Stars and Bars - Is it acceptable?

[Steppe Merc]

My dad and I last night was watching a documentry about Lynyrd Skynyrd last night. For those of you that might not know, Skynyrd was a Classic Rock band from the south, and the leader in particular, Ronnie Van Zant, was a proud Southerner. They always played with a huge Confederate Flag (the flag of the Southern states that secceeded from the Union, for any non Americans, if you were wondering) in the back, hanging up. They were far from racists, as they played with and loved black musicians and their music. They were also not ignorant rednecks, as they got involved with Carter's presidential campaign, and along with the Allman Brothers and other Southern groups, helped him raise money.

Now, my dad and I were just talking. He said that although he loved their music and thought they were good people, they were wrong for playing with the Stars and Bars behind them. He knew the true meaning of the flag- that of states rights, and of Southern pride. But he rightfully pointed out that it had and still is thought of as a racist symbol, and by using it, they allowed people to misinturpret them, and even though they didn't mean it, it gave more fuel to racists.

I said that I thought it was good that they played with it. They were trying to reclaim the true meaning of the flag, and they shouldn't allow people to use it just as a symbol of hate. If people misinterpreted their meaning, it's not their fault, it's the people's ignorance that is at fault. I mentioned the Swastika, and how it was originally a religous symbol in many many cultures. If someone were to use that symbol in the orginal meaning, I would be fine with it.

My Dad said that the public perception overpowers the original meaning. He knew that they didn't mean it in a racist way, and he knew where I was coming from, from a historical matter. But to prevent more harsh feelings, such contreversial symbols shouldn't be used, regardless of the intended meaning, because of how they would be used.

What do you all think? What is more important; the intended message of a symbol or the way that symbol is percieved? Sorry for using such an American example, but it's what we were debating about, and I'm not sure if there as many polorizing, misinterptred symbols such as the Confederate Flag.