Flying the Confederate Flag: The Point is ??

We read about this from time to time. A politician, in this case Republican Governor Matt Blunt of Missouri, orders that a Confederate Flag be flown. An NAACP official is outraged and calls for boycotts and all manner of consequences. It is easier to understand why the Confederate Flag is such a noxious symbol for African Americans than why flying it means so much to those who want it flown. The set piece played out this weekend in Missouri was entirely predictable, even scripted. Who was governor Blunt playing to, ancestor worshippers or racists? Wait, are there ancestor worshippers in Missouri? I wonder why those who observe Confederate Memorial Day couldn't honor their dead ancestors on May 30 when the rest of us honor our relatives who gave their life for their country? Maybe display of the "Stars and Bars" really does boil down to romantic, but stupid, notions of the chivalric South. More likely, it is a pointed expression of hostility to African Americans. Will we outgrow it in another 140 years?