Recently, the subject of misplaced Southern pride has come up again. Some loudmouth professor trying to make a point - as well as maybe keep his name in the air for who-knows-what purposes - said that the Confederate soldiers should have been hung as traitors after the war.

Unsurprisingly, many disagree with his statement. Some of the crowd seem only able to refute said loudmouth by bringing up his buddy-buddy photo with the one and only Che Guevara. Others try to weasel off the subject by bringing up the various technicalities that the Confederate apologists always truck out when the topic comes up: states' rights vs. federal rights being at the top of the list.

Of course, that's just the tip of the iceberg. There's a reason why the Confederate flag still flies in places down South, and why so many people are willing to fight so hard to make sure that it continues to do so. It's not always racism, contrary to popular belief: in fact, in this day and age I think we can rest assured that it's hardly ever racism, anymore.

And yet we're often astounded that it can't just be that. After all, there's a reason why you don't see most Americans out celebrating how we won the Indian Wars, imprisoned Japanese Americans during World War II or showed those sneaky VCs who was boss at Mai Lai. It's the same reason people in Germany don't dress up in boots and leather and reenact the good old days of the Third Reich (other than the fact that the German government made that illegal)

This is because we recognize that those chapters in our nation's history were shameful, and we would feel ashamed to glorify them. If you can't excuse it, why would you throw a party over it? The contradiction boggles the mind.

So why on earth do people glorify the Confederacy, then, if it's not racism? Much for the same reason so many African-Americans lionize losers like Rodney King, and let hypocrites like Jesse Jackson do the talking for them. In fact, you can draw a lot of parallels between the more pathetic wing of African American social politics and the whole "South Will Rise Again" schtick: questionable heroes, "feel good" rallies and organizations, silly traditions, an unwillingness to get rid of near-worthless symbols, etc. etc.

It's all part of the cult of the victim, otherwise known as Crybabyism. Crybabyism is the whinge and whine "pity me" routine that leads to people making themselves out to be victims, whether they really are or not. It leads to a downward spiral of hopelessness and helplessness, often attended by authorities too willing to dole out cash to the 'oppressed' than run the risks of saying "grow up."

The most likely Crybabies are people who have had unfair hurdles placed in front of them, or their ancestors, and instead of leaping over them they fell down and didn't get back up again. But those hurdles can also be imaginary or over-exaggerated, as well. And in those cases where the Crybabies are to blame for their own problems, they refuse to admit it, and instead blame someone or something else, instead.

You can see where I'm going with this... right?

Was the South at fault for what happened to them? Yes, and that's putting it mildly. All the yammering, technicalities and sorry-ass apologists in the world cannot erase the fact that America came to blows over an institution that was indefensible. And instead of maintaining the Union and working within the democracy - especially after they were handed a victory via the Dred Scott decision - the South broke their toys and went home.

However, was the South victimized after the war? Yes, and that's putting it mildly, too: there's no arguing the point that the former Confederate states got screwed. Fueled by a Northern-dominated Congress eager to punish the South, and in no mood to hear boo from a contrarian President, the Reconstruction turned cruel and mean. It was an injustice against those people when we really should have been trying to heal.

But after a certain time, it's time to stop crying and moaping about an injustice done to your person, and do what you can to either fix the problem or overcome it. We rightfully refuse reparations for slavery to African Americans because it happened so damn long ago, and we tell those who still demand them to grow up and get with the program. The Sons and Daughters of the Confederacy need to do the same.

So if I could say one thing to those who still fly the Confederate flag, yet wonder why the South never gets a fair shake, it's this: quit your bitching. Your forebears were on the wrong side of an important debate, they handled the matter very badly, and the entire nation paid the price for it.

Stop clinging to that sorry old rag. Admit that - yes - you were wrong. Stop celebrating having been wrong. And find those bits of Southern history that are worthy of being proud of, and rally around them, instead.

If you're curious as to where I stand on the non-issue of Confederates being executed as traitors... I say no. Regardless of what they did, and what came about as a result, the nation had gone through enough horror and pain by that point. It would have done no one any good to take every man who wore gray and dangle him from a rope. It would have done a lot more harm.

We all needed to heal. We all needed to forgive. And, as a nation, we all needed to learn our lesson and grow up. It's high time the modern-day Confederacy did the same.

"The lights are growing dim. I know a life of crime led me to this sorry fate. And yet... I I blame society! Society made me what I am!"

"That's bullshit"

- The touching death scene from "Repo Man"