The United States and Confederaflag are both symbols of slavery...

My opponent refutes my saying that the US has been and will always be the melting pot. To support this, my opponent says " A brief examination of the country's origins easily disproves this assertion." If you look at Ellis Island, millions of immigrants came into the US from there. The US most definitely is the melting pot because "it has been estimated that close to 40 percent of all current U.S. citizens can trace at least one of their ancestors to Ellis Island"[1]. Also, my opponent offers insight about Jim Crow Laws and gerrymandering however fails to connect it to the topic being debated, that the US flag stands for slavery and that the confederate flag had influence in Dylann Roof's actions. My opponent also states that "race is a false social construct that was and is used to foster the class conscious agenda that supports the wealthy elite's plan for population control". I see no evidence to support that assertion. Furthermore he states that "[i]t is my opponent's form of revisionist history that retards any progress that can be made toward healing wounds from the past", an ad hominem statement attacking my character to disregard my argument. My opponent acknowledges that the Union cannot be held accountable for what occurred under the confederacy, which flew a different flag than the Union, yet still asserts that the Union's flag supports slavery. My opponent continues the thought by stating that Abraham Lincoln was "not, nor ever [has] been, in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races" which is blatantly false. In fact, Lincoln was an outspoken abolitionist. On October 7th, 1858 in the Fifth Debate with Stephen A. Douglas at Galesburg, Illinois, Abraham Lincoln asserted that slavery was against American principles and claimed that "all men were created equal" applied to them just as much as to whites. Lincoln also "vigorously supported the 13th Amendment which abolished slavery throughout the United States, and, in the last speech of his life, he recommended extending the vote to African Americans"[2]. My opponent also uses the red herring fallacy to divert attention from the topic being debated, whether the US flag represents slavery, to Lincoln's personal beliefs which aren't even true. My opponent then goes on to say "[t]he Emancipation did not truly free any slaves" which is false, as I quote it saying that all slaves in the confederacy "are, and henceforth shall be free"[3]. Next, my opponent refutes my statement that "...the US has every right to pass judgement on the disgusting organization that was the Confederacy" by asserting that "social, industrial, religious, educational, and governmental institutions segregated and biased in the US as they were in the Confederacy". He also states that "[t]o this very day the United States has yet to truly deal with its history of racist practices, the accumulation of wealth derived from free labor, or its current racist paradigm." This is to refute my argument that the US flag does not represent slavery. My opponent uses the Guilt by Association fallacy by associating Americans and supporters of the American flag to "overseers in the Confederacy". One cannot accurately depict the American people as confederates. My opponent's argument is fallacious. He then prompts me to debate a new topic, the existence of institutional racism in the US, using the red herring fallacy to divert attention from the topic being debated. My opponent also qualifies my argument that the confederate flag, the one and only symbol of confederate ideology played a role in Roof's shooting in saying "[d]id the Confederate ideology play a part in forming the twisted and sordid psyche of the shooter? I would suppose it did", so seeing as my opponent changed his mind and supports my stance on the topic being debated, I see no need to continue arguing that topic. However, my opponent continues to argue this topic, speaking about South Africa's former policies which do not correlate to present day America as neither does the Confederacy. It is said by my opponent that "with or without the Confederate flag, the shooter and other racists would be able to find an ample supply of racist ideology to pollute and corrupt their pscyches and souls in the current atmosphere of the U.S.." The topic being debated is that the Confederate flag "is relevant to the Charleston shooting". As pointed out in my previous sources, Roof is an avid supporter of the confederate ideology, has confederate plates on his car, poses in pictures with the confederate flag, and burns the US flag which supports that "all men are created equal". My opponent is using the red herring fallacy again to divert attention from the original issue. Lastly, my opponent concludes with "[t]he news did not even mention racism in the first reports that were released. Once pressured to mention race, they used the Confederate angle as a means to make racism seem like a thing of the past". I posted a link to CNN's articles and videos about the case in my previous sources. Every single article and video labelled it as a racist attack, which it was. The confederate flag represents confederate ideology. As Roof was an avid supporter of confederate ideology, it would make sense to include that. They were labeling confederacy a thing of the past, which it is. It is far more taboo to see a radical confederate since that is a thing of the past and directly against the American principle that "all men are created equal", for which both the flag and the citizens of this country stand. [1] http://www.history.com... [2] http://www.nps.gov... [3] http://www.emancipationproclamation.org...