Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2017/10/11/13-year-old-explains-souther.html
…
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the stupid is strong.
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& if you ask the older people with the confederate flag why some NFL players are kneeling during the anthem, their response inevitably would be, “To disrespect the flag.” Which is total bullshit mischaracterization, but that’s the way tribalistic brainwashing works.
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That 13yr old has a higher IQ than trump.
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While true, you don’t give the kid much of a standard to beat. The average chimpanzee can best the average trumpanzee any day of the week.
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Exactly! There are many people who are completely convinced that the Confederate flag has nothing to do with racism, because their parents, their pastors, and their schoolbooks have told them this lie all their lives. They aren’t necessarily stupid, but they’ve been purposely miseducated.
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They assume their stance is so logical and such common sense that the majority of people, even people of color, agree with them and all the news saying otherwise is fake news. BLM is just a few malcontents being pushed by the fake news outlets.
Will this show them the exact opposite is actually true? Nope.
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Like this dude?
“He claims that he flies the flag as a political statement, saying that it was more about people being “tired of the government telling them what to do and what to think” than about anything else.”
“If people actually believe that a Confederate flag stands for slavery, well, I might as well be just as stupid as they are,”
Stupid.
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I bet that couple counts the 13 year boy when they say that they have black friends.
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And I also think they bear the burden of willful ignorance of facts and history, especially the older they get. They bear the full responsibility for the words coming out of their mouths, their opinions and actions based on their prejudices. Just as each of us does for whatever ignorance and prejudices we may have.
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I dunno. I have had some small success in educating my southern relatives about the issues. I have seen others provoke a serious backfire effect, which might be the case here - or maybe the guy was just racist all along, as well as miseducated and none too bright.
Yup, I feel that way too. And although personally I try to follow Postel’s robustness principle and hold myself to higher standards of behavior and communication than I hold others, that doesn’t mean I will excuse egregiously purposeful ignorance - which is unfortunately quite common among flag-waving humans.
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Have them watch this.
I admit to liking the flag as a kid as it was on the roof of the car in Dukes of Hazard. But older and wiser… ish… I wouldn’t be comfortable with it on my car or something like that. Especially when its being used more and more by the extremest. There was a point when it did have some more pop culture acceptance, and as a sort of rebel symbol. But in my mind its history and current use are too black of a mark against it to find it appropriate.
Also - if you fly this flag, you can’t say shit about people not standing during the Anthem.
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I think the rebel flag is great for irony. A good (and very liberal leaning) friend of mine moved to Charleston, SC, so as a going away gift I got her a women’s rhinestone trucker cap with the rebel flag made of rhinestones. Kind of a, “You’ll need this if you’re going to fit in with your neighbors” gag gift.
At the time it was pretty funny, but less so now that Charlottesville happened.
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“He claims that he flies the flag as a political statement, saying that it was more about people being “tired of the government telling them what to do and what to think” than about anything else.”
Yeah, no, Confederate Flag dude, ur doin it rong. It’s this flag.
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Precisely. Even Jesus himself said, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Notice that Jesus didn’t say, “Father give ME the strength to forgive them.” He left himself out of it. If you want forgiveness for the transgressions of others, go talk to Buddha. 
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They offered to sit down with the teen at some point and explain what the flag meant
to them.
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I notice no follower of “southern pride” has the guts to fly the real flag of the Confederacy: the “stainless banner” which was very specifically designed to remind black folks just who was in charge and always would be.
The battle flag of "Robert “I lost the war, my bad” Lee is not the flag of the Confederacy.
The Confederacy was founded to promote and protect slavery. (Same as the “Republic” of Texas) It’s right there in their founding documents and Constitution and no amount of hand (or flag) waving can change that.
The states’ right they fought for was the right to own other humans and to regard them as property…
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I guess we need to add “whitesplaining” to the lexicon, if it isn’t already there.
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IQ is stable over age, so the fact that the person is 13 doesn’t matter. Also, having a high IQ doesn’t mean you know a lot of things or are likely to make wise decisions. Its a measure of general intelligence and for children has more to do with the speed at which someone learns.
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And some anarchists say that they want to destroy all flags, including their own.
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