Although it seems entirely cliche to use the confederate flag as an artifact that I feel gives a representation of the South, let me first explain my reasoning. I am a northern boy; what most of my southern friends at tech would call a "damn-yankee". I am very blunt, have the tendency to be loud, and am still polishing up my manners. I have begun to habitually use "yessir"'s and "no ma'am"'s but it took me a little while to catch on. "Ya'll" is another term that has begun to show up in my vocabulary; to my mothers disapproval I must admit.

Growing up in the north the south is, for the most part, represented by this flag. The only time I can truly say that I had discussed the south was in history class in correlation to the civil war. The "rebels" of the south were known to us as racist Klan supporters who still wanted to secede and re-institute slavery. Upon arriving at Tech however, and making friends with many southern country boys; I have found that the confederate flag actually gives a different representation of the south and its culture.

This flag, as I have observed, in essence represents pride. Pride in their land and their culture, in their women and their hospitality, in their produce and in their lineage. The spirit of the south and the feelings it conveys to its inhabitants it much different than in the north. The variety of races, the less obnoxious attitudes (which I will be the first to admit I can be), and the accents. I observe all of these differences and absorb them, learning about these people who seem to be so much different to what I know; at first at least. But I also feel that the more I learn of them, the more alike we all become. Yet I know that they will continue to pride themselves in their "differences" and in their flag.

Jordan Conant