By any modern definition, the Confederate army was comprised of terrorists and they needed to be firebombed with the full force of the United States military for the safety and the preservation of the Union.
Moreover, any veteran of the Confederate army was fighting for racism by defending slavery so any trace of his name should be expunged from the historical record to prevent the scourge of racism from continuing to undermine the Union.
Therefore, it is reasonable to remove all references to a Confederate flag in any application in Apple's App Store and this has already taken place by order of Tim Cook who made a statement of intention to assist in eliminating racism in any way he can.
It's a cheesy technique to make a proposal and then undermine it but that's the game this morning as the above is wall-to-wall politically-correct bollocks and it is a full swing of a pendulum from one extreme of behavior to another. In the former, racism is currently extreme yet it is frequently denied and whitewashed. However, whitewashing the Civil War and the reasons it was conducted is only substituting one denial for another.
Multiple articles here on the blog have documented how racism became associated with the battle flag of the Confederacy when there was a resurgence in its display at state levels because of the rejection of desegregation, court-ordered busing, etc in the 50's and 60's.
There is a major point people miss in their current fervor for wiping out racism and that's the fact the Civil War was not fought by racists. In general terms, the Union was fighting to keep the United States whole and prevent secession by the Confederacy whereas General Lee was fighting for states' rights and the principle the states can do whatever the hell they want precisely because this is a Union of republics.
There is a major proof of the above in the fact the Ku Klux Klan did not even exist before the Civil War. The KKK did start soon after it ended but this would be more appropriately addressed by Cadillac Man as he is well-read on the time of the American Reconstruction (i.e. post-Civil War recovery).
Therefore, I submit removing such things as a Civil War simulation from the App Store does nothing toward defeating racism as the Civil War actually had little to do with it and the rebels who fought in the war had nothing to do with defense of racism.
You don't seriously think the soldiers who fought in it were wealthy, slave-owning plantation owners, do you. In effect, Apple, along with many others, is trying to rewrite the history of the Civil War and this kind of historical revisionism is vastly more dangerous than the problem they are trying to solve.
Racism is a heinous scourge across the planet and it needs to be solved but the solution is not created in erasure of history, particularly when it is driven by a wild over-reaction to current abuses of the Confederate flag. I agree the flag should be removed from state facilities and that logic is based on the reason the states put it there in the first place (i.e. opposition to desegregation rather than remembrance) because that reason was adamantly racist. (Mississippi is, to my knowledge, the only one which has had the Confederate flag as part of the state flag since the Civil War)
Preventing people from selling the Confederate flag on clothing and such is not American freedom as it's an obvious violation of free speech. The only consequence of Amazon banning sales is independent t-shirt makers will have a chance to make a few dollars because they will take up the slack and good for them ... so long as they don't continue the racist tradition created in the 50's and 60's. Even if they do, it's still free speech as you have a right to be an asshole and I exploit that right frequently although not for that purpose. Free people also have a right to revile you for doing it and, in my view, censorship takes away that right.
However, it is not free speech in any way to desecrate Civil War memorials nor is it free speech to censor Civil War simulations, etc, both of which examples and multiple others have already taken place.
The Civil War was a major event in American history precisely because of the conflict between the Federal government and the states on the right to government. Reducing it to a conflict based solely on the matter of racism is inaccurate and destructive because the Civil War was such an important part of the foundations of the philosophy of America. For example, it's all very well for the Forefathers to propose a union of republics but they didn't really know if it would work. The Civil War was the test of that principle and what you see today is the result. Ignoring that process rejects a vital part of what made America and is thus crucially important to preserve.
This is an extreme example but I'm not averse to extremes as we can see ISIS whitewashing their history every time they sandblast religious monuments of great antiquity. This is all toward what they perceive as their noble ideal ... but their children will regret it nevertheless.
Poland did not sandblast Auschwitz even though the German army put it there in Poland. Germany would have even more reason to sandblast Dachau but they preserved it. Germans today have every reason to sandblast it as the Germans living today had nothing to do with those things so why should they pay the price. They pay it nevertheless.
In one sense, Holocaust deniers would do Germans a favor if they were successful as then Germans wouldn't be bearing the hatred for something they didn't even do. But no culture rejects that denial with greater resolve than Germany.
And something pithy to wrap it:
truth only comes from remembering history and never in erasing it
I'm sure that's been stated better
than this groundling can inspire
but I'm one who's had his say
and now I shall retire.
Moreover, any veteran of the Confederate army was fighting for racism by defending slavery so any trace of his name should be expunged from the historical record to prevent the scourge of racism from continuing to undermine the Union.
Therefore, it is reasonable to remove all references to a Confederate flag in any application in Apple's App Store and this has already taken place by order of Tim Cook who made a statement of intention to assist in eliminating racism in any way he can.
It's a cheesy technique to make a proposal and then undermine it but that's the game this morning as the above is wall-to-wall politically-correct bollocks and it is a full swing of a pendulum from one extreme of behavior to another. In the former, racism is currently extreme yet it is frequently denied and whitewashed. However, whitewashing the Civil War and the reasons it was conducted is only substituting one denial for another.
Multiple articles here on the blog have documented how racism became associated with the battle flag of the Confederacy when there was a resurgence in its display at state levels because of the rejection of desegregation, court-ordered busing, etc in the 50's and 60's.
There is a major point people miss in their current fervor for wiping out racism and that's the fact the Civil War was not fought by racists. In general terms, the Union was fighting to keep the United States whole and prevent secession by the Confederacy whereas General Lee was fighting for states' rights and the principle the states can do whatever the hell they want precisely because this is a Union of republics.
There is a major proof of the above in the fact the Ku Klux Klan did not even exist before the Civil War. The KKK did start soon after it ended but this would be more appropriately addressed by Cadillac Man as he is well-read on the time of the American Reconstruction (i.e. post-Civil War recovery).
Therefore, I submit removing such things as a Civil War simulation from the App Store does nothing toward defeating racism as the Civil War actually had little to do with it and the rebels who fought in the war had nothing to do with defense of racism.
You don't seriously think the soldiers who fought in it were wealthy, slave-owning plantation owners, do you. In effect, Apple, along with many others, is trying to rewrite the history of the Civil War and this kind of historical revisionism is vastly more dangerous than the problem they are trying to solve.
Racism is a heinous scourge across the planet and it needs to be solved but the solution is not created in erasure of history, particularly when it is driven by a wild over-reaction to current abuses of the Confederate flag. I agree the flag should be removed from state facilities and that logic is based on the reason the states put it there in the first place (i.e. opposition to desegregation rather than remembrance) because that reason was adamantly racist. (Mississippi is, to my knowledge, the only one which has had the Confederate flag as part of the state flag since the Civil War)
Preventing people from selling the Confederate flag on clothing and such is not American freedom as it's an obvious violation of free speech. The only consequence of Amazon banning sales is independent t-shirt makers will have a chance to make a few dollars because they will take up the slack and good for them ... so long as they don't continue the racist tradition created in the 50's and 60's. Even if they do, it's still free speech as you have a right to be an asshole and I exploit that right frequently although not for that purpose. Free people also have a right to revile you for doing it and, in my view, censorship takes away that right.
However, it is not free speech in any way to desecrate Civil War memorials nor is it free speech to censor Civil War simulations, etc, both of which examples and multiple others have already taken place.
The Civil War was a major event in American history precisely because of the conflict between the Federal government and the states on the right to government. Reducing it to a conflict based solely on the matter of racism is inaccurate and destructive because the Civil War was such an important part of the foundations of the philosophy of America. For example, it's all very well for the Forefathers to propose a union of republics but they didn't really know if it would work. The Civil War was the test of that principle and what you see today is the result. Ignoring that process rejects a vital part of what made America and is thus crucially important to preserve.
This is an extreme example but I'm not averse to extremes as we can see ISIS whitewashing their history every time they sandblast religious monuments of great antiquity. This is all toward what they perceive as their noble ideal ... but their children will regret it nevertheless.
Poland did not sandblast Auschwitz even though the German army put it there in Poland. Germany would have even more reason to sandblast Dachau but they preserved it. Germans today have every reason to sandblast it as the Germans living today had nothing to do with those things so why should they pay the price. They pay it nevertheless.
In one sense, Holocaust deniers would do Germans a favor if they were successful as then Germans wouldn't be bearing the hatred for something they didn't even do. But no culture rejects that denial with greater resolve than Germany.
And something pithy to wrap it:
truth only comes from remembering history and never in erasing it
I'm sure that's been stated better
than this groundling can inspire
but I'm one who's had his say
and now I shall retire.
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