As usual, poorcated Americans are once again reacting emotionally to something with little or no historical background or truth,
The recent rush to ban the Confederate flag and remove it from public spaces (and even cop underwear) is founded on profound ignorance fed by media numbnuts who know even less than us normal folks. Because a confused and drug-addled (pharma, not illegal) young man entered a South Carolina church and killed some people - also based on a profound ignorance of history - the US is in an orgasm of symbol destruction.
For the many readers here who are not Americans, a little background.
From 1860-1865, the United States became embroiled in a civil war, commonly called (by educated people) the War of Northern Aggression. The northern and southern tiers of States broke apart and drew a line, called Mason-Dixon, because there were some fundamental differences in cultures and politics.
At that time, the north was increasingly becoming industrialized, while the south was largely agrarian. The US Congress was dominated by representatives from the north, because numbers were based on population, and the north had quite a few more voting folks than the south. This led to piles of legislation in the Congressional pipeline that favored the north at the expense of the south.
The south was being heavily taxed without ample representation, and the federal government was increasingly dictating to the southern States in violation of the Tenth Amendment protecting States' Rights.
The north was also getting filthy rich on finished manufactured products using raw materials produced in the south, but naturally were crushing prices for the raw materials to increase profits. I know, hard to imagine, but Yankee financiers were getting fat while heavily manipulating the prices of things like cotton and other agricultural products.
Tempers flared. Things got out of hand. The south dared to develop other markets and cut off supplies to the north. The north got bend out of shape and blockaded southern ports. Shots were fired. A war started.
Now you may notice that, among the reasons for the war, slavery was not one of them. In fact, slavery was still common on both sides of the Mason-Dixon line, but the importation of slaves had already stopped and the institution itself was slowly fading out. Texas had banned the slave trade (though it still allowed slave owners to bring their property from outside). The south was a bit slower, because of the manpower needed to run the large plantations, but the north was benefiting from the products of slavery as much or more than the south.
The Confederate flag, therefore, was not a symbol of racism and slavery, it was a symbol of States' Rights, anti-federalism and opposition to the undue power of international bankers and financial interests.
In other words, the Confederate flag represents the right to self-rule, free and open markets, and decentralized government. It also represents the economic truism that production should always be more powerful than finance.
When you look at the history behind the symbol, in fact, it becomes apparent who wants to ban the Confederate flag and why. The modern slave owners - bankers and fascist governments - don't want anyone thinking about why hundreds of thousands of Americans die defending their way of life from Yankee carpetbaggers.
In addition, it's important to remember that not one single slave was ever brought to North America under the Confederate flag. Nearly every single slave was imported under the British and US flags. In fact, some of the largest slave markets, even at the time of the War of Northern Aggression, were north of the Mason-Dixon line.
One other bit of information educated people should keep in mind: it was the US Democratic Party that introduced the pro-slavery Dredd Scott legislation. If you are one of those poor, mind-controlled victims who still vote, and you choose the Democratic candidates, then you are supporting the party that vehemently defended slavery.
If you argue that the Democrats no longer believe that way, then you would obviously vote for the Nazi party, as well. And if the Democrats no longer support slavery, then why did it create the Federal Reserve, the income tax, Social Security, and Obamacare. Yup, even today, you are supporting slavery - only now it's for everyone and not just a certain class of folks.
So, if you are a real, educated person, then you would not only celebrate the Confederate flag, but would move immediately to ban the British and US flags, and declare the Democratic Party an enemy of the state and freedom.
By the way, in 1860, the people of Texas voted 4-1 to secede from the US and once again become a free and separate nation. It never joined the Confederacy, but remained neutral with sympathies to the South. At the end of the war, Texas was taken by force by federal troops and has never been a legal "state" since then. All educated people know that.