Anyone even vaguely familiar with World War II will equate the swastika with Nazi Germany and the Holocaust where nearly 11 million people, mostly Jews, were killed.
So, you can imagine my reaction when I spotted a series of swastikas years on an old building in downtown Fort Smith years ago. I was stunned by what I saw and demanded to know why this symbol of evil was visible in Fort Smith’s entertainment district for everyone to see.
Where’s the outrage, I asked? Where’s the shame?
Calm down mister, a lady behind the counter at a business nearby advised. She knew the swastikas on the old buildings in Fort Smith were Native American symbols and had nothing to do with Adolf Hitler or Nazi Germany. Subsequently, I learned the swastika has been around since ancient times and is today a religious symbol in Hinduism and Buddhism.
Words and symbols evolve into different meanings over time. An 1880s description of a couple strolling gayly through the park would be interpreted much differently today.
As a Southerner, I long ago accepted the view that the Confederate battle flag was more about heritage than hate. But I slowly began to understand why people, African-Americans especially, viewed the flag as a symbol of racism and a reminder of slavery.
I stood and cheered when South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley announced to the world the Confederate flag would be removed from the capitol grounds after nine African-American people were killed at a church.
Closer to home, a school board committee in Fort Smith took a swift and surprising action when it voted 6-0 to discontinue the Rebel mascot and the “Dixie” fight song at Southside High School. I applaud that action as well and disagree with the Southside principal who called the move a knee-jerk reaction.
The motion will likely be adopted when the full board meets on July 27.
The issue of the Rebel mascot and “Dixie” have long been on the back burner at Southside. People don’t like to give up their identity and I know many Southside students and alumni are opposed to dropping the Rebel mascot.
I was initially against changing the mascot at Arkansas State, where I went to college, from Indians to Red Wolves because the “Runnin’ Joe” Indian mascot was supposedly insensitive to Native Americans. Looking back, it was the right thing to do and I’ve grown to like the Red Wolves mascot very much.
So, remove the Confederate battle flags from government property, but let’s not overreach to the point of being ridiculous. No sooner had Haley announced plans to remove the flag in South Carolina, than a news anchor on MSNBC suggested that Maryland should change its state song because of some anti-Union words and that statues of Civil War heroes should be removed as well from government buildings.
In a move that infuriated my neighbor, the TV Land channel dropped reruns of "The Dukes of Hazzard” because of references to the Confederacy, including the Rebel battle flag atop a car called the General Lee. It’s idiotic moves like this one that can foster resistance to any sensible changes.
The Civil War happened, and it would be wrong to try and pretend it didn’t.
I’ve visited the military park at Pea Ridge a handful of times and watched a Civil War re-enactment at Battlefield Park in Prairie Grove last summer. Each time, I felt a sense of pride as a Southerner and envisioned some of my ancestors fighting for a cause they strongly believed.
But they were wrong. The North won and the country is much better for it.
Many Southside Rebels past and present won’t give up their identity easily. But it’s the right thing to do and I eagerly await the day when Southside takes the field united again behind a new mascot.
The Southside Marshals, maybe?
Rick Fires can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @NWARick.