Quote:
Originally Posted by RougeUnderoos
It takes me about a second to read deeper into it -- a guy in Alberta who has likely never even been to North Carolina running a Confederate flag on his pickup truck is saying something.
Some dudes in North Carolina might actually have a connection to the flag. Maybe their great-great-grandpappy was in the Civil War. Maybe they are "proud" of being southerners or maybe their dad had the flag in the living room for all I know.
For someone in Alberta, it really is no different than wearing Che Guevara t-shirts (like Habernac said above) -- they don't know anything about it, they don't "live" it, they weren't affected by it, but they are trying to make some goofy statement. For a Che Guevara shirt, the statement seems to be "I'm a rebel because I think this guy was cool, now excuse me while I go to my job so I can pay my iPhone bill and buy an 8 dollar pint at the Ship".
The rebel flag on the pickup truck means "I'm a rebel because I agree with what these folks in the south were fighting for, and I'm proud to be a redneck, now excuse me while I go to my job so I can pay for this pickup truck that I don't need and can't afford".
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The Civil War happened before any white people had settled in Alberta. It isn't out of the realm of possibility that people from the soutern states came to Alberta, settled down and raised their families here after the economic depression of the southern states following the Civil War.
My Great Great Grandfather from Clarke Country, Virginia, came to Cochrane in 1882 when he was hired to heard cattle and sheep from Montana by the Cochrane Ranch. Although he would have only been a child during the Civil War, he did have family who fought on both sides mostly for the CSA.
My uncle also told me once that there is a veteran of the Civil War who fought for the CSA buried in a cemetery west of Calgary (not sure which one). His grave stone has CSA engraved on it.
Most Albertans would not have a family connection with the Confederacy. But there are a few of us around who do. Personally, I don't walk around displaying the Confederate Battle Flag for all to see or even own anything other than books or magazines that have the flag on it. I find it unfortunate that the flag is being used as a symbol of hate by some groups.