In the Confederate flag, Dylann Roof found personal justification for the horror of his actions. Social media depicts the young man posing with the Confederate flag, holding a gun. The individual nature of his crime has allowed for many to write off his interpretation of the Confederate flag as mired in his own personal opinion. This young man was simply projecting his own mental instability onto the Confederate flag. However, I argue that Dylann Roof understood the truth of the Confederate flag, in its entirety. A truth that the American people choose time and again to cast off and ignore.
I understand that this piece of 'national news' is not particularly new. But the casual regularity with which I encounter Confederate flags on a daily basis here in Tuscaloosa will never cease to amaze me.
Dylann Roof cannot be as "mentally unstable" as those who blind themselves so that they may lay claim to the Confederate flag as "heritage not hate." The simple act of placing a Confederate flag bumper sticker on the back window of a car belies the simple act of walking into a predominantly African-American Bible study with the intention of inciting a "race-war" and point-blank shooting everyone in the room.
Failing to incite a "race-war" ultimately means that Dylann Roof failed to incite a widespread violent response. Violence inflicted in the name of racism and white supremacy is nothing new. Roof sought to coax racial violence from the rhetorical shadows and into the hard, physical light of day. In doing so, he hoped that his actions might evoke backlash so violent as to justify his motives in the first place. The "race war" already exists and it is entirely one-sided.
Once again, I know that this is not currently receiving mass attention in the media. But it is for this very reason that the insidiousness of this symbol drives me to question it's "invisible" role in everyday life. Ta-Nehisi Coates wrote: "The mettle that it takes to look away from the horror of our prison system, from police forces transformed into armies, from the long war against the black body, is not forged overnight. This is the practiced habit of jabbing out one's eyes and forgetting the work of one's hands. To acknowledge these horrors means turning away from the brightly rendered version of your country as it always has declared itself and turning towards something murkier and unknown" (Between the World and Me, 98).
Please feel free to share in what ways, if any, you disagree with the assertions that I have made in this post. How can symbolic rhetoric, such as that of the Confederate flag, be transformed to maintain the comfort of middle America? What other symbols are at work in popular or regional culture and how do they serve to perpetuate damaging ways of thinking abut race in America?
If you would like to read more on the subject:
This was a great read, and seeing as I had sadly forgot about this issue, I really thank you for bringing it up to discuss once again. As you said, Dylan Roof wished and failed to ignite a race war, a war that, in my opinion, has been raged since the beginning of racism. Violence is,as you said,the phsyical manifestation of racism and racism; we have failed to acknowledge that our outward violence has shifted into more subtle actions and behaviors that reinforce racism and white supremacy.
ReplyDeleteThat is why I feel like many people do not acknowledge or simply base Dylan Roof's actions on the Confederate flag. Society has failed to remember its dirty history and, therfore, fail to understand the implications and intentions behind certain words, actions, and relics. They would rather associate it with a "shared" Southern heritage that embodies hospitality and a call-back to the times where life was more simple. But for whom was life simple and hospitable? Certainly, not for people of color whose fear and dread were ignited simply by viewing the flag.
They cannot claim both ideas, that the flag is an intimidating factor and also a symbol of a simpler past. The meaning has not evolved, because the society has not condemned and acknowledge the first meaning behind it. The racial climate has not changed because many refuse to acknowledge the actions and beliefs that influence it. As mentioned by Coates, "One cannot claim to be superhuman and then plead mortal error...there exists...an apparatus to accept American innocence at face value..." (Coates, 12). We cannot continue to promote the idea that America is innocent at any point in time since it birth. That means that many of the ideas prevalvent are far from innocent as well; that includes what the Confederate flag embodies.It is important to understand what side one is taking when they decided to place a Confederate flag in their house, and whose value and history they are uplifting and claiming as the truth.
I absolutely agree that Dylann Roof knew exactly what the Confederate flag represents when he chose to align himself with it. Though I have spent most of my life here in Tuscaloosa (and most of the rest in other "Southern" states), I still cannot fathom why (on a personal level) people would even want to fly the Confederate flag in their yard, stick it to their cars, or defend it at all. People who say that it represents "heritage" or "history" and not "hate" do not understand what history is. Nothing is without its own context, let alone history. One major part of this flag's context is the institution of slavery; that cannot be willed away, though it seems those in power seem content to ignore it.
ReplyDeleteOn the topic of a "race war," there certainly is already widespread violence of various types against African Americans (see any of our readings for the past couple of weeks, like Coates and Leigh), though I would probably call the current situation "subjugation" rather than "war." Coming from this perspective, Roof's attempts to "ignite a 'race war'" can be construed as a blatantly physical continuance of this.
--Forest Copeland
In my opinion, no matter what the Confederate flag truly means, it should never be used as an excuse for violence, especially towards people on one's own side. Thus, Dylann Roof might did that as a racist people who tried to declare his faith of white supremacy, or maybe he was insane as people said. Either way, the Confederate flag is supposed to represent the history of the U.S. which includes slavery as well, if people like Dylann Roof raised a war by using the flag, then they are lack of knowledge of the history and their ignorance of the most dark history in their country, certainly shows their subconsciousness were trying to escape from reality.
ReplyDeleteSierra,
ReplyDeleteThe Confederate flag is a touchy subject but that does not mean it should not be discussed and for that reason, I am thankful you brought this up. The symbolic rhetoric behind it is mainly constructed by racism and a devastating past, but is usually masked by what people preach to be ‘heritage’. This ultimately allows for white supremacy to flourish uncontrollably, which results in the oppression and disregard of painful experiences of others. The Confederate flag resembles a dark past yet, it is still flown, used, and celebrated to this day. More often than not, it seems the people that identify with and defend the Confederate flag tend to ignore the history and representation this symbolic image truly exemplifies. In relation, the use of the confederate flag in today’s society rang too true when I think about how UA chooses to sweep its history under the rug.
George Orwell wrote,
“Who controls the past,
controls the future.
Who controls the present,
controls the past.”
This quote is an incredible example of why we cannot ignore the past without suffering the consequences in the future and vice versa. With that being said, I believe UA also needs some guidance on how to acknowledge and not ignore the history of its constitution. Overall, the Confederate flag and what it symbolizes is not taken lightly and yet, it is something we see everyday on this very campus. Unfortunately, it is just another example of how white privilege allows for people to pick and choose when, if ever, they want to acknowledge what is truly happening right in front of them.
I do strongly believe that Dylan Roof was more then well aware of his actions and intentions on using the Confederate flag as a symbol. Not one of non hatred or peace but in my opinion the exact opposite! American history as you said is sometimes obscured and re painted with the perfect images or this American Dream and justify for all, when in actuality hidden symbols such as the confederate flag still are plastered everywhere. Growing up in the south and being from Birmingham,Al I have always noticed the flag in certain areas but it seems since I moved to Tuscaloosa for school I see the symbol so much more and it's heart renching. The reason being is I moved here with the intention on leaving all those negative notions behind me but not only did it follow it became so much worse. To me the symbol represents a time in which blood was shed everyday just to goin crumbs from the table. Now it just hangs around everywhere as a signal of the still underlying hatred for African Americans. There is no justification for that just a pretty cover up story. So I do believe his intentions were cruel and the confederate flag only added fuel to the already burning fire.
ReplyDelete