"There are no living slaves. There are no living Americans that owned slaves!!"
Okay, but...
"If Southerners are not allowed their heritage"
But there are no living Confederates either. So why is "Southern heritage" being equated with Confederate memorials?
Nono - 7 years ago
"the stupidity of today is mind boggling"
The Dunning–Kruger effect is real.
The Civil War was largely about slavery unless you're a revisionist historian.
If the point of a statue is to preserve history and serve as a reminder of the past, then we should have a lot more statues of Native Americans and slaves. Having so few statues and memorials of the victims of great American atrocities seems pretty one-sided. I would hope that the chanters of "but history" would support this, yea?
Momo - 7 years ago
Listen up... The KKK was organized by DEMONcrats! The civil war was NOT about slavery. There are no living slaves. There are no living Americans that owned slaves!! If reparation are paid to anyone this land belonged to the native Americans. There is ONE race - the human race. Damn the stupidity of today is mind boggling. Barry O. did an excellent job at division in this country and oh yeah, President Trump inherited the hatred from a Soro's funded agenda incited by our previous administration .If Southerners are not allowed their heritage there should be no special treatment for anyone else's heritage. If you believe the civil war was about slavery and are cool with it being erased then erase slavery and their culture too.. There you go clean slate. Welcome to the human race.
Jim - 7 years ago
I think it is silly wanting them removed. I guess these people wanting them rrmoved will try to find ways to re-write the history of this great country. We are not asked to worship the monuments, just serve as symbols of our history. Ehat is next?? Remove the pyramids?? They too were built by slaves. The whole tjing is craze. I ssy if we rrmove one....remove them all...including MLK statues all over this country. Thats part of history too.
L. LaVallee - 7 years ago
I have lived juat outside Boston my whole life.A notherner all my life.
I belive it's American history and should be preserved
J Seff - 7 years ago
Confederate statues are basically giant participation trophies.
Steve M Netherland - 7 years ago
Glad this is happening! Maybe people will realize we are on the verge of another civil war.That will be both terrible and wonderful. Surely, you understand that this is inevitable.Who wants this most?....those who will rule after it is over. Any guess who they are? ...That's right. ...Those who rule it now.
Delwin Goss - 7 years ago
I keep reading comments about losers don't get memorialized. Try coming to Texas and saying that about those who fought and died at the Alamo. I'll be first in line to punch the stupid smile off your face.
J Lee - 7 years ago
To you less learned people in these comments. The civil war wasn't started over slavery. It was started over taxation. Please feel free to read up on it some time so, you don't look dumb when leaving a comment.
Faye Combs - 7 years ago
The Jewish people don't seem to have a problem with preserving reminders of the Holocaust. We preserve history for a reason - to learn from it.
Bizzi - 7 years ago
No one is trying to "erase" history, but glorfying generals, or people in general, who fought a losing, traitorous war against the United States of America for the right to OWN other people has NO place for monuments in the public parks and city centers of the US. Those things should be displayed *in context* within museums dedicated to that shameful era in history, that they be forever remembered, but not monumental and celebrated in areas where ALL Americans live and love freely.
Ned T. - 7 years ago
Anything named "MLK" should be removed if we are reaching for true equality.
On the other hand, it is a good warning that you are in a dangerous ghetto if you see a street sign named "MLK Blvd." So, I guess keep the street sings for public safety.
Ned T. - 7 years ago
All part of the eradication of white culture in favor of black culture. And, you libtards wonder why nutjobs plow cars into groups of screaming anarchists.
This is not about "diversity," it is about eradication—just read the comments on this message board.
Jim Bob Delaney - 7 years ago
Since when in America do we support statues for losers? The Confederates lost the War - they were literally losers. I see no reason to enshrine losers, especially when said losers were trying to break apart our country so they could continue to own people. Those who died in the Confederacy can still have the same respected burial site as any other person who has died, but let's stop honoring these losers with special monuments and structures.
And it's not like we're going to stop teaching our kids Civil War history if the statues comes down. And if you put the statues in museums, they might even get more exposure and provide more education there.
Deborah Ramsey - 7 years ago
Every Generation has a right to learn from our past mistakes! ALL History should be preserved without racial bias and no sanitizing the truth!
Dr. Daniel Nation - 7 years ago
If you believe that the alt-left will stop at removal of Confederate monuments, you are taking the wrong drugs. Just ask Neville Chamberlain how well appeasement works.
Rebecca L - 7 years ago
Some facts: the statue of Lee in Charlottesville was added in 1925, during a time period when the KKK was resurfacing. We don't know exactly what the donor was thinking, but we can be pretty sure it was about "the lost cause" of the South and slavery. It is important to note that Lee had no direct connection to Charlottesville. So this memorial has no history there--it is random. Lee is memorialized at Washington & Lee University where he was president and is buried, at this birth place, and at his home in Arlington. Removing the statue in Charlottesville and taking it to a place more closely associated with him makes sense. It is not erasing history. Another fact--Lee never put on a Confederate uniform after the war. He did not approve of this type of memorial, rather he acknowledged the defeat. As a general rule, American doens't have monuments to those who lose against us in wars. I don't know of any memorials in America to the Spanish or Phillipinos who fought in the Spanish American War, the British who fought in the Revolutionary War, the Nazi who fought in WWII, the Germans who fought in WWI, etc. Why should the Confederacy be any different? Context is everything. When these monuments are at the right place--a place with historic connections--they can be used to teach history. But when they are randomly placed in communities where they have no connections and in parks that are supposed to be welcoming to all, they are offensive. Regardless of your personal beliefs, this community had the right to decide what was best for it without people coming from all across the country to protest.
Margaret Kincaid - 7 years ago
As a history major, I understand the need to preserve them or to put them in a museum so we can learn about our past and how to not repeat it. I also think that to add new monuments of women and African Americans who were important historical figures is the other way to handle this and balance the historical content. For example, Richmond, VA took heat when they added Arthur Ashe to Monument Ave. but he was an important figure in the city's history as well as African American history. The same goes with the recent unveiling of Maggie Walker. The history of our nation is Native American, African American and White American; it all needs to be taught, recorded and remembered. There are some dark times, but they are vital for to know, so they cannot happen again.
Denise - 7 years ago
If we do not know out past we can not expect to change our future. We have seen the past where countries and religions destroy the monuments and strucktors of the past. This can not go on. I for one had nothing to do with the past but I know that learning it makes me a better person.
Brandy Wilkerson - 7 years ago
Omg, the fucking civil war was over in 1865!!!! The North (The USA!) allowed the South many concessions and thereby allowed racism to not only continue, but in a lot of ways get worse! One of the"worse" examples being the creation of the KKK. IT IS NOW 2017, over 150 years later AND WE ARE STILL DEALING WITH RACISM!!! And white people are on this thread saying the same shit as then! "Just give it time" "It's historical" "it's our heritage, it's not hate" SHUT THE HOLY FUCK UP WITH THAT SHIT!!!!!!! As long as that shit is honored, people will honor it! It is NOT honorable! Never was, never will be! #WakeTheFuckUp ???????????????? #EnoughIsEnough
William Hatcher - 7 years ago
No one can change history no matter how bad they want to! Everyone must respect these patriots for what they believed in at their point and time in history. Removing statues will not change history, it will only make the living descendants of those patriots who fought so bravely and some even gave their life for a cause they believed in so strongly to be very angry and bitter for trying to erase a part of our great country's past and their family's heritage..... It is all about respect; respecting everyone's heritage no matter how you are or where you came from....!
Phillip McElroy - 7 years ago
Had family both sides equally proud of both ! Leave our history alone, if ya dont like it too dam bad,if your offends to bad ! Don't look at them or better yet move someplace else , I'm an American an proud of my heritage! In fact you OFFEND me! Like the Amish you will be shund you cease to exist to the rest of us !
Allen Cannon - 7 years ago
It sickens me to have to endure the cultural cleansing that is being carried out. Not to mention that the majority of people that have hopped on the bandwagon, are completely ignorant when it comes to history. What I am about to say is fact. Google it. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, Alexander Hamilton, Ulysses S Grant, & Ben Franklin all owned slaves. You don't see anybody throwing money away. Oh, don't forget Lincoln. His plan was to free black people and then ship them to Liberia. Wow!
Maxey Baucum - 7 years ago
If people keep and open mind & not try to use today's present mindset then one can better understand the war between the states. It involved politic & greed creating a rich man's war and a poor man's fight resulting in the death of 630,000 people. The results of the cause were to place a noble cause of ending slavery. Ask yourself why a war would start over slavery when it existed until after the war was over. The emancipation proclamation was an executive order only freeing slaves in the southern states not the north where it still existed. Doesn't it stand to reason that if the Union controlled its on congress why didn't they pass an amendment prohibiting slavery if they were fighting to free people. With the invent of the digital world the genie is out the bottle of what was suppose to be the noble cause. Plenty of information in congressional records and other official documents now are available on the web that was never part of the puzzle in text that debunks a lot of the myths of the war.
Lawrence Capers - 7 years ago
Hello I believe that they should be preserved and they should be put in a museum one of the reasons why we have the problems we do with the race it's because our government hid a lot of the truth about our race about our country and what it went through I think now is the time for the country to be honest with self and it's Civil War which still goes on today these arts and statues of people who are famous for what they've done should be a reason for us not to want to go back and to learn from what this nasty experience has brought us to.
Lawrence Capers - 7 years ago
Hello I believe that they should be preserved and they should be put in a museum one of the reasons why we have the problems we do with the race it's because our government hit a lot of the truth about our race about our country and what it went through I think now is the time for the country to be honest with soft and it's Civil War which still goes on today these arts and statues of people who are famous for what they've done should be a reason for us not to want to go back and to learn from what this nasty experience has brought us to.
Rondell North - 7 years ago
So after 20,000 votes, about 70% approve to preserve the Confederate symbols. Interesting. What's surprising to me is that putting those symbols in a museum is currently running last. Most of you voting on this probably have no idea where these statues are even located.
It would be much better for the historical relavency of these statues, if they were all located in a museum or in a state park dedicated to the Civil War. It is important to learn about the history of this country ( all of it ). History should not be erased. It cannot be erased. There should be a place where everyone can properly learn about the Civil War, on both sides.
At the end of the day, these cities and states have the authority to remove these statues. Hopefully they'll relocate them into a museum or at a park, for those who want to go to that location and learn about the history of the person.
Jim - 7 years ago
Suddenly, after 150 years, monuments to southern men and woman are racist and shameful. Their history must be erased. So, if this must be so, then all history must be erased, because all of our ancestors, at one time or another, owned slaves, or thought racist things, or were bad people in some way. Never mind if they did anything good at all. So let's erase all history and start over. I'm sure if we do that, all mankind will be suddenly perfect. Let's us first, however, those who have killed millions, like past communist Chinese, Russians, Muslims and Germans. I'm sure there are many, many more. Yes, even in YOUR past. Apologize for your past!!
They should be put in a museum of shame, The Museum of American Atrocities, with important lessons for future generations to learn from.
Andrew - 7 years ago
Comments about 1984 and sanitizing history are very ignorant. These statues were erected to the losers of a war against the United States. They fought for States'Rights to own slaves. And lost. But created a false history and narrative that these were gentlemen fighting the Lost Cause and rewrote history to make themselves and their loss of both status and honor more palatable. They made Lee out to be a better general than Grant and not the traitor to his oaths to the United States that he took every time he was promoted. That's at least 10 times he made that sacred vow.
These statues went up to rewrite history from the loser side. The traitorous side. History is being corrected, not rewritten. Educate yourself. Rise above the Southern Indoctrination and Lies. Be the better person God would have be.
B - 7 years ago
Did someone turn lose isis in the US??? Why all that effor to remove memorials? Why not spend all that time improving lives if the disadvantaged. 1984 was not fiction , but a promise of things to come.. ANd to really stoke the flames , the FIRST slave owner in the US was a black man who went to court to OWN another black man . BLacks OWNED slaves... but hey truth does not matter to indoctrinated minds .
DMcAfee - 7 years ago
Making MILK recognition to slave owners is asinine! !! There are zero monuments erected front of a state law making facility it's in places with context. STOP THE STUPIDITY PLZ
Larry Reese - 7 years ago
By removing Robert E. Lee's statue, are they going to change history? The civil war was fought over state's rights, and these kind of things are a reminder of that. California wants to have sanctuary citys, but it is against the immigration law? So in essence they want their beliefs to be above the Federal government? It is history repeating itself with a different issue.
Dorrence - 7 years ago
Those that don't learn from the past (good and bad) will be destined to repeat it. God, don't let that happen!
Kathie Killebrew - 7 years ago
Why are we removing or trying to change our history. Are we taking down all the statues of, Martin Luther King?
He also had a huge impact on our nation's history. If we are taking the statues down, are we also changing all the street names of this man.
Kathie Killebrew - 7 years ago
Why are we removing or trying to change our history. Are we taking down all the statues of, Martin Luther King?
They also had a huge impact on our nation's history. If we are taking t he statues down, are we als o changing all the street names of this man.
R.N.W. - 7 years ago
There are some who want to sterilize the public by removing and changing American History. These symbols & statues are not the problem, today's people are the problem. No morals, no desire to serve a living GOD, No direction in their own lives except to smear their opinions on and above all others. For 241 years since the declaration of independence , this country has had many growing pains ...of which the civil war was fought. The war was not totally about slavery as some would have us believe. It's over now, let it rest people. Let's be more concerned with human trafficking that leads to sex slavery. Let's be more concerned with drug smuggling & how drugs are ripping the heart out of our great nation. Let's be more concerned with the problems that alcohol & prescription drugs are causing than worrying about a bronze statue or plaque that is doing no harm unless it falls on someone. Put life in perspective & stop all the bickering about 10 commandments that you are free to follow as well as not follow ... its a free will choice. Just know, choices come with rewards as well as consequences.
Mii Yao - 7 years ago
The Germans opted to make it illegal to display any Nazi symbolism or propaganda. We should follow their lead. Slavery is nothing to be proud of and is a contemptible part of American history.
Robert Ashby - 7 years ago
Quick history lesson.
1. In order for a State to secede, it had /has to be approved by the Congress of the United States.
2. Has anyone who has made a comment on here. Ever read the Emancipation proclamation. It is political ridderick! It freed noone. Read the history, of why Abraham Lincoln waited for the right moment.
The Confederacy asked England to help defeat the Yankees. England, had abolished slavery, all together. When Lincoln signed the Emancipation proclamation, it was a move to show her, that The United States of America was going to get rid of slavery.
It was a political move, so the British government, wouldn't get involved, and help the Confederate States of America.
Should these monuments be removed? NO!
Funky Chicken - 7 years ago
We should preserve in our memory a war which was fought against abuse of constitutional federal powers. http://www.al.com/opinion/index.ssf/2015/06/war-over-slavery_rhetoric_is_i.html
Judy - 7 years ago
Save these monuments! These are parts of American History!
OUR government has already begun changing the outline of our history as our children & grandchildren are learning & it is ALL FALSE! THEY ARE ATTEMPTING TO CHANGE OUR HISTORY & I BELIEVE IT IS OUR GOVERNMENT WHO IS TRYING TO REMOVE STATUES & FLAGS TO KEEP PEOPLE FROM EVEN CONSIDERING ANOTHER UPRISING AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT.
Randy Tadder - 7 years ago
A loud mouth minority wants to have these statues removed. The same loud mouths that wanted the Confederate battle flag removed. Next, they will demand all Confederate grave stones be removed. It will never end with these people. They are sad and useless people that aren't able to do anything constructive in life. So they have to be destructive. What everyone needs to remember is that approximately 260,000 Confederate soldiers died of the approximately 750,000 who fought for the Confederate states, including slaves that were allowed to and wanted to enlist voluntarily. These statues represent these soldiers and nothing else. These soldiers that fought and shed their blood were Americans. Just as the Union soldiers that fought and shed their blood were Americans. This should not be hidden, lied about or forgotten. This seems to be what a lot of the American people are trying to do at this time. You cannot say these statues stands for hate. They represents a lot of American soldiers that loved their country.
Confederate soldiers, sailors, and Marines that fought in the Civil war were made U.S. Veterans by an act of Congress in in 1957, U.S. Public Law 85-425, Sec 410, and Approved 23 May, 1958. This made all Confederate Army/ Navy/ Marine Veterans equal to U.S. Veterans. Additionally, under U.S. Public Law 810, Approved by the 17th Congress on 26 Feb 1929 the War Department was directed to erect headstones and recognize Confederate grave sites as U.S. War dead grave sites. The last Confederate veteran died in 1958. If someone where to remove a Confederate statue, monument or headstone, you are in fact, removing a statue, monument or head stone of a U.S. Veteran.
Cat Ballou - 7 years ago
Couple of thoughts here.
1) The Gettysburg address proves the war was fought to maintain the union of the United States. As does the name of the sides: Union vs Confederate. If it had solely been about slavery, why did Lincoln only free the slaves in the "rebellious" states, not all, with the Emancipation Proclamation, in 1863 - almost 3 years after the war had started? Did you know that there were 451,021 slaves counted in the 1860 census in states and territories that would make up the Union during the Civil War? Civil war started April 1861. The 13th amendment freed all but wasn't even ratified until December 1865 - 7 months after the end of the Civil War.
2) Native Americans lost their battle with the US government, are we going to remove those statues too?
3) No one has the right to own another human being. It's pathetic there are people who focus on suppression of one race over another because their "granddaddy" did, or because of a wrong that ended 152 years ago. OH, and as far as the "Reparations" go (cuz ya know that'll come up) - you have to divide 40 acres between all the descendants of a slave. That's one actual slave and then divide the inheritance among the generations that followed. Sounds like a waste of effort. The only way the 40 acres stays intact is if each generation only had one child. Or, hey, we could honor the treaties with Native Americans first, with or without the statues remaining... that could work.
We can't change the past. We only have right now, this moment. What we choose to do with that moment is on us - not our grandfathers. Wipe out all memory of the causes leading up to a war, and it just becomes a fairy tale spun by the victors. What we owe one another is to be a decent human being to others regardless of the color of our skin.
Gary H - 7 years ago
Leave them along they can't hurt or hurting anybody
Lsullens - 7 years ago
They need to be taken down and moved to a museum. Perhaps the Tenn state museum, so that we never forget the atrocities and human rights crimes committed in the past. There actually is a Civil War museum in Washington, DC with other artifacts from this tarnish on American History, if anyone is interested.
William Fitzhugh - 7 years ago
Perhaps Germany should have statues to Goering and Hoess?
Carol Dustin - 7 years ago
Why do I want all memorial statues, memorials, and graves left is they are? You notice that I said, "all"! Once people have been able to destroy the things that mean something to many people, they will move onto the next and then the next . They will not be satisfied, their anger will not be sated, because there will always be someone who doesn't like something. When will this end? It will be better if you just didn't start! I believe we are in the midst of mob mentality. Some are trying to turn this into a racial war. Are these actually the people who live here, who believe in these things? Or are these people being bussed in and are being paid to cause problems within our society? Where are these people coming from? Do you know them personally? Stop and think for yourself, before you join in something distructive. We must try to stamp them out, because this is not who we are. As Americans, we do have our problems, but we don't settle them by hatred. We have seen what happens when our cities are burned. Is this what we want? I know this isn't what I want. With regard to the Confederfacy seceding: During that time, the United States was ruled by our Constitution as it was written. Slavery was legal, and slaves were held both in the north and in the south. It was also legal to secede from the union, as the union was made up of individual states. This division of states actually was caused because of taxes that were unfairly placed upon the south by the north, and began in 1853. It culminated in the secession, of some southern states in 1861. It wasn't until 1863, that President Lincoln, who was concerned that England was going to recognize this out as a sub or a nation, issued yes proclamation, claiming to free the slaves in the states that had succeeded from the union. You will notice he did not free the slaves in the states that has stayed with the union, nor did he the slaves that were still in the north. So you can see, this war was not about slavery. Personally, my family did not own slaves and the practice abominable. The wealthiest person in the south was a black man who held many slaves. I hesitate putting a number on his holdings. Fewer than 15% of southerners had slaves. My family had a small farm in Northwest Arkansas. It was a mother, father and eight children. My grandfather was 16 when he join the CSA, and his older brother was 20. Many of the other children with the girls, are the older boys had moved away or married with families of their own. When the Northerners came, they burned house, barn and all out houses. They killed all the cattle and either took the means or the spoiled it. They also set fire to the fields. Slash and burn was common, leaving Southern families with little or no food nor shelter. After the war, Confederate money was no longer worth anything, so property owners could not pay their taxes, and lost their homes. Many households had lost their husbands are fathers
History should always be preserved regardless of political climate. We teach it to learn from it, and we keep those symbols alive in our society for the very same reasons. When you have SJW's strip everything from the land, it becomes a clean slate for trouble and agenda.
I find it terribly ironic that a nation founded upon bloodshed and rebellion against a British central power in London, England.........engaged in a war to militarily crush states (CSA) who tried to exercise that same right by withdrawing from a central governing authority only this time located in Washington D.C.
Being Canadian, it's not my fight, just an observation.
Cheers.
Terri Neal - 7 years ago
Bottom line: the Confederates were traitors to the US. We laud them as heroes when they weren't. They fought against their own country and lost. Praising them and treating them as though they are deserving of honor is a disgrace. Why is it even a conversation?
Richard - 7 years ago
Preserve them. Anything else is akin to book burning.
Mark Hawkins - 7 years ago
History should be preserved. Always has always will.
katie Nelson - 7 years ago
When the word racist is used it means blacks are also very racist against whites. The police riots and killings of our officers! Everyone is getting too sensitive about color. When someone ask me where Israel is I don't fly off the handle..........
Glenn greene - 7 years ago
Ok how about the colosseums and pyramids they was built with slaves!! I don't see any of the slaves families that built these bitching and whining!!!
R Barnes - 7 years ago
I'll make a guess that those that want them removed aren't Southerners but from the wave of northerners that want to change the South to their liking. I don't like the Lincoln memorial but I'm not going to protest it's existence. He said the South would never be invaded. A LIE.
hasefalke - 7 years ago
Ask yourself, with all the opportunities to do something constructive why are the idiots on the left picking this fight? Why then are they going even further to instigate violence when the idiots on the right exercise their right of free speech and assembly? Is this the politicians, race-baiters, and their media keeping us divided? Why fight a war that ended over 150 years ago. None of us owned slaves and none of us were slaves. Why didn't the idiot governor in Virginia prevent the violence? Did he need a sound bite for his next campaign? We should focus on education, jobs, and assimilation into our society as productive individuals. Want to remove reminders of a troubled past? Remove the entrenched politicians, for it was their ilk that were the real cause of the civil war. A statue is not responsible for our problems in today's society; but it could be those entrenched politicians and anyone following them blindly.
Melissa Thompson - 7 years ago
Leave them alone. My ancestors fought for the South and these monuments honor their sacrifice for a cause they believed in . How would the NAACP or BLM feel if we attacked MLK and wanted his monuments and streets renamed ????? White people are not the racists ..... Those organizations and those who support them are. I have stopped buying products from companies who support this hate like Kelloggs and Ford motor company. Until people get over themselves just because their candidate didn't win and act like adults instead of whining two year olds, this country will never unite . Flags and monuments didn't do this, a sick individual who was paid to do this by ANTIFA did. WAKE UP PEOPLE. LEAVE OUR HERITAGE ALONE .
DMcafee - 7 years ago
Its a shame we remove the original laws for MAN to follow that is not religious or controversial for names people and flags that symbolize hate to be linked with the GOV'T, federal, state, or local!!Along with the imperial data of inequities, it does not take a rocket scientist to connect why others don't trust. They should be preserved in its proper place. REMOVED from the PEOPLES houses, parks, and learning institutions, etc. Locate them in museums, CW memorials, and actual sites in which the events occurred. For people who think its a heritage thing. Why all these symbols created and erected soon after the war. Just an explosion during the civil rights era to become so sentimental. It has zero to do with liberal conservative and that crap but with human decency. I even saw socialist mentioned, WTH socialist who favors socialism is not an equality based system because the community rule as a whole theory is dominated by the wealthy government so that term is misused all the time.
Don't remove - 7 years ago
Removing statues or renaming buildings is a form of hate.
Russell Tackett - 7 years ago
Leave them alone,just something liberals want to cry about
Mo - 7 years ago
Maybe we should have left Saddam's statue in tact. Maybe we should have left nazi monuments in tact. Its not to remove the history of the war, its to remove the glorification of those who lost and fought to keep their slaves. Obviously no Northern states are removing civil war monuments. The South lost, the Nazi's lost. Get over it. Stop the hate.
anonymous - 7 years ago
based on the principal of removal of things certain people don't like, I guess all straight people should be removed because gays don't like straight. or beer should be removed from stores becAuse a few don't drink, or omish people should have cars banned, or ex's should be removed but then that would cancel both out. lol, it's one thing to have ignorant thought in the world, it's another definition to continue with more ignorance. Because humanity is an emotional existence to start with , where and when does emotion stop, and on what subject will it stop.. life isn't about wearing a diaper. it's survival of the fittest. Focus on life. not a past of ignorance related to the evolution of mankind. d therefore, in doing so you can live a happy tomorrow. are we seriously going to cator to every human emotion by removing all things that could emotionally trigger someone.. Here some advice, live your life, quit be a follower,because uoubfeel the need to belong to a group.. the people you try to impress in your life will not be at your funeral or the b.irtj of your child.. get a grip people.
Connie Peacock - 7 years ago
Y remove them they will always be part of our history
Steven Sharpe - 7 years ago
I would remove all those slave holding DEMOCRAT statues !
Riley Casey - 7 years ago
We should all study the history of how a few people in the south were willing to destroy their country to ensure that they could continue to profit from keeping their neighbors as slaves. We will not benefit from maintaining monuments to these selfish traitors. Let's all keep in mind that Lee and the other military and civilian leaders of the pro-slavery armies killed more American soldiers than all of the foreign armies we have ever fought against.
Confederate monuments were erected by the vanquished as an act of southern defiance in the face of northern oppression. The north subjugated the south, and forced our unwilling citizens to sign oaths of allegiance to a despotic republican government. These monuments remind us southerners that though the north won the war, the southern mind and memory survived.
Linda Parsons - 7 years ago
Why is this even a topic? Veterans, as well as civil servants have a calling to be peacekeepers and people need those visual reminders present to avoid repeating past mistakes. Defenders of freedom do not just go into communities and foreign lands just to massacre people. The issue is not as simple as taking a life. A policeman on the street faces the same thing as a veteran when he sees innocent people under attack; in defense of those people he may choose discretion to take the life of the one threatening to harm the life of the innocent. That also happens on a national level and always has, and we can be glad for that in the sense, the USA has taken the posture of protector of innocent people. We got confused about that in Vietnam, unfortunately, because we were being inundated by socialistic humanists who wanted to destroy what America stands for, the same as they continue today, trying to confuse what our "United" States stands for by provoking tensions in an effort to control emotions in attempt to set up a socialisitic government to control / destroy / dictate freedom (liberties). Up until socialists began trying to destroy our Christian Heritage we were always known as the nation that went to the aid of those who were being attacked by evil aggressors. It is only a matter of personal opinion but people need to get past provoking emotions with authoritarian lies and vote out representatives who refuse to support the Constitution and America's Christian Heritage. Authentic Christ followers are kind, generous, gentle people because we "know" our God given purpose is to love one another and bear each others burdens; which is the only thing that matters in this brief life. God set the standard of how we are to live and treat each other 2000 years ago. All of humanity should revisit those standards and examine their own hearts now that innocent individuals are needlessly being killed on a daily basis. "Making sense" of the violence is not difficult. The question seemingly on everyone's mind today is, "When has America ever been great?" My response: When people had the integrity (decency) to take responsibility for self, family and help their neighbors instead of being selfish / self absorbed freeloaders with their hands extended out expecting to be taken care of, instead taking responsibility to help take care of one another. Too many people are "OFFENDED" by too many "THIINGS", failing to realize no one here (today) is at fault for the actions that took place in past history that brought us here. At this point, "THANKFUL" is what we all should be that our forefathers "cared" enough about future generations they bled and died to insure we would be able to enjoy the blessings of freedom. America "IS" great because men and women of yesteryear "KNEW" God purposed the work of their hands; whereas today work offends people where they miss the point of even knowing they have a purpose. The flag also offends, yet people have the freedom of choice to journey in this world, worship and believe as they please because of the freedom our forefathers earned fighting under that flag. Death also unfortunately offends some people but that is just too bad because we are all going to make that journey eventually. People need to get over themselves and realize loving one another and bearing each others burdens "IS" our purpose and what matters. The future is going to give our children and grandchildren hell to pay unless we step back, examine and preserve why God fearing men sacrifice their lives to thwart evil intention. John 15:13 (KJV) 13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. FREEDOM comes at a dear price! A "monument" that still exists to remind us we have been set free from sin is the crucified Christ. He bore the burden of hate and persecution, yet still serves as the victorious example LOVE prevails.
Fed up - 7 years ago
These are nothing more than shrines for racists. They don't value them as history, they cling to them as tangible evidence of the power that they once held over slaves. Put them in a museum, where people can go learn the full history of the South, and the defeat of slavery. The division of this country is the result of people that are unwilling to evolve, and are holding tight to the ghosts of their racist ancestors.
Mark McMastern - 7 years ago
Charlottesville - - There are reporters that said it was calm until out of nowhere antifa and blm came rushing up and started attacking the original group... Crickets... Soros media silent... The First Amendment is under attack by blm and antifa. The blame for the violence is squarely on Mayor Bellamy for his inflammatory comments against the statues, on the police for not protecting the group that had a valid permit, on blm and antifa for attacking the permitted marchers, and on the biased news media for reporting false news. Historical monuments need to remain in place. That is history. This is just one more way to take down America. What's next on the liberals' list, WW2 and Vietnam memorials? Other groups that destroyed historical monuments were the taliban, ISIS, the Nazis and the communists - - which one do the current momument haters belong to?
dbrby - 7 years ago
if they take all of these monuments down because they are offensive, will they take down the mlk monument in dc because it maybe offensive to people?
Ann - 7 years ago
History is history, & you cannot change that. I am in no way condoning the actions that oh so many have committed lately because of history! History is to be studied so that it's not repeated. We have statues & such to remind us of that part of our heritage & background. To remind us of who died for what they believed in & fought for. It's a STATUE! Walk past it if you don't like it, don't have an all out riot! I feel there are much bigger issues today that we, as a country, should be worried about. Stop TRYING to create issues & start banding together to fix them & make our country back into what it should be! Everything has to be so "sugar coated" nowadays because someone MAY get upset or get their feelings hurt. We're not children, we are adults! Grow up!!! Stop making nothing into something. Funny how all these monuments, flags, names of buildings, etc have not caused any problems for the last 100 years, & but now all of a sudden they need to be changed, taken down, & people are rioting over it. We're fighting against each other for Gods sake! Stop being a self entitled, selfish, shit starting little brat!!!
Matt - 7 years ago
That's the problem with our government, too much of our Real History has been erased from the bible, slavery, pyramids to the stars. The elite create this tension amongst us and until we as a society rise up against this nothing will change.
DMcafee - 7 years ago
I believe the question is too general. What I despise is the symbols of the oppression of an entire RACE celebrating RACISM bigotry and prejudice by skin color be attached to ANY of our PUBLIC ENTITIES! I.E. Edward carmack in front of the State Capitol. He was a staunch segregationist in favor of racism with white supremacy beliefs. There is only one way to interpret this is to show acceptance, condoning, as a governing body, of the ideals and or philosophies of the praised figure. Having the LEGAL authorization to determine the quality of life for ALL the citizens! I am for the preservation of historic events places and people . To have it intertwined with a government that is suppose to be for EVERYONE is disturbing and disheartening.
Nancy - 7 years ago
Show me any other place on the planet where the defeated armies are memorialized
Tammy Stokes - 7 years ago
Leave the damn statues alone. If you take down history it will surely repeat itself. Is that what you want?????
James Aston - 7 years ago
These statues, markers, monuments, etc. are part of history, and should without a doubt be preserved. The recent incident in Charlottesville, Va. can be, should be blamed on both sides.
Marline Carpenter - 7 years ago
War statues in Tennessee are protected by our state constitution. Those statues represent veterans our veterans. Even if the South lost the war.Leave our history in place. Thank you.
Juan - 7 years ago
Shutup wayne
Glenn Greene - 7 years ago
Worrying over things like this is nonsense!! There's other things like ISIS when we fight amongst ourselves we are doing Our enemies a favor! There's more things to worry about!! Like how many BLACK and WHITE kids went to bed hungry and will wake up hungry today!!!
Mindy Pebley - 7 years ago
If they can be taken as still be accepting of a negative message or time may be just put up a plack or sign beside them saying something like "We know better now" or" Here's how we fixed this ".
Mindy Pebley - 7 years ago
If they can be taken as still be accepting of a negative message or time may be just put up a plack or sign beside them saying something like "We know better now" or" Here's how we fixed this ".
EM Gill - 7 years ago
You can't change history. There is no one alive that was here at that time -- A big to do about nothing. I think people should concentrate on making our world better, not trying to live in the past. Everyone should be judged by their actions not the color of their skin.
Wayne Hall - 7 years ago
If they want to take down all the history of the whites than take down all the road names for the black Heroes that they cherish
"There are no living slaves. There are no living Americans that owned slaves!!"
Okay, but...
"If Southerners are not allowed their heritage"
But there are no living Confederates either. So why is "Southern heritage" being equated with Confederate memorials?
"the stupidity of today is mind boggling"
The Dunning–Kruger effect is real.
The Civil War was largely about slavery unless you're a revisionist historian.
If the point of a statue is to preserve history and serve as a reminder of the past, then we should have a lot more statues of Native Americans and slaves. Having so few statues and memorials of the victims of great American atrocities seems pretty one-sided. I would hope that the chanters of "but history" would support this, yea?
Listen up... The KKK was organized by DEMONcrats! The civil war was NOT about slavery. There are no living slaves. There are no living Americans that owned slaves!! If reparation are paid to anyone this land belonged to the native Americans. There is ONE race - the human race. Damn the stupidity of today is mind boggling. Barry O. did an excellent job at division in this country and oh yeah, President Trump inherited the hatred from a Soro's funded agenda incited by our previous administration .If Southerners are not allowed their heritage there should be no special treatment for anyone else's heritage. If you believe the civil war was about slavery and are cool with it being erased then erase slavery and their culture too.. There you go clean slate. Welcome to the human race.
I think it is silly wanting them removed. I guess these people wanting them rrmoved will try to find ways to re-write the history of this great country. We are not asked to worship the monuments, just serve as symbols of our history. Ehat is next?? Remove the pyramids?? They too were built by slaves. The whole tjing is craze. I ssy if we rrmove one....remove them all...including MLK statues all over this country. Thats part of history too.
I have lived juat outside Boston my whole life.A notherner all my life.
I belive it's American history and should be preserved
Confederate statues are basically giant participation trophies.
Glad this is happening! Maybe people will realize we are on the verge of another civil war.That will be both terrible and wonderful. Surely, you understand that this is inevitable.Who wants this most?....those who will rule after it is over. Any guess who they are? ...That's right. ...Those who rule it now.
I keep reading comments about losers don't get memorialized. Try coming to Texas and saying that about those who fought and died at the Alamo. I'll be first in line to punch the stupid smile off your face.
To you less learned people in these comments. The civil war wasn't started over slavery. It was started over taxation. Please feel free to read up on it some time so, you don't look dumb when leaving a comment.
The Jewish people don't seem to have a problem with preserving reminders of the Holocaust. We preserve history for a reason - to learn from it.
No one is trying to "erase" history, but glorfying generals, or people in general, who fought a losing, traitorous war against the United States of America for the right to OWN other people has NO place for monuments in the public parks and city centers of the US. Those things should be displayed *in context* within museums dedicated to that shameful era in history, that they be forever remembered, but not monumental and celebrated in areas where ALL Americans live and love freely.
Anything named "MLK" should be removed if we are reaching for true equality.
On the other hand, it is a good warning that you are in a dangerous ghetto if you see a street sign named "MLK Blvd." So, I guess keep the street sings for public safety.
All part of the eradication of white culture in favor of black culture. And, you libtards wonder why nutjobs plow cars into groups of screaming anarchists.
This is not about "diversity," it is about eradication—just read the comments on this message board.
Since when in America do we support statues for losers? The Confederates lost the War - they were literally losers. I see no reason to enshrine losers, especially when said losers were trying to break apart our country so they could continue to own people. Those who died in the Confederacy can still have the same respected burial site as any other person who has died, but let's stop honoring these losers with special monuments and structures.
And it's not like we're going to stop teaching our kids Civil War history if the statues comes down. And if you put the statues in museums, they might even get more exposure and provide more education there.
Every Generation has a right to learn from our past mistakes! ALL History should be preserved without racial bias and no sanitizing the truth!
If you believe that the alt-left will stop at removal of Confederate monuments, you are taking the wrong drugs. Just ask Neville Chamberlain how well appeasement works.
Some facts: the statue of Lee in Charlottesville was added in 1925, during a time period when the KKK was resurfacing. We don't know exactly what the donor was thinking, but we can be pretty sure it was about "the lost cause" of the South and slavery. It is important to note that Lee had no direct connection to Charlottesville. So this memorial has no history there--it is random. Lee is memorialized at Washington & Lee University where he was president and is buried, at this birth place, and at his home in Arlington. Removing the statue in Charlottesville and taking it to a place more closely associated with him makes sense. It is not erasing history. Another fact--Lee never put on a Confederate uniform after the war. He did not approve of this type of memorial, rather he acknowledged the defeat. As a general rule, American doens't have monuments to those who lose against us in wars. I don't know of any memorials in America to the Spanish or Phillipinos who fought in the Spanish American War, the British who fought in the Revolutionary War, the Nazi who fought in WWII, the Germans who fought in WWI, etc. Why should the Confederacy be any different? Context is everything. When these monuments are at the right place--a place with historic connections--they can be used to teach history. But when they are randomly placed in communities where they have no connections and in parks that are supposed to be welcoming to all, they are offensive. Regardless of your personal beliefs, this community had the right to decide what was best for it without people coming from all across the country to protest.
As a history major, I understand the need to preserve them or to put them in a museum so we can learn about our past and how to not repeat it. I also think that to add new monuments of women and African Americans who were important historical figures is the other way to handle this and balance the historical content. For example, Richmond, VA took heat when they added Arthur Ashe to Monument Ave. but he was an important figure in the city's history as well as African American history. The same goes with the recent unveiling of Maggie Walker. The history of our nation is Native American, African American and White American; it all needs to be taught, recorded and remembered. There are some dark times, but they are vital for to know, so they cannot happen again.
If we do not know out past we can not expect to change our future. We have seen the past where countries and religions destroy the monuments and strucktors of the past. This can not go on. I for one had nothing to do with the past but I know that learning it makes me a better person.
Omg, the fucking civil war was over in 1865!!!! The North (The USA!) allowed the South many concessions and thereby allowed racism to not only continue, but in a lot of ways get worse! One of the"worse" examples being the creation of the KKK. IT IS NOW 2017, over 150 years later AND WE ARE STILL DEALING WITH RACISM!!! And white people are on this thread saying the same shit as then! "Just give it time" "It's historical" "it's our heritage, it's not hate" SHUT THE HOLY FUCK UP WITH THAT SHIT!!!!!!! As long as that shit is honored, people will honor it! It is NOT honorable! Never was, never will be! #WakeTheFuckUp ???????????????? #EnoughIsEnough
No one can change history no matter how bad they want to! Everyone must respect these patriots for what they believed in at their point and time in history. Removing statues will not change history, it will only make the living descendants of those patriots who fought so bravely and some even gave their life for a cause they believed in so strongly to be very angry and bitter for trying to erase a part of our great country's past and their family's heritage..... It is all about respect; respecting everyone's heritage no matter how you are or where you came from....!
Had family both sides equally proud of both ! Leave our history alone, if ya dont like it too dam bad,if your offends to bad ! Don't look at them or better yet move someplace else , I'm an American an proud of my heritage! In fact you OFFEND me! Like the Amish you will be shund you cease to exist to the rest of us !
It sickens me to have to endure the cultural cleansing that is being carried out. Not to mention that the majority of people that have hopped on the bandwagon, are completely ignorant when it comes to history. What I am about to say is fact. Google it. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, Alexander Hamilton, Ulysses S Grant, & Ben Franklin all owned slaves. You don't see anybody throwing money away. Oh, don't forget Lincoln. His plan was to free black people and then ship them to Liberia. Wow!
If people keep and open mind & not try to use today's present mindset then one can better understand the war between the states. It involved politic & greed creating a rich man's war and a poor man's fight resulting in the death of 630,000 people. The results of the cause were to place a noble cause of ending slavery. Ask yourself why a war would start over slavery when it existed until after the war was over. The emancipation proclamation was an executive order only freeing slaves in the southern states not the north where it still existed. Doesn't it stand to reason that if the Union controlled its on congress why didn't they pass an amendment prohibiting slavery if they were fighting to free people. With the invent of the digital world the genie is out the bottle of what was suppose to be the noble cause. Plenty of information in congressional records and other official documents now are available on the web that was never part of the puzzle in text that debunks a lot of the myths of the war.
Hello I believe that they should be preserved and they should be put in a museum one of the reasons why we have the problems we do with the race it's because our government hid a lot of the truth about our race about our country and what it went through I think now is the time for the country to be honest with self and it's Civil War which still goes on today these arts and statues of people who are famous for what they've done should be a reason for us not to want to go back and to learn from what this nasty experience has brought us to.
Hello I believe that they should be preserved and they should be put in a museum one of the reasons why we have the problems we do with the race it's because our government hit a lot of the truth about our race about our country and what it went through I think now is the time for the country to be honest with soft and it's Civil War which still goes on today these arts and statues of people who are famous for what they've done should be a reason for us not to want to go back and to learn from what this nasty experience has brought us to.
So after 20,000 votes, about 70% approve to preserve the Confederate symbols. Interesting. What's surprising to me is that putting those symbols in a museum is currently running last. Most of you voting on this probably have no idea where these statues are even located.
It would be much better for the historical relavency of these statues, if they were all located in a museum or in a state park dedicated to the Civil War. It is important to learn about the history of this country ( all of it ). History should not be erased. It cannot be erased. There should be a place where everyone can properly learn about the Civil War, on both sides.
At the end of the day, these cities and states have the authority to remove these statues. Hopefully they'll relocate them into a museum or at a park, for those who want to go to that location and learn about the history of the person.
Suddenly, after 150 years, monuments to southern men and woman are racist and shameful. Their history must be erased. So, if this must be so, then all history must be erased, because all of our ancestors, at one time or another, owned slaves, or thought racist things, or were bad people in some way. Never mind if they did anything good at all. So let's erase all history and start over. I'm sure if we do that, all mankind will be suddenly perfect. Let's us first, however, those who have killed millions, like past communist Chinese, Russians, Muslims and Germans. I'm sure there are many, many more. Yes, even in YOUR past. Apologize for your past!!
They should be put in a museum of shame, The Museum of American Atrocities, with important lessons for future generations to learn from.
Comments about 1984 and sanitizing history are very ignorant. These statues were erected to the losers of a war against the United States. They fought for States'Rights to own slaves. And lost. But created a false history and narrative that these were gentlemen fighting the Lost Cause and rewrote history to make themselves and their loss of both status and honor more palatable. They made Lee out to be a better general than Grant and not the traitor to his oaths to the United States that he took every time he was promoted. That's at least 10 times he made that sacred vow.
These statues went up to rewrite history from the loser side. The traitorous side. History is being corrected, not rewritten. Educate yourself. Rise above the Southern Indoctrination and Lies. Be the better person God would have be.
Did someone turn lose isis in the US??? Why all that effor to remove memorials? Why not spend all that time improving lives if the disadvantaged. 1984 was not fiction , but a promise of things to come.. ANd to really stoke the flames , the FIRST slave owner in the US was a black man who went to court to OWN another black man . BLacks OWNED slaves... but hey truth does not matter to indoctrinated minds .
Making MILK recognition to slave owners is asinine! !! There are zero monuments erected front of a state law making facility it's in places with context. STOP THE STUPIDITY PLZ
By removing Robert E. Lee's statue, are they going to change history? The civil war was fought over state's rights, and these kind of things are a reminder of that. California wants to have sanctuary citys, but it is against the immigration law? So in essence they want their beliefs to be above the Federal government? It is history repeating itself with a different issue.
Those that don't learn from the past (good and bad) will be destined to repeat it. God, don't let that happen!
Why are we removing or trying to change our history. Are we taking down all the statues of, Martin Luther King?
He also had a huge impact on our nation's history. If we are taking the statues down, are we also changing all the street names of this man.
Why are we removing or trying to change our history. Are we taking down all the statues of, Martin Luther King?
They also had a huge impact on our nation's history. If we are taking t he statues down, are we als o changing all the street names of this man.
There are some who want to sterilize the public by removing and changing American History. These symbols & statues are not the problem, today's people are the problem. No morals, no desire to serve a living GOD, No direction in their own lives except to smear their opinions on and above all others. For 241 years since the declaration of independence , this country has had many growing pains ...of which the civil war was fought. The war was not totally about slavery as some would have us believe. It's over now, let it rest people. Let's be more concerned with human trafficking that leads to sex slavery. Let's be more concerned with drug smuggling & how drugs are ripping the heart out of our great nation. Let's be more concerned with the problems that alcohol & prescription drugs are causing than worrying about a bronze statue or plaque that is doing no harm unless it falls on someone. Put life in perspective & stop all the bickering about 10 commandments that you are free to follow as well as not follow ... its a free will choice. Just know, choices come with rewards as well as consequences.
The Germans opted to make it illegal to display any Nazi symbolism or propaganda. We should follow their lead. Slavery is nothing to be proud of and is a contemptible part of American history.
Quick history lesson.
1. In order for a State to secede, it had /has to be approved by the Congress of the United States.
2. Has anyone who has made a comment on here. Ever read the Emancipation proclamation. It is political ridderick! It freed noone. Read the history, of why Abraham Lincoln waited for the right moment.
The Confederacy asked England to help defeat the Yankees. England, had abolished slavery, all together. When Lincoln signed the Emancipation proclamation, it was a move to show her, that The United States of America was going to get rid of slavery.
It was a political move, so the British government, wouldn't get involved, and help the Confederate States of America.
Should these monuments be removed? NO!
We should preserve in our memory a war which was fought against abuse of constitutional federal powers. http://www.al.com/opinion/index.ssf/2015/06/war-over-slavery_rhetoric_is_i.html
Save these monuments! These are parts of American History!
OUR government has already begun changing the outline of our history as our children & grandchildren are learning & it is ALL FALSE! THEY ARE ATTEMPTING TO CHANGE OUR HISTORY & I BELIEVE IT IS OUR GOVERNMENT WHO IS TRYING TO REMOVE STATUES & FLAGS TO KEEP PEOPLE FROM EVEN CONSIDERING ANOTHER UPRISING AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT.
A loud mouth minority wants to have these statues removed. The same loud mouths that wanted the Confederate battle flag removed. Next, they will demand all Confederate grave stones be removed. It will never end with these people. They are sad and useless people that aren't able to do anything constructive in life. So they have to be destructive. What everyone needs to remember is that approximately 260,000 Confederate soldiers died of the approximately 750,000 who fought for the Confederate states, including slaves that were allowed to and wanted to enlist voluntarily. These statues represent these soldiers and nothing else. These soldiers that fought and shed their blood were Americans. Just as the Union soldiers that fought and shed their blood were Americans. This should not be hidden, lied about or forgotten. This seems to be what a lot of the American people are trying to do at this time. You cannot say these statues stands for hate. They represents a lot of American soldiers that loved their country.
Confederate soldiers, sailors, and Marines that fought in the Civil war were made U.S. Veterans by an act of Congress in in 1957, U.S. Public Law 85-425, Sec 410, and Approved 23 May, 1958. This made all Confederate Army/ Navy/ Marine Veterans equal to U.S. Veterans. Additionally, under U.S. Public Law 810, Approved by the 17th Congress on 26 Feb 1929 the War Department was directed to erect headstones and recognize Confederate grave sites as U.S. War dead grave sites. The last Confederate veteran died in 1958. If someone where to remove a Confederate statue, monument or headstone, you are in fact, removing a statue, monument or head stone of a U.S. Veteran.
Couple of thoughts here.
1) The Gettysburg address proves the war was fought to maintain the union of the United States. As does the name of the sides: Union vs Confederate. If it had solely been about slavery, why did Lincoln only free the slaves in the "rebellious" states, not all, with the Emancipation Proclamation, in 1863 - almost 3 years after the war had started? Did you know that there were 451,021 slaves counted in the 1860 census in states and territories that would make up the Union during the Civil War? Civil war started April 1861. The 13th amendment freed all but wasn't even ratified until December 1865 - 7 months after the end of the Civil War.
2) Native Americans lost their battle with the US government, are we going to remove those statues too?
3) No one has the right to own another human being. It's pathetic there are people who focus on suppression of one race over another because their "granddaddy" did, or because of a wrong that ended 152 years ago. OH, and as far as the "Reparations" go (cuz ya know that'll come up) - you have to divide 40 acres between all the descendants of a slave. That's one actual slave and then divide the inheritance among the generations that followed. Sounds like a waste of effort. The only way the 40 acres stays intact is if each generation only had one child. Or, hey, we could honor the treaties with Native Americans first, with or without the statues remaining... that could work.
We can't change the past. We only have right now, this moment. What we choose to do with that moment is on us - not our grandfathers. Wipe out all memory of the causes leading up to a war, and it just becomes a fairy tale spun by the victors. What we owe one another is to be a decent human being to others regardless of the color of our skin.
Leave them along they can't hurt or hurting anybody
They need to be taken down and moved to a museum. Perhaps the Tenn state museum, so that we never forget the atrocities and human rights crimes committed in the past. There actually is a Civil War museum in Washington, DC with other artifacts from this tarnish on American History, if anyone is interested.
Perhaps Germany should have statues to Goering and Hoess?
Why do I want all memorial statues, memorials, and graves left is they are? You notice that I said, "all"! Once people have been able to destroy the things that mean something to many people, they will move onto the next and then the next . They will not be satisfied, their anger will not be sated, because there will always be someone who doesn't like something. When will this end? It will be better if you just didn't start! I believe we are in the midst of mob mentality. Some are trying to turn this into a racial war. Are these actually the people who live here, who believe in these things? Or are these people being bussed in and are being paid to cause problems within our society? Where are these people coming from? Do you know them personally? Stop and think for yourself, before you join in something distructive. We must try to stamp them out, because this is not who we are. As Americans, we do have our problems, but we don't settle them by hatred. We have seen what happens when our cities are burned. Is this what we want? I know this isn't what I want. With regard to the Confederfacy seceding: During that time, the United States was ruled by our Constitution as it was written. Slavery was legal, and slaves were held both in the north and in the south. It was also legal to secede from the union, as the union was made up of individual states. This division of states actually was caused because of taxes that were unfairly placed upon the south by the north, and began in 1853. It culminated in the secession, of some southern states in 1861. It wasn't until 1863, that President Lincoln, who was concerned that England was going to recognize this out as a sub or a nation, issued yes proclamation, claiming to free the slaves in the states that had succeeded from the union. You will notice he did not free the slaves in the states that has stayed with the union, nor did he the slaves that were still in the north. So you can see, this war was not about slavery. Personally, my family did not own slaves and the practice abominable. The wealthiest person in the south was a black man who held many slaves. I hesitate putting a number on his holdings. Fewer than 15% of southerners had slaves. My family had a small farm in Northwest Arkansas. It was a mother, father and eight children. My grandfather was 16 when he join the CSA, and his older brother was 20. Many of the other children with the girls, are the older boys had moved away or married with families of their own. When the Northerners came, they burned house, barn and all out houses. They killed all the cattle and either took the means or the spoiled it. They also set fire to the fields. Slash and burn was common, leaving Southern families with little or no food nor shelter. After the war, Confederate money was no longer worth anything, so property owners could not pay their taxes, and lost their homes. Many households had lost their husbands are fathers
History should always be preserved regardless of political climate. We teach it to learn from it, and we keep those symbols alive in our society for the very same reasons. When you have SJW's strip everything from the land, it becomes a clean slate for trouble and agenda.
I find it terribly ironic that a nation founded upon bloodshed and rebellion against a British central power in London, England.........engaged in a war to militarily crush states (CSA) who tried to exercise that same right by withdrawing from a central governing authority only this time located in Washington D.C.
Being Canadian, it's not my fight, just an observation.
Cheers.
Bottom line: the Confederates were traitors to the US. We laud them as heroes when they weren't. They fought against their own country and lost. Praising them and treating them as though they are deserving of honor is a disgrace. Why is it even a conversation?
Preserve them. Anything else is akin to book burning.
History should be preserved. Always has always will.
When the word racist is used it means blacks are also very racist against whites. The police riots and killings of our officers! Everyone is getting too sensitive about color. When someone ask me where Israel is I don't fly off the handle..........
Ok how about the colosseums and pyramids they was built with slaves!! I don't see any of the slaves families that built these bitching and whining!!!
I'll make a guess that those that want them removed aren't Southerners but from the wave of northerners that want to change the South to their liking. I don't like the Lincoln memorial but I'm not going to protest it's existence. He said the South would never be invaded. A LIE.
Ask yourself, with all the opportunities to do something constructive why are the idiots on the left picking this fight? Why then are they going even further to instigate violence when the idiots on the right exercise their right of free speech and assembly? Is this the politicians, race-baiters, and their media keeping us divided? Why fight a war that ended over 150 years ago. None of us owned slaves and none of us were slaves. Why didn't the idiot governor in Virginia prevent the violence? Did he need a sound bite for his next campaign? We should focus on education, jobs, and assimilation into our society as productive individuals. Want to remove reminders of a troubled past? Remove the entrenched politicians, for it was their ilk that were the real cause of the civil war. A statue is not responsible for our problems in today's society; but it could be those entrenched politicians and anyone following them blindly.
Leave them alone. My ancestors fought for the South and these monuments honor their sacrifice for a cause they believed in . How would the NAACP or BLM feel if we attacked MLK and wanted his monuments and streets renamed ????? White people are not the racists ..... Those organizations and those who support them are. I have stopped buying products from companies who support this hate like Kelloggs and Ford motor company. Until people get over themselves just because their candidate didn't win and act like adults instead of whining two year olds, this country will never unite . Flags and monuments didn't do this, a sick individual who was paid to do this by ANTIFA did. WAKE UP PEOPLE. LEAVE OUR HERITAGE ALONE .
Its a shame we remove the original laws for MAN to follow that is not religious or controversial for names people and flags that symbolize hate to be linked with the GOV'T, federal, state, or local!!Along with the imperial data of inequities, it does not take a rocket scientist to connect why others don't trust. They should be preserved in its proper place. REMOVED from the PEOPLES houses, parks, and learning institutions, etc. Locate them in museums, CW memorials, and actual sites in which the events occurred. For people who think its a heritage thing. Why all these symbols created and erected soon after the war. Just an explosion during the civil rights era to become so sentimental. It has zero to do with liberal conservative and that crap but with human decency. I even saw socialist mentioned, WTH socialist who favors socialism is not an equality based system because the community rule as a whole theory is dominated by the wealthy government so that term is misused all the time.
Removing statues or renaming buildings is a form of hate.
Leave them alone,just something liberals want to cry about
Maybe we should have left Saddam's statue in tact. Maybe we should have left nazi monuments in tact. Its not to remove the history of the war, its to remove the glorification of those who lost and fought to keep their slaves. Obviously no Northern states are removing civil war monuments. The South lost, the Nazi's lost. Get over it. Stop the hate.
based on the principal of removal of things certain people don't like, I guess all straight people should be removed because gays don't like straight. or beer should be removed from stores becAuse a few don't drink, or omish people should have cars banned, or ex's should be removed but then that would cancel both out. lol, it's one thing to have ignorant thought in the world, it's another definition to continue with more ignorance. Because humanity is an emotional existence to start with , where and when does emotion stop, and on what subject will it stop.. life isn't about wearing a diaper. it's survival of the fittest. Focus on life. not a past of ignorance related to the evolution of mankind. d therefore, in doing so you can live a happy tomorrow. are we seriously going to cator to every human emotion by removing all things that could emotionally trigger someone.. Here some advice, live your life, quit be a follower,because uoubfeel the need to belong to a group.. the people you try to impress in your life will not be at your funeral or the b.irtj of your child.. get a grip people.
Y remove them they will always be part of our history
I would remove all those slave holding DEMOCRAT statues !
We should all study the history of how a few people in the south were willing to destroy their country to ensure that they could continue to profit from keeping their neighbors as slaves. We will not benefit from maintaining monuments to these selfish traitors. Let's all keep in mind that Lee and the other military and civilian leaders of the pro-slavery armies killed more American soldiers than all of the foreign armies we have ever fought against.
Confederate monuments were erected by the vanquished as an act of southern defiance in the face of northern oppression. The north subjugated the south, and forced our unwilling citizens to sign oaths of allegiance to a despotic republican government. These monuments remind us southerners that though the north won the war, the southern mind and memory survived.
Why is this even a topic? Veterans, as well as civil servants have a calling to be peacekeepers and people need those visual reminders present to avoid repeating past mistakes. Defenders of freedom do not just go into communities and foreign lands just to massacre people. The issue is not as simple as taking a life. A policeman on the street faces the same thing as a veteran when he sees innocent people under attack; in defense of those people he may choose discretion to take the life of the one threatening to harm the life of the innocent. That also happens on a national level and always has, and we can be glad for that in the sense, the USA has taken the posture of protector of innocent people. We got confused about that in Vietnam, unfortunately, because we were being inundated by socialistic humanists who wanted to destroy what America stands for, the same as they continue today, trying to confuse what our "United" States stands for by provoking tensions in an effort to control emotions in attempt to set up a socialisitic government to control / destroy / dictate freedom (liberties). Up until socialists began trying to destroy our Christian Heritage we were always known as the nation that went to the aid of those who were being attacked by evil aggressors. It is only a matter of personal opinion but people need to get past provoking emotions with authoritarian lies and vote out representatives who refuse to support the Constitution and America's Christian Heritage. Authentic Christ followers are kind, generous, gentle people because we "know" our God given purpose is to love one another and bear each others burdens; which is the only thing that matters in this brief life. God set the standard of how we are to live and treat each other 2000 years ago. All of humanity should revisit those standards and examine their own hearts now that innocent individuals are needlessly being killed on a daily basis. "Making sense" of the violence is not difficult. The question seemingly on everyone's mind today is, "When has America ever been great?" My response: When people had the integrity (decency) to take responsibility for self, family and help their neighbors instead of being selfish / self absorbed freeloaders with their hands extended out expecting to be taken care of, instead taking responsibility to help take care of one another. Too many people are "OFFENDED" by too many "THIINGS", failing to realize no one here (today) is at fault for the actions that took place in past history that brought us here. At this point, "THANKFUL" is what we all should be that our forefathers "cared" enough about future generations they bled and died to insure we would be able to enjoy the blessings of freedom. America "IS" great because men and women of yesteryear "KNEW" God purposed the work of their hands; whereas today work offends people where they miss the point of even knowing they have a purpose. The flag also offends, yet people have the freedom of choice to journey in this world, worship and believe as they please because of the freedom our forefathers earned fighting under that flag. Death also unfortunately offends some people but that is just too bad because we are all going to make that journey eventually. People need to get over themselves and realize loving one another and bearing each others burdens "IS" our purpose and what matters. The future is going to give our children and grandchildren hell to pay unless we step back, examine and preserve why God fearing men sacrifice their lives to thwart evil intention. John 15:13 (KJV) 13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. FREEDOM comes at a dear price! A "monument" that still exists to remind us we have been set free from sin is the crucified Christ. He bore the burden of hate and persecution, yet still serves as the victorious example LOVE prevails.
These are nothing more than shrines for racists. They don't value them as history, they cling to them as tangible evidence of the power that they once held over slaves. Put them in a museum, where people can go learn the full history of the South, and the defeat of slavery. The division of this country is the result of people that are unwilling to evolve, and are holding tight to the ghosts of their racist ancestors.
Charlottesville - - There are reporters that said it was calm until out of nowhere antifa and blm came rushing up and started attacking the original group... Crickets... Soros media silent... The First Amendment is under attack by blm and antifa. The blame for the violence is squarely on Mayor Bellamy for his inflammatory comments against the statues, on the police for not protecting the group that had a valid permit, on blm and antifa for attacking the permitted marchers, and on the biased news media for reporting false news. Historical monuments need to remain in place. That is history. This is just one more way to take down America. What's next on the liberals' list, WW2 and Vietnam memorials? Other groups that destroyed historical monuments were the taliban, ISIS, the Nazis and the communists - - which one do the current momument haters belong to?
if they take all of these monuments down because they are offensive, will they take down the mlk monument in dc because it maybe offensive to people?
History is history, & you cannot change that. I am in no way condoning the actions that oh so many have committed lately because of history! History is to be studied so that it's not repeated. We have statues & such to remind us of that part of our heritage & background. To remind us of who died for what they believed in & fought for. It's a STATUE! Walk past it if you don't like it, don't have an all out riot! I feel there are much bigger issues today that we, as a country, should be worried about. Stop TRYING to create issues & start banding together to fix them & make our country back into what it should be! Everything has to be so "sugar coated" nowadays because someone MAY get upset or get their feelings hurt. We're not children, we are adults! Grow up!!! Stop making nothing into something. Funny how all these monuments, flags, names of buildings, etc have not caused any problems for the last 100 years, & but now all of a sudden they need to be changed, taken down, & people are rioting over it. We're fighting against each other for Gods sake! Stop being a self entitled, selfish, shit starting little brat!!!
That's the problem with our government, too much of our Real History has been erased from the bible, slavery, pyramids to the stars. The elite create this tension amongst us and until we as a society rise up against this nothing will change.
I believe the question is too general. What I despise is the symbols of the oppression of an entire RACE celebrating RACISM bigotry and prejudice by skin color be attached to ANY of our PUBLIC ENTITIES! I.E. Edward carmack in front of the State Capitol. He was a staunch segregationist in favor of racism with white supremacy beliefs. There is only one way to interpret this is to show acceptance, condoning, as a governing body, of the ideals and or philosophies of the praised figure. Having the LEGAL authorization to determine the quality of life for ALL the citizens! I am for the preservation of historic events places and people . To have it intertwined with a government that is suppose to be for EVERYONE is disturbing and disheartening.
Show me any other place on the planet where the defeated armies are memorialized
Leave the damn statues alone. If you take down history it will surely repeat itself. Is that what you want?????
These statues, markers, monuments, etc. are part of history, and should without a doubt be preserved. The recent incident in Charlottesville, Va. can be, should be blamed on both sides.
War statues in Tennessee are protected by our state constitution. Those statues represent veterans our veterans. Even if the South lost the war.Leave our history in place. Thank you.
Shutup wayne
Worrying over things like this is nonsense!! There's other things like ISIS when we fight amongst ourselves we are doing Our enemies a favor! There's more things to worry about!! Like how many BLACK and WHITE kids went to bed hungry and will wake up hungry today!!!
If they can be taken as still be accepting of a negative message or time may be just put up a plack or sign beside them saying something like "We know better now" or" Here's how we fixed this ".
If they can be taken as still be accepting of a negative message or time may be just put up a plack or sign beside them saying something like "We know better now" or" Here's how we fixed this ".
You can't change history. There is no one alive that was here at that time -- A big to do about nothing. I think people should concentrate on making our world better, not trying to live in the past. Everyone should be judged by their actions not the color of their skin.
If they want to take down all the history of the whites than take down all the road names for the black Heroes that they cherish