So long, Duke boys...

[mjr]

Pro Golfer Bubba Watson has a replica of the General Lee. He recently tweeted that he's replacing the Confederate Battle flag on the car with an American one, because "we're all equal".

He's had the car for some time. So why didn't he do it when he first got the car, if that's the case?

I know why. I'm asking rhetorically.

[Gravekeeper]

I know why. I'm asking rhetorically.

I'm guessing it has something to do with the fact his first name is Bubba. ;p

[Kara_CS]

As much as I loved the show as a kid ( I had no farkin' idea what the confederate flag was or anything, I just like jumping cars and crap ) you have to admit its a tad on the nose these days. I mean, the car has the confederate flag, is named the General Lee and the Duke boys were moonshine runners that were under probation for the entire show.

Exactly. I was 5 or 6 when I first saw the Duke boys, and I didn't understand or care about them running moonshine. I was fascinated by the fact that they didn't open the doors to get in or out of the car, and that they didn't have to drive on roads.

I wasn't raised in the South, but I was raised in a state that really, really wishes it was the South and I grew up with Confederate battle flags stamped on everything. My father has one hanging on the wall in his bedroom. Without going into my personal feelings about said flag (hint: I'm not a fan of it), the fact is that it has no business flying over government buildings. That being said, if people want to fly it on their own personal property, wear it on shirts and hats and get it tattooed on their damn foreheads, that's their right. Should companies pull all merchandise and even TV shows that bear its imagery? Well, as has already been stated, this is a free market and companies can do what they feel is best for business, and what's best for business is to stay on top of the social climate in determining what is and is not appropriate for their customer base.

[protege]

I wasn't raised in the South, but I was raised in a state that really, really wishes it was the South and I grew up with Confederate battle flags stamped on everything. My father has one hanging on the wall in his bedroom. Without going into my personal feelings about said flag (hint: I'm not a fan of it), the fact is that it has no business flying over government buildings.

There are still quite a few people up here in PA that choose to fly the flag. I really doubt they have any Southern heritage--we all know why you have that decal and flag on your pickup, Jethro...

I've said it before in another thread--the only reason the flag got posted on those government buildings...was to give a major middle finger to the civil rights activists. Now it needs to come down, and return to the trailer parks where it belongs

[Kara_CS]

Yep, it was raised in protest of the Brown v Board of Education decision. But, like the 10 commandment monuments displayed at courthouses, after awhile people with short memories start assuming various symbols have "always" been there.

[protege]

But, like the 10 commandment monuments displayed at courthouses, after awhile people with short memories start assuming various symbols have "always" been there.

Probably the same lot that screams about "In God we trust" ...which wasn't even the country's official motto until the 1950s. Or, the "under God" line in the Pledge of Allegiance added in 1954

[Kara_CS]

Probably the same lot that screams about "In God we trust" ...which wasn't even the country's official motto until the 1950s. Or, the "under God" line in the Pledge of Allegiance added in 1954

Precisely. Just because things have been a certain way for one or two generations doesn't mean they've always been, or will always be, that way. Nor does knowing this change the facts behind their origins.