Stars and Bars - Is it acceptable?

[Steppe Merc]

Edit: does anybody know the proportion of freed slaves who ended up as screwed over sharecroppers once their freedom was granted?

Almost all, I believe.

The Proclaimation of Emancipation was a weapon of war, a way to weaken the South from within and it worked. The sentiments however were, I believe, sincere.

Exactly. It was just done to allow the North to free the Southern slaves. It was well into the war, and if Lincoln cared about blacks, it would have been done at the start. And he didn't touch those slaves owned by the border states, because he knew he needed them. As much as I hate slavery and racism, and believe that the Confederates were wrong, I do not believe for a minute the North cared about blacks. Lincoln himself was looking into sending blacks to Africa and out West, I believe.

(Besides, they left the Union before Lincoln was ever sworn in.)

Well not quite. The first bunch because he was elected. I believed they tried and negiotate with him, but he refused. I may be incorrect, however. The rest succeeded after Fort Sumter.

And from what I understand, many of the soldiers did indeed believe it was about states rights. You think any of the soldiers gave a damn about slavery? Very few slave owners, other than generals actually fought. I do know that many were drafted, and thus didn't have a choice, but from what I've read the ones that did choose to fought didn't like the Yanks telling them what to do.

And Lynyrd Skynyrd didn't use the flag in a states rights way, just as a symbol of Southern pride. I mentioned that because that is one of the other interpretations.

And the Swatstika was used all around the world. Romans used it, Buddhists, many cultures did. Indeed, the Europa Barbaroum mod was debating whether or not to include the swatsika in our mod as decoration on the shields etc on our units. It was present in many places, and obviously didn't have anything to do with Nazis, but we had to decide whether or not to include it, and risk having it assumed that it somehow had to do with Nazis.

Its an ugly flag, symbolizing not States Rights but armed rebellion, and has racist overtones as well.

Armed rebellion, yes. States rights, possibly. I fail to see how it has any more racist overtones than the American flag. And what of Southern pride? My guess is that you wouldn't approve of it used in that manner either, but just checking, as that was how it was used in the example my Dad and I were talking about.
Just out of curosity Ichi, what is your position on that of the swastika, if used one of it's many original contexts? Should it be banned if someone would find it offensive, regardless of the fact that the way it is being used has nothing offensive about it?

Some blacks will find a racial element in anything - you just have to ignore them.

I know you weren't being racist, but not just blacks. People of all groups can see insult in anything.

99% of those who didn't move to the North ?
Those who moved to the North probably got screwed by other people. Although I think those states must have been a lot better for a former slave to live in.

This is true. Most who moved to the North moved to cities, and had hard time getting jobs, as well as faced persecution of other ethnic groups. For example, numerous Irish and other ethnic groups in New York rioted about fighting for blacks (which they weren't...), and with blacks (which they were) and went around killing black people and burning stuff.