I’m proud of my ancestry, too. Except mine is killing a dozen slavers at Pardee Field at Gettysburg and being a five star family in WWII.

And other stuff like a species of prairie grass and a state forest and a farmer’s market.

It could be admirable if the ancestors they’re proud of weren’t treasonous Confederates. I’m proud of my ancestors who killed Confederates at Gettysburg.

Well, that is a common cover for hidden racism.

However, it can hold up. I’ve known too many black people laying claim to that flag as a part of southern black history. And I’ve known white folks that fully acknowledge the issues with it, but maintain that it’s possible to reject the antebellum monstrosities and still find the good parts to hold onto.

The problem is that you can’t tell what the person using it really thinks. Even if they’re giving lip service to it as purely symbolic of the transformation is the south, who says they’re telling the truth?

Me? I’ll pass on it. It’s a cool looking flag for sure, and I can let people have their attachment to it, but I can’t separate the fact of the confederacy being what it was and why it was. It’ll be a looooong time before anyone can claim that it has been reclaimed or transformed into symbol of anything other than being willing to fight and kill for the ability to own other humans.

But it is possible for individuals to genuinely connect it as a symbol of connection rather than division. Unlikely, but possible.

Ancestry of what?

Does he feel the same about Nazis flying a swastika?