Decended from Immigrants myself...

Most of them got here after the civil war, so we're real Jhonny-come-latelies...

My mother's family are Irish and German.. My great-grandfather brought his wife over from Russia(German people, though) and started my mother's family.. and my other great-grandfather on that side was either born in Ireland, or his father was...

On my dad's side however are pure Mountain Irish.. Came over from The Isle and settled in the Appalacians, the kind of folk who never wore shoes lessen they had ta....

But I don't know much about southern heritage, because my dad's family moved north during the depression..so I'm northern born. And we got taught a lot of lies about the civil war in ohio, also.

As for the flag, I see it in terms of the Pentacle. I got sick of people telling me what my Pentacle stands for... so why should I sit there and tell people what the confederate battle flag stands for? I feel the person holding the symbol gets to define the meaning of that symbol.. not the people opposing it.

So my ancestors, while never owing slaves, were never in any kind of "position of power" either...

I feel that what was done to the Native American people by the American govt. sucked, and still sucks... and I feel that what was done to the Africans sucked... And the jim crow laws, etc sucked and all the crap they have to put up with in may places today..

But I was not resposible for slavery.. I was not responsible for the Trail of Tears. An apology form me would be worthless, imo, because I was not responsible...

Kinda like Catholics apologizing for what was done to Gallileo, or the Inquizition.. Or even Christians apologizing for the Burnings... It's nice that they might fell bad about it, and anything they might do to stop the reoccurance would be greatly appriciated, but to me, an apology is worthless unless it is given to the ones wronged by the ones who wronged them.

And that whole post went ALL over the place... Stream of conciousness.. woo-hoo

Adira