Removing and Renaming Confederate Statues, Schools, Streets, etc: Why?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Southern secessionists were traitors, but I oppose renaming streets and removing memorials. It’s performative activism that gives the illusions of doing something on rave without actually doing anything meaningful. The money used for these efforts could be better spent on something that actually helps the black community.

I disagree.

As a transplanted northerner I have always been appalled that these traitors were celebrated with statues and naming important institutions after them. It should have never happened, and it is never to late to right a wrong.

+1

When I first moved down here 20 years ago I was disgusted whenever I drove on “Lee Highway”. And everyone thought it was totally normal to have a road named after traitor fighting *for* slavery.

So glad we are finally cleaning up this trash.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because they lost and we won. America has learned a lesson in the last few years about letting racist, fascist losers regroup and we're done doing it.

The South was half the country then and is a good part of it now. There are some bitter people who want to relitigate the war. You seem to want to kick the South out of the country.

The war is over and reunification was a good idea, as were the pardons. It was what came after that was shameful, but we still aren't grappling with it.

This is not about reunificiation. Those statues are not about celebrating the South -- they're about making heroes out of those in the South who wanted to leave America so they could keep slavery. Big difference. Most people in the South don't feel that way today, so why have those statues? We should celebrate heroes, not losers. But you know all that, troll.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There’s a reason I chose VA as opposed to DC or MD when moving to this area from Arkansas. I felt as if I would feel least home sick and would be able to retain a bit of my culture from my hometown to my second home here. We need to look ahead, not backwards.

+1000

lol "culture"

You wouldn’t understand, bethesda boy.

I definitely don’t appreciate or understand your kind of “culture” *wink wink.*

The culture I refer to isnt any sort of neo confederate nonsense, more so the southern hospitality and family like aspect that is unique to the south.

What do traitors fighting for slavery have do with southern hospitality? I don’t get the connection? Can’t you be nice without the white supremacy?

[Anonymous]

Let's erect statues of southern bells offering guests iced tea and homemade biscuits then, not war traitors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Let's erect statues of southern bells offering guests iced tea and homemade biscuits then, not war traitors.

**belle** not bell.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There’s a reason I chose VA as opposed to DC or MD when moving to this area from Arkansas. I felt as if I would feel least home sick and would be able to retain a bit of my culture from my hometown to my second home here. We need to look ahead, not backwards.

+1000

lol "culture"

You wouldn’t understand, bethesda boy.

I definitely don’t appreciate or understand your kind of “culture” *wink wink.*

The culture I refer to isnt any sort of neo confederate nonsense, more so the southern hospitality and family like aspect that is unique to the south.

I’ve never experienced this type of “culture” when visiting the south. Perhaps I am not the right color?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There’s a reason I chose VA as opposed to DC or MD when moving to this area from Arkansas. I felt as if I would feel least home sick and would be able to retain a bit of my culture from my hometown to my second home here. We need to look ahead, not backwards.

+1000

lol "culture"

You wouldn’t understand, bethesda boy.

I definitely don’t appreciate or understand your kind of “culture” *wink wink.*

The culture I refer to isnt any sort of neo confederate nonsense, more so the southern hospitality and family like aspect that is unique to the south.

Let’s put up statues to that, then

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Imagine if we erected statues of those who staged an insurrection at our Capitol on January 6. Wouldn’t we ask why are we glorifying traitors to the nation? Wouldn’t there be other, more appropriate ways to document this tragic part of our history without erecting monuments or naming streets and schools for them?

I’m sure some people would like to erect statues to the Jan 6 insurrectionists. And I do mean erect

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Virginia has a long history of being a southern state and has a deep history with southern culture and ties to the confederacy. Northern Virginia in particular, with the Arlington Cemetery’s connection with Robert E Lee, whom led the Army of Northern Virginia, and the wide spread usage of confederates like Stonewall Jackson High School in PWCS and Robert E Lee High School in FCPS seems to have continually played a part in modern Virginia history throughout the state. Not to mention highways and streets dedicated to Confederates and segregationists like Robert E Lee and Harry Byrd still remain.

This unique attatchment to our history seems to be most or entirely prevalent in Virginia as opposed to DC or Maryland, and has never been a problem for the past century to half a century, through progressive movements and such. However, ever since the slain of George Floyd and the riots in 2020, there seems to have been a new attempt to pit the blame on the “monuments” that apparently glorize these views, and to radically erase them from history and forget about them once and for all. I seem to check google maps and am seemingly forced to learn new road names Like Langston Blvd in Arlington on a weekly basis. From my perspective, being a native of Fauquier county in southern country Virginia and spending lots of time in rural Loudoun and Prince William county, it’s a great change to what I’m used to.

Why the call for action now? Are we really suppose the blame people whom lived in an era where slavery and segregation was an unarguable stance that was unanimous among all politicians? What good does it really do, as it seemingly hasn’t seen a decrease in any sort of statistic that they intended to target. Do you support such action against these historical landmarks? Would love to know what the general consensus is, especially from other Virginians.

Do you imagine the slaves thought slavery was fine? That if was just part of the culture and not something horrific? Did they not blame white southerners?

Of course they knew it was wrong. So did abolitionists at the time. The "era" is no defense because LOTS of people in that era knew slavery was wrong. The fact you think it was culturally okay at that time us exactly why we need to take down statues and rename public buildings that honor those people.

Plus, no kid should have to go to school in a building named after someone who thought she was property.

Hilarious that OP's main objection is to having to learn new names. Heaven forbid you have to extend yourself to learn something new! But, somehow, I suspect you weren't this mad when the Fairfax County Parkway got a new route number.

DP. See, this here's your problem. There are kids today, and there are people in the past. All of the people in this nation's history, they all made this country as it is today, for better or worse. But they are not here today. Whatever they thought or did, they thought or did it then. We cannot change it, and it cannot change us.

You are saying that the people of today are responsible for the past. But that's not true. People today can learn from the past, or can ignore it. But no one here today is responsible for whatever people did in the past, no one today bears the blame for what people did in the past.

No one is blaming current southern Americans for anything. Except maybe retrograde attitudes like yours, which are frankly pretty fringe even in the South

[Anonymous]

The overlap between those lying to themselves about "states rights" and "southern heritage" and those who own AR-15s and want to take away a woman's right to choose - is non zero.

At the end of the day it is about (an illusion of) control.

If your "supremacy" and sense of self worth comes just from being born white and male (an event you had no decision in and certainly didn't have to work for or earn on merit) then understandable that you'd fight like hell and put up statues etc. to preserve that unearned advantage.

What to do about this is hard - splitting after civil war probably would have been better - too late now due to nuclear bases throughout country. Giving bottom 15 states to Trump-DeSantis quasi-dictator figure not viable - that really would be a wall they'd have to build to keep out immigrants heading north for a better life.

[Anonymous]

"The South will rise again" is a thing. We don't want to endorse that. These statues have to go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The nazis based their racial purity and segregation laws on those state laws in the South that imposed Jim Crow.

Sorry, but that’s a sh#t legacy when the nazis admire you

Great point. In Germany now illegal to own or display Nazi symbols/artifacts - where is our law outlawing confederate traitor
flag and these statues? We have let the hate fester...

[Anonymous]

The presumably liberal "good" posters are not covering themselves in glory on this thread. Advocating for splitting up the country, regulating speech, etc.

Smh

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry, OP, but this is really bad trolling. Someone from Fauquier County would not describe themselves as from “southern country Virginia.”

Not sure what to tell you, other than to study the map harder next time.

OP here. I was talking about Fauquier county being culturally southern, as it was growing up and still is today. I just wanted to emphasize that I come from a more conservative part of “Northern Virginia” (if you even consider it a part of) and highlight any bias I may have. Trust me, friends driving through Warrenton tell me they couldn’t tell the difference from a small city in North Carolina or Tennessee.

NP here, thinking about moving to Fauquier in the near future, is it really that southern?

Used to live there years ago, my neighbors had confederate flags porched on their flag poles if that tells you anything.

People fly Confederate flags in NY, PA, OH, too. It's about racism, not southern pride.

[Anonymous]

The same reason there aren't statues of Hitler in Germany. The south fought to subjugate people for their labor. That is wrong and nothing about it should be celebrated.