Xmas... the X stands for hate

I went to our local Christmas Parade this weekend. It had been the local 'Holiday' parade until some Christian crusaders had that changed last year; but that's not what I'm writing about. I do oppose things that are taxpayer supported, yet implicitly promote a particular religion over others (as does the constitution), but I'm over it. There are a bunch of religions that have important dates that coincide with the xmas season (and you can make a pretty convincing argument that it's for precisely that reason the pope picked that date), but who are we kidding? Late December is Santa time, even for a half-jewish, but largely agnostic, probably not agnostic at all guy like myself. And anyone else with children.

I grew up in this town but in all the years I was here before moving away and in the two since I've returned I've never been to the parade and therefore this was my first experience with what my neighbor referred to as the "float of hate." There it was, right in the middle of a cheery holiday parade -- a dozen or so well-dressed, grown men carrying a stadium-sized confederate flag down the street amongst the marching bands and the news teams for all the local TV stations. There had already been a couple trucks of re-enactors (one Confederate and one Union -- I gave the cold shoulder to both), but this was different. These were upstanding members of the community who felt it was there duty to be out there celebrating the holidays they way their great-great-grandpas who lost the war would have wanted them to.

I'm thinking it's time to exercise my rights as a southerner and join this group, as I am fully eligible to do so. You see, about twenty years before my Jewish ancestors decided it was time to leave Russia while the getting out was good, my great-great (-great?) grandmother from the other half of my family was receiving a presidential pardon for having owned slaves. Apparently the pardon is hanging on a wall in the town museum where she lived -- I've yet to see it but it's on the list of things to take my son to. So, I looked it up though and while you would think being related to slave-owners was plenty of justification for membership in the "we love the rebel flag" club, it's not. Fortunately, I also have a well-known confederate general in the outer branches of the tree as well (in fact there's a book about him). I'm not his direct descendent but according to their rules, I'm close enough.

Why would I do this? It should be obvious: Sons of Confederate Veterans for Obama.

Watch for it.