[Ads-l] "nuance"?

[Jonathan Lighter]

It isn't quite "the Confederate battle flag." The current flag is identical
to the Confederate naval jack of 1863-65. From late 1861, Lee's Army of
Northern Virginia carried a flag of similar design, but perfectly square
and bordered in white. It was made square both to be more distinctive and
to make it less likely to snag on a bayonet.

Individual regiments carried their own flags into battle as well.

But here's the point. Confederate flags were not often displayed before the
1948 presidential campaign, the KKK preferring the American flag. Strom
Thurmond's avowedly segregationist "Dixiecrat" party deliberately adopted
the flag in 1948 (with oblong same dimensions as the American flag) and
flew it in its battle against integration, making it for many people an
unambiguous, explicitly racist symbol rather than just a historical
artifact.

JL

On Wed, Jul 12, 2023 at 1:23 PM James Landau <
00000c13e57d49b8-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:

>
> https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/7/10/2180317/-Minnesota-has-a-Confederate-flag-but-for-the-right-reasons?detail=emaildkre&pm_source=DKRE&pm_medium=email
>
>
>
>  <quote>...Black Lives Matter movement forced a new reckoning over the
> racist symbol [the Confederate battle flag]. It is no longer publicly
> displayed, as this era lacks the nuance to place it in its proper context.
> <end quote>
>
>
> PS.  I am pleased to report that it has been a long time since I have
> heard or read anyone incorrectly refer to the Confederate battle flag as
> the "Stars and Bars" (a totally different flag)
>
> James Landau
> jjjrlandau at netscape.com
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>


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