A Rant on Cultural Heritage and Bigotry

The American South is a strange land filled - for the most part - with alcoholic gun owners and people who try to deep fry every food item they come across. This is a fact and I know it because I have lived in Georgia for the entirety of my life. However, it would be in error for me to claim that I have no love for the place. Indeed, I have some strange measure of what may be considered pride in my homeland in spite of the air of redneckery that fills the place.

Now, before I go on I feel that I must stress that I am a multiculturalist. I believe strongly that America's greatness comes in part from the great variety of creeds, cultures, races and sexual identities which grace our (formerly) great Republic. That being said, the South has a bit of an unfair position. Now, to claim that I am being oppressed in comparison to minorities is outright ridiculous, to be sure, but there is a bit of a problem.

You see, the symbols of the old Confederacy have long been used to express Southern pride but these symbols have been co-opted by evil and reprehensible people to represent goals that any man of moral standing would be appalled to see furthered. One cannot appreciate 'Dixie' as a song on YouTube without being bombarded with numerous links to videos promoting music of the Ku Klux Klan - an organization that would likely kill me for having a Chinese fiancee. You can see, then, why I am slightly miffed about this.

Now, the South isn't the only group with this problem. Supporters of the German Monarchy of the late 1800s are often forbidden to fly their flags as they too have been co-opted by racists (in their case, Neo-Nazis) who are violent and evil. This is not to claim that the Confederate States of America or the Second German Empire were without fault, but the United States murdered hundreds of thousands of Native Americans whilst stealing their continent and it is considered honorable and indeed encouraged to fly the banner under which these atrocities were committed.

Further, I am aware that it is an old war that the South lost and that many might view taking pride in a defeat to be living in the past or, perhaps, a stupid and backwards thing to do. However, one might make the same argument about Taiwanese or Tibetan independence supporters: their causes are hopeless and their wars are lost, but they have immense pride in their homelands. The same can be said of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, the Brazilian Confederados, or even the independence movements of Hawaii, Alaska and Puerto Rico. The world is filled with lost causes for independent nations, but these people still take pride in their homelands, no matter how insignificant they are.

Likewise, I love Georgia, in spite of its terrible flaws. It is the soil upon which I was raised, my father was raised, his father was raised, and his father was raised. I am rooted here, and I deserve the same right as anyone else to be proud of my homeland without bigots spoiling the public's perception of the banners and anthems which represent my home. Besides, the United States government is pretty shitty these days. No one wants slavery back, or at least no one with any real sanity, but I know a ton of people who'd love to see the Federal government dissolve in all of its decadent corruption.

Now, I have no idea where to even begin on reclaiming these symbols. Perhaps the icons of modern Southern culture (which, admittedly, I have little love for) could set about mocking and ridiculing the Klan - an organization which is already on the fall and has been for decades. "Look at them Klansmen." Jeff Foxworthy or someone of his ilk might say "Them hats look like the dunce hats my teacher made me wear. I knew they were idiots, but it sure is good to see them being honest about it." Something like that would be great, but no one seems willing to make jokes about them.

A similar dilemma faces the swastika in western culture. Once recognized across the Western world as an ancient symbol of good luck and fortune, it was co-opted by evil men with evil aims for evil works. If the Nazis were ridiculed and mocked so that no one might take them seriously, perhaps we could reclaim the Chaplain mustache from Hitler and the swastika could be used as a symbol of good luck again, as it was originally intended. Indeed, humor makes it so much harder for racists to be taken seriously and thus ruins their appeal to disaffected youths - their usual targets for recruitment. After all, would a young bigot be inclined to join a gang of Nazis if they were suddenly laughed at everywhere they went instead of feared? How long would skinheads last while prowling for victims if everyone they saw laughed in their faces? Oh my, but I'm on a tangent here.

Anyway, that's my (horribly disorganized) rant. I realize that this will be controversial, but that's why you people come here. I'm an unconventional and controversial man and you people love that. Sound off in the comments, as I'd love to hear responses to my position.