Yankee Hypocrisy and Southern Identity

Others on this site have rightly noted that the “cuckfederate” faction of Southern Heritage supporters have done little to defend or preserve anything of significance. While well-intentioned, they have made the tactical error of letting our enemies define the terms of debate, resulting in a futile and demeaning pursuit of approval from those who will never grant it. Earnest cries of “it’s not about race!” have never been effective, and never will.

Racial issues are real and relevant, and our identity is based on our European heritage. However, the issue of race (specifically, anti-black racism) does not define who Southerners are as people, however much the SPLC likes to pretend otherwise. Let me repeat: RACE ISSUES DO NOT DEFINE SOUTHERNERS. Views about race vary widely among white southerners. The only people who equate racial hatred and Southerness are those who hate us anyways, and just want an excuse to justify it.

In my opinion, the important defining characteristics of Southerners include: Abiding Christian faith as a part of daily life. Strong distaste for government interference and excessive rule-making. A chivalrous form of manhood which genuinely cherishes and defends women. Reverence for our brave, determined, and principled ancestors. Of course, we also have distinct language, music, cuisine, and folkways. We are defined by things that we esteem and love; not by what we (purportedly) hate.

We cannot convince non-Southerners of this, and should waste no more breath trying.

However, our Southern brothers and sisters are a different matter. I believe that many of them are suffering from Stockholm syndrome. I frequently encounter Southerners who denounce Confederates, signalling, in effect, “I’m a good person, so I will rebuke my treasonous, racist ancestors!” It it tempting to dismiss these people as disloyal, and perhaps some are, but many more have received a shallow and biased education about Southern history, and have simply absorbed the dominant cultural narrative. They can be educated  to see that there is no moral imperative to denounce their Southern nationality. Even without challenging the “racism is bad” paradigm, this can be done by truthfully pointing out that Northerners are brazen hypocrites to whom we should cede no moral high ground.

Non-Southerners ceaselessly condemn us as vile racists full of hate, while failing to live up to their own stated ideals. They have chosen to reinvent unabashed white supremacist and race separatist Abraham Lincoln as an egalitarian progressive hero. They have chosen to ignore the abysmal conditions of blacks in the ghettos of places like Chicago, Detroit and Los Angeles. They have chosen to ignore that racial segregation is, in the modern era, more common outside of the South than within it. They have chosen to ignore the race riots rampant in the urban North in recent years. Where is the racially egalitarian utopia in the enlightened Yankee empire?

Perhaps they should be called out for these shortcomings, (made to live up to their own rules, in Alinsky terms), rather than allowed to point, shriek and condemn every vestige of the Confederacy as an evil abomination. Why not, for a change, play offense? Most importantly, in the process, we will teach our own people that they should not covet Yankee approval.