University of Virginia Library

Donn Kessler

Keeping Our Cool

Have you ever felt as if you
were flogging a dead horse? That's
the image that comes to mind as
the issue of banners and flags comes
alive once again this weekend. With
the first home game since the ban
on flags and banners was rescinded
scheduled for Saturday, at least
some students will be bringing flags
and banners of all sorts into Scott
Stadium. There has been official
University encouragement of
display of flags by the Athletic
Department through its sponsoring
of a banner and flag contest to
encourage increased spirit for the
infamous Cavaliers. Before we bring
all sorts and types of flags into the
stadium, however, we should
consider the consequences of our
actions.

The whole controversy of the
flag ban centered on the meaning of
the Confederate flag. Certain
groups of students felt that the flag,
like "Dixie" was a symbol of
racism. Other students felt that the
flag was only a symbol of Southern
pride. The debate
continued—endlessly—exactly
because both sides were right and
both sides were wrong. The point
obvious to all sides (but that no one
wished to admit) was that the
meaning of the flag depended upon
your own background and
interpretation. Being a value
judgement, no one could say that
anyone was right or that anyone
was wrong.

If one fact came out of the
entire flag controversy, however, it
was that the Confederate flag, as a
symbol, can hurt people's feelings.
Just the fact that to a substantial
number of students at this
University, the Confederate flag has
an evil connotation, should lead us
to consider the consequences of our
actions. Hopefully, it should
convince us that the Confederate
flag, like any other symbol, should
not be waved in the faces of those
it has a tendency to offend. Perhaps
this is what is meant by maturity
and gentlemanly conduct (in the
highest meaning of the word): that
a mature gentleman doesn't
intentionally act in a way that he
knows will offend another person.
This principle applies not only to
the Confederate flag but to any and
all symbols.

A further consideration should
be given to what to do if an
incident does develop. There will be
some among us who are not
sensitive to the feelings of other
people and who will bring in flags
and banners (whether they be of
the Confederate variety or not) that

will offend others. None of us at
Scott Stadium should lower
ourselves to the baseness and
irrationally of these people. If these
people are asked to take their flags
down and refuse to do so, irrational
thought will not help us to achieve
our ends. This does not necessarily
mean that we sit back and allow
inconsiderate people to continue to
act as they wish to act. It also does
not necessarily mean that we beat
the hell out of such people. What it
does mean is that we should think
through our actions and consider
their consequences. It means to
keep our cool and then act.

The responsibility therefore lies
with all of us. Let us consider the
consequences of all our actions
before we act. Let us consider what
our actions will mean to others.
And then let us consider if our
actions will attain the end we want
them to attain. Then and only then
can we be assured that, at least in
our minds, we were right in what
we did.