Confederate Flags in Central Massachusetts - Why are so many?
July 14, 2018 7:05 AM Subscribe
So, I live in northern Worcester county Massachusetts (Fitchburg, to be specific), and ever since moving to the area..I've noticed a disturbing amount of cars with Confederate flags on them. These are either physical flags, or vanity license plates. Why I'm wondering is why on earth there are so many of these aberrations in Massachusetts?
So, I live in northern Worcester county Massachusetts (Fitchburg, to be specific), and ever since moving to the area..I've noticed a disturbing amount of cars with Confederate flags on them. These are either physical flags, or vanity license plates. Why I'm wondering is why on earth there are so many of these aberrations in Massachusetts?
Does the proximity to New Hampshire (which is notedly more "red" than Massachusetts) play a role? Is it because a lot of these towns have been old working class factory towns...that have had some of the factories close and turn into apartments, resulting in resentment toward "the man?" Are there any other explanations that I'm missing?
So, I live in northern Worcester county Massachusetts (Fitchburg, to be specific), and ever since moving to the area..I've noticed a disturbing amount of cars with Confederate flags on them. These are either physical flags, or vanity license plates. Why I'm wondering is why on earth there are so many of these aberrations in Massachusetts?
Does the proximity to New Hampshire (which is notedly more "red" than Massachusetts) play a role? Is it because a lot of these towns have been old working class factory towns...that have had some of the factories close and turn into apartments, resulting in resentment toward "the man?" Are there any other explanations that I'm missing?
You are in the red part of the state. I see them, too, but I don't think they are here more than any other state.
I have someone in my town in Southern Worcester county who flies them - along with stickers spewing hatred for the left.
I did a quick family tree for him to figure out his connection to the confederacy.
He is of Eastern European ancestry and no one in his tree was here before 1920 - nor ever lived father south than Pennsylvania.
Just assume racism and hatred is the motivation - and I don't think you will be far off.
posted by beccaj at 7:11 AM on July 14, 2018 [34 favorites]
I have someone in my town in Southern Worcester county who flies them - along with stickers spewing hatred for the left.
I did a quick family tree for him to figure out his connection to the confederacy.
He is of Eastern European ancestry and no one in his tree was here before 1920 - nor ever lived father south than Pennsylvania.
Just assume racism and hatred is the motivation - and I don't think you will be far off.
posted by beccaj at 7:11 AM on July 14, 2018 [34 favorites]
Mod note: One deleted; sorry, it'll go better if folks can avoid phrases like 'white trash'.
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 7:18 AM on July 14, 2018 [14 favorites]
posted by LobsterMitten (staff) at 7:18 AM on July 14, 2018 [14 favorites]
I grew up in Massachusetts and it’s pretty notorious for racism. Central MA is also known as the conservative part of the state.
posted by lunasol at 7:21 AM on July 14, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by lunasol at 7:21 AM on July 14, 2018 [2 favorites]
They are in every state. I've lived in a lot of places and traveled extensively in the US. GenjiandProust has it - it asserts a perspective on "heritage" that signals attitudes on race, a generally ornery attitude, and sometimes anti-federalism to like-minded folks - as well as for people who rightly recognize it as a sign of hostility.
If you go to any state fair, you will find booths selling these flags. They tend to be found more in rural areas, but I see them on occasion in cities too, or when driving down the highway. They are everywhere.
posted by Miko at 7:21 AM on July 14, 2018 [8 favorites]
If you go to any state fair, you will find booths selling these flags. They tend to be found more in rural areas, but I see them on occasion in cities too, or when driving down the highway. They are everywhere.
posted by Miko at 7:21 AM on July 14, 2018 [8 favorites]
Sorry, I'll rephrase. Fitchburg is in a predominantly white, rural, relatively lower SES part of the state, but it's in fairly close proximity to several communities with large nonwhite populations (Lowell, Nashua, etc). It's a situation that allows proto-racists to come into casual contact with people of other races frequently (e.g. in traffic or at malls), but not so often that they actually have to acknowledge people of color as actual people. Prime conditions for othering, and a short hop from that to outright displays of racism.
posted by kevinbelt at 7:27 AM on July 14, 2018 [22 favorites]
posted by kevinbelt at 7:27 AM on July 14, 2018 [22 favorites]
I think there’s a thread, too, for just general, un-thinking, hyped-up masculinity. I don’t know about your area in particular but the confederate flag seems to connote a sense of wild recklessness that is attractive to young people and men. I lived in the south in the 80s and there were a lot of people using it as a symbol of a kind of libertarianism, a “f-you, freedom!” and a stand-in for rabble-rousing kind of respect for heritage. Many of those people don’t think of themselves as racists because many of them aren’t thinking much at all, definitely not much beyond themselves and their little tribe of angry folks/disaffected youth. The confederate flag is at worst a symbol of unrepentant, concentrated racism and at best a who-hoo for the white, male, “rebel” identity. It should be illegal.
posted by amanda at 7:30 AM on July 14, 2018 [25 favorites]
posted by amanda at 7:30 AM on July 14, 2018 [25 favorites]
It could be helpful to stop thinking of them as aberrations. You're seeing these symbols of racism and white pride because there are a lot of racists and white supremacists in our society.
posted by sockermom at 7:38 AM on July 14, 2018 [29 favorites]
posted by sockermom at 7:38 AM on July 14, 2018 [29 favorites]
Massachusetts, and other New England states, have active white supremacist and other hate groups.
posted by ChuraChura at 7:42 AM on July 14, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by ChuraChura at 7:42 AM on July 14, 2018 [7 favorites]
Are there any other explanations that I'm missing?
I know Fitchburg pretty well. Your second guess (resentment toward "the man") is reasonably accurate. Many people don't understand why the flag is perceived as a symbol of racism, but they do understand it's a battleground topic for the left—and so, for them, the flag becomes a symbol of "$#@% you!" resistance against liberals, Democrats, progressives, city folk, pick your term. "You hate it? Well then by God, I'll fly it!"
It's true that the area is predominantly white, although I don't think many of these folks spend much time in Nashua (about an hour away) or Lowell (about 45 minutes, with no traffic). That's relevant insofar as they don't have the same exposure to non-white people as they might living elsewhere; and that, in turn, is relevant to their understanding of the term "racism." For a lot of people, that term means refusing to hire someone based on skin color, or committing acts of violence. The higher-level stuff isn't necessarily intuitive if you weren't taught about it in school, and if you don't really know folks affected by it—especially if you yourself are white and have been affected by stuff that seems, to you, similar.
To the extent that flying the Confederate flag is a racist act, I'd suggest there are two categories: "I'm doing this because it's a racist act," and, "Whaddya mean it's racist?!" Based on my experience in Worcester County, I think the latter is more prevalent. I've had to tell defendants to remove Confederate flag T-shirts; I don't think their thought process included declaring racist pride. When they push back, their comments are about other stuff. I can explain to them how that stuff connects with racism or even equates to it—sometimes I do—but the point relevant to your question is that these folks aren't making that connection.
posted by cribcage at 8:25 AM on July 14, 2018 [24 favorites]
I know Fitchburg pretty well. Your second guess (resentment toward "the man") is reasonably accurate. Many people don't understand why the flag is perceived as a symbol of racism, but they do understand it's a battleground topic for the left—and so, for them, the flag becomes a symbol of "$#@% you!" resistance against liberals, Democrats, progressives, city folk, pick your term. "You hate it? Well then by God, I'll fly it!"
It's true that the area is predominantly white, although I don't think many of these folks spend much time in Nashua (about an hour away) or Lowell (about 45 minutes, with no traffic). That's relevant insofar as they don't have the same exposure to non-white people as they might living elsewhere; and that, in turn, is relevant to their understanding of the term "racism." For a lot of people, that term means refusing to hire someone based on skin color, or committing acts of violence. The higher-level stuff isn't necessarily intuitive if you weren't taught about it in school, and if you don't really know folks affected by it—especially if you yourself are white and have been affected by stuff that seems, to you, similar.
To the extent that flying the Confederate flag is a racist act, I'd suggest there are two categories: "I'm doing this because it's a racist act," and, "Whaddya mean it's racist?!" Based on my experience in Worcester County, I think the latter is more prevalent. I've had to tell defendants to remove Confederate flag T-shirts; I don't think their thought process included declaring racist pride. When they push back, their comments are about other stuff. I can explain to them how that stuff connects with racism or even equates to it—sometimes I do—but the point relevant to your question is that these folks aren't making that connection.
posted by cribcage at 8:25 AM on July 14, 2018 [24 favorites]
For the record, I see them in super-liberal Western Mass, too. There's a dude who drives his truck around Amherst with a huge fabric one flapping along behind him, and I used to have a co-worker who lived in the heart of the Amherst - Northampton corridor who proudly showed everyone in the office pictures of the gun rack her son made with a "rebel flag" on it.
These aren't even people who are part of white supremacist groups -- as cribcage said, the "rebel flag" isn't even related to race in their minds but to some kind of wannabe stereotypical southern/country aesthetic. Don't get me wrong, the co-worker mentioned above was racist, but to her the flag was a signifier for "poor white" (which in her case was more "make too much money to receive government benefits and are envious of those who do").
posted by camyram at 9:32 AM on July 14, 2018 [5 favorites]
These aren't even people who are part of white supremacist groups -- as cribcage said, the "rebel flag" isn't even related to race in their minds but to some kind of wannabe stereotypical southern/country aesthetic. Don't get me wrong, the co-worker mentioned above was racist, but to her the flag was a signifier for "poor white" (which in her case was more "make too much money to receive government benefits and are envious of those who do").
posted by camyram at 9:32 AM on July 14, 2018 [5 favorites]
racists gonna racist, no matter where they are in the US. i think people definitely have some misconceptions about how widespread white supremacy is in the northeast; white racism and white ignorance are everywhere, in all parts of the country, they're not embarrassed or covert about showing it, and they know full well what they're advertising when they wear or display symbols of their ignorance and hate.
posted by poffin boffin at 9:41 AM on July 14, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by poffin boffin at 9:41 AM on July 14, 2018 [5 favorites]
You see this everywhere there are conservative white people.
posted by rabbitrabbit at 11:32 AM on July 14, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by rabbitrabbit at 11:32 AM on July 14, 2018 [2 favorites]
Does the proximity to New Hampshire (which is notedly more "red" than Massachusetts) play a role?Not to get into a "which state is the most racist" competition, but you do live close to a major city with a reputation for being extremely racist, and you don't have to cross state lines to get there.
posted by caek at 12:09 PM on July 14, 2018 [8 favorites]
Worcester County delivered 41% of their votes in 2016 to Trump; it's one of our more red counties and just like Trump supporters everywhere, they're now emboldened and far more open in their admiration for Confederate flags and outright racism.
posted by yes I said yes I will Yes at 12:42 PM on July 14, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by yes I said yes I will Yes at 12:42 PM on July 14, 2018 [4 favorites]
I think it’s dangerous to think of a state as either red or blue. It’s not a surprise that there would be lots of racists where there are lots of white people. I live in Brooklyn NY, grew up in southern NH, and I hear the same shit here I did there.
posted by kapers at 1:31 PM on July 14, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by kapers at 1:31 PM on July 14, 2018 [6 favorites]
I agree with the Occam's Razor responses of "because racism" here. But also, it seems like part of your question is why a flag that was never the banner of the Confederacy, per se, and fell out of use entirely for decades, is all over your corner of the North, or, for that matter, on keychains I saw for sale yesterday in a Latino-serving, Asian immigrant-owned hat store / locksmith in the central Los Angeles neighborhood where I live.
I'm not a historian, but it's my understanding that this is actually because modern white identity was formed in large part after Brown v. Board and in opposition to the Civil Rights Movement, and that this effort migrated nationwide in part by associating itself with rebelliousness and creating a patina of plausible deniability about racism (while also doubling down on racism via the proliferation of terrorist groups who use the flag). And that the migration of the symbol from South to North was in part due to cinema, in part due to Dixiecrat political campaigning, in part due to popular Southern rock bands, etc and so forth.
Some links I've found useful:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_display_of_the_Confederate_flag
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/06/19/what-the-confederate-flag-really-means-to-america-today-according-to-a-race-historian/?utm_term=.bf0019b17b67
https://relay.nationalgeographic.com/proxy/distribution/public/amp/2015/06/150626-confederate-flag-civil-rights-movement-war-history
United States presidential election, 1948 https://g.co/kgs/oWxQtd
http://theweek.com/articles/562004/surprisingly-uncomplicated-racist-history-confederate-flag
Not cosigning sentiments here, but if you google your basic question you'll see there are a million forums addressing the question. Walk away from the Reddit hits and read some of the comments from other boards. You'll see a lot of ignorant and ahistorical sentiments, but they'll serve to help you hear firsthand from the people with the Confederate license plate frames. Here's an example:
http://www.city-data.com/forum/general-u-s/1155965-rebal-flags-northen-states.html
posted by kensington314 at 2:09 PM on July 14, 2018 [10 favorites]
I'm not a historian, but it's my understanding that this is actually because modern white identity was formed in large part after Brown v. Board and in opposition to the Civil Rights Movement, and that this effort migrated nationwide in part by associating itself with rebelliousness and creating a patina of plausible deniability about racism (while also doubling down on racism via the proliferation of terrorist groups who use the flag). And that the migration of the symbol from South to North was in part due to cinema, in part due to Dixiecrat political campaigning, in part due to popular Southern rock bands, etc and so forth.
Some links I've found useful:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_display_of_the_Confederate_flag
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/06/19/what-the-confederate-flag-really-means-to-america-today-according-to-a-race-historian/?utm_term=.bf0019b17b67
https://relay.nationalgeographic.com/proxy/distribution/public/amp/2015/06/150626-confederate-flag-civil-rights-movement-war-history
United States presidential election, 1948 https://g.co/kgs/oWxQtd
http://theweek.com/articles/562004/surprisingly-uncomplicated-racist-history-confederate-flag
Not cosigning sentiments here, but if you google your basic question you'll see there are a million forums addressing the question. Walk away from the Reddit hits and read some of the comments from other boards. You'll see a lot of ignorant and ahistorical sentiments, but they'll serve to help you hear firsthand from the people with the Confederate license plate frames. Here's an example:
http://www.city-data.com/forum/general-u-s/1155965-rebal-flags-northen-states.html
posted by kensington314 at 2:09 PM on July 14, 2018 [10 favorites]
I don't think Central Mass is the conservative part of the state. Western Mass and Cape Cod are much more conservative.
I find the display of the confederate Flag particularly galling in Massachusetts and akin to spitting on the graves of Massachusetts soldiers. I think the "how can you be so disrespectful of our war dead?" argument to be the most effective one with these people.
posted by KazamaSmokers at 4:05 PM on July 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
I find the display of the confederate Flag particularly galling in Massachusetts and akin to spitting on the graves of Massachusetts soldiers. I think the "how can you be so disrespectful of our war dead?" argument to be the most effective one with these people.
posted by KazamaSmokers at 4:05 PM on July 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: kensington314, I did google the question, but didn't get any answers to my specific question. I was interested in why Confederate flags were showing up this specific region of Massachusetts , not why the rebel flag is flown in the US in general.
I've tried with multiple different keywords, search criteria, so on. Nothing.
posted by Delia at 4:19 PM on July 14, 2018
I've tried with multiple different keywords, search criteria, so on. Nothing.
posted by Delia at 4:19 PM on July 14, 2018
Response by poster: Also, with regards to the political leanings of different parts of the state, I found this: http://www.wbur.org/politicker/2016/11/08/massachusetts-election-map.
So apparently, the majority of the county is red (although Hampden county is redder). Several of you were right about that--and KazamaSmokers, you were right about Cape Cod also being conservative.
posted by Delia at 4:35 PM on July 14, 2018
So apparently, the majority of the county is red (although Hampden county is redder). Several of you were right about that--and KazamaSmokers, you were right about Cape Cod also being conservative.
posted by Delia at 4:35 PM on July 14, 2018
Is it because a lot of these towns have been old working class factory towns...that have had some of the factories close and turn into apartments, resulting in resentment toward "the man?"
Replace "the man" with minorities and "globalists" and you won't be too far off. I've given up trying to tease apart regional variations in the new far-right conservatism; they're just not relevant. They are all connected by Fox News and Breitbart and Drudge and Facebook and everything else. Without the accent I couldn't tell a conservative New Englander from a conservative Texan.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 5:13 PM on July 14, 2018
Replace "the man" with minorities and "globalists" and you won't be too far off. I've given up trying to tease apart regional variations in the new far-right conservatism; they're just not relevant. They are all connected by Fox News and Breitbart and Drudge and Facebook and everything else. Without the accent I couldn't tell a conservative New Englander from a conservative Texan.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 5:13 PM on July 14, 2018
I'd like to clarify a minor point in the question. The Confederate flags on "vanity license plates" cannot be on plates issued by the state. None of the state's license plates have such a design. I believe the OP is referring to store-bought plates that have nothing to do with the Registry of Motor Vehicles. "Vanity plate" is a reference to RMV plates that have letters and numbers selected by the car owner, at extra cost.
There's space for a non-state plate on some MA cars because years ago (when Dukakis was Governor) they only issued one green-lettered plate, for the rear of the car. People hang on to them as a sort of low-cost vanity plate. MA plates since that era are red-lettered.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 6:48 PM on July 14, 2018
There's space for a non-state plate on some MA cars because years ago (when Dukakis was Governor) they only issued one green-lettered plate, for the rear of the car. People hang on to them as a sort of low-cost vanity plate. MA plates since that era are red-lettered.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 6:48 PM on July 14, 2018
Can confirm I have seen these in small-town Minnesota as well, displayed by people with no links to the South at all. I think in addition to plain old racism, it's an adopted symbol for the "reverse racism" crowd particularly in super-white areas, where there isn't such a visible "but erasing white culture!!!" on a local level for them to grab onto.
posted by nakedmolerats at 7:12 PM on July 14, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by nakedmolerats at 7:12 PM on July 14, 2018 [4 favorites]
I don’t know why confederate symbols are more prevalent now here in Central Mass but as a light skinned latinx I am very unnerved by it. I am originally from SoCal and moved here 20 yrs ago for reasons. I can tell you that in that time I have personally seen many incidents of racism in this area so it’s not a recent phenomenon. There is a business on Rt. 119 in Pepperell that has a US Flag, as well as a confederate flag flying out front. It just makes no sense. I think the Trump effect just makes certain people bolder.
Humans are weird sometimes.
posted by dorkydancer at 11:34 PM on July 14, 2018 [4 favorites]
Humans are weird sometimes.
posted by dorkydancer at 11:34 PM on July 14, 2018 [4 favorites]
I live in Philadelphia and we have many assholes that display that symbol of treason.
All towns and cities have assholes, it's just something that is. Don't get too worked up over it.
posted by james33 at 6:24 AM on July 15, 2018
All towns and cities have assholes, it's just something that is. Don't get too worked up over it.
posted by james33 at 6:24 AM on July 15, 2018
I don't think Central Mass is the conservative part of the state. Western Mass and Cape Cod are much more conservative.
This map of the state by partisan voting index is pretty interesting, and shows that, while there's variation, the central part of the state (along with the South Shore, but not necessarily as much the Cape) does indeed tend to be more conservative. (note that the map is a bit counterintuitive because it uses red to indicate D and blue to indicate R, for some reason. Also, this map is based on variation from the mean, so it's relative to MA's base partisan index, which is pretty D)
posted by lunasol at 12:10 PM on July 15, 2018
This map of the state by partisan voting index is pretty interesting, and shows that, while there's variation, the central part of the state (along with the South Shore, but not necessarily as much the Cape) does indeed tend to be more conservative. (note that the map is a bit counterintuitive because it uses red to indicate D and blue to indicate R, for some reason. Also, this map is based on variation from the mean, so it's relative to MA's base partisan index, which is pretty D)
posted by lunasol at 12:10 PM on July 15, 2018
We're in (a crap apartment in) Fitchburg, too, and I have this conversation with my older kid every time we get off the highway and drive past the confederate painted pickup on South Street, I think. So we came recently from Cambridge, where no one we knew voted for Trump (6.4% DJT vs 89.3% HRC) to this crap town (36.6 DJT vs 56.3 HRC) - PLUS all the neighboring towns either went for DJT or he lost by like a hundred and fifty votes, so if it wasn't for the University, Fitchburg would have gone for himself too.
ANYWAY, so yes, a few times a week, I say, "yes, First-Born, there are a lot more racists out there than we think there are. I get it, everything sucks in this town, they see the white man's power shrinking, and they can't stand it. It's not shrinking fast enough, bigod, but I believe it's happening. Don't let that selfish dirtbag get you down."
They just removed the bike lane from Main Street without notice. I'm like doot doot doot, hey, there's a car on my ass. Hey, what happened to the bike lane?
posted by turkeybrain at 7:00 AM on July 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
ANYWAY, so yes, a few times a week, I say, "yes, First-Born, there are a lot more racists out there than we think there are. I get it, everything sucks in this town, they see the white man's power shrinking, and they can't stand it. It's not shrinking fast enough, bigod, but I believe it's happening. Don't let that selfish dirtbag get you down."
They just removed the bike lane from Main Street without notice. I'm like doot doot doot, hey, there's a car on my ass. Hey, what happened to the bike lane?
posted by turkeybrain at 7:00 AM on July 16, 2018 [2 favorites]
Keep your eyes peeled for Gadsden Flags, too: they're all over New England, flown by what I suspect are either proud Tea Partiers or only-semi-ashamed racists.
(And the "vanity plates" mentioned upthread might be license-plate frames/holders, those plastic or metal things that screw on top of your license plates that car dealers give away with their name on, or that people buy to advertise their loyalty to racism/a sports team/Jimmy Buffet/their dog's breed/retirement/whatever.)
posted by wenestvedt at 7:39 AM on July 16, 2018
(And the "vanity plates" mentioned upthread might be license-plate frames/holders, those plastic or metal things that screw on top of your license plates that car dealers give away with their name on, or that people buy to advertise their loyalty to racism/a sports team/Jimmy Buffet/their dog's breed/retirement/whatever.)
posted by wenestvedt at 7:39 AM on July 16, 2018
Response by poster: Had to Google what a Gadsden Flag was. So that's what the "Don't Tread on Me." flag is called.
And yes, OMG I miss the Cambridge area so so much. I moved from Newton in January, but just could not justify the high rent.
posted by Delia at 8:29 PM on July 21, 2018
And yes, OMG I miss the Cambridge area so so much. I moved from Newton in January, but just could not justify the high rent.
posted by Delia at 8:29 PM on July 21, 2018
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