Response to Dying for Dixie

In Horowitz account you learn of white, southern male who was shot for flying the Confederate flag on the back of the truck by a young, African American man who name was Freddie. Granted i can see how if an African American can be greatly haunted and offended by a flag that to them represents bondage and slavery. Yet Freddie was in no way justified in killing this young man. There were several weird things about this story. For one this happened in Guthrie, Kentucky, a state that never joined the Confederacy and in fact they sent troops to aid the Union effort. Another strange fact of the story was that a few of African Americans involved in the shooting such as Darden, were neighbors and friends of Westerman, who was the young man who got killed. They frequently played basketball together according to Horowitz. The stories of Hannah and the those involved in the shooting greatly conflicted. Hannah claims that they did nothing to anger the kids except for the fact that they didn't like the flag. Yet Freddie and Darden's group claimed that one of the people in the car shook the flag and called them racist terms. Another fact in the story was the mascot of the school which was a Confederate rebel which was the matter of great debate concerning whether this was disrespectful or not to African Americans. In my opinion, although I am a southerner who has relatives that fought for the South, I believe the Confederate flag is fine to be displayed in public as long as someone isn't throwing in other's faces and trying to stir up problems. Violence too must end. The war has been over and everyone is most definitely created equal so why is there so much anomosity in the South such as at this school in Guthrie. According to Horowitz too, after this event the children of different race at school wouldnt associate and conflicts could easlily be started up. People can wear what they want whether it be a Southern old emblem or a shirt that shows Malcolm X who was a pioneer in civil rights. The truth is people are to sensitive. And no matter what happens killing an individual is wrong everytime.