Would it surprise you to know there are connections between the controversy about that stained banner and aviation history? Well, there are, and I'll get to them in a minute.
First let's talk about a local tempest. I live in Ohio, and the board of the state fair decided not to allow sales of the Confederate flag. (We'll use that as shorthand, but whether we're calling it that, or the rebel flag, or the Confederate naval jack, or the battle flag of the Army of Northern Virginia, or whatever else you want to bring into it, we all know damn well what particular symbol we're talking about, don't we?) Some people are outraged, of course. Now, they can still buy it elsewhere, and fly it wherever they like. The fair prohibits sale of other offensive items, such as those with nudity or profanity. I personally would not be bothered by those; you want to wear a shirt depicting nudity, or even go nude, I'm okay with it. (To some degree- I admit, the idea of some of the people I see at the fair showing even more skin repulses me.) Anyway, my point is that I understand that some things that don't bother me might bother others, and I'm okay with no one selling them at the fair, a family event. But oh, the idea of not selling a symbol of racists and traitors really winds people up. Miss Mox and I went round and round with these idiots. I've been told I don't know history. Come on, now. I've seen people state that the flag, and the Civil War, were not about slavery. Seriously, what fantasy, what alternate universe, are they living in? Some people said "just wait, they'll ban the American flag next! They'll outlaw MSNBC and BET and then you'll realize what it's like!" Okay... Hm. First, nothing is being banned. Second, sordid as U.S. history has been at many points, few find the Stars and Stripes offensive; and at least we, as a nation, are trying to move forward. Can that be said about the Confederates? Of course not. These Chicken Littles think the sky is falling, I guess because they think gay marriage is going to destroy the country, and not being able to buy their favorite racist symbol on every corner is a sign of Obama's imperial presidency, or some such utter paranoiac bullshit. Look, you've lost as many rights as Obama has taken away guns: zero.
Then there are the "preservationists," who say "they're erasing history!" Well, no, no one is, and as I hope you've guessed I am opposed to any such deletion of history. Of course, it's the people who support that flag who are trying to rewrite our history, and who want to ignore large portions of it. Their distorted view of history exists because of their ignorance, and they are upset that anyone is trying to shine light through their closed eyelids. Folks: educate yourselves. Read! Learn! Civil War history exists- in museums, libraries, on battlefields, and on my bookshelves. I don't need the traitor's banner on my wall to remind myself of history. I know a lot about the Civil War, have visited battle sites and museums in the south, and yet somehow I don't need a Confederate flag on my car to remind me of them. Preserving history, and glorifying treason and slavery, are two different things. Guess which one the Confederate flag supporters are doing? As I said above, I know aviation history very well. I have a shelf full of books about it, and more in storage awaiting more shelves. Many of those books are about World War 2 and often cover Nazi aircraft. I have at least one book solely about the Luftwaffe. I read them, and exercise my memory, without a swastika flag on the wall. Both those flags belong in museums, not waving in peoples' faces. We absolutely must not forget the worst that humanity has done. The thing is, the supporters of the Confederate flag really don't think slavery and secession are all that bad...
The other day I remembered another aviation connection to this "controversy." Years ago, a group of pilots in Texas decided to preserve airplanes from WW2. But not just sitting in museums- they wanted to keep them flying. A plane, or a car, or a piano, can teach some in a museum, but the real magic comes when planes are flown, cars are driven, instruments are played. So they pooled their resources and kept some planes flying. They called their collection the Confederate Air Force. I don't think they meant to be racist; I think it was a joke, like Swiss Navy, something that doesn't exist, couldn't exist. They were being silly, I guess. But eventually, they realized that name had bad associations, and dropped it in 2001. They were behind the times- 135 years or so late- but still ahead of the current Confederate flag supporters. The CAF still preserves history; in fact, that's their purpose. Changing the name didn't change that. It just showed they were aware of how the name was perceived, and that they had the decency to move on, unlike the neo-Confederates we're seeing lately. The CAF folks, now the Commemorative Air Force, want to preserve history too, and teach others about it. They just try not to be assholes while doing it.
Currently, some want to wave, honor, flaunt the Confederate battle flag. They say they're honoring Southern heritage. They're not- they're discrediting it. They say it's not racist. It is- it was designed as a symbol of white supremacy, and used as such often over the years. I want to remember, and learn from, even the worst things people have done. I don't want to honor those things. But hey- fly it if you want to. It is a handy visual locator of the biggest assholes, of the most ignorant among us. You're doing the rest of us a favor, really. You're showing your true colors. You might as well be wearing a sign that says "Traitor and Despicable Human Being." You say you want to honor Southern heritage? Do it by finding a symbol that doesn't represent the very worst parts of that heritage. Preserve history, and act like a decent person. I know it's hard, but maybe someday you'll be able to do both. You're not doing either right now.
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