I AM STARTING THIS IN ALL CAPS TO STATE SO YOU KNOW HOW IMPORTANT THIS NEXT SENTENCE IS.
THIS WEEKEND’S ACTIONS IN CHARLOTTESVILLE WERE DISGUSTING AND HATE-FILLED. ON ONE SIDE.
There is no maybe’s around it. Hate-filled people were there to protest and people responded.
That’s not what I want to talk about. I want to talk about the idea of removing all Confederate statues around the nation. Especially near my hometown in SC. Now I am going to be upfront and say I don’t think the South has changed so much that they will be taking down all if any of these memorials but I am happy that there is a group still trying.
Slavery was/is bad.
You cannot deny that anymore.
But at what point do we forgive people who owned slaves and how many “good” deeds, ideas, plans does it take to “erase” the fact that someone 200 years ago supported enslaving people.
(please note that I also think that owning slaves and supporting slavery can be two different things)
John C Calhoun was a man who owned and supported slavery. He was also declared a Top 5 Senator by JFK. Do we topple every monument to him because of his one horrible belief system?
Robert E Lee had slaves, may have actually been opposed to slavery, was a brilliant military engineer, and the President of a college Post-Civil War. Does he not deserve to have recognition for any of it?
I think some of these memorials and statues need to be removed and placed in either museums or private property. For example, why are there statues of Confederate soldiers/generals/anyone north of the Mason Dixon?
I also think we need to place more statues of POC and women who shook up history as well.
I guess overall, I think that it’s time to forgive our ancestors of their mistakes, call out present and future haters, and remember that history is never as simple as good vs bad.
oh, and vote.
No Vote, No Voice.
Modern Miss Bennet 