Confederacy stands for: slavery, white supremacy, treason, failure, and a desire to permanently destroy Selective history as it supports white supremacy.
It’s no accident that:
You learned about Helen Keller instead of W.E.B, DuBois
You learned about the Watts and L.A. Riots, but not Tulsa or Wilmington.
You learned that George Washington’s dentures were made from wood, rather than the teeth from slaves.
You learned about black ghettos, but not about Black Wall Street.
You learned about the New Deal, but not “red lining.”
You learned about Tommie Smith’s fist in the air at the 1968 Olympics, but not that he was sent home the next day and stripped of his medals.
You learned about “black crime,” but white criminals were never lumped together and discussed in terms of their race.
You learned about “states rights” as the cause of the Civil War, but not that slavery was mentioned 80 times in the articles of secession.
Privilege is having history rewritten so that you don’t have to acknowledge uncomfortable facts.
Racism is perpetuated by people who refuse to learn or acknowledge this reality.
You have a choice. – Jim Golden”