- Oct 20, 2013
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I could complain about any of The View's panelists, but today it just happens to be Sunny Hostin. In a bash talk against former US ambassador to the UN, and former governor of South Carolina, Nikki Haley, Hostin made some very false statements.
In particular, the one I remember best was her saying the Confederate flag represented hate and slavery, and "nothing more". Wow. That's a big-time FALSE! The Confederate flag represented UNITY among southerners, both in the military, and civilians (who did much of the fighting under that flag)
For millions of civilian southerners (many of whom never owned a slave, never saw one, and didn't even know of the existence of slavery, or black people) the civil war was one of self-defense. It was a battle against swarms of soldiers from hundreds of miles away, attacking their towns, shooting at them, blowing up their buildings and bridges, and burning down their churches.
When asked by Union soldiers, why they were fighting, the southerners most often replied "Because you're here" When told about slavery, many southerners (especially in mountain areas) were puzzled and had no idea what these blue-suited guys were talking about.
In the mid-19th century South, things were primitive. There were no TVs, radios, computers, and even newspapers were few and far between (if southern people could even read them). This was a land of extreme poverty, with most people barely eeking out a living on small farms, nor rich people paying hundreds of dollars to buy slaves. There were roads and railroads, but not many people traveled on them. Photos of civil war battlefields are replete with pictures of barefoot southerners, lying dead on the ground. Those who joined the Confederate Army, after putting on their new uniforms, boots and all, were known to say "This is the best suit of clothes I've ever had"
So yes there IS something more than slavery and hate, that the Confederate flag flew for. It was a defense of one's homeland, against whoever would attack them, as the Union Army did with massive firepower.
In particular, the one I remember best was her saying the Confederate flag represented hate and slavery, and "nothing more". Wow. That's a big-time FALSE! The Confederate flag represented UNITY among southerners, both in the military, and civilians (who did much of the fighting under that flag)
For millions of civilian southerners (many of whom never owned a slave, never saw one, and didn't even know of the existence of slavery, or black people) the civil war was one of self-defense. It was a battle against swarms of soldiers from hundreds of miles away, attacking their towns, shooting at them, blowing up their buildings and bridges, and burning down their churches.
When asked by Union soldiers, why they were fighting, the southerners most often replied "Because you're here" When told about slavery, many southerners (especially in mountain areas) were puzzled and had no idea what these blue-suited guys were talking about.
In the mid-19th century South, things were primitive. There were no TVs, radios, computers, and even newspapers were few and far between (if southern people could even read them). This was a land of extreme poverty, with most people barely eeking out a living on small farms, nor rich people paying hundreds of dollars to buy slaves. There were roads and railroads, but not many people traveled on them. Photos of civil war battlefields are replete with pictures of barefoot southerners, lying dead on the ground. Those who joined the Confederate Army, after putting on their new uniforms, boots and all, were known to say "This is the best suit of clothes I've ever had"
So yes there IS something more than slavery and hate, that the Confederate flag flew for. It was a defense of one's homeland, against whoever would attack them, as the Union Army did with massive firepower.
