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Here's to the state of Mississippi... Long May It Wave?By Rick Horowitz
Far be it -- well, not that far -- from me to inject myself into a local controversy. To stick myself right smack in the middle of a dispute that's only been going on, one way or another, for a century or more. But what's the point of being professionally opinionated if you can't fling the occasional suggestion somewhere where it's almost guaranteed not to be appreciated? So let's talk about Mississippi. Mississippi voters went to the polls the other day and declared that, thank you very much, they like things just fine the way they are. Or should I say "the way they were"? By nearly a 2-to-1 margin, they voted to keep the Confederate battle cross as a major part of their state flag. Civil rights leaders had been arguing for years that the flag was nothing but a stick in the eye, an offensive reminder of a past that was hardly worth celebrating. And this time around, they had much of the state's business community on their side, fretting about the economic impact of Mississippi's retro image. After all, a state that seems stuck in the middle of the 19th century might not be especially attractive to investors or tourists at the start of the 21st. The Sons of Confederate Veterans saw it a bit differently, needless to say. The flag was all about their "heritage," they insisted. Also their "courage," their "devotion to duty," their "devotion to family," their "honor," their "valor," their -- Brings a tear to your eye, doesn't it? And all that other stuff? That racial stuff? The ugly side of Mississippi history? That's not what the Confederate battle cross means to them, they said. That's just outsiders trying to stir up trouble. And on Election Day, they showed what they thought about outside trouble-stirrers. It wasn't even close. White Mississippians voted overwhelmingly against changing the flag, and -- let's be fair here -- some black Mississippians voted the very same way. In fact, according to one of the local newspapers, two predominantly black counties in the Delta voted not to alter a stitch. They might be on to something. (I told you I had a suggestion, didn't I?) See, Mississippi's black leaders have vowed to keep fighting. Maybe it'll be a tourism boycott. Maybe it'll be something else. But whatever they try, the message to the Sons and their various friends will be, "We don't care that you love that flag of yours -- drop it anyway." But what if the Sons and their friends stopped loving their flag? If they stopped loving it, wouldn't they be willing to give it up once and for all without all those angry words back and forth? Possibly, but what could ever make white Mississippians change their minds about their flag? Simple, Simon: Black Mississippians. If I may generalize... Below the age of 20 or so, white folks envy things that black folks like. (Think hip-hop.) Above the age of 20 or so, white folks don't want anything to do with things that black folks like. (Think house in the same neighborhood.) So all it would take to convince certain white folks in Mississippi that they've had it with that flag of theirs is for certain black folks in Mississippi to wrap themselves in it, over and over again. On the walls of black churches. In the doorways of black community centers. In the windows of black-owned shops. On the bumpers of black-owned cars. Could white folks object? They could try, but they've been saying all along it's not about race; it's about culture. Southern culture. Well, black southerners are southerners, too, aren't they? So why shouldn't they get in on all that "honor" and "valor" and such? Trashing the flag, mind you, would be strictly prohibited. No burning. No spitting. Nothing even remotely disrespectful -- that's the key. Would it take enormous reserves of teeth-gritting, fist-clenching discipline for black people to invite that flag into their lives without wanting to tear the thing apart with their bare hands? You bet it would. Would it get the job done? I give it six months. Beauty is in the irony of the beholder. Posted 4/19/01. Run
Rick's stuff up the flagpole and everyone salutes! (Have you told your
friends?)
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Rick Horowitz
