Florida group to fly world's largest Confederate flag
Fox News reports that a Florida group has asked Hillsborough County for permission to erect a 139-foot flagpole in order to fly a 30 by 50 foot Confederate flag.
The Sons of Confederate Veterans in Tampa, which spent two years trying to get their request approved, had to have the flag made in China at a cost of $80,000 because no US company was equipped to make it.
The group did not reveal what flag they intended to fly until they had gained approval, and now there is outrage over the display, which will be erected at the most heavily trafficked intersection in the state.
"The Confederate flag obviously is a very inflammatory syumbol," noted host Alisyn Camerota.
"Some say Southern pride. ... The NAACP and company say this is white domination," added Brian Kilmeade.
Steve Doocy pointed out that Florida still celebrates the birthday of Confederate president Jefferson Davis. It is one of only two states that does so, the other being Alabama.
The webpage of the Jacksonville, Florida branch of the Sons of Confederate Veterans states, "It is our Duty as descendants of these brave Confederate Ancestors to restore their sacred banner, the Confederate Battle Flag, back to it's rightful place of honor!" It also includes a "Salute to the Confederate Flag" which reads, "I salute the Confederate Flag with affection, reverence and undying devotion to the Cause for which it stands."
For many years after the Civil War, the Confederate flag was seen as the "flag of treason" and a symbol of armed rebellion against the United States. As one Union veteran wrote, "It took years of the terrible scourge of war, it would appear, to convince the people of the seceded states, and to wring from them the acknowledgement that they were better off without slavery than with it. And perhaps if the war had lasted a little longer, and the Rebels had felt still further the scourge of war, those who now have so much respectful regard for the flag of treason, and the Lost Cause and their defenders, might have finally become convinced that one flag and one cause and its defenders are enough to honor; and that there should be no place in the patriotic regard and affection of the people in this free land of ours for the Rebel flag, the Lost Cause or their defenders."
Supporters of the Confederate flag now see it as a symbol of states' rights, and "groups such as the Dixie Defenders, the Sons of Confederate Veterans, and the Southern Heritage Association claim that states of the Confederacy were not solely dedicated to preserving the institution of chattel slavery, but primarily joined together in opposition to the centralization of power in the hands of the federal government, federally-funded internal improvements, and high protective tariffs. The civil war, they believe, was a war between opposing visions of civilization, between the agrarian South and the industrial North, and not a war of black against white."
Others, however, point out that it is only since the start of the civil rights movement that the Confederate flag has taken on new life and that this is specifically because of its racist overtones.
ABC News has more details here.
This video is from Fox's Fox & Friends, broadcast June 3, 2008.
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