That’s stupid bullshit and you know it. The Civil War was a war between one group of guys and another group of guys. We cannot use the same term to describe both groups of guys. The historical accounts would make no sense.
And history has ALWAYS referred to rebels and insurrectionists by the name they give themselves, it’s nothing unique to the Confederacy. Pretending it somehow “legitimizes” the Confederacy is pure bullshit dreamed up by someone who wants to puff up his “I am so very very woke” cred. It’s a solution in search of a problem.
What do we call George Washington’s army? The same name they gave themselves, the Continental Army. What do we call Irish nationalists during the Troubles? The same name they gave themselves, the IRA. What do we call the militant Islamic fundamentalists who took over Afghanistan as the US pulled out? The same name they gave themselves, the Taliban.
The fact that you think referring to a rebel group by the name they gave themselves has ANYTHING to do with ANY kind of narrative means you are being either disingenuous or ignorant.
There are many, many ways to fight against bigots and racists nowadays. This is not one of them.
It’s incredibly sad that this has been turned into a meaningless phrase.