Militant Ethnic Nationalism, Be Forever Gone. E Pluribus Unum

A nonwhite Sikh woman, daughter of immigrants and daughter of the South, made the right call concerning the Confederate flag.

By Sidney O. Smith III

Governor Nimarata Nikki Randhawa Haley of South Carolina made the right decision to support lowering the Confederate flag now located on the grounds of the State Capitol.  And she did so under the authority of the official State Flag of South Carolina, ranked as one of the 10 best designed State flags in the country.  That State flag better reflects the spirit of the people of Charleston, South Carolina, especially following the horrendous massacre of nine Christian martyrs at Emanuel AME on June 17, 2015.

First elected in 2010, the people of South Carolina chose as their governor an Indian woman who was born and raised a Sikh.  According to Wiki, her parents are immigrants from the Amritsar District of India and moved to a small Southern town – Bamberg, South Carolina.   

I am hopeful and, increasingly, confident they will support her decision because it appears to have helped with the suffering and grieving in Charleston, and whatever the people of Charleston want, I want.  From all those tears, we have seen in Charleston – genuine tears, not political tears -- something beautiful has sprung to life, if you care to look.  And Charleston is known as the heart of the Deep South as well as for Southern class.

                     

I mention for a reason that Governor Haley is nonwhite, daughter of immigrants, and was raised a Sikh.  The fact that the people of South Carolina elected her, perhaps, tells you more about the people of South Carolina and changes in the South than a few in the mainstream media would like to admit or recognize, as it challenges the perceptions upon which they have profited for so long. 

But first, an admission: I know next to nothing about her politics.  I consider myself a “one issue” person.  My interest is US foreign policy and, more specifically, how certain

historical themes of the South could help prevent the rise of a tyrannical national police state, which I oppose.  At this point in my life, I simply do not spend much time reviewing domestic issues, such as gay marriage, healthcare, transgender issues, and so on.  But I disagree strongly with her friend, Senator Lindsey Graham, meaning I have voted for President Obama twice (and I am open to voting for Bernie Sanders if he represents the best chance of disrupting the DC narrative concerning our US foreign policy). 

With those caveats out of the way, I was moved when I saw Governor Haley break down in tears during the press conference a few hours after the Roof massacre at Emanuel AME.   Her grief was genuine.  So, in that instance, Governor Haley, elected as the leader of the South Carolina government, was speaking on behalf of all South Carolinians.  That, to me, carries symbolic significance.

                       

This, after all, is South Carolina, not Berkeley, California -- a place and State I like very much (love Lake Merritt nearby in Oakland) – except when a few in Berkeley might say that South Carolinians would never elect a woman and never a nonwhite, and they would kill a Sikh, because all Southern whites are innately prejudiced, xenophobic, and will never change.  In other words, the South is synonymous with militant ethnic nationalism based on religion and land and not E Pluribus Unum.  But they seem to have repressed the fact that Virginia elected an African American, Douglas Wilder, in 1989.  No African American has been elected governor in California, and let’s not forget the history that gave us Chinatown across the Bay, much less the 1992 Los Angeles riots.

Regardless, the reasoning underlying her decision is very consistent with something the native Mississippian and Civil War writer, Shelby Foote, said years ago.  If I remember correctly in a statement made long ago by Col. Patrick Lang at Sic Semper Tyrannis,  Foote said or wrote, “They have stolen our flag.” The “flag” refers to the battle flag of the Army of Northern Virginia.  “They” refers to the people – who in this day and age probably are just as likely not to be from the South – who have refused to recognize the dignity and spirituality of people of color, mainly black.  They have hated Catholics and Jews in a similar vein.  (Sikhs too, I would think). And they often justify this stance with references to religion and land. 

The State of Georgia (my home State) pointed out years ago that the Confederate flag, particularly during the fight over segregation in the 20^th century, became associated with hate groups.  These groups (basically the 20^th century incarnation of the KKK) were driven by a virulent form of militant ethnic nationalism.  Moreover, the Confederate flag became associated with State legislatures (prior to Baker v. Carr, one person, one vote) trying to maintain de jure segregation of blacks and whites   As a result, Georgia changed its State flag that had flown roughly from 1956 to 2001.

Georgia made the right move.  It is undeniable that, historically, the flag, increasingly, became disconnected from memorializing the code of honor and leadership among the officers of the Army of Northern Virginia, the sacrificial heroism of that Army, as well as  honoring the Confederate war dead.   Moreover, the flag no longer  represented a thematic chord of Southern history – an historical theme that people continually debate as to whether or not it played a predominate role in Southern history. This historical theme is the Jeffersonian opposition to a tyrannical central government, including an emphasis on State’s rights to fight tyranny, as well as Jefferson’s belief in limited foreign military entanglements.  

Of course, last Wednesday (June 17, 2015), no words became more prophetic than those of Shelby Foote, as the most pitiful Roof murdered nine African Americans in a beautiful and sacred place of worship – Emanuel  AME.  He did so driven by a type of unfathomable racist craziness, one week after drinking, actually getting drunk, with a Southern black friend in a small Southern town.  Make no mistake, by Roof’s decision to have photos taken of himself together with the “Confederate flag” and then to drive to Charleston and pull the trigger in a sacred place, Foote’s prophecy was totally fulfilled beyond any reasonable doubt. 

Since then, every thread of that flag is now associated with the horrendous deeds of Dylann Roof.   In the public conscience, the flag now goes well beyond associations with the racist acts and bigotry during the fights over segregation.  It now is woven into the kind of madness seen at Sandy Hook and Columbine, which hurtles one into a state of complete and, literally sickening, revulsion.   

This massacre at Emanuel AME is an event with enormous power, one of the most evil acts in my lifetime.   The sheer magnitude of the suffering it has engendered, particularly among the family of the victims, the other parishioners of the church, and the people of Charleston simply overwhelms the mind.

And, yes, I see them as Christian martyrs because Emanuel AME is steeped in the spiritual tradition of Martin Luther King, Jr..  Martin Luther King, Jr. was a Southerner as well. In fact, he took one look at the race relations in Chicago in the 1960’s and got out of there.  He spoke of unity in the South over division, based on the content of one’s character. And MLK’s spirituality and tradition, over the decades, has helped make the South remain a unique place.

But Roof’s evil act has the potential to become a Pandora’s box of evil. In my opinion, there are several evil dimensions of this event that could potentially unfold, none of which would be good for this country.  And it only takes one person who has a tendency towards delusional compulsion and another tragedy is upon us.

 But, since my focus is on foreign policy and how certain Southern historical trends are related to foreign policy, I want to just mention two.  One, while the following may not happen, keep an eye out for any attempt to use this tragic event as a pretext to overthrow the Jeffersonian view that has helped safeguard the rise of a national surveillance state, which sometimes falls under the name “tyranny”.  There are unique Jeffersonian symbols in the South – including many related to the “war” – that reflect this chord of history, although I am not sure how many people even know about them.  

And two, on a more practical level, please remain aware that the mainstream media may label any Southern white a “racist” who opposes the status quo in our foreign policy.  It happened prior to the Roof massacre when Jimmy Carter (of all people on planet earth) was blasted a racist for mentioning the threat of apartheid in Israel, which now is an accepted fact.  And subsequent to the Roof massacre, the mainstream media has already started casting Jim Webb in that light. Jim Webb – who is not a racist and, in fact, is a very good and honorable man -- has opposed the warmongering policies of the neo-conservatives and neo-liberals, none of whom, at least that I am aware of, know the horror of war like Jim Webb. So, depending on the political winds, expect to see those who desire to see the rise of a tyranny and endless wars abroad to attack him as a Southern racist, instead of a Southern Jeffersonian.   It is a story worth following, because Jim Webb is speaking from his heart.

This kind of labeling is a very old strategy deeply woven into the American consciousness. It works because it sidelines the issue, including the one of whether or not the federal government has become too large and potentially tyrannical. 

And there is another angle that will have to be explored at some point.  Blacks increasingly appear fond of living in the South, including the Deep South.  The South now is one of the most racially diverse regions in the US (maybe the most, but I have not researched it) with all shades of people.  Everywhere you look in the South, including in small Southern towns, you will see genuine inter-racial and culturally diverse friendships as well as inter-racial dating and marriages.  

If you are a white ethnic nationalist, the South is the last region in the US you want to be, as it does not reflect Southern reality, circa 2015.  But this evolution of Southern culture is not a Marxist experiment.  It’s a Southern experiment based upon a unique and evolving Southern history, at least according to my Southern father who died on July 14, 2012.

As I may try to explain in greater detail later, my father was a federal judge in Atlanta and north Georgia during the last phase of the civil rights era, roughly ’65 to ’75.  I can say with a very high degree of certainty – actually with mathematical certainty – that “back then”, the militant ethnic nationalists who were flying the Confederate flag deeply hated my father’s decisions concerning race, among other issues.   Quite frankly, it was not an altogether pleasant time.

My father had a deep love for his native South that he expressed in public service,  but a few (not all) who were waving the Confederate flag vehemently opposed his decisions.  But my father was confident that the Southern people were much better than often portrayed.

All of this lead to a clash of symbols for me, and I had to struggle with this “cognitive dissonance”, particularly when I was a child.   To be honest with you,  I thought this cognitive dissonance had ended long ago – during the time of the early Allman Brothers, at least in Georgia.   At that time, many Southern whites associated Southern symbols (even the flag) with a triumph of integration, particularly as expressed in Southern music.    But here we are again, all these years later.

And, for reasons I may share (not sure yet because I do not know if he would want me to), my father instilled in me at a very early age what I will summarize as the following: beware of militant ethnic nationalists carrying out violent acts, particularly under the banner of the Confederate flag.  During the fight over segregation, these people greatly damaged the South (and desecrated the code of honor among the officers of the Army of Northern Virginia) and by doing so, they have undermined the more admirable traits of Southern culture, from the genius of Jefferson to the Southern class of Charleston.

With that in mind, for now, the focus should remain on the people of Charleston.  If you look closely enough and go beyond all the political noise, which is only going to increase, what is unfolding in Charleston is not as much a political event as a “human” event that resonates religiously because it all starts at Emanuel AME. 

So, any type of healing must start with the people of Charleston and, if given a chance, that aspect of the experience of the South will spread outward, perhaps changing this nation for the better.  But, again, you will have to look beyond the frenzy among the mainstream media.  I suggest following the story at the Pulitzer Prize winning Charleston Post and Courier.  Their coverage will help you see the soul of the South.

And when I see all the grieving that is coming from the people of Charleston, I cannot help but think the people of South Carolina are a bit more open to change than many in the mainstream media would have you believe.   I cannot tell you when it will happen – and do not laugh – but at some point the people of South Carolina may even elect as governor someone who symbolizes the opposite of white ethnic nationalism.  Say, for example, a nonwhite woman who was raised a Sikh and is the daughter of immigrants from India who moved to a small Southern town. 

                       

The author has occasionally commented under the name “Johnny Reims” at Sic Semper Tyrannis. His primary focus is on the impact of US foreign policy, not the South.  But he knows the South and her people.

Comments

[William R. Cumming]

Thanks SOS for this wonderful post!

[John]

Wisely and eloquently expressed.
It might be useful for people to look again at the picture of Dylann Roof squatting and spitting on the US flag. Hard to find as the Google Borg doesn't make it too accessible.
And look at Sikh history to get a feel for what it's like to be on the receiving end of militant ethnic nationalism and religious craziness for hundreds of years.
I disagree with a lot of Nikki Haley's US politics, but I'm confident her tears were real and came a little from the suffering of the Sikhs in the melting pot of North India.

[Tyler]

This is a lot of clever sophistry to disguise the fact that while the Confederate flag is the worst thing in the world, the same people screaming their heads off about it have no problem with supporting cop killer Mumuia, Che Guevara, or wearing Communist iconography. These people will not stop wearing those things or stop celebrating what they represent. They will not respect you because of an article like this. All they want is your defeat and total humiliation, and you seem more than willing to give it to them.

This is a battle of ideas, and all you are doing with this sort of pablum is showing your willingness to lose as long as you get to lose feeling morally superior about it.

Have fun with that.

[LeaNder]

If I may show my "narcisstic nationalist elements" although there is no evidence for my suspicion at least as far as Bamberg is concerned, could the founders origin be here?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bamberg

Anyway: Sidney O. Smith III, glad to see you up there. You were more rare recently even in the comment section.

[Tyler]

Furthermore, this kind of thinking just legitimizes the kind of crap the Left spews out on a daily basis. You think the other side is ever going to admit that Stalin killed more than Hitler, that communism was a failure that murdered millions, that they're ever going to turn Critical Theory back on their own icons? Hell no.

It's like Lenin said: "Who will do what to whom?" They don't have a problem with people who've done off things in the past, its just that they don't like it when YOU celebrate your heroes and their accomplishments.

More of the "let us lose with nobility" instinct while the other side rampages. This isn't so much an argument as much as it is moral preening so everyone can see how 'good' you are.

[Johnny Reims]

WRC and John
Thank you very much. And John, I agree. So incredibly complicated and I have not a clue what lies ahead. Again, thanks. Sid

[Tyler]

Meanwhile in Novorussia:

http://noelmaurer.typepad.com/.a/6a00e3933590d5883401a73dee27cb970d-800wi

[David Habakkuk]

Sidney O. Smith III,

Very good to see you back here on SST, writing under your own name.

[steve]

Thanks for this. You are correct that the South is a great place to live, and the modern South is nothing like the way some people want to portray it. But then, having lived around the country a bit, I think that every area has its positives and negatives. The South, just like everywhere else, has its good and bad. Better food, more palmetto bugs. Meh.

Whatever the battle flag once represented, it has been stolen. I wish that there existed a symbol that could represent the courage and honor of those who fought and died bravely, but didn't have the negative side of this flag. I just don't know what that would be anymore. Certainly the statues we have that memorialize individuals, and entire units or states in some cases (Gettysburg e.g.) do that, but those aren't exactly portable or easy to display. Still, until we find such a symbol, the display of this flag at official govt sites should end. (Private individuals can do what they want.)

Steve

[Johnny Reims]

LeaNder

If you can follow this complicated history from Germany, then that says a lot about you.

One thing I can assure you. Jim Webb is NOT a racist. It will be fascinating to see how his stance plays out in the msm.

Pre - Roof the Confederate flag symbolized an entire spectrum. The most positive would be someone like Jim Webb from Virginia. The most negative is the 20st century incarnation of the KKK.

I attended a very integrated public school in the Deep South, granted it was many years ago. But most blacks I knew then could make those distinctions between a Webb and someone not like him.

Jim Webb is a good man and, imo, he must have been one incredible platoon officer back in the day.

Tyler
I have read Conquest's book too and agree.

I have very strong libertarian leanings and was within a few seconds of voting for Ron Paul in the Georgia primary a few years ago. I am not ruling out his son but I can't tell where he is coming from: re foreign policy and national police state.

I have worked fairly hard in the past to revive the Southern symbols -- harder than you, I imagine -- many of which came from the "war" -- that clearly show there is a Southern tradition of fighting tyranny.

From what I can tell you are not a Southerner. I know you have a lot of pain from what happened from your sister.

And just so you know, I know of a lot of tragedies in Charleston from a few years ago and at some point I may mention them.

But in the South, you first "pay our respects". I was in a small Southern town yesterday that probably voted 75 per cent for Romney and is Red Republican all the way. I saw several expressions of respect for what happened in Charleston , mainly the flying of the US flag.

Communist? You should have read a script I wrote a very years ago. It was about as Southern as you get. But I don't think you are a Southerner.

[steve]

You know, I think he just provided a very personal, reasoned account of why he thinks this flag should not be displayed in public facilities, based upon its own merits (along with his own positive views on the South). I have no idea if you actually agree with him or disagree with his argument. It is clear that you just want to turn this into culture war. (Reminds me of those who defend everything Obama does by claiming Bush was worse.)

Steve

[Johnny Reims]

Steve
Thank you very much.

There is a person here who writes under "cville". He's has great insights re: South and North.

BTW, my response may take awhile because I am still trying to figure out how to post responses to this essay. So this may take awhile to reach you.

[LeaNder]

Hmmm????

Meaning I may have not recognized him in the comment section either?

[Tyler]

JR,

None of this addresses my points that the Right will willingly do what the Left would never do under duress. There will always be another bridge to cross where you must denigrate your ancestors and what came before. It will never stop. Its not about "closing any doors" or putting things behind us, its about the triumph of seeing your enemies grovel before you. Full stop.

Not Southerner? I spent my summers as a youth in Honaker, VA and grew up on the Eastern Shore of MD. I can't count the number of family members I've lost in mine disasters, and it goes on. I may not be Southern enough for you, but I'm Southern enough to know that Quisling talk like this isn't a Southern tradition.

[Tyler]

The more Southern than Thou is a false argument though - the issue at hand is the willingness of the Right to self destruct in the name of losing with nobility with articles like this.

[cville reader]

Right now, the biggest risk is that an overreaction to the Roof massacre, including demands for the eradication of Confederate monuments, will inflame exactly the kind of sentiments that such actions are supposedly trying to prevent. So it is probably a good idea to tread very carefully there.

As an aside, I would love to know what organizations inspired Roof, and what websites he visited.

After the Boston Bombing, I followed some online links and watched several Youtube videos made by brigades in the Islamic Caucasus Emirate located in Dagestan. (Hopefully, I haven't become a target of national surveillance as a result!)

What is really striking to me is that some of the posing and the generally iconography in the Roof photos is very similar to some of those online videos. The main difference is that the terrorist videos usually have several buddies in each frame and Dylann, of course, is always alone.

I am not drawing any conclusions. Perhaps it is just a reflection of some universal instincts.

[Tyler]

Steve,

Because it IS a culture war steve.

https://twitter.com/ClarkHat/status/614517889656311808/photo/1

To paraphrase Trotsky: You may not believe in culture war, but the culture war believes in you. Too many of you around here think if you put your heads in the sand this will all just fly over you and it won't bother you at all.

"Personal, reasoned account". For some of us, more matters than simply how many GoodFeels and "tingles up our leg" we get from reading something. This is just the same kind of moral status preening that I give the Left hell for engaging in. Its rhetorical posturing that lets him feel good for "doing the right thing" in his own mind while ignoring the fact that it changes nothing in the grander scheme.

[cville reader]

She!

BTW, I've lived in several different parts of the country as well.

Strange as it may seem, those who have traveled alot internationally (excluding the military, of course), often have done much less travel within their own country.

Not that there is anything wrong with foreign travel-- for me it's just going to have wait a few years!

[Babak Makkinejad]

Sidney O. Smith III

Between the Iran-Pakistan border to Indi-China border there is only a single pleasant and wonderful city - reminiscent to Isphahan - Amritsar, the City of Sikhs.

The Sikh scripture contains a large amount of Persian mystical poetry, embodying and developing the familiar thematic structures of Persian Mysticism http://sikhchic.com/columnists/the_sikhsufi_connection - itself a product of the Seljuk Culture and Civilization.

Is it any wonder then that neither Hindus nor Sunni Muslims could ever build anything like Amritsar anywhere else in all of historical India?

It is astonishing to see the influence of Seljuk Civilization so far from its historical lands - an amazing thing indeed...now in South Carolina...

[YT]

On behalf on our dulband associates: "Sat Sri Akal."

[ex-PFC Chuck]

Per the note re the author at the very end of the post: "The author has occasionally commented under the name “Johnny Reims” at Sic Semper Tyrannis."

[Johnny Reims]

David H.
Thank you very much. Your writing continues to amaze. Sid

[Johnny Reims]

ex pfc chuck
Yes. Thanks. I enjoy your comments btw. Sid

[Johnny Reims]

Ah...Babak...I should have known you would see this through Persian tinted glasses. From the Seljuk civilization to Bamberg, SC. Admittedly, I enjoy reading those kind of comments but glad we have folks here who keep you honest. And, assuming you live in the West, I bet you are thankful at some level. Come on, Babak...admit it. Sid

[David Habakkuk]

Also under at least one other name, I think.