[TimeForChange]

Born and raised in the South and a proud American. Have lived in four Southern States except for my time serving my Country (AL, GA, TX, FL) in my 74.5 years. My ancestors including my great, great grandfather fought in the Civil War for the South and two of his brothers died defending Atlanta. That is part of my family history and I will never give up my Southern heritage, my Southern accent or my love of Southern food and all the great places in the South. I fought with all races, colors in Vietnam and never really had a problem. They were all brothers to me. We can tear down all the statues we want, change all the names we want but I will never be ashamed of my family or being from the South. You can change "things or objects" but you cannot change the history. It is what it is! Blast away!

[Byte1]

Today, instead of burning books that don't fit the narrative, they tear down statues and just quietly remove history books from public schools. Kind of reminiscent of Nazi Germany, the USSR, Cuba, etc. Now, street names and monuments also have to be removed or changed. Who's scared of the truth? If we erase the truth, does that mean that it did not happen? Oh well, if they wish to remove reminders of what happened, some will no longer have an excuse.....a crutch for failure.

[Stu from NYC]

All I would say is thank you for your service to our country.

[karostay]

If they want to burn something go back to 70's and burn their Bras.
Then will have something to look forward too...

[stadry]

amen, change,,, all our blood was the same color

[davem4616]

I wonder how much it would cost a company like Winn-Dixie to rebrand if they decided to change their name

[charlieo1126@gmail.com]

I personally don’t have a problem with a statue honoring the common Confederate soldier but all the political and military statues of there leaders should be taken down and put in museums , I have felt this way since high school history.Robert E Lee and Jefferson Davis should have been hung as traitors, walk through any graveyard in New York was that England and see the names of the dead to realize what carnage they caused to preserve away of life that so few profited from

[charlieo1126@gmail.com]

Originally Posted by charlieo1126@gmail.com

I personally don’t have a problem with a statue honoring the common Confederate soldier but all the political and military statues of there leaders should be taken down and put in museums , I have felt this way since high school history.Robert E Lee and Jefferson Davis should have been hung as traitors, walk through any graveyard in New York was that England and see the names of the dead to realize what carnage they caused to preserve away of life that so few profited from

though any graveyard in New England

[karostay]

History History History at times its not pretty We can't change it. By golly we can learn from it...I don't see that happening sadly

[blueash]

So as I read the OP, he seems to be saying he has no objection to removing statues which in full Confederate regalia, honor those whose fought against the United States and in support of a regime that in its Constitution and the statements of its leaders was formed to protect slavery.

If I were a grandchild of a person who fought for Germany in the 1930's I could well be proud of the courage with which my grandfather fought. If I were the son of a suicide bomber who came out of the Palestinian camps in Gaza I could well be proud of his courage in support of my people against what I honestly believed was intolerable oppression.

But I would not expect the people of France to erect a statue in Paris honoring the Nazi cause or to name a street or a military base in honor of Goering.

Somehow the Israelis have resisted the temptation to put up a nice statue of Arafat in Jerusalem. No one questions the courage or the sincerity of conviction of those who fought for the enemy.

You won't see any General Custer statues on Native lands. You don't see any monuments to General Sherman anywhere in the South. No statues, no street names, no college buildings with his name.

So don't tell me that statues and namings are simply a reflection of history. They are a reflection of support for the ideals fought for by those honored. The Confederacy was built on the promise of the continuation of Slavery. Period. Its constitution which so many think promoted "States Rights" in fact did not. It said that no state in the Confederacy could abolish slavery. It was the unassailable requirement for participation in the CSA.

Remember the words of George Wallace 100 years after the Civil War. Words which reflected his view of how the nation needed to be, how he saw the mixing of black and white people, how the South and much of the North still felt in the 1960's not the 1860's.

In the name of the greatest people that have ever trod this earth, I draw the line in the dust and toss the gauntlet before the feet of tyranny, and I say segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever.

That is a concise summary of Wallace's platform. Just substitute the world slavery for segregation and you have the summary of the bedrock of the Confederacy. Is that a political system which we should be honoring in the USA? Is that something that just maybe a black person might find offensive? Those are not beautiful statues honoring our history. They are statues honoring those who fought to defend to the death the horrible horrible enslavement of humans.

Please read the "cornerstone" speech given by the VP of the CSA. He explains that the founders of the USA, and refers to Jefferson, all believed that slavery was wrong but were unable to find a way to eliminate it.

It was an evil they knew not well how to deal with, but the general opinion of the men of that day was that, somehow or other in the order of Providence, the institution would be evanescent and pass away. This idea, though not incorporated in the constitution, was the prevailing idea at that time.

He admits that slavery was viewed as evil by the USA but, as he goes on to explain, they were wrong.

Those ideas, however, were fundamentally wrong. They rested upon the assumption of the equality of races. This was an error...our new government is founded upon exactly the opposite idea; its foundations are laid, its corner-stone rests, upon the great truth that the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery subordination to the superior race is his natural and normal condition. This, our new government, is the first, in the history of the world, based upon this great physical, philosophical, and moral truth.

This is a concise and very clear statement that the CSA was formed to continue slavery. That the view of those who flew the stars and bars was that it was a moral truth that the negro was an inferior whose natural place was to be subordinate to the white race.

To say that a moral person, black, brown, or white should not find that "truth" extremely offensive astounds me. And to believe that anywhere there should be a statue celebrating people for whom that "truth" was a foundational piece of their belief is no different from honoring those who believed Jews were less than human. Maybe even worse because the Nazis didn't fight for the right to kill Jews. They fought for German economic superiority and the sincerely held belief in Aryan superiority. We don't lionize the German soldier nor the German generals with statues.

Be proud of your southern heritage. But if you are proud of the Confederacy and the deplorable bedrock upon which it was built ...

[ColdNoMore]

Originally Posted by charlieo1126@gmail.com

I personally don’t have a problem with a statue honoring the common Confederate soldier but all the political and military statues of there leaders should be taken down and put in museums , I have felt this way since high school history.

Robert E Lee and Jefferson Davis should have been hung as traitors, walk through any graveyard in New York was that England and see the names of the dead to realize what carnage they caused to preserve away of life that so few profited from.

[ColdNoMore]

Originally Posted by blueash

So as I read the OP, he seems to be saying he has no objection to removing statues which in full Confederate regalia, honor those whose fought against the United States and in support of a regime that in its Constitution and the statements of its leaders was formed to protect slavery.

If I were a grandchild of a person who fought for Germany in the 1930's I could well be proud of the courage with which my grandfather fought. If I were the son of a suicide bomber who came out of the Palestinian camps in Gaza I could well be proud of his courage in support of my people against what I honestly believed was intolerable oppression.

But I would not expect the people of France to erect a statue in Paris honoring the Nazi cause or to name a street or a military base in honor of Goering.

Somehow the Israelis have resisted the temptation to put up a nice statue of Arafat in Jerusalem. No one questions the courage or the sincerity of conviction of those who fought for the enemy.

You won't see any General Custer statues on Native lands. You don't see any monuments to General Sherman anywhere in the South. No statues, no street names, no college buildings with his name.

So don't tell me that statues and namings are simply a reflection of history. They are a reflection of support for the ideals fought for by those honored. The Confederacy was built on the promise of the continuation of Slavery. Period. Its constitution which so many think promoted "States Rights" in fact did not. It said that no state in the Confederacy could abolish slavery. It was the unassailable requirement for participation in the CSA.

Remember the words of George Wallace 100 years after the Civil War. Words which reflected his view of how the nation needed to be, how he saw the mixing of black and white people, how the South and much of the North still felt in the 1960's not the 1860's.

In the name of the greatest people that have ever trod this earth, I draw the line in the dust and toss the gauntlet before the feet of tyranny, and I say segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever.

That is a concise summary of Wallace's platform. Just substitute the world slavery for segregation and you have the summary of the bedrock of the Confederacy. Is that a political system which we should be honoring in the USA? Is that something that just maybe a black person might find offensive? Those are not beautiful statues honoring our history. They are statues honoring those who fought to defend to the death the horrible horrible enslavement of humans.

Please read the "cornerstone" speech given by the VP of the CSA. He explains that the founders of the USA, and refers to Jefferson, all believed that slavery was wrong but were unable to find a way to eliminate it.



He admits that slavery was viewed as evil by the USA but, as he goes on to explain, they were wrong.



This is a concise and very clear statement that the CSA was formed to continue slavery. That the view of those who flew the stars and bars was that it was a moral truth that the negro was an inferior whose natural place was to be subordinate to the white race.

To say that a moral person, black, brown, or white should not find that "truth" extremely offensive astounds me. And to believe that anywhere there should be a statue celebrating people for whom that "truth" was a foundational piece of their belief is no different from honoring those who believed Jews were less than human.

Maybe even worse because the Nazis didn't fight for the right to kill Jews. They fought for German economic superiority and the sincerely held belief in Aryan superiority. We don't lionize the German soldier nor the German generals with statues.

Be proud of your southern heritage.

But if you are proud of the Confederacy and the deplorable bedrock upon which it was built ...

Absolutely NAILED IT!

[graciegirl]

This is our family ancestor who won the Congressional Medal of Honor .

Remembering Medal of Honor recipient Charles Schorn - Gallipolis Daily Tribune

[kcrazorbackfan]

Originally Posted by karostay

If they want to burn something go back to 70's and burn their Bras.
Then will have something to look forward too...

Uh-oh! Here in TV, that would be an image hard to erase from the mind.

[eyc234]

Originally Posted by TimeForChange

Born and raised in the South and a proud American. Have lived in four Southern States except for my time serving my Country (AL, GA, TX, FL) in my 74.5 years. My ancestors including my great, great grandfather fought in the Civil War for the South and two of his brothers died defending Atlanta. That is part of my family history and I will never give up my Southern heritage, my Southern accent or my love of Southern food and all the great places in the South. I fought with all races, colors in Vietnam and never really had a problem. They were all brothers to me. We can tear down all the statues we want, change all the names we want but I will never be ashamed of my family or being from the South. You can change "things or objects" but you cannot change the history. It is what it is! Blast away!

First thank you for your service to defend the freedoms of this great country. Will say that I fully agree with you as a lifelong southerner. Was taught from the day I can remember that we are part of the human race and nothing else. Treat all people as you would like to be treated. That is what I have done and have nothing to be ashamed of doing in my life. How about we eliminate all statues, street names, park names and anything to do with any living human being because we are all flawed and have issues. Stop putting normal human beings on pedestals, they all have flaws.