Following the shooting in Charleston, South Carolina there's been a large debate about where or even if the confederate flag needs to be taken down across the country. Currently the flag has been removed or is in process of possibly being removed from the Alabama Statehouse grounds, on the Mississippi state flag, in the hallways of the Kentucky Statehouse, on the UNLV sports field, and on license plates in Georgia and Virginia. As of today, the flag is still flying above the South Carolina statehouse, but is in talks of being taken down. One major piece of information being left out of the debate is that this particular version of the confederate flag was never the official flag of the confederacy, and didn't begin climbing in popularity until the 1950's and 60s, around the same time that civil rights began taking off. It was in 1948 that the segregationist Dixiecrat party adopted the flag as a symbol of resistance to the federal government.
Following this controversial debate, where you have people saying it's a symbol of racism and hatred and the other side saying that removing it is an attack on freedom of speech, Sean Hannity said that if the confederate flag is banned, rap music should also be banned. Hannity went on record saying, "A lot of the music by those artists is chock full of the n-word and the b-word and the h-word, and racist, misogynist, sexist anti-woman slurs none of those retail executives would be caught dead using."
What Hannity fails to mention is the rap music coming out today and even the old school rap that's still popular, made a statement on the social climate as well as the troubles within the black community and music community alike. He fails to mention that the use of these words, to many people, is a way of removing the oppressive power that they hold. Whereas the current Confederate flag being flown over state houses and sports fields may hold more negativity than a word people are slowly becoming desensitized to. Specifically, he leaves out how this particular version of the flag, was flown for the exact reason to promote racial segregation and not freedom of speech or pride in the history of the South.
This debate has been happening for years, but in light of the Charleston shooting, it's gained new life and how this debate ends, could potentially shape the future of how people view life in the South.
By Devon Pyne for RAPstation.com
Confederate flag debate heats up
Following the shooting in Charleston, South Carolina there's been a large debate about where or even if the confederate flag needs to be taken down across the country. Currently the flag has been removed or is in process of possibly being removed from the Alabama Statehouse grounds, on the Mississippi state flag, in the hallways of the Kentucky Statehouse, on the UNLV sports field, and on license plates in Georgia and Virginia. As of today, the flag is still flying above the South Carolina statehouse, but is in talks of being taken down. One major piece of information being left out of the debate is that this particular version of the confederate flag was never the official flag of the confederacy, and didn't begin climbing in popularity until the 1950's and 60s, around the same time that civil rights began taking off. It was in 1948 that the segregationist Dixiecrat party adopted the flag as a symbol of resistance to the federal government.
Following this controversial debate, where you have people saying it's a symbol of racism and hatred and the other side saying that removing it is an attack on freedom of speech, Sean Hannity said that if the confederate flag is banned, rap music should also be banned. Hannity went on record saying, "A lot of the music by those artists is chock full of the n-word and the b-word and the h-word, and racist, misogynist, sexist anti-woman slurs none of those retail executives would be caught dead using."
What Hannity fails to mention is the rap music coming out today and even the old school rap that's still popular, made a statement on the social climate as well as the troubles within the black community and music community alike. He fails to mention that the use of these words, to many people, is a way of removing the oppressive power that they hold. Whereas the current Confederate flag being flown over state houses and sports fields may hold more negativity than a word people are slowly becoming desensitized to. Specifically, he leaves out how this particular version of the flag, was flown for the exact reason to promote racial segregation and not freedom of speech or pride in the history of the South.
This debate has been happening for years, but in light of the Charleston shooting, it's gained new life and how this debate ends, could potentially shape the future of how people view life in the South.
By Devon Pyne for RAPstation.com
