The other day I mentioned on Facebook that I think the many people who have descended on Sanford, FL to protest the shooting of Trayvon Martin should next shift their focus to proactively protesting a huge Confederate flag that flies at the intersection of I-75 and I-4 in Tampa.
As most race-related posts tend to do, my Facebook post generated quite a few comments from friends and family. One of the responses I received mentioned the concept of "Southern Pride" as justification for the display of the Confederate flag. My response to that comment was my opinion that Southern Pride is an obnoxious ideal that clings to the past, a past that bothers or even offends many people, especially those currently regarded as "minorities".
In the last few days, my comment got me thinking about another ethnic symbol widely visible off the highways of the Tampa area. Since 2004, the Native Americans of the Seminole Tribe have proudly promoted and displayed their Hard Rock-themed casino and hotel off I-4 on the eastern end of Tampa. While white Southerners (an overwhelming majority of those who raise and support the Confederate flag) like to paint themselves as victims and cling to days before the South was home to a homogenistic American culture where everyone had equal rights and there was opportunity for blacks, Hispanics, Jews, Asians, gays, and other minority groups, the Seminole Indians have blended with today's American culture. While white Southerns announce "the South will rise again" and fly a battle flag that opposed the US flag, the Seminoles have created an entertainment complex that has made the tribe millions, if not billions, while keeping their own national flag in a display inside the casino.
The Seminoles, a tribe that was slaughtered, beaten, and forcefully removed from their homes more recently than any "Northern aggression", are not complaining about a changing world. Instead they have adapted and use the inclusive US capitalist system to take advantage of their neighbors' predilection for gambling and rock'n'roll memorabilia (which ironically also includes pieces from Lynyrd Skynryd, Molly Hatchet, and other Southern Rock groups). The Seminole Indians are not claiming they will return to power in Florida, a land they were predominant on from 1784 to 1842, instead they are working within the system while keeping their own culture alive.
Meanwhile, white Southerners, who have less to complain about than any other ethnic group, choose an attitude of protest, isolationism, and inhibiting progressiveness.
How does this make sense?
What if the roles were reversed? What if the Seminoles built a monument to their fallen dead along on I-75 and raised a giant Seminole nation flag and a Southerner built a casino on I-4 and named it the "Confederate Casino and Rock'n'Roll Hotel"? Would anyone make a stink over the flag? Would anyone go to the casino and hotel?
