In light of the tragic Charleston church shooting, there has been a lot of talk about mental health, gun control, and the death penalty. One place the conversation went that I don't think anyone thought it would go was to the confederate flag. When all other flags were lowered to half mast after the tragic shooting byDylan Roof, the stars and bars still were flying tall over the capital. The act of the flag waving over the city after a horrific shooting spree left citizens outraged.

Since the shooting, we have seen many people argue over the flag for its connection to racism, hate crimes, and organizations like the KKK. There is also a group of people stating the flag is a symbol of Southern pride and how it is part of our heritage. I think both groups have a valid point on issue that is a very complex. The flag has been a part of southern tradition since the creation and it is still part of the Mississippi state flag.

Since I was born and raised in the south, I have grown up around the flag. In fact, I had a small confederate flag hung up in my room as a child, a gift from my grandfather. To me the flag was never a symbol of hate, and I never used it as such. I saw it as a Southern pride symbol, used to express my simple roots. Growing up, I thought the flag expressed Southern traditions of barefoot, sweet tea drinking, home-fashion-Southern lifestyle. That being said, that isn't the case for a majority of Americans. The flag for a majority of Americans can be traced to a different southern tradition: racism.

The confederate flag has been flown at Ku Klux Klan rallies and flown by people that have committed hate crimes based off race, religion, and creed. The flag was also flown by the Confederate Army that attempted to secede from the Union, and fight for the right to own slaves. This flag is connected to one of the darkest and saddest parts of American history. So what is the government to do? Should they ban the flag like Germany banned the Swastika? Should they continue to fly it?

These are only some questions that have been making their rounds around the Internet, but I think we can agree on some simple things. The flag is connected to some not-so-good times in our history... but freedom of speech is a thing. I think that it's great that companies like Walmart and Amazon have decided to stop selling the flag and anything associated with the flag, but I think people are missing the point of the anger. The anger wasn't at the flag itself, but the fact it was flying over the capital 150 years after the war. People, like myself, are confused why a flag that was an enemy of the state was flying over a city in the Union.

It is an extension of the freedom of speech to fly the confederate flag and wear it if you choose, but we can agree that a flag that is used as a symbol to oppress groups of people and was an enemy of ours, should not be flown over a city in the United States. I have pride in the way I was raised, but that flag doesn't describe me or the Southern values I was raised with. That flag is connected to the idea you can own a person, that racism is okay, and that hatred should be accepted. To see this flag being taken down brings me joy, for the simple fact that a symbol of hate will not be accepted.