Confederate Battle Flag Poll

[Ibanez]

I don't care what happened 200 years ago. I care what happens now. Is this a fair and just society?

No. For instance, it is not fair and just to deny White students admission to particular institutions of higher learning to make room for Black students who are objectively not as qualified by inventing the idea that Black students become more "qualified" by virtue of contributing to the "diversity" of the student body.

Don't even go there with crap about the society not being "fair and just" to Blacks. This society is currently bending over backwards for Blacks. It's investing all KINDS of effort to try to "raise them up." You own a business and you had BETTER hire enough Blacks whether objective competition results in that or not. So on and so forth.

And we all know it's true. Don't EVEN try to argue otherwise. We all know that there is constant scrutiny on the matter of whether this business, this area, this whatever, has sufficient "diversity," And we all know that "sufficient diversity" is basically code for "enough people of color."

If then people want it removed, then it's democracy in action. You just don't like people of color and they points of view.

[OL FU]

It's south Carolina's flag. If mark wants to disagree with me fine. The rest of you worry about Louisiana or Texas or arizona

I don't disagree with you. It's a piece of fabric. However, it's been hijacked by groups like the KKK and by monsters like Dylann and what was a symbol of pride became a symbol of hate, fear and violence. Remove it from the grounds. But it won't do anything to prevent future acts of violence. Walmart announced they won't sell clothes with the flag on it. That's a business decision but it doesn't mean that white supremacist peckerwoods are going to be more peaceful and open minded.

Thank you! It is symbolic and you are right removing it us only symbolic. But symbols are important. The truth is I love the flag. But I understand why many don't . And I am willing to say that difference should be respected by flying it sonewhere other than the state house

[OL FU]

No. For instance, it is not fair and just to deny White students admission to particular institutions of higher learning to make room for Black students who are objectively not as qualified by inventing the idea that Black students become more "qualified" by virtue of contributing to the "diversity" of the student body.

Don't even go there with crap about the society not being "fair and just" to Blacks. This society is currently bending over backwards for Blacks. It's investing all KINDS of effort to try to "raise them up." You own a business and you had BETTER hire enough Blacks whether objective competition results in that or not. So on and so forth.

And we all know it's true. Don't EVEN try to argue otherwise. We all know that there is constant scrutiny on the matter of whether this business, this area, this whatever, has sufficient "diversity," And we all know that "sufficient diversity" is basically code for "enough people of color."

If then people want it removed, then it's democracy in action. You just don't like people of color and they points of view.

I usually wouldn't say this but to borrow a phrase it is looking more and more self evident

[Ibanez]

I don't disagree with you. It's a piece of fabric. However, it's been hijacked by groups like the KKK and by monsters like Dylann and what was a symbol of pride became a symbol of hate, fear and violence. Remove it from the grounds. But it won't do anything to prevent future acts of violence. Walmart announced they won't sell clothes with the flag on it. That's a business decision but it doesn't mean that white supremacist peckerwoods are going to be more peaceful and open minded.

Thank you! It is symbolic and you are right removing it us only symbolic. But symbols are important. The truth is I love the flag. But I understand why many don't . And I am willing to say that difference should be respected by flying it sonewhere other than the state house

HuffPo has an article about a Summerville woman who flies the flag. Her black neighbors built fences so they couldn't see it and she raises her flag higher. She contends to take it down is treasonous. I respect the flag for what's ancestor fought for. The flag has been ruined by hate groups but taking it down isn't a slippery slope. It's a symbol of hate for too many. It belongs at memorials and museums but not on the statehouse grounds.

Read the article. But I warn you, it shows white southerners as nothing but rebel racist hicks.

[YoUDeeMan]

Typical thug thief...thinks he is entitled to other people's property.

Says the white man who killed Native Americans of their Land

Yup, I buried a couple of those Redskins in my back yard the other day.

[YoUDeeMan]

I don't care what happened 200 years ago. I care what happens now. Is this a fair and just society? This is all anyone wants. To be treated fairly without any bias. Why can't this happen?

You are one dumb, sorry azz excuse for a person.

Congrats!

[kalm]

I saw two black guys today. The first in about a week.

[YoUDeeMan]

I saw two black guys today. The first in about a week.

Did you shoot them, or just refuse them service?

[CitadelGrad]

I saw two black guys today. The first in about a week.

That's two too many. I hope you told them to get out of town by sundown.

[ALPHAGRIZ1]

I saw two black guys today. The first in about a week.

That's two too many. I hope you told them to get out of town by sundown.

Wouldnt work, they would just start stealing watches..............battle flag made them do it.

[ASUG8]

No, it's bad news. Predictable, but bad. And it's bad not because of the specific issue involved but because it is yet another instance in which this minority of the population whines and the society gives them what they want. Somehow resisting them getting what they want is "divisive" but them throwing tantrums until they get what they want isn't. It's ridiculous.

It's a slippery slope.

The flag will be removed. What will their NEXT excuse be?

They could confiscate every flag/swastika/gang symbol in the country and send them into space and there would still be problems. Bad people are going to be bad and they will invent new rallying symbols.

[OL FU]

It's a slippery slope.

The flag will be removed. What will their NEXT excuse be?

They could confiscate every flag/swastika/gang symbol in the country and send them into space and there would still be problems. Bad people are going to be bad and they will invent new rallying symbols.

It isn't a matter of whether the removal of the flag changes what you are talking about. I don't think it will either. It isn't a matter of "removing" the flag. It won't be removed (and shouldn't be). Just drive up north of TR and you will see it proudly displayed somewhere. It is a matter of removing a symbol that has been used to terrorize a portion of the citizenry from the state house grounds. Personally, I think the governor said it very well.

"That brings me to the subject of the Confederate Flag that flies on our Statehouse grounds.

For many people in our state, the flag stands for traditions that are noble. Traditions of history, of heritage, and of ancestry. The hate-filled murderer who massacred our brothers and sisters in Charleston has a sick and twisted view of the flag. In no way does he reflect the people in our state who respect, and in many ways, revere it.

Those South Carolinians view the flag as a symbol of respect, integrity, and duty. They also see it as a memorial, a way to honor ancestors who came to the service of their state during a time of great conflict.

That is not hate. Nor is it racism.

At the same time, for many others in South Carolina, the flag is a deeply offensive symbol of a brutally oppressive past.

.........

The murderer now locked up in Charleston said he hoped his actions would start a race war. We have an opportunity to show that not only was he wrong, but that just the opposite is happening. My hope is that by removing a symbol that divides us, we can move our state forward in harmony, and we can honor the nine blessed souls who are now in Heaven."

[ASUG8]

I agree with you, OL FU and I think Haley is doing the right thing by taking it off state grounds. It seems like something of an endorsement of the flag if it remains on state property openly.

That being said, where does it end? Will they next want to remove all the statues of major players in the Confederacy from the town squares across cities in the South? Should they raze Robert E. Lee's house at Arlington Cemetery for the role he played? Seems like heritage for many is taking a back seat to being politically correct.

First the flag. Next, the statues?

Calls to remove a Confederate battle flag from the grounds of the South Carolina Capitol after last week's church shootings serve as an uncomfortable reminder for many Americans that the Confederacy still commands places of honor across the U.S. — particularly in the U.S. Capitol, where the statues of eight leading Confederate figures grace the grounds.

There used to be nine, until 2009, when Alabama swapped its statue of Confederate soldier Jabez Curry for one of humanitarian Helen Keller.

The fact that only four states have ever updated their statues on the Hill is testament to the difficulty involved: New statues must meet certain architectural specifications, and they must pass muster with the Joint Committee on the Library of Congress. And, of course, sculptors have to be hired and the money to pay for them and their materials must be raised.

Some famous Southerners who served with the Confederacy are honored more for their lives after the war, like John E. Kenna of West Virginia, who enlisted in Gen. Joseph O. Shelby's Iron Brigade at just age 16 in 1864 but became famous as a legal scholar and lawmaker after the war. And Ohio — for now — honors Gov. William Allen, who supported the Southern slave owners. His statue is scheduled to be replaced with one of inventor Thomas Edison, which was unveiled just last month.

http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/charle ... ol-n379941" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[OL FU]

I agree with you, OL FU and I think Haley is doing the right thing by taking it off state grounds. It seems like something of an endorsement of the flag if it remains on state property openly.

That being said, where does it end? Will they next want to remove all the statues of major players in the Confederacy from the town squares across cities in the South? Should they raze Robert E. Lee's house at Arlington Cemetery for the role he played? Seems like heritage for many is taking a back seat to being politically correct.

First the flag. Next, the statues?

Calls to remove a Confederate battle flag from the grounds of the South Carolina Capitol after last week's church shootings serve as an uncomfortable reminder for many Americans that the Confederacy still commands places of honor across the U.S. — particularly in the U.S. Capitol, where the statues of eight leading Confederate figures grace the grounds.

There used to be nine, until 2009, when Alabama swapped its statue of Confederate soldier Jabez Curry for one of humanitarian Helen Keller.

The fact that only four states have ever updated their statues on the Hill is testament to the difficulty involved: New statues must meet certain architectural specifications, and they must pass muster with the Joint Committee on the Library of Congress. And, of course, sculptors have to be hired and the money to pay for them and their materials must be raised.

Some famous Southerners who served with the Confederacy are honored more for their lives after the war, like John E. Kenna of West Virginia, who enlisted in Gen. Joseph O. Shelby's Iron Brigade at just age 16 in 1864 but became famous as a legal scholar and lawmaker after the war. And Ohio — for now — honors Gov. William Allen, who supported the Southern slave owners. His statue is scheduled to be replaced with one of inventor Thomas Edison, which was unveiled just last month.

http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/charle ... ol-n379941" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

For better or worse, the further we get away from the civil war the more we will see that.

I know you said you watch morning Joe. Heard something interesting on it this morning, that a recent survey of most admired southerners by southerners concluded the two that ranked on top were Martin Luther King and Robert E Lee. Now the conclusion of the morning Joe folks was the odd disparity of the results. Like most, they miss the point. Even though the causes were disparate, the courage, loyalty, determination were very similar.

[Hambone]

Somewhat related.....activists in Minneapolis are now trying to get one of the cities most popular lakes renamed because the gentleman it was named after was pro-slavery in the early 1800s.

http://www.mprnews.org/story/2015/06/22/lake-calhoun" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[kalm]

I agree with you, OL FU and I think Haley is doing the right thing by taking it off state grounds. It seems like something of an endorsement of the flag if it remains on state property openly.

That being said, where does it end? Will they next want to remove all the statues of major players in the Confederacy from the town squares across cities in the South? Should they raze Robert E. Lee's house at Arlington Cemetery for the role he played? Seems like heritage for many is taking a back seat to being politically correct.



http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/charle ... ol-n379941" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

For better or worse, the further we get away from the civil war the more we will see that.

I know you said you watch morning Joe. Heard something interesting on it this morning, that a recent survey of most admired southerners by southerners concluded the two that ranked on top were Martin Luther King and Robert E Lee. Now the conclusion of the morning Joe folks was the odd disparity of the results. Like most, they miss the point. Even though the causes were disparate, the courage, loyalty, determination were very similar.

That, unfortunately, appears to be the common view of white southerners in a nutshell. Of course that disparity isn't helped by people like the first judge and his remarks last week showing sympathy towards the Roof family.

[Ibanez]

When does Georgia and Mississippi take the Confederate flag out of their state flags?

[OL FU]

For better or worse, the further we get away from the civil war the more we will see that.

I know you said you watch morning Joe. Heard something interesting on it this morning, that a recent survey of most admired southerners by southerners concluded the two that ranked on top were Martin Luther King and Robert E Lee. Now the conclusion of the morning Joe folks was the odd disparity of the results. Like most, they miss the point. Even though the causes were disparate, the courage, loyalty, determination were very similar.

That, unfortunately, appears to be the common view of white southerners in a nutshell. Of course that disparity isn't helped by people like the first judge and his remarks last week showing sympathy towards the Roof family.

I'm just a dumb southern boy. you will have to explain. and I didn't hear the first judges remarks just the one that let the victims family speak.

[kalm]

That, unfortunately, appears to be the common view of white southerners in a nutshell. Of course that disparity isn't helped by people like the first judge and his remarks last week showing sympathy towards the Roof family.

I'm just a dumb southern boy. you will have to explain. and I didn't hear the first judges remarks just the one that let the victims family speak.

Hey now, I was showing understanding you redneck hick!

“We have victims, nine of them, but we also have victims on the other side,” Chief Magistrate James Gosnell Jr. said as suspect Dylann Roof appeared remotely via videoconference. “There are victims on this young man’s side of the family. Nobody would have ever thrown them into the whirlwind of events that they have been thrown into. We must find it in our hearts at some point in time not only to help those that are victims but also to help his family as well.”

It's so much the remarks, but the timing. I'm not sure you typically see similar defendant's families getting this type of consideration in a bond hearing. Maybe I'm wrong though.

[OL FU]

I'm just a dumb southern boy. you will have to explain. and I didn't hear the first judges remarks just the one that let the victims family speak.

Hey now, I was showing understanding you redneck hick!

“We have victims, nine of them, but we also have victims on the other side,” Chief Magistrate James Gosnell Jr. said as suspect Dylann Roof appeared remotely via videoconference. “There are victims on this young man’s side of the family. Nobody would have ever thrown them into the whirlwind of events that they have been thrown into. We must find it in our hearts at some point in time not only to help those that are victims but also to help his family as well.”

It's so much the remarks, but the timing. I'm not sure you typically see similar defendant's families getting this type of consideration in a bond hearing. Maybe I'm wrong though.

I think I see where he was coming from, but yeah, I agree. It is wonderful for the victims family to show that type of regard. not so much the Chief Magistrate. But, the point is, SC is better, but it ain't perfect.

[kalm]

Guys like Earl Holt probably don't help the cause either.

A series of racist statements have been posted over the past four years to the website of The Blaze, a conservative news outlet, by a user going by Holt’s full name, Earl P Holt III. The user referred to Longview, Texas – which is where Holt lives – as his hometown. A commenter using the same screen name on various other news websites has identified himself as a member of the CofCC.

Jared Taylor, a close associate of Holt and former director of the CofCC, who said Holt had asked him to handle media inquiries relating to the massacre, said in an interview: “If there’s a statement that is ‘Earl P Holt III’, he probably made it.”

Several of the comments referred to black people as “Africanus Criminalis”, a faux-Latin label also used in an online message for which Holt reportedly apologised in 2004. Holt, then a radio host in Missouri, referred to black people as “niggers” five times in the message.

In June 2012 the poster “Earl P Holt III” stated that he had bought and become proficient in “a great many weapons” to ensure that being white did not “get me murdered” by non-white people. Two months earlier the same user responded to an article about the New Black Panther Party with a request for advice on buying ammunition “Does anyone know where I can get 180 grain .308 NATO rounds with a polymer tip?,” he wrote.

Under a February 2014 article, the same user warned other readers that black activists would “kill you, rape your entire family, and burn your house to the ground”. According to an account of a report by a witness, Roof complained to his victims in Charleston last week: “You rape our women.”

One comment said of black people: “One can extricate them from the jungle, but one CANNOT purge the jungle from THEM”, while another said: “I do wish they’d keep their violence and savagery within their own communities”.

The commenter using Holt’s name also complained under a story about white privilege about his taxes being distributed “to every baby-daddy, baby-momma, welfare cheat, drug-dealer, Oprah-watcher, felon, alcoholic, drug-addict and deadbeat in America”.

Holt has also distributed tens of thousands in campaign contributions among prominent Republicans in congress, such as Representative Steve King of Iowa ($2,000), Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas ($1,500) and Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona ($1,000). He also gave $3,200 to the former Minnesota congresswoman and presidential candidate Michele Bachmann.

Flake’s office said the senator was donating the contribution to the victims’ family fund.

Current members of congress, state officials, or candidates who received campaign contributions from Earl Holt, president of Council of Conservative Citizens, according to FEC and state filings:

Senator Ted Cruz of Texas* – $8,500 – donating to Charleston church fund

Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin – $3,500 – donating to charity

Governor Greg Abbott of Texas – $3,000 – donating to Salvation Army in Austin

Representative Steve King of Iowa – $2,500

Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska – $2,000

Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky* – $1,750 – donating to Charleston church fund

Former Senator Rick Santorum – $1,500 – donating to Charleston church fund

Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas – $1,500

Representative Louie Gohmert of Texas* – $1,250

Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin – $1,250

Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa – $1,000

Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona – $1,000

Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina – $1,000

Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana – $1,000

Representative Mia Love of Utah – $1,000 – returning contributions

Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin* – $1,000

State representative David Simpson of Texas – $750

Representative Thomas Emmer of Minnesota – $500

Senator Dean Heller of Nevada – $500

Senator Jim Risch of Idaho – $500

Representative Kenneth Buck of Colorado – $500

Senator Rob Portman of Ohio – $250 – donating to Charleston church fund

Representative Mark Sanford of South Carolina – $250

State representative Matthew Schaefer of Texas – $250

*Total includes contributions to candidate’s leadership Pac

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015 ... epublicans" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[OL FU]

Guys like Earl Holt probably don't help the cause either.

A series of racist statements have been posted over the past four years to the website of The Blaze, a conservative news outlet, by a user going by Holt’s full name, Earl P Holt III. The user referred to Longview, Texas – which is where Holt lives – as his hometown. A commenter using the same screen name on various other news websites has identified himself as a member of the CofCC.

Jared Taylor, a close associate of Holt and former director of the CofCC, who said Holt had asked him to handle media inquiries relating to the massacre, said in an interview: “If there’s a statement that is ‘Earl P Holt III’, he probably made it.”

Several of the comments referred to black people as “Africanus Criminalis”, a faux-Latin label also used in an online message for which Holt reportedly apologised in 2004. Holt, then a radio host in Missouri, referred to black people as “niggers” five times in the message.

In June 2012 the poster “Earl P Holt III” stated that he had bought and become proficient in “a great many weapons” to ensure that being white did not “get me murdered” by non-white people. Two months earlier the same user responded to an article about the New Black Panther Party with a request for advice on buying ammunition “Does anyone know where I can get 180 grain .308 NATO rounds with a polymer tip?,” he wrote.

Under a February 2014 article, the same user warned other readers that black activists would “kill you, rape your entire family, and burn your house to the ground”. According to an account of a report by a witness, Roof complained to his victims in Charleston last week: “You rape our women.”

One comment said of black people: “One can extricate them from the jungle, but one CANNOT purge the jungle from THEM”, while another said: “I do wish they’d keep their violence and savagery within their own communities”.

The commenter using Holt’s name also complained under a story about white privilege about his taxes being distributed “to every baby-daddy, baby-momma, welfare cheat, drug-dealer, Oprah-watcher, felon, alcoholic, drug-addict and deadbeat in America”.

Holt has also distributed tens of thousands in campaign contributions among prominent Republicans in congress, such as Representative Steve King of Iowa ($2,000), Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas ($1,500) and Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona ($1,000). He also gave $3,200 to the former Minnesota congresswoman and presidential candidate Michele Bachmann.

Flake’s office said the senator was donating the contribution to the victims’ family fund.

Current members of congress, state officials, or candidates who received campaign contributions from Earl Holt, president of Council of Conservative Citizens, according to FEC and state filings:

Senator Ted Cruz of Texas* – $8,500 – donating to Charleston church fund

Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin – $3,500 – donating to charity

Governor Greg Abbott of Texas – $3,000 – donating to Salvation Army in Austin

Representative Steve King of Iowa – $2,500

Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska – $2,000

Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky* – $1,750 – donating to Charleston church fund

Former Senator Rick Santorum – $1,500 – donating to Charleston church fund

Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas – $1,500

Representative Louie Gohmert of Texas* – $1,250

Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin – $1,250

Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa – $1,000

Senator Jeff Flake of Arizona – $1,000

Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina – $1,000

Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana – $1,000

Representative Mia Love of Utah – $1,000 – returning contributions

Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin* – $1,000

State representative David Simpson of Texas – $750

Representative Thomas Emmer of Minnesota – $500

Senator Dean Heller of Nevada – $500

Senator Jim Risch of Idaho – $500

Representative Kenneth Buck of Colorado – $500

Senator Rob Portman of Ohio – $250 – donating to Charleston church fund

Representative Mark Sanford of South Carolina – $250

State representative Matthew Schaefer of Texas – $250

*Total includes contributions to candidate’s leadership Pac

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015 ... epublicans" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

He's from Texas, not my problem

Year's ago I used to travel the US extensively. I can't make the comment today because I haven't traveled like that in 15 years. But the one conclusion I came away with was that where it counted, my hometown was much less discriminatory than many northern cites and that is in jobs. The Northwest and the west don't fall into this category. Neither did NYC, But the two worst offenders were Chicago and Boston. There were other cities that did as well but no point in naming them all.

If I walked into an office in the year 2000 in Greenville, the odds were pretty good that I would see a diverse work force. It wouldn't necessarily match the population, but it would be diverse. When I walked into an office in Chicago or Boston, the only black people I saw were sweeping the floors. Now like I said that was 15 years ago, but I guaranty you SC's reputation was worse back then.

The biggest problem the south had with its discrimination was, it didn't hide it. Still have that problem with some folks today. Of course that problem is exactly why the civil rights movement was so effective in the south. It is much easier to fight wrongs that are not only out in the open but established by law. So the South's biggest flaw actually aided in its bigger acheivements.

But like I said, and like the President said earlier. The issue isn't over. In fact the toughest part of the battle is now where racism is more hidden and entrenched.

[Chizzang]

Year's ago I used to travel the US extensively. I can't make the comment today because I haven't traveled like that in 15 years. But the one conclusion I came away with was that where it counted, my hometown was much less discriminatory than many northern cites and that is in jobs. The Northwest and the west don't fall into this category. Neither did NYC, But the two worst offenders were Chicago and Boston. There were other cities that did as well but no point in naming them all.

If I walked into an office in the year 2000 in Greenville, the odds were pretty good that I would see a diverse work force. It wouldn't necessarily match the population, but it would be diverse. When I walked into an office in Chicago or Boston, the only black people I saw were sweeping the floors. Now like I said that was 15 years ago, but I guaranty you SC's reputation was worse back then.

The biggest problem the south had with its discrimination was, it didn't hide it. Still have that problem with some folks today. Of course that problem is exactly why the civil rights movement was so effective in the south. It is much easier to fight wrongs that are not only out in the open but established by law. So the South's biggest flaw actually aided in its bigger acheivements.

But like I said, and like the President said earlier. The issue isn't over. In fact the toughest part of the battle is now where racism is more hidden and entrenched.

This ^

Racism is pretty much everywhere, we just like to pretend its a southern problem
There is no culture more racist than the Chinese - just ask anybody who lives in San Francisco
Its so over the top and overtly on display its almost comical

In Seattle the Japanese tend to be extremely racist against the Thai and Korean communities
and on and on it goes....

Racism isn't a black and white thing in America (Unless you're in Boston, then it is)

[Ibanez]

Another thing, defacing public property isn't going to help your cause. Someone is defacing confederate memorials and now a statue of Calhoun. Removing these, the flags or renaming streets won't do a thing to stop racism or change any mindsets/ideals. It just makes you feel warm and fuzzy.

[Ibanez]

Year's ago I used to travel the US extensively. I can't make the comment today because I haven't traveled like that in 15 years. But the one conclusion I came away with was that where it counted, my hometown was much less discriminatory than many northern cites and that is in jobs. The Northwest and the west don't fall into this category. Neither did NYC, But the two worst offenders were Chicago and Boston. There were other cities that did as well but no point in naming them all.

If I walked into an office in the year 2000 in Greenville, the odds were pretty good that I would see a diverse work force. It wouldn't necessarily match the population, but it would be diverse. When I walked into an office in Chicago or Boston, the only black people I saw were sweeping the floors. Now like I said that was 15 years ago, but I guaranty you SC's reputation was worse back then.

The biggest problem the south had with its discrimination was, it didn't hide it. Still have that problem with some folks today. Of course that problem is exactly why the civil rights movement was so effective in the south. It is much easier to fight wrongs that are not only out in the open but established by law. So the South's biggest flaw actually aided in its bigger acheivements.

But like I said, and like the President said earlier. The issue isn't over. In fact the toughest part of the battle is now where racism is more hidden and entrenched.

This ^

Racism is pretty much everywhere, we just like to pretend its a southern problem
There is no culture more racist than the Chinese - just ask anybody who lives in San Francisco
Its so over the top and overtly on display its almost comical

In Seattle the Japanese tend to be extremely racist against the Thai and Korean communities
and on and on it goes....

Racism isn't a black and white thing in America (Unless you're in Boston, then it is)

I'll never forget being in college and hearing these guys from New York state dropping the n-word and then saying, " I thought it was ok to say that down here." Morons.