Stars & Bars

I think the most Southern symbol out there is the Confederate flag, the stars & bars. Everything else might be largely associated with the South, but the Confederate flag is always associated with the South. Not only is it always associated with the south, it's quite common to see it. It's on hats, shirts, swimsuits, belt buckles, bumperstickers, and the flags themselves flown outside houses (it was on the Georgia State flag until 2001).

The stereotypical southern truck will have several bumper stickers about southern heritage with Confederate flags on them and will be driven by a guy with a shirt or hat that has a rebel flag on it (sometimes both). There is a horrendous statue of Nathan Bedford Forrest on the highway coming into Nashville, and it has either all 50 state flags or just the state flags of the Southern States in a semi-circle around it. Above every state flag however there is a Confederate flag flying.

A lot of people believe the Confederate flag is a symbol of racism. A lot of other people believe that it is not, that it is a symbol of heritage, a government, or rebellion (hence the name "rebel flag"). The ongoing argument, shown in the video at the end, is whether this flag stands for slavery and racism or not. It's different for everyone. For some people racism and slavery is all they see when they see the Confederate flag. For me, it is a symbol of my heritage not a symbol of racism or rebellion.

John Deere and the South

Since I grew up in Georgia, I used to see this logo almost everyday, whether it was on equipment or on clothing. This logo represents John Deere, a company that makes equipment such as agricultural, construction, and forestry machines. However, when I see this logo, it does not remind me about the company but about something else.

In my high school, there were many cliques, one which was the redneck group. These guys believed they represented the South, so they would perform some of the stereotypical characteristics of Southerners. For example, they would have the redneck accent, drive red pick-up trucks, camouflage clothes, and of course the John Deere merchandise hats and jackets. But why would those guys want to where John Deere? It's because they feel in order to perform a Southern identity, they need to incorporate one part of it, which is the agriculture/construction identity. The redneck clique knew that if they wanted to be a part of the South, they need to acknowledge the agricultural/construction part of their performed identity.

So whenever I see the John Deere logo, especially on clothing, I think about how some Southern people try to perform their Southern identity by embodying themselves with specific stereotypes of the South. So the topic that I'm introducing is to talk about any symbol or object that you feel represents the South or at least provides a portrayal of the South.