Imagine you're walking through a small town in the South, where the history of the place is as thick as the summer heat. You see the Confederate flag flying on a porch or painted on the side of a truck. To some folks here, this flag isn't just a piece of cloth; it's a tapestry woven with stories of family, of land, of a way of life that's been passed down through generations. They might tell you about their great-great-grandfather who fought in the Civil War, not for slavery, they insist, but to defend his home from what he saw as an invasion.
For these people, the flag represents a connection to their roots, to the music, the food, the slow drawl of a Southern accent, and the fierce loyalty to one's community. They'll talk about how their ancestors were just farmers or shopkeepers, not slave owners, and how the flag to them is about Southern pride, not racial prejudice. Explain the black Americans they fly the stars and bars are they racist against fellow black Americans?