> Growing up in the south the flag is used as an regional identification and lifestyle pride. I'm sure plenty of people believe this and it's why they choose t

> Growing up in the south the flag is used as an regional identification and lifestyle pride. I'm sure plenty of people believe this and it's why they choose to display it. It remains true it's display dramatically increased in response to the civil rights movement. It also remains true that the symbol they have chosen as a symbol of their "regional identification and lifestyle pride" is directly lifted from a group that fought a war of rebellion in order to continue their traditions of racism and slavery. That's a simple historical fact. The flag wasn't "taken over" by a race hate group. It was CREATED by a race hate group. Some may wish to take it back and use it for non-hateful purposes, but that's not an easy thing to do, and they have yet to succeed in divorcing it from it's original meaning.