You can not and eventually do not.......hence a possible addition to the silent majority........their only hope of winning ANYTHING.

Did you not read your history books in High School (If you got that far)? The Flag was not "simply a symbol of the past", It was in fact the Flag of an enemy who attacked the United States and by the way, was defeated. This is far more than a symbol of the past, not unlike the Swastika and the Rising Son. Suppose you might also consider them simply a "symbol of the past".

The Swastika had many other meanings until he was hi jacked

The South was not the first to attack, the North attacked the South first at the Battle of Phillipe. Regardless of what you say, they were ALL Americans regardless of what side they fought on. Many were captured and forced to fight by both the North and the South, they had NO choice. Most of the soldiers doing the fighting never owned a slave in their lives. Some of the officers did though. Lincoln treated all of the South worse than the US has ever treated any POW since. Go to Vicksburg, MS and visit the battleground for a better education on the War Between The States than you will ever find on these racially biased threads.

This uneducated guest might educate you of the ancient gammadion which in early Eastern cultures meant god, good luck, eternity and other benign conjurations. We know it today as the swastika.

Flags are symbols and symbols do matter and because they have no intrinsic value they take meaning in the way they are used.

During the civil war this was the battle flag designed to be carried at the head of a regiment where the flag's blue St Andrew cross on a field of red might stand out through the smoke of battle and it is this meaning for many southerns in memory of their ancestors

First I reject your moral equivalence of the swastika and the rising sun to that of the Confederate Flag. Secondly I reject your simple explanation of the reason the civil war was fought because it was fought for more than just freeing salves, the cotton trade for one. Third I reject your belief that southern alone were responsible for slavery. Fourth I remind you that racism found itself in every state in this union then and now. Fifth that you cannot judge people from the past by today's thinking . Sixth and very important soldiers from both the north and the south were all Americans which made this war that much more insidious. Northern soldiers did as many evil deeds during this war as did southerns. but then that is the nature of war. Seventh the same people who demanded this flag be removed also denigrate the American flag proclaiming America's evil colonial past

I keep repeating that the Confederate Flag is just a symbol the danger is that the tail is wagging the dog and the attention given to it a red herring to distract from what is really happening. What will be next burning of history books so that fascist progressive can continue their re-write of American history. How many ways can you say the same thing so that people begin to understand that the very people who are reshaping America are neither your friend or mine WAKE UP!...or you will find yourself being addressed as comrade.

Personal Best Regards:

Despite your abounding wisdom you neglected to mention that of the many Swastikas that your research turned up the Nazi flag was right-facing on both sides and at a 45° rotation which differentiated it from other historical symbols called Swastikas. This is of course is the one I referred to in my earlier post. By the way, in your infinite wisdom you neglected to characterize the Rising Son as anything but a symbol of the Japanese Empire we also defeated in WWII. The only wisdom you have displayed is your ability to Google.

Actually, the Skirmish of Philipe was the first LAND skirmish of the Civil War. The bombardment of Fort Sumter by the South against the Union began on April 12. Philipe was a few weeks later.

If the confederate flag is not a symbol of racism, how come so few blacks choose to display it at their homes and businesses and churches? Are they not proud of the heritage it represents?

And how pray tell does you or anybody else know how many blacks display the confederate flag?
Fly by night claims like this have no basis and add no more poetic license to one's presentation.

So for the sake of your lark, we will assume none. What does it have to do with anything other than interjecting a nonsensical race parameter.

Read this by the man that was instrumental in the design and creation of the "Stars & Bars" and then tell me that it is not a symbol of racism, bigotry and hatred.

"As a people, we are fighting to maintain the Heaven-ordained supremacy of the white man over the inferior or colored race; this flag would thus be emblematical of our cause.… Such a flag…would soon take rank among the proudest ensigns of the nations, and be hailed by the civilized world as THE WHITE MAN'S FLAG.… As a national emblem, it is significant of our higher cause, the cause of a superior race, and a higher civilization contending against ignorance, infidelity, and barbarism. Another merit in the new flag is, that it bears no resemblance to the now infamous banner of the Yankee vandals."

William Tappan Thompson

And was he a spokesman for all the confedracy or an opinion among many, just like we have today, that happens to fit the purpose and intent of the message?

Can you give me an example when you personally have been micro aggressed say within the last month? What was the content of that microaggression?

You forgot to mention these quotes in your wikipedia article-

"After the war ended, Thompson, a supporter of the Democrats, opposed the Republican Party in the southern U.S. states, as well as the granting of civil rights to African Americans."

And-

"After the Civil War , Thompson, was a fervent supporter of the Democrats and opposed the Republican Party's efforts in southern U.S. states."

Again, this shows the confederate flag was - and remains - a symbol of racism.

In his mind it does sound like that is so, but again you have to consider the fact that not everyone believes the same thing. Also, there were at least 3 or 4 different versions of the confederate flag each created with different meaning and intent. To me, intent is the key word in all of this.

To some people, the American flag may stand for capitalism which they believe to be evil, while most view the American flag as representing freedom and liberty. For those few, should we then remove the American flag as well?

Allowing the door to open for minority rule is, at least in my opinion, a dangerous path. It would have been best to put this to a vote, allowing the people to have a voice in this matter.