by Michael Peirce

The state media organs (I love that Soviet term – it describes them so well) have denounced folks like me as "neo-Confederates." It is time to set the record straight. I’m not a "neo" anything, but I darn sure am a Confederate.

So let’s define that term, and see just what a dreadful person I really am. There are lots of us out there – I’m on all the pro-Southern mailing lists and my own mail certainly verifies that both North and South, black and white; there are many Americans who have had enough of this imperfect union.

First, the obligatory renunciation of racism – which seems a waste of time really, since the socialists deem us all to be racists no matter what we say. But rather than shrink from the fray lets address it yet again. Here is why this writer can not be called a racist with any accuracy despite intense opposition to the civil rights movement and the leftist race baiters like Jackson and Sharpton. Martin Luther King (were he who he claimed to be) would love this: I dislike those rascals because they are rascals – not because they are black! I dislike the bleating sheep who follow them as well – again, because they conduct themselves like greedy parasites – no other reason.

I lost a good friend in the war – he stepped on a boosted land mine and was blown to pieces. I heard about this on the Combined Ops communiqué and was heartbroken. Taffy was very much a lovable character and his death tore me up badly. I got quite drunk and the African soldiers put me in my sleeping bag and promised me that it would be better in the morning. It was. A very brave young nco went out into the bush on his own, in the dark, and tracked down a terrorist. He shot him and laid him at my feet the next morning to help me deal with my grief. This is strong stuff, I realize, but these are times that require strong stuff if we are to understand what is going on and home in on the truth of this racial business.

The African soldier who did that for me had lost his whole family – hacked to death pour encourager les autres by those high minded communist freedom fighters that Jimmy Carter loved so much. When someone calls me a racist, they are insulting me and that soldier. They do this at their own risk. American blacks who think my flag insults them should learn a lesson from my friend – who accepted me just as I am, and I him. Neither of us made anything of the past, and we were both fighting for a future that did not include communism. He was a better man than any I’ve encountered in the civil rights movement and yet I can’t say his name here for fear of repercussions to him. It should be noted that all the prominent civil rights figures in America supported the communists. May the Lord reward them according to their deeds..

It should be noted that the African soldiers had a low opinion of American blacks because of the constant complaints of their American counterparts. There were so many opportunities for the Americans that were unknown in Africa that the Africans were quite contemptuous of all the whining. The problem for the Africans was that they were fighting for a future like the Americans already had and they were putting it on the line with their bodies, not their mouths. And now they have nothing…but Andrew Young is satisfied.

So let’s stop calling me a racist and take our language back from the Orwellian manipulators of the state media. To me, a man who bases his life and his life’s work on racism is a pimp at worst and a fool at best. I’ve been the odd man out, having been places where quite literally, no white man had gone before. The comment here must be "So what?" And that is how we must address race, always. With a resounding "So what?" The folks I met under such conditions were curious about me, and I of them, but we got along fine. It’s just not that big a deal unless someone discovers a way to make money out of it. Are you listening, Jesse?

If you base your opinion of me on something that happened way back when, then I will respond similarly. As I told a black commentator – why on earth should I mock my ancestors and you praise yours? Mine were soldiers – yours were slaves. We have rather more in common than you might think. Both of us have ancestors who were defeated in battle. Think on that. Slaves were not kidnapped by the brutal Yankee and British slave ship captains; They were purchased! From other Africans who had defeated them in battle. Now Southerners are virtually slaves to a despotic Washington establishment. That includes blacks and whites, were they but to see it.

In the South, there were more free blacks than anywhere else in the civilized world and it is well known by those with the integrity to dig into the writings of the men who lived in those days, that slavery was a dying institution. At least until the blue coat soldiers invaded the South land with fire and sword, and enslaved every black they saw, calling them "contrabands." Whites were of course, treated no better than the blacks, they were burned out, brutalized and left to starve.

Then the Yankee occupiers used blacks and scalawags to subject us to years of "reconstruction," giving rise to a backlash that included the KKK Racist hate groups did not exist until carpetbaggers and unscrupulous blacks battened on the South like a tic. . So the ancestors of modern day black Americans treated mine pretty badly too. Should I be mad about that? Follow the logic – if the blacks are mad at me then I should be mad at them. The race industry is well aware of this, and thrives on this contrived hatred.

It should further be noted that slavery was legal. Abe Lincoln was quite as much a scoundrel and scoflaw as John Brown – both thought force was preferable to law. They set a precedent that has been built upon by our modern day Janet Renos. The moral – when in doubt, use deadly force and to hell with the law.

So why do I speak out against civil rights? Do I want to eat in restaurants where there are no black people? Hardly, I would be offended by that. But damn it, without the right to be a jerk, you have no rights at all. It’s called free assembly, and it matters a lot.

I see a lack of historical understanding as the biggest problem facing not just blacks, but all Americans. Re-writing history to suit the occupier is standard fare – but we must not accept that. What matters in history is what really happened, and when blacks can stop whining about rights and privileges and spend some time in study – they will be well rewarded. The hand out attitude will not be rewarded much longer – that trough is nearly empty. Three trillion dollars have not improved the lot of black people one bit – and has polarized whites who are sick and tired of it.

The civil rights industry has nearly bankrupted this country in a supposed effort to help the poor and particularly blacks. Where is the gratitude? There is none. Only free will giving can be considered a gift. Plus, the government beauracracies sucked down most of the money anyway so who benefited from this largess? Not the poor – that’s for sure.

So I say to those who call me a racist – "you must have time on your hands – get a job!" Because I don’t spend much time worrying about what you think of me - I’m too busy making money for my family. If you are my equal, show me. Work harder than me, leave me in the dust. I won’t complain that I have been outclassed because of my race, I assure you. I have a friend who is smarter than me, and makes considerably more money – so must I hate him? Does his black skin mean that by outclassing me in my field, that he is an insensitive racist and should give me some of his income? Hardly. What on earth business is it of mine how much money somebody else makes? Left wing busybodies are as much his enemy as mine, and when the majority of blacks wake up and see this, we might have a chance at last for racial harmony.

Reason number two that I’m not a racist: Christ died for all men, not just Jews. White Europeans were late comers to the cross – just ask the Ethiopian whom Philip baptized. I dislike rather a lot of blacks but it has always be an individual thing. I dislike anyone who wants to take what’s mine – you can count on it. Do I hate them? No I just hate what they are doing and fight against it because they are wrong. That is not forbidden by scripture – I believe that racism is. Among Confederates, you will find a very high percentage of practicing Christians. They make good friends and neighbors and don’t want to hurt you. The true faith does not require you to pander to minority groups – it requires you to do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

There is no scriptural injunction for me to allow my earnings to be confiscated by government and given to others. I give to whom I wish to give, and answer to God for it, not Caesar. For our government (Caesar) is defined under a fairly reasonable constitution, despite what Lincoln and his successors did to it. Despite the prattlings of Marxist ideologues, there is no provision there for redistribution of wealth. Get over it. When you accept that government is breaking the law by confiscatory taxation, a lot of things become quite clear. We are free to win or lose, and that’s the rub. God promises us salvation and forgiveness of sins, requiring of us that we repent. Despite some latter day heresies, He does not promise us worldly riches, nor countenance greed nor envy.

While discussing the racist label there is no omitting discussion of the flag. I love our St. Andrews cross and will die loving it. Many of us, and I mean many, tend to rally these days around the version we call the Third National Flag – the St. Andrews Cross in one corner on white with a broad red strip. This flag flew over the Confederacy during the last days, when blacks were admitted to the army – this not a flag of racism. We will not concede that point and it’s time to stop attacking us – we are sick of it and frankly, we are getting angry. Agree to disagree – or get out of my face.

I’ve devoted a good deal of space to racism here, and the reason is that this odious term "neo-Confederate" is nothing more than a new and ugly way of calling us racists. I reject the term and I reject the label. When ideas are insufficient to make a case, name calling is the answer – at least to the liberal socialist crowd who have made a mockery of our republic.

Now let’s define what a Confederate really is – better we do it than cede that ground to the oppressor. A Confederate was originally, a person who fought against the Yankee invader, and who believed in the constitutional guarantees upon which the United States was founded. One of those guarantees was the right of secession. When that right was invoked, quite legally, the central government responded with deadly force, and put the lie to any claims of constitutional guarantees.

A modern Confederate is much the same – we believe in law. We believe in the right of secession from the union. Without that right—the union is nothing but an oppressor government which has illegally usurped power from the states. Such a government should be renounced. It is our duty, it is our right. Current events prove this point – how many of us want our kids putting condoms on bananas? Or bombing Christians in Serbia? Yet what say do we have? What constitutional provision guarantees the right of government to subject our children to such depraved brainwashing? None. They simply do it, and enforce their will with guns. Nothing much has changed since 1861. Our goal is make that change and bring about home rule – we will govern ourselves thank you very much.

Modern Confederates aren’t all Southerners either, nor were they during the War of Northern Aggression. Although Northern resisters were brutally suppressed by Lincoln and his gang of war criminals. A modern Confederate believes in the God given right to keep and carry weapons – men have defended themselves since time immemorial – to infringe on that right is to declare yourself an enemy of the people. We believe in freedom of association, and in the sanctity of our homes and families. We believe that confiscation of our property is an attack on our God given freedoms. You see the constitution, failed document that it is, was merely a way of listing freedoms and truths that Americans once thought were self evident. We will have these rights if we must battle the oppressor until hell freezes over.

Modern Confederates believe we have the right to limit immigration into our states. We believe we have the right to govern our own schools – indeed many of us do not even believe in the public school system – we have seen it’s fruits and they are bitter.

Modern Confederates believe in freedom. It is not just another word for nothing left to lose. No – it is a word to describe that happy state where we are not afraid to lose what we have but are willing to fight to keep it because it matters that much. To give away our freedom as Americans have is to mock God from whom this blessing originated.

Freedom is a word that implies so much responsibility that most men are afraid of it. It describes a condition unknown to most people in our world, and it is about self-reliance. Men who would be free are not whiners and complainers – they are doers. Men who are free bear the onus of being thinkers – they are those who must examine facts before embracing opinions. It becomes easy to see why we are vilified by what Mr. Sobran refers to as the "Hive." There is no place for us in that Hive and I thank God for it.

Finally, freedom is so precious that not only will we fight to keep it – we do not want to impose our will upon others. That is why secession has such a nice ring to it. New York and Georgia simply cannot be governed the same way. We do not want New York in our business, nor do they want our values. Why should they, why should we? The chances of the United States government reverting to a constitutional republic are minuscule yet that is the only hope for this union. Since that is statistically no hope whatsoever, then Confederates are saying the obvious, let us go. Westerners and Canadians are saying the same thing. We don’t want to be part of an empire. People need choices. For Confederates, that choice is secession.

February 5, 2000

Mr. Peirce fought with the Rhodesian freedom fighters (the Ian Smith side, of course).

Copyright 2001 LewRockwell.com