NATIONAL FLAG

malafrikawi · Newbie

NATIONAL FLAG

Black Panther · Senior Member

Every country is made up of the majority and the minority. In the case of Malawi, the flag represents the majority, but this does not necessarily mean that its excluding any minorities in the country..there are Malawians with different ethnicites and with different skin colors.... they can still see pride in the flag b/c they are living or are from a country where the majority , no matter how you cut it is black ...Lets look at the South African Flag its a rainbow colored flag, but there is no white on it, and blak on there flag represetns the people thata as well..... If it was a falg like Israel , where th star of david represents the people in the region, that would not work b/c most people in that region are muslims...and the Muslms in Israel "palestine ' are oppressed. so in that case it is a flag that divides but not unites the people it represents..Malawi does not have this problem, it is not nation that discrinminate in its laws, it hasnt occupied a groups of people, the flag looks good ..it aint broke..

malafrikawi · Newbie

Black Panther wrote:

Every country is made up of the majority and the minority. In the case of Malawi, the flag represents the majority, but this does not necessarily mean that its excluding any minorities in the country..there are Malawians with different ethnicites and with different skin colors.... they can still see pride in the flag b/c they are living or are from a country where the majority , no matter how you cut it is black ...Lets look at the South African Flag its a rainbow colored flag, but there is no white on it, and blak on there flag represetns the people thata as well..... If it was a falg like Israel , where th star of david represents the people in the region, that would not work b/c most people in that region are muslims...and the Muslms in Israel "palestine ' are oppressed. so in that case it is a flag that divides but not unites the people it represents..Malawi does not have this problem, it is not nation that discrinminate in its laws, it hasnt occupied a groups of people, the flag looks good ..it aint broke..

Ok am with you but still , look at these countries,both Congos ,Nigeria Cameroon,Senegal ,Botswana with majority blacks ,no single black strip on thier flags.Just to correct you South Afrika flag has some white on it,thanks for some info anyway.

malafrikawi · Newbie

malafrikawi wrote:

Black Panther wrote: Every country is made up of the majority and the minority. In the case of Malawi, the flag represents the majority, but this does not necessarily mean that its excluding any minorities in the country..there are Malawians with different ethnicites and with different skin colors.... they can still see pride in the flag b/c they are living or are from a country where the majority , no matter how you cut it is black ...Lets look at the South African Flag its a rainbow colored flag, but there is no white on it, and blak on there flag represetns the people thata as well..... If it was a falg like Israel , where th star of david represents the people in the region, that would not work b/c most people in that region are muslims...and the Muslms in Israel "palestine ' are oppressed. so in that case it is a flag that divides but not unites the people it represents..Malawi does not have this problem, it is not nation that discrinminate in its laws, it hasnt occupied a groups of people, the flag looks good ..it aint broke.. Ok am with you but still , look at these countries,both Congos ,Nigeria Cameroon,Senegal ,Botswana with majority blacks ,no single black strip on thier flags.Just to correct you South Afrika flag has some white on it,thanks for some info anyway.

sorry on Botswana,

there is black on it .talk of emotions

awmygawd · Guru

The choice & inspiration for the black stripe is understandable if you consider how many non-black Malawians existed in '64 (I wasn't there, I can only assume it wasn't that much!). I've always thought of it as representing the people of Malawi rather than the BLACK people of Malawi though.

malafrikawi · Newbie

awmygawd wrote:

The choice & inspiration for the black stripe is understandable if you consider how many non-black Malawians existed in '64 (I wasn't there, I can only assume it wasn't that much!). I've always thought of it as representing the people of Malawi rather than the BLACK people of Malawi though.

I really like your short and sharp explaination.

Black Panther · Senior Member

malafrikawi wrote:

awmygawd wrote: The choice & inspiration for the black stripe is understandable if you consider how many non-black Malawians existed in '64 (I wasn't there, I can only assume it wasn't that much!). I've always thought of it as representing the people of Malawi rather than the BLACK people of Malawi though. I really like your short and sharp explaination.

awmygod , I cant see how black was not intended to represent the majority Black people. Green is for the land ...land and pasteurs are obviously green in color, red symbolizes the blood shed ..blood isobviously red, black is for the people...the people are black. If you see the colors as an analogy, its not a coincidence... but like I said earlier , thie does not mean its not inclusive.

Malaafikawi , Having black on an african flag is not a requirement (a flag as a whole is meant to represent the people and people are more then just a color), Liberias is red white and blue...WHITE stands for Peace in most flags, not the color of the people...in the case for countires that have black in the flag they do specifically say its for the people...other flags that have black will specifically say what it represents...see:

http://flagspot.net/flags/iso3166.html

-- Edited by Black Panther at 16:24, 2006-06-26

awmygawd · Guru

Black Panther wrote:

I cant see how black was not intended to represent the majority Black people.

It was. At the time, Black was the obvious choice of colour to represent the Malawian people; none-black Malawians were virtually none existent (presumably) and also, what better colour to symbolise a new Malawi free from colonial white rule?

Such symbols are dynamic and I have always felt that what they represent in contemporary times doesn't have to be stated explicitly. Condoleezza Rice said it best: "When the Founding Fathers said, we the people, they didn't mean me. It's taken us quite a long time to find a way to live up to our principles and our ideals"

It can reasonably be assumed that whoever wrote the US constitution wasn't thinking of Americas black population when it was written. Times have changed however and while we all know the historical truth about the US constitution, the present reality is different. The US constitution doesn't need to be changed to reflect the fact. It is for exactly the same reason that I have always seen the black stripe in the Malawian flag first and foremost as representing the Malawian people as opposed to the black people of Malawi.

PS: Thanks Malafrikawi.