JAG File with John Adams-Graf

'Calvinizing' the Confederate flag
Posted by John

Greetings,
   Remember the cartoon of Calvin urinating on what he didn’t like? It spread like wildfire in the 1990s to hundreds of thousands of car bumpers and rear windows with the cartoon character marking everything from the Chevrolet logo to Green Bay Packer cheeseheads.
   The other day, I wanted to be that cartoon character.
   The feeling overwhelmed me, most appropriately, when I walked into the restroom of one of my clients. But rather than take aim on the brand new Kohler porcelain commode, I wanted to redirect my fire mission at their shower curtain. Why? Because it wasn’t a cute plastic sheet with mermaids, shining suns or some other innocuous decorator design, but rather, a full-blown, stinkin’ Confederate Naval Jack!
   Like many Americans, I have grown to despise the Confederate Naval Jack and its sister banner, the Confederate battle flag. I don’t loathe the original flags carried by southern soldiers or flown by Rebel sailors who took up arms against the Federal government in the 1860s nor even those waved by crackers to justify their Nascar-loving, trailer-dwelling, knuckle-dragging, “South’s gonna do it again”, slack-jawed behavior. But rather, I despise the banner stolen by racists in the late 20th Century to symbolize their twisted beliefs.
   Like Americans since the end of the Civil War, I haven’t always despised the silken symbol of the Confederacy. In fact, I can remember a fight with a playmate when I was only five years old because we agreed to play “Civil War” that resulted when but I insisted on being Confederate. “Because,” as I shouted at him between little fist blows, “They have the best flag!” All through my childhood and young adolescence, I doodled thirteen stars on St. Andrew’s cross. The crown of the first felt kepi that my folks bought for me when I was 10 years old was adorned with a Confederate battle flag sticker. I sure didn’t “hate” that cap. I wore it every day until it completely disintegrated around my ears.
   Like it did to so many Americans in the 1960s and 1970s, the flag of my youth symbolized the Confederacy...an underdog’s attempt to free itself from the grasp of the Man. It wasn’t until a decade later that racists seized the flag and waved it as a weapon of hatred and intimidation. Unfortunately for the flag, that stain won’t wash out anytime soon.

HISTORICAL RELIC OF TREASON
   I do not advocate removing the Confederate battle flag from display within the context of the history that it represents. It most certainly has a place in historical exhibits, reenactments or in any venue that talks about the history of 13 southern states leaving the Union and establishing their own nation.
   But public display, I am afraid, has become inappropriate—no fault of the banner or the men who fought for it nearly 150 years ago. But since the moment when the last one dipped in surrender in 1865, the Confederate battle flag has continued to fly, meaning something different to each person who unfurls it: Southern pride, independent spirit and racial hatred being the top three reasons.
   The groups that have adopted the flag for their own personal agendas only pay superficial tribute to those who actually fought for the right to fly it. They are too wrapped up in their own causes to consider that it is a sacred relic of a short-lived nation.
   Say what you want about the Confederate Naval Jack or battle flag, it has been tainted by the racists who have adopted it as their banner. Like the swimming pool little Calvin peed in, “Once it’s in there, ya ain’t ever gonna be able to call it clean again”.
   We don’t get to pick and choose the history we like. One can’t say, “Oh, I don’t agree with the racists thing, my great grand-daddy served with the uptyteenth Alabama Yankee Slayers” and fly their battle flag from their car radio antenna. Why not? Because someone else will see the flag as a symbol of it’s later cause of racial purity.
   It may not seem right, but history is history. We don’t get to ignore one segment to celebrate another. (Gee, sound familiar? Ever hear a collector say, “Those Nazis had a good plan, it just got out of hand with that whole Jewish thing”. I have. Shockingly, at nearly every relic show I attend.)
   So, give it up crackers. It doesn’t matter if the “South’s gonna do it agin”. Even if they do, they are smart enough to know they won’t do it under the old Confederate battle flag. It was once a symbol of thirteen states who, ironically, banded together so that they could institute “states rights”. Many perished in the attempt to establish that reality. When racists picked up the banner to further their own beliefs, they “peed in the pool”. They have tainted the flag with a meaning that can’t be ignored.
   Perhaps, one day, the flag won’t symbolize hatred, racial purity or segregation, but until that day, fold up your battle flag. Bad-asses and “down with the government” rebels may want to look for a symbol that is untainted by reprehensible beliefs...like a possum on a stick.

Honor those who served,
John Adams-Graf
Military Trader and Military Vehicles Magazine

P.S. For an interesting treatise on the emerging and many different meanings of the Confederate flag, I strongly recommend The Confederate Battle Flag: America's Most Embattled Emblem by John M. Coski (Cambridge, Mass., and London: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2005).

Wednesday, October 21, 2009 10:46:46 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)

Comments [8]

Thursday, October 08, 2009

MAX-ing out in Pittsburgh
Posted by John

Greetings,
I am just back from Pittsburgh where I attended the MAX Show. Many have asked about my experiences there.

   To be honest, I didn’t see much of the show. Working for several masters, I spent the show behind tables. My walking around time was expended with trips for Diet Coke and resulting visits to the restroom.

   However, standing behind a table, does provide an interesting perspective. Here are a few things I observed:

   First, I have to compliment the MAX organizers. I really liked the new facility. It was divided into two major rooms, but it was like that at the old Monroeville location as well. Parking seemed to be very limited and dealers were asked to park in the adjacent K-Mart lot to make room for the large, expected public attendance. We parked across the highway, but apparently something more had to happen to draw in the public.

   Public attendance was about nil. I would be surprised if more than 500 people paid to come through the show. But that really isn’t a criticism. The MAX Show is really a “trade show” where dealers come together and refocus their wares by selling and buying among themselves. Any public that comes through door is just a bonus. And let’s face it, if a person is going to spend more than $50 at the show, they are already there as a dealer or a table helper. Military collectors are very aware that the early bird gets the relic, so there are very few who will patiently stand outside waiting for the doors to open on Friday morning.

   I heard some dealers complain that the admission price was too high ($12 per person). Come on. If a person isn’t willing to pay $12 to get in, do you really think they are in a position to buy that $6,000 SS helmet on your table?

   I can’t say that sales were “brisk”, but there were sales. I didn’t witness fast, “I see it, I’ll take it” sort of transactions, but rather, very slow, patient negotiations. Discounts were there to be had, for sure. The smart dealers recognized the lower demand and were willing to respond with discounts to close the deals. I’ve said it before: “Supply side economics works!” When demand is low and supply is high, a retailer has to lower prices. At the end of the show, the dealers who were happy had done just that.

   In the November issue of Military Trader, MAX organizer Thomas Wittman addressed some dealers’ concerns about the MAX Show’s responsibility in enforcing an ethics policy. Some anticipated a showdown at the show over this matter, but it never played out as far as I could see or hear. There was no drama, no scenes.

   Some have asked, “What was the most unusual thing you saw, John?” That has to be, without a doubt, high-end dealer Craig Gottlieb gliding through the show on a Segway Personal Transporter. I scoffed, snickered and looked away, but by the end of the show, I was thinking, “I bet Gottlieb’s legs don’t hurt anywhere near as much as mine!”

   As for cool relics, I honestly can’t say! I never got out to the walk the show. But, that isn’t to say I didn’t make any purchases.

   On set-up day, I glanced at the table behind mine, and there sat a complete WWI 6-pound projectile like those used on MK V “Male” tanks. I snatched that up right away.

   When making a delivery of magazines to the front table on Sunday, I spotted an officer’s Tank Corps pin on a tunic that a fellow was carrying in his arms. I stopped to talk to him about the tunic and ended up adding a very nice 307th Tank Brigade officer’s uniform to my collection.

   It was an absolute delight to reconnect with a lot of friends and many readers of the magazine. I was able to sit and talk wih Bob Chatt (organizer of the Pomona Show), Arizona dealers Larry and Terry Stewart, Pennsylvania dealer Dan Griffin, Bay State Militaria owner Scott Kraska, dagger entrepreneur Tom Johnson and my buddies from Manion’s, Andrew Turner and John Conway. That is the great thing about the MAX show, it draws from across the nation — and world — anyone who is active in the hobby.

   So what is my opinion of MAX 2009? Overall, it was a very good experience: The facilities were really nice, the restrooms were always clean and food service adequate, the organizers made a very strong effort to promote and publicize the event, and there were was a wide representation of the hobby present.

   All the ingredients were there to make any militaria dealer or collector happy. If anyone complains that the sales weren’t there, I can only say it was their own fault (remember, I adhere to supply-side economics!).

   Keep finding the good stuff, and if you deal, adjust your prices to match the demand.

   John Adams-Graf
   Editor, Military Trader and Military Vehicles Magazine

Thursday, October 08, 2009 2:59:08 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)

Comments [2]

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