Charlottesville Votes to Disregard Its History
Yesterday was a sad day for Charlottesville. In a 3-2 vote, the city council decided to remove the statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee from Lee Park. I, for one, find this to be an atrocity. What is removing a long-standing statue of an American hero supposed to accomplish? Who, exactly, is offended by a statue of Robert E. Lee? I don’t hear anyone speaking up specifically, and yet, we keep hearing about how “certain people” are offended. Who, pray tell?
During the vote yesterday, several people in attendance, both black and white, were asked if they found the statue to be offensive. All said they were not. Again, who exactly is offended by old statues of Confederate soldiers? (Not counting the politicians who came up with this idea in the first place and pushed the issue through.) The statue was erected in 1924, so it has stood in the park for nearly 93 years. And now, all of a sudden, some people think some other people are offended. Really? Give me a break!
Lawsuits will undoubtedly follow, and I hope, for the sake of historical preservation, the statue remains in the park. It would cost the city taxpayers an incredible amount of money to move the statue, and for what? This is another shameful example of political correctness gone awry.
http://www.richmond.com/news/virginia/article_e41c6141-f6ae-5309-92d2-a4457d7b5fe4.html
It’s strange that the south has statues of the people who lost the war. I’m unfamiliar with any other place who celebrates those who lost. Especially when the cause they were fighting for is so embarrassing. Thankfully we have history books to preserve mistakes from the past, lest we make them again.
I’m not sure what you mean by embarrassing. The South fought for states’ rights and many influences were in effect. Slavery was being phased out at that time. In fact, the only slave ships coming in prior to the war docked in the north. When Lincoln declared the Emancipation Proclamation, it did not include freeing slaves in northern states, only Southern, of which he had no jurisdiction because the South had already seceded. The statues immortalize Southern heroes who fought for the preservation of their homes and land. Over the course of the war, Southerners entered into the north only a few times, in contrast to the number of times the Federals entered the South and wreaked total destruction. I agree that it is strange in that it is unique. If you spend any time in the South, you will understand how passionate Southerners are about honoring their ancestors. The statue in Charlottesville is of Robert E. Lee, who fought for his home in Virginia and resigned his appointment with the US Army (he was a career military man). He did not own slaves and didn’t agree with slavery. He fought for his homeland, and yet, his statue might be coming down. Even though the South lost, the statues honor men who were Americans. It was a strange war, a strange time, and people had different ideals than we do today. This is true about any time in history.