I've seen it in Europe too and those guys definitely couldn't even name one southern state. They did find something about the symbolism very appealing though. Something about some group of humans being superior to others, I can't recall exactly.

In Europe it's used by hard rock fans as a merchandising trope with the American "route 66" myth and so on, we don't relate it to racism but to guys in bikes listening to Motorhead.

> Have you never been to rural NY? The Confederate flag flies all over the place there

Many times, and I can earnestly say I've never seen that. Nor in rural Pennsylvania for that matter, which I would otherwise characterize as slightly less sophisticated than NY. Are there racists in that region? Certainly. But I can't recall ever seeing somebody in those states flying the confederate flag.

I'm sure it's happened before, I'm sure you can find me local news reporting on instances of it. But it's definitely not a common sight.

Counter anecdote: I’ve spent 20 years around PA and I’ve seen it plenty of times throughout the state. Just recently I saw a set of half confederate half American flags near the Water Gap, which was new for me. It’s uncommon in most of PA but it’s pretty common to see handful of Confederate bumper stickers on a drive across the state.

I'm from Michigan, the state that gave the Union General Custer and when asked to give one regiment actually supplied seven regiments of men to fight against the CSA. And the Confederate battle flag flies everywhere around the state. It's an absolute travesty of history and it's downright embarrassing.

I've seen it in New York, in Pennsylvania, and, memorably, once in northern Ohio, while doing a canvass --- one I wish I'd seen before I knocked on the door and got chased off the property.

Canvasing in Ohio is a blast. I did it once and the field office was based out of a recently shuttered gambling den. Getting yelled at on someone's front porch is unfiltered democracy!

It was unfiltered, all right.