Reply to Good article on the founding and flaws of UVA

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I went there for law school 8 years ago, and it seemed like some people (especially white people that went there for undergrad too) were doing some Jefferson worship. It was pretty gross. I’m pretty much grossed out by hero worship of anyone, so I have a low tolerance. It definitely disgusted some people of color, who made some comments and posts about Jefferson.

One thing that comes to mind is all these “special” traditions (like not calling people freshman etc and instead referring them to as first years etc, secret societies, students honored by spending a year living in the lawn). They are always explained with these glowing statements about Jefferson, his creativity and openness to learning, and his beliefs about education. It made it feel like everything is deeply rooted in the past and Jefferson is still a huge influence.

Also, when I toured Monticello, they did mention Sally Hemings, but tried to play down the whole lack of consent issue/that it could only have been rape. It was a quick explanation, the focus was on that she was his wife’s half-sister, that he freed their children together and had the daughters pass as white, and that he was a creature of his time but perhaps did better than others. I get that tours (often with children) may not be a comfortable place for long explanations about the atrocities slaves endured, but I thought maybe they could have done it better. It’s hard for me to hear rape and enslavement being brushed off as “flaws.”

Hope things have gotten better since I was there. [/quote]
What year did you tour monticello? They go deep into his flaws now.[/quote]

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