So this may seem slightly late, but until every single Confederate statue is taken down this post will be relevant. The protests that started following the murder of George Floyd and are part of a fight that started hundreds of years ago saw a push to finally remove Confederate statues in America. This is only one part of the BLM matter movement and the fight for equality and justice, a fight that shouldn't even have to exist. But I wanted to take a moment and focus on these statues that some people believe are nothing more than monuments with the purpose of idealizing history as a concept.
Let's start broad here. One of the foremost arguments against taking down these statues of figures such as Andrew Jackson and Robert E. Lee is that by doing so we will be erasing history. Without monuments to these figures, history will be forgotten. I don't know any other way to put this, but have you heard of a book? Like I can assure all of you that never once have I seen a statue of a Confederate general like Lee, a murderous foreign dictator like Hitler, or a genocidal president like Andrew Jackson. Yet somehow, I am acutely aware of these people and the acts they committed. Those who pretend to protect history for some reason believe that without a glorifying statue of racist man, no one will remember the past. But with every death of an innocent black person who deserved to live, we are acutely reminded of the past. We don't need towering statues dedicated to men who committed treason in defense of slavery to remember what happened. The Confederacy will be taught in classes no matter what, and instead of statues we should focus on teaching the truth. It was not the "War of Northern Aggression" it was the Civil War. And sure, we can say it was for states rights. As long as we specify that it was for a states right to own slaves. Really cant forgot that part.
As much as I hate the "remember history" argument, somehow we get even more foolish out here. If this weren't so serious I might begin my campaign to reestablish the popularity of the word "doofus" with these people. The people that believe Confederate Statues should stay up because they have nothing to do with race or slavery, but instead just represent a Southern heritage. I think that's good, because it really just confirms that Southern heritage is code for racist. At least there's no need for a debate about that now. I don't get it, right. Like the Confederate States weren't the United States. That's why there was a war. Say what you want, the fact is that the Confederacy committed treason by seceding from the Union and the USA. To protect their right to own slaves. So your "Southern Heritage" you so dearly cling to is a group of people who left the country you pretend to stand for in an effort to own people and commit the horrific act of slavery based of the color of their skin. It is racism.
Lastly, those damn monstrosities some call statues. Some say "they're just statues", or "it was so long ago", or "they did good things too". And look, in theory those arguments are correct. But well first of, regardless of the time slavery was wrong. Owning another being, that's something you should just automatically know is incorrect. But also these statues don't just depict some people, they idolize the very men that tore this nation and hundreds of thousands of families apart. So yeah, I guess people can argue "but those were my ancestors not me!!". But the effects are still felt today. People have to walk by those statues and see the idolization of a man who shackled their people with no remorse, and be ok with it? Why? Because a traitor who owned slaves is some sort of hero? You're so called heritage is just racism, whether you choose to confront that is on you. Just think about it like this though; what does it say about you and your damned heritage if you are fighting harder to protect statues of Confederate traitors than to protect innocent Black Americans?
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