'Dying for Dixie'

I recently read a chapter out of Tony Horwitz’s book, ‘Confederates in the Attic’, in which a young white man is killed by a several young black males, showing that the Civil War is still alive in some parts of the country. The root cause of Michael Westerman’s death was the Confederate Flag. It was in the Civil War that the Confederate Flag flew, and it was through different interpretations of this symbol that Westerman was killed.

Michael Westerman died by being shot, after displaying a Confederate Flag on his truck. The town he lived in, Guthrie, already had racial divisions prior to his death, which just escalated afterwards. One side of the argument over the flag is that it is a symbol of pride. The town’s high school mascot is the rebel, whose logo is two flag-waving confederates. When there was a movement to change the mascot to something else, in order to ease racial tension, there was a huge uproar. During a school-board meeting on the subject, white woman after white woman protested that their children’s rights were being taken away through equality, and that their mascot was a representation of a proud history (even though their area hadn’t even been confederates). To them, the flag stood as a sign of rebellion in general, not as a flag of the Civil War. They feel that they are being the ones discriminated against, although they are the majority and had the same rights before as they do now, and that the flag is a symbol of stopping oppression.

The other side of the argument is that the Flag is a sign of defending slavery and what went on during that time, as a racist symbol of the past. The simple sight of the flag on the back of Michael Westerman’s truck led to the three boys to shooting and killing him. Black families attending the afore-mentioned meeting felt as if they should have a say in their children’s school mascot – a mascot that stands for the pro-slavery south of the Civil War. To them, the Confederate Flag is “a way of saying what white people have kept bottled up”.

Michael ‘s views on the subject changed based on who you asked. His wife stated that he only sported the Confederate Flag because his friends had done so and he thought it looked sharp. On the other hand, his father made it out as is he had died for the Confederate cause, while others still, such as past coworkers, described him as a racist bully.

Between the two stark views, as well as Michael’s muddled ones, there are many different views and interpretations of the Confederate Flag. People take it for what they want to take it, whether as a sign of rebellion or a sign of slavery. The many interpretations are what led to Michael Westerman dying, as well as the racial differences in the town of Guthrie. Although other things may have contributed, the root cause of both events was the Confederate Flag.