Heritage or hate?

It is down in South Carolina, but flying high in the Wisconsin countryside.

The Confederate flag remains a popular symbol of freedom and rebellion for some people in rural communities of Shawano County and elsewhere.

Uproar that brought down the flag recently at South Carolina’s state Capitol has also inflamed critics here who see the Civil War-era stars and bars as an emblem for racism and bigotry.

But while acceptance of the flag has faded in some corners of rural Wisconsin, there are still people who display the controversial symbol happily, even defiantly.

Michael York Jr., a high school student in Gillett, said he encounters frequent criticism from passersby — and occasional encouragement from others — when he displays two large Confederate flags on his pickup truck.

Administrators at Gillett High School recently ordered York to remove the flags whenever he brings his truck to school.

In response to the controversy emanating from South Carolina, the 17-year-old returned the stars and bars to his vehicle this summer, in what he calls a show of proud heritage that has nothing to do with race. The flag is a symbol of the rural Oconto County culture in which he grew up, York said.

“Everybody thinks it’s racist, but there’s many definitions to it,” he said. “I just want to fly it.”

Gillett School Superintendent Todd Carlson said administrators received complaints about York’s flags from students, parents and teachers who associated the display with racism. The issue developed toward the end of the just-completed school year.

Because the student’s exhibition created a disturbance, officials decided it should be removed from campus.

“Some people are offended by these things,” Carlson said. “You have to respect people’s opinions.”

The delicate balance between freedom of expression and sensitivity toward others has created issues elsewhere in rural communities where the Confederate flag has flown.

At the Shawano Speedway, stock car drivers once used the flag frequently as a symbol of the southern demographic from which NASCAR racing emerged years ago. Such displays have gradually grown less common and are no longer cheered so enthusiastically.

Racetrack promoter Brad Luepke said he thought better of an exhibitor’s plan to visit the speedway recently with a race-car replica that featured a Confederate flag. Aware of the South Carolina black church massacre June 17 that has caused widespread debate about the flag, Luepke turned the exhibitor away.

“We told him, no, that’s probably not a good idea,” he said.

Others defend the stars and bars as an historical and cultural artifact that they say is falling victim to extreme political correctness.

Doc’s Harley-Davidson of Shawano County has come under scrutiny lately because of its display of a replica car from the “Dukes of Hazzard” television series of the early 1980s. Known as the “General Lee,” the orange car bears a Confederate flag painted on the roof.

In the aftermath of the South Carolina church massacre and the suspected shooter’s association with the Confederate symbol, TV Land network announced it was cancelling all “Dukes of Hazzard” reruns.

Doc’s Harley-Davidson, located in Bonduel, displays its famous TV car replica in a museum of classic autos and motorcycles. Another image of the “General Lee” is shown in an airborne position outside the business, although that rooftop flag has faded.

Store manager Kersten Heling said officials have received much feedback about the Confederate symbol in recent weeks, including both support and criticism. One critic threatened ongoing harassment until the flag images are removed.

Heling said the flag is shown strictly as memorabilia from a TV show, not because of any symbolism.

“We appreciate the originality of the General Lee,” she said. “And we intend to continue that.”

Defenders of the flag say it has come to symbolize, for them, something far different than black slavery or other themes dating back to the Civil War.

Michael York Sr., father of the Gillett High School student with the pickup truck, said he, too, embraces the stars and bars as an emblem of individuality. The father and firefighter said he has a Confederate flag tattoo on one arm — and a U.S. flag tattoo on the other.

York removed his son’s flags from the truck when school officials demanded it. But he supports the teen’s wishes to express himself otherwise.

“It’s nothing as in racism,” he said. “It’s just being different.”