The issue of the purple and gold Confederate flag has, cropped up again. The same arguments have been spoken, its supporters call it a symbol of their heritage and a part of their past, and its opponents see it as a symbol of a past mired in bondage, lynching and oppression.
We take neither side, as our board is as divided on the issue as the rest of campus. We take a stand on two separate, yet equally important aspects of the situation. In sum, the flag should not be banned on the grounds that it is free speech, but that those flying the flag ought to take a long hard look at themselves and the reasons they fly it.
The recent call for the removal of the flag from campus by LSU’s chapter of the NAACP is simply impossible on many levels. The first, and most important of which, is that a ban would violate the right to free speech guaranteed to Americans by the First Amendment. In a nation where individuals may burn the nation’s flag, the right to hang a controversial symbol is similarly upheld.
Just because speech is upsetting to one group of people, in this case, an activist-based organization, does not mean that it should be banished from the grounds of our University.
The other reason why a ban is not the right move, besides grave constitutional issues, is that it would be ineffective and merely a cosmetic attack on bigotry. Racism, what the flag means to some, will not be purged by exiling this variation of the military flag for the Confederacy from our ground of tents and kegs. No, racism and bigotry, the demons of the human heart, can only be fought by pushing a greater understanding and education of how others live and the long walk of life itself.
To those who choose to fly this flag, let us be clear; many, if not a majority of this campus does not see things the way you do. Your flying of a flag is seen as a symbol of a backwardness at best, of bitter racial hatred at worst.
It is impossible for passers-by to know what it is you think or feel, we only see a flag. You may believe the flag is a part of your ancestors history, or a symbol merely of the place and ways you grew up. Or the reason could be a more murkier one – hatred of others and a longing for a return of white supremacy. We simply have no way of knowing.
Our only advice to either side is to stop and think for a while. Remember the things we all, as students at LSU have in common: a fine and wonderful University which grew in troubled times; our forbearers, regardless of color, who tried as best as they could to build this state, and finally, like it or not, the fact that our rights as citizens cut both ways – we are free to disagree.
We suspect that the argument will never end. Even so, we hope that both sides see the common hopes of the other and that someday, regardless of our views, ancestors or way of life, a separate peace can be made.