“Heritage not Hate” Is a Slogan I Hate

One slogan I have often encountered on pro-South social media groups and see on T-shirts, bumper stickers, and more is “Heritage not Hate.” If I understand correctly, they are stating that the reason for their display of affection for the Old South, the Confederate soldiers, and their history is that it is part of their family, their bloodlines; in other words, they are honoring the South as a people due to kinship ties. In that case, I fully understand; that is admirable. But does this not imply that the South also stands for hate? Generally synonymous with racism.


This pro-South slogan is defensive. It allows the critic to frame what the South stood for: racism or hate. And it places these modern-day Confederate admirers and descendants as having to make an excuse for why they esteem the Confederate soldiers; not for what they stood for, but for bloodlines alone. I think the critic would rightly object, saying that not everything our ancestors have done —no matter where you are from —is worth remembering or celebrating.


Further, where does it leave a Northern-born lifelong Vermonter such as myself, who is unabashedly pro-South? I side with the South not due to any heritage ties, but despite them. I stand with the South for what they stood for, and I would never accept that “hate” label in comparison to the North. It was the North that despised and eradicated other cultures, the South, the Native American, and later in wars across the world to promote “democracy.” It was the South that believed in local control, allowing various diverse groups to live and let live. The North did not want slavery expanded; this is true, but only to prevent the Southerner and his slave from living among them. The races were in harmony far more often in the South than in the North, in large part because of that same live-and-let-live attitude.


In the future, perhaps Southerners could choose some new slogans. In defense of self-governance, in defense of liberty, resisting governmental tyranny, for a Christian order, for tradition, for conservatism, for limited governance, for family and local control, “man over money”, “government was made for man, not man for the government”, or even “live and let live” and many similar slogans would be more acceptable.